Don’t call it ‘hula’
By Cynthia Oi
Star-BulletinInto the public discussion about whether hula has a place in Christianity's ceremonies comes kumu hula William "Sonny" Ching, his halau and Haydn.
Ching's Halau Na Mamo 'O Pu'uanahulu, which has won top honors at the Merrie Monarch hula competition for the past two years, will dance in the Hawai'i International Choral Festival's presentation of "The Creation" Saturday.
For him, the performance to Haydn's oratorio, although not part of a church service, is a way to honor Jesus Christ.
The choreography, designed by Ching and halau alakai (teacher) Lopaka Igarta-DeZera, is an unusual combination with the classical choral piece, "but we don't consider what we're doing as hula."
"It cannot be hula because the manao, or thought behind it, is not Hawaiian," Ching explained. Rather, "It is dance using hula movements and hula gestures."
This separation is not to diminish the musical work to which the halau will perform, but to delineate traditional from experimental. Still, there are similarities.
"Like in regular hula, we're trying to create the subject matter in mind, in this case creation and Jesus Christ," he said.
"The most important thing in the hula is the words. What we've tried to do is try to bring to life the words in this piece."
Ching decided to take on the project, even though he was unfamiliar with Haydn's piece, because he felt it would challenge him.
"I thought it would be a different way to use my creativity."
Then came doubts about whether he could pull it off.
"After listening to the music, I thought, 'Oh, my gosh. Big mistake, big mistake.'
"I'm not a musical person. I don't read music. I do like classical music because it is very moving. But I'm the casual listener. If I heard a piece and you asked me who the composer was, I wouldn't know.
"Lopaka is really the one who has helped tremendously. He has been instrumental in getting this choreographed."
Although Ching, 37, acknowledges that the project "has been one of the most difficult things I've ever attempted to do," he persevered because of his strong Christian beliefs.
"Christ has played a major part in my life," said Ching, who said he was a "rotten kid" in his teens.
"I owe everything to Him. It is a way to honor Him," he said.
"The only thing that would stop me from throwing in the towel was to remind myself that it's for the Lord."
Some of his students also were skeptical.
"They were like, 'No, we cannot do this.' But once they realized it was for the Lord, they said, 'We can.' It's helped them to grow."
Traditional or not, in a church or concert hall, Ching finds a commonality.
"I want the audience to see that even though it isn't traditional hula and it is not Hawaiian music, not Hawaiian manao, we've still accomplished the main thing, and that's making the dance live."
HAYDN'S 'THE CREATION'
Featuring: William 'Sonny' Ching (above) and Halau Na Mamo 'O Pu'uanahulu; O'ahu Choral Society, Festival Chorus and Orchestra
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