2022 ‘Ike Hana II

‘Ike Hana II
2:00pm – Kennedy Theatre, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
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Hale a Laka • Kilipohe Nā Lei Lehua
The upland forests are the abode of the goddess Laka and are frequented by those who gather ferns and flowers for lei and adornments. Danced in the ‘auana (modern) style, the mele (song) recounts the fun and energy of a festive day with friends in Nu‘uanu and Waiahole on the island of O‘ahu.

Choreography: Kumu Hula of Hālau Kilipohe Nā Lei Lehua
Music: Music and lyrics composed by Randy Kamuela Fong
Performed by Aaron Sala, Snowbird Bento, and Sean Pimental

Traditional Palauan Women’s Dance • The Ngarachamayong Dance Group
Many traditional Palauan dances are performed as a kind of suite. The dances performed here are an entry dance (Rebetii) and four main dances (Delal a ngoik from Airai Village, Chelchedal a ngloik from Ngiwal and Angaur Villages, and Ulegengele a ngloik from Koror Village). They represent the highest ranking village clans and are based on visions, interpretations, or events of the past, present, and future; Palauan legends of gods and demi-gods; and love or war stories, all passed down orally through generations of women. The arrangement of performers is based on rank within the village family or clan, the four middle dancers being descendants of prominent ranking individuals who direct and initiate the performance.

Opening Chant: traditional (Boid)

Traditional Palauan Men’s Dance • The Ngarachamayong Dance Group

Like traditional Palauan women’s dances, men’s dances are constructed as a kind of suite, comprised here of an entry dance (Chetakl tet), four main dances (of a kind of dance known as Ruk, from Ngchesar, Koror, and Airai Villages), and an exit dance (Ulebengelel a ngloik). The main dances are based on visions, interpretations, or events of the past, present, and future; Palauan legends of gods and demi-gods; and love or war stories, all passed down orally. The arrangement of performers is based on rank within the village family or clan, the four

middle dancers being descendants of prominent ranking individuals who direct and initiate the performance.

Opening Chant: traditional, performed by Jazzmen Isaac

Altering Fate, from A Bend in the River (2013) • Sophiline Arts Ensemble
A hermit teaches the crocodile Kaley to speak, to turn herself into a human, to swallow him in order to transport him across the river when he needs to heal villagers urgently, and to let go of her urge for vengeance. This dance is a contemporary retelling of folklore and an attempt to end the cycles of revenge.

Choreography: Sophiline Cheam-Shapiro
Music: Him Sophy
Puppet: created by Pich Sopheap
Costume: San Vannary
Dancers:          Kaley — Mot Pharan, Hermit — Sao Somaly, Crocodile — Phun Pichoudom, Sot Sovanndy, Sao Phirom, Long Chantheary, Keo Kuntearom

– INTERMISSION –

Ka‘upu Aloha • Kilipohe Nā Lei Lehua
This hula ‘auana (modern-style hula) tells us the process of falling in love is difficult because it often happens unnoticed. It is in Mānoa that the composer first witnessed his darling and he feels like a chief, able to accomplish anything. When the birds begin to sing their songs he becomes a guardian, protecting his beloved. On the beach at midnight, listening to the waves caress the shore, he becomes a friend, sharing his deepest thoughts. He sees the light from the moon peeking through the clouds and realizes, in an instant, he is a kauā, a servant to his lover’s every whim.

Choreography: Kumu Hula Leina‘ala Kalama Heine
Music: Lyrics and music by Kaleikaumaka • Performed by Aaron Sala

Matematong and Matemahula • The Ngarachamayong Dance Group
These contemporary types of dance are presented, like traditional Palauan dances, as a kind of suite that begins with an entry dance and proceeds with several main dances. The first two main dances are the type known as Matematong that were introduced to Palau by Palauans who stayed overseas on Saipan and other Carolinian islands in the late 1950s. They incorporate elements of traditional Palauan dance but have been modified to adhere to a Palauan aesthetic, and are accompanied by praise songs sung in acapella style composed on different islands or in different communities. The two Matematong performed here are from Koror and Kayangel Villages. Matemahula began in the early 1980s and combine traditional Palauan and Matematong dance movements with hand gestures from Hawaiian hula. They are accompanied by popular contemporary mainstream Palauan music.

Matemahula Song 1: Dedoraed, composed by Milla Obeketang
Matemahula Song 2: Mechas, composed by Milla Obeketang

Doors (2020) • Sophiline Arts Ensemble
Premiered in Phnom Penh just before the onset of the pandemic, Doors is a consideration of opportunities and challenges for female migrant workers. In this dance a woman leaves through the door of her home to enter many institutional doors in order to find new opportunities. Some doors look like they are open but turn out to be closed, or to be false doors, or to be trap doors creating obstacles against her. Why are these doors here then?

Choreography: Sophiline Cheam-Shapiro
Music: traditional, arranged by Sophiline Cheam-Shapiro
Costume: designed by Sophiline Cheam-Shapiro
Lyrics: from the theatrical production The Journey of the Cambodian Nation, by Chheng Phon and Pich Tum Kravel
Properties: Phun Pichoudom
Dancers:  The Woman — Mot Pharan, The Doors — Sot Sovanndy, Sao Phirom, Sao Somaly, Phun Pichoudom, Long Chantheary

Ehuehu mai nei ‘o Mānoa • Kilipohe Nā Lei Lehua
This mele kū‘ē (song of protest) honors two important women in the history of Hawai‘i: Queen Lili‘uokalani, the first woman to rule Hawai‘i, who was imprisoned in 1895 in the tower of her own palace for resisting the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a member of the Royal Family of Hawai‘i, who founded Kamehameha Schools. The mele urges Hawaiians to stand up for their rights and protect their heritage from being taken away, and to perpetuate their traditional legacies. Performed in an ‘auana (modern) style, this hula incorporates many kahiko (older) elements.

Choreography: Kumu Hula of Hālau Kilipohe Nā Lei Lehua
Music: Music and lyrics by Kihei de Silva, with inspiration from the language and sentiment of a song first published in 1895