Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 3, Number 11, 1 November 1986 — Waianae Halau Performs in ltaly [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Waianae Halau Performs in ltaly

Kumu Hula Mililani Allen and nine members of her Halau Hula 'O Mililani from Waianae represented Hawaii at the 1986 "Musica Dei Popoli," a world-renown cultural exposition and one of the highlights of the international music calendar, Oct. 24 in Florence, Italy. The halau members left Honolulu Oct. 21, joined another native group in New York, the Pueblo Indians from Arizona, and flew together to Europe, returning Oct. 29. The Hawaii group was invited by the sponsor-

ing Centro Flog Tradizioni Popolari. The festival, whieh celebrated its 10th year of musical cultures, has featured music from around the world. This year, however, they focused on different genres of traditional music present in the United States. Artists who participated were selected according to authenticity and quality of their art, making it a tremendous honor to be invited. In addition to its Florence performance, Halau Hula

'O Mililani also performed for halian nahonal television in Rome. While it was the first appearance in Italy for her halau, Kumu Hula Allen is no stranger to faraway places. She represented Hawaii as"an official delegate to two Pacific Arts Festivals, one in Port Morseby, Papua New Guinea in 1980 and the other in Tahiti in 1985. Allen and seven of her dancers recently returned from New York City where they were invited by the National Council

for the I raditional Arts to participate m the 48th National Folk Festival in conjunction with the rededication celebration of the Statue of Liberty. Allen and her 'olapa composed a special mele, ehoreographed it and closed eaeh New York City performance with the mele. For their Italy trip, the halau composed another mele, "Maka'ika'i I Ikalia" and shared it at their Musica Dei Popoli.

Thousands of people Iined this New York City section to watch Waianae's Halau 'O Mililani perform at the rededication ceremonies for the Statue of Liberty during the summer.