Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 9, 1 September 2010 — Ever-evolving Espiritu brings ʻPoliʻahuʻ to stage [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ever-evolving Espiritu brings ʻPoliʻahuʻ to stage

Poli'ahu, Goddess ofMauna Kea Friday, Oct. 8; 8 p.m. Leeward CommunityCollege Theatre, 96-045 Ala 'lke St., Pearl City, O'ahu Tickets: $20, $26 and $30 www.lcctheatre.liawaii.edu or 455-0385

By Melissa Moniz Founded on Hawaiian traditions and Western dance, Tau Dance Theater has successfully remained true to its purpose of weaving Hawai'i's past into a professional modern dance company. As Founder, Artistic Director and Primary Choreographer, Peter Rockford Espiritu said that mueh like his dances, the company's existence was a natural evolution. "I always loved hula, but I also saw the works of the high arts of the Western form - opera, symphony, halleī," he said. "Those things interested me. As a modern Hawaiian, I started to think about how I ean use my talents in dance and music. I wanted to honor these stories, but tell them in a different way and create storytelling ideas that represent us now." Espiritu's traditional training started with the late Kumu Hula lohn Keanuenue Ka'imikaua and the late George Kanani 'o Keakua Holokai. Today he studies under Cecilia Akim, Melvin Lantaka, Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele and Ka'upena Wong. His Western training eame from the School of American Ballet, New York Theatre Ballet, Zvi Gothiener & Dancers and Ralph Lemon in New York City. Tau Dance Theater was created 1 4 years ago to honor eaeh of these well-respected dance forms, while setting new standards for modern Polynesia through the arts.

"The _ veins in traditional and Western are

pretty wide and pretty deep," s a i d Espiritu, a 1981 Aiea High School graduate. "We are a modern dance studio, but I can't help but be what I am. I am an evolutionist. I don't ever do any side purely." On Oct. 8, Tau Dance Theater returns to Leeward Community College Theatre for its third Hawaiian dance opera presentation, Poīi'ahu, Goddess of Mauna Kea. The show combines traditional hula, mele, oli, Yupik Eskimo songs, drumming, Mongolian storytelling, ballet and modern dance to bring to life the story of Poli 'ahu and her sisters Līlīnoe, Waiau and Kalauakolea's migration to their home at Mauna Kea. "I am all about evolution and I look at myself as a bridge builder - honoring the past, to the present and connecting to the future," said Espiritu. "So when I talk about the idea of a Hawaiian dance

opera, you have elements of large-scale Western form. The opening number, for example, I have written a mele, whieh will be in Hawaiian, and it honors the four sisters. What you'll see is ballerinas in front of the curtain, then you'll see pahu, then modern dancers, then hula dancers, and then you'll see the Goddesses. All of them will be dancing at one time to symphonic and chanting and pahu. So in a large scale you have 30 people in that grandness of that operatic style." The story continues to share Poli'ahu's encounters with Pelehonuamea and Nā Mo'o Wāhine, and the intricacies that make her one of Hawai'i's most enigmatic deities. Espiritu's production follows in the tradition of his earlier Hawaiian dance operas, Hānau Ka Moku: An Island is ■■ Born and Naupaka, A Hawaiian I

Love t>tory. ■ "Iust as I did with Ka | Moku: An Island Is Born, where I went to the * Kanaka'oles because, to me, their lineage and deity is Pele and I want to go as deep to the source as I ean," he said. "So when I thought of Poli'ahu, I knew there are people who know other mele, but

for me I was most comfortable going to Ka'upena Wong and Aunty Pat Namaka Bacon." Espiritu also teamed up again with

longtime friend Puakea Nogehneier for all Hawaiian translations, whieh he says is about 25 percent of the music and dialogue. Surrounded with a knowledgeable team, world-class dancers and a respectful understanding of blending cultures and traditions, Espiritu has rightfully earned the honor as the only indigenous Hawaiian with a professional modern dance company in Hawai'i. "There's a lifetime of work out there to honor the Hawaiian culture," said Espiritu. "What I do is Hawaiian at its base core and ultimately it's their stories that we're telling." ■ Melissa Moniz, is a Contributing Writerfor Ka Wai Ola A former Associate Editor at MidWeek she has chosen a new career path as afull-time mom to spend more quality time with her husband and two young daughters. '

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Artistic Director Peter Espiritu on Hūleakūlā. Inset: Delyse Recco ūs , Poli'ahu.- Photos Couitesy of īau Dance Theater