#haunani paredes

Kahiko night at the Merrie Monarch Festival featured hula in the ancient style with 27 groups performing Friday night in the annual competition in Hilo, Hawaiʻi. The festival continues tonight with ʻauana or modern hula, followed by results from the 62nd event.

Fairmont Kea Lani hosts “Behind the Curtain: A Journey Through Hula,” an event dedicated to celebrating and sharing the art of hula, taking place Saturday, June 1, 2024. Through the lens of three Maui-based hālau, guests will hear first-hand what it takes to prepare for the prestigious Merrie Monarch hula competition and experience the beautiful art form as the hālau perform a hana hou of presentations shared during the festival this past April.

Hālau Kekuaokalāʻauʻalaʻiliahi, of Wailuku, Maui, won the Overall Kaikamahine (girls) division in the first Queen Liliʻuokalani Keiki Hula competition held since the onset of COVID.

Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e under the direction of Nā Kumu Hula Tracie & Keawe Lopes of Oʻahu took the overall title at the 60th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival, in Hilo Hawaiʻi. From Maui, the seven men of Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi, under the direction of Nā Kumu Hula Haunani & ʻIliahi Paredes of Wailuku, took first place honors in the kāne kahiko and earned 4th place in the kāne ʻauana division. Their combined effort earned them the Overall Kāne title for the second year in a row. From Maui, the seven men of Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi, under the direction of Nā Kumu Hula Haunani & ʻIliahi Paredes of Wailuku, took first place honors in the kāne kahiko and earned 4th place in the kāne ʻauana division. Their combined effort earned them the Overall Kāne title for the second year in a row.

The Festivals of Aloha heads to Wailea with events scheduled from Oct. 28-30, 2022 at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.

Hulō! to the Hālau from Kauaʻi! Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leinā‘ala took the overall title at the 59th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival. From Maui, the seven men of Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi, under the direction of Nā Kumu Hula Haunani & ʻIliahi Paredes of Wailuku, swept first place honors in both the kāne kahiko and kāne ʻauana divisions. The women of Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi earned second place honors in the wahine kahiko division.

Pi‘ikea Kekīhenelehuawewehiikekau‘ōnohi Lopes of Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e was named Miss Aloha Hula 2022 at the 59th Annual Merrie Monarch Festival on Thursday night at the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo, Hawaiʻi.

Many of the more than 50 people who testified during a budget committee meeting on Friday voiced support for funding of Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art, a center dedicated to the study, practice, celebration and perpetuation of hula and various ‘ōiwi arts connected to hula.

Mayor Michael Victorino announced that a group of Maui Kumu Hula and the County of Maui are in early planning stages to establish a cultural center called “Hālau of ʻŌiwi Art,” to be located in Wailuku, Maui.

Rosemary Kaʻimilei Keamoai-Strickland, from Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai O Haʻehaʻe under the direction of kumu hula Tracie and Keawe Lopes, took home the 2021 title of Miss Aloha Hula.

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center hosts a special Live @ the MACC performance and talk story, “Behind the Curtain: Mālama I Ke Ahi” with Hālau KekuaokalāʻauʻalaʻIliahi, an award-winning Maui hālau.

The Maui Arts and Cultural Center hosts “Live @ the MACC,” a live streaming event this Saturday, Dec. 19, starting at 7:30 p.m., featuring Hālau Kekuaokalāʻauʻalaʻiliahi.

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center will livestream events every Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. through Jan. 30, 2021 for its Live @ the MACC series. The series consists of rock, pop, holiday and Hawaiian music concerts, hula and contemporary dance performances and the visual arts.

Hālau Kekuaokalāʻauʻalaʻiliahi will be hosting a special concert of hula and mele (song) at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center on Jan. 12. 

Hālau Kekuaokalā‘au‘ala‘iliahi presents a hula, mele and fashion event titled Ke‘ala‘iliahi 2018 A Fashion Love Affair at the MACC on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 3 p.m.

The competition portion of the 55th Annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival kicks off Thursday night at the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo, Hawaiʻi.

Complete results from the 2017 Merrie Monarch Hula competition in Hilo, Hawaii: Ka Lā ‘Ōnohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e, under the direction of Nā Kumu Tracie & Keawe Lopes

The 54th Annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival kicks off tonight with solo performances in the 2017 Miss Aloha Hula competition. Three Maui dancers will take…

“Keʻalaʻiliahi 2014 – Never Forgot(ten),” is a “celebration of all the wonderful experiences we’ve had on this journey, it’s a celebration of all those who have influenced us and continue to do so, and it’s also a huge fundraiser for our Merrie Monarch bound haumana,” said Haunani Paredes.

Maui’s entrants into the 50th edition of the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival finished strong in the kane and solo divisions with Hālau Kekuaokalā’au’ala’iliahi, under the direction of nā kumu hula ‘Iliahi and Haunani Paredes, earning a second place finish for the Kahiko Kāne division, and a fourth place finish for the ‘Auana Kāne division.