[ MERRIE MONARCH ]

DENNIS ODA / DODA@ STARBULLETIN.COM From left, Kahoku Omilda, Julie Schmitz and Tino Moe share an emotional moment after the men and women of Keolalaulani Halau 'Olapa 'O Laka (kumu is Aloha Dalire) dance and throw their lei and skirts over the rim of Kilauea Volcano as a sign of respect.

Reins of halau
are passed and the
dance goes on

Kumu hula Aloha Dalire entrusts
the halau to her daughter

Who's who in hula

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By Scott Vogel
svogel@starbulletin.com

HILO >> The weather during the drive from town had been cool and rainy, but as the bus carrying Kaneohe's Keolalaulani Halau 'Olapa 'O Laka rounded the final turn and the quiet majesty of Kilauea Crater began to appear in the distance yesterday, a curious object appeared on the horizon. It was the sun, a celestial body that never gets short shrift in these parts. But on this day the soft morning light seemed to indicate something extra special: that one of the most important decisions in kumu hula Aloha Dalire's career had been the correct one.

"That's the first sign," laughed Dalire as she watched her dancers file off the bus and prepare to offer gifts to Pele, part of an annual pilgrimage the halau makes just hours before the Merrie Monarch Festival competition, the 39th installment of which began last evening.

"Everything you're going to see today was done by Kapua," she continued, speaking of her daughter, Miss Aloha Hula 1991, who is taking the halau's reins for the first time this year, a succession of sorts that's sure to register on the hula world's Richter scale.

"I've entrusted it to my daughter because at this point in time I feel she's capable. For me, this is a test. She's done it before, but I always had my niches in there. This year, the only thing I'm a part of up there will be their costuming and their leis."

Still, as the dancers walked silently to the edge of the crater, stopping mere inches from the precipice, there was little question that Dalire, the small woman in the magenta blouse, the first Miss Aloha Hula (crowned in 1971), remained the charismatic center of the halau. And if you had any doubt, you had only to watch the ceremonial chants and dancing that ensued. Like a general in semiretirement, Dalire stood at full attention as she inspected the regiment, her eyes ever on the alert for missteps.

"Don't watch me," she whispered. "I don't want you to see me if I cringe. But you can look when you see the tears fall. They'll be happy tears."

And so, obedient to the last, the crowd turned its eyes to Kapua and her charges, nine kane and 16 wahine, though in truth it was difficult to rid one's mind of Dalire as her daughter skillfully led the halau.

The ceremony now finished, the lei and ti leaf skirts having been tossed into the abyss, a flood of emotion swept over the dancers. Some embraced, some wiped their eyes while picking tiny pieces of fern from their hair, and a few talked of reacquainting themselves with dearly departed relatives. ("I saw my great aunt up there in the clouds," sobbed Keola, one of Dalire's other daughters, and another Miss Aloha Hula.)

And right in the heart of it all was Dalire, hugging great blubbering men three times her size and giving the thumbs-up sign to all who could see. Curiously, there weren't any noticeable tears on her cheeks, happy or otherwise, just a large grin that seemed to break through in fits and starts, rather like the sun that day.

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Who’s who in hula

These are the competitors in the Hula Kahiko (today) and Hula 'Auana (tomorrow) portions of the 39th annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Events are being televised live beginning at 6 p.m. on KITV:

Wahine

1. Puamana Hula Studio; kumu hula Puluelo Park; Kailua, Oahu

2. Halau Ke Kia'i A 'O Hula; kumu hula Kapi'olani Ha'o; Honolulu, Oahu

3. Ka Pa Nani 'O Lilinoe; kumu hula Lilinoe Lindsey; Aiea, Oahu

4. Ka Pa Hula O Kauanoe O Wa'ahila; kumu hula Maelia Carter; Honolulu

5. Halau Hula 'O Kahikilaulani; kumu hula Sissy Lilinoe Kai'o; Carson, Calif.

6. Halau Hula O Kahikilaulani; kumu hula Ray Fonseca; Hilo

7. Halau Ka Ua Kani Lehua; kumu hula Johnny Lum Ho; Hilo

8. Puka'ikapuaokalani Hula Halau; kumu hula Ellen Castillo; Waimanalo, Oahu

9. Halau O Ke 'Anuenue; kumu hula Glenn Vasconcellos; Hilo

10 Halau Hula O Hokulani; kumu hula Hokulani De Rego; Central Oahu

11. Halau Mohala 'Ilima; kumu hula Mapuana de Silva; Kaohao, Oahu

12. Halau Hula 'O Kawaili'ula; kumu hula Chinky Mahoe; Kailua, Oahu

13. Ka Pa Hula o Kamehameha; kumu hula Holoua Stender; Kapalama-Uka, Oahu

14. Moana's Hula Halau; kumu hula Moana and Raquel Dudoit; Kaunakakai, Molokai

15. Keolalaulani Halau 'Olapa 'O Laka; kumu hula Aloha Dalire; Heeia, Kaneohe

16. Halau Hula Ohana; kumu hula Howard and Olana Ai; Aiea

17. Hula Halau O Kamuela; kumu hula Paleka Leina'ala Mattos and Kunewa Mook; Waimanalo/Kalihi

Kane

1. Na Pua Me Kealoha; kumu hula Sissy Lilinoe Kaio; Carson, Calif.

2. Keali'ika'apunihonua Ke'ena A O Hula; kumu hula Leimomi Ho; Honolulu

3. Halau I Ka Wekiu; kumu hula Karl Veto Baker and Michael Casupang; Honolulu

4. Halau Na Mamo O Ka'ala; kumu hula Tiare Noelani Chang; Waianae, Oahu

5. Halau Keali'i O Nalani; kumu hula Keali'i Ceballos; Los Angeles

6. Halau Hula 'O Kahikilaulani; kumu hula Ray Fonseca; Hilo

7. Halau Ke Kia'i A 'O Hula; kumu hula Kapi'olani Ha'o; Honolulu

8. Keolalaulani Halau 'Olapa 'O Laka; kumu hula Aloha Dalire; Heeia, Kaneohe, Oahu

9. Ka Pa Hula o Kamehameha; kumu hula Holoua Stender; Kapalama-Uka, Oahu

10. Halau Ka Ua Kani Lehua; kumu hula Johnny Lum Ho; Hilo

11. Halau Hula 'O Kawaili'ula; kumu hula Chinky Mahoe; Kailua

Click for online
calendars and events.