Alicia Hussey, 15 (left), Jill Nakatani, 11, and Hula Kalili, 10, practice the Polynesian hula. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

Teens study heritage through ancient dance

Web posted July 7, 1998

By Kristen Wyatt
Staff Writer

Alicia Hussey puts on her coconut bra and bright purple skirt. Quickly she puts on some lipstick while she pads barefoot to the living room for practice. It's Wednesday, and it's time to dance the hula.

Alicia, a 15-year-old sophomore at Augusta Christian Schools, has been hula dancing since she was 7, and she says she can't imagine life without it.

``It's so cool,'' she says. ``It's my favorite thing to do.''The dance is Hawaiian, and it tells stories about the islands' history. Hula is more than 1,000 years old, and about 25 Augusta-area youth meet every week to keep the dance -- and their Polynesian culture -- alive.

``It's a great time,'' Alicia says.

Not that it's easy. The girls in Alicia's group used to do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and run two miles before they even started practice, says their instructor, LeHua Kalili. The grass skirts they sometimes wear weigh 75 to 100 pounds. And coconut bras? They take a little getting used to, says Tammie Leuice, 20.

``It's definitely weird, but I grew up around it,'' says Tammie, who's from Samoa and learned hula before she started kindergarten. ``Wearing the bras isn't embarrassing once you get used to it.''

At practice, the hula girls put on makeup and help some younger children learn a simple dance. Then Mrs. Kalili picks up a ukulele, and practice begins.

The girls dance in a line to the music, carrying paddles and pretending to row. Then they put the paddles down and move their hips quickly back and forth. The instructor constantly calls directions as she strums the ukulele.

``Elbows out!''

``Move your hips!''

``Smile! Don't look so sad!''

Sometimes the teacher calls to the girls in Hawaiian. Learning the language is important in hula, says dancer Jennie Lawrence.

``I was so excited when I was old enough to understand I was born in Hawaii,'' says the 12-year-old seventh-grader at Glenn Hills Middle School. ``I like that I can learn the dances and the language from where I came from.''

Most kids with parents from Hawaii have never been to the islands themselves, says Mrs. Kalili, so it's important for the girls to learn hula here.

``It's good for them,'' Mrs. Kalili says. ``They're not only thinking of boys. They're thinking about themselves, their future, college and their culture. They learn to be proud.''