Video of the Week: Merrie Monarch hula in Hawaii

Every year, a major dance event is held on the “Big Island” of Hawaii in the town of Hilo – the Merrie Monarch Festival hula competition, featuring both modern (‘Auana) and ancient (Kahiko) forms of hula.

King David Kalakaua was the “merrie monarch” who revitalized Hawaiian ethnic language, arts and dance during his reign 1874-1891.

This year’s Merrie Monarch Festival is scheduled for March 30 – April 5, 2008. The video below features Halau I Ka Wekiu in the Kahiko kane (men’s) division.

For anyone reading this post via RSS or other feed mechanism, click here to go to the hula video on YouTube.

For more like this, plus Tahitian dance, see teriimataha on YouTube.