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Barefoot dancers welcome spring
By Ashley Preste
Published:
Monday, April 26, 2004
Media Credit: Ashley Preste
Phil Zuziak, fifth-year member of The Barefoot Hawaiian dancers, performs a traditional dance of love. Zuziak will travel May 12 to Hawaii for the 11th Annual Fire Knife Competition, where he has placed in finals the past two years.
Spring is finally here, and what better way to celebrate its arrival than to bring a little of the tropics to Minnesota.
The Barefoot Hawaiian Inc. dancers performed at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to a packed crowd in Ritsche Auditorium.
The theme of the evening was to take the audience through the full experience of the Polynesian Islands.
The event, sponsored by the University Program Board (UPB), ran in segments with each section native to one specific region.
Before each piece, owner and founder of The Barefoot Hawaiian Inc. Gwen Keake' akamai explained what each piece meant, where it originated, the reason it was performed and the greeting that is custom in that part of the islands.
Keake'akamai said "Aloha," the native greeting of Hawaii, means "the breath of life" and when new babies are born, the mother will breathe onto her newborn, saying "Aloha."
Throughout their performance, dancers also involved many audience members in learning traditional Hawaiian dances.
The hula, one of the most recognized Hawaiian dances, is a religious dance that was originally performed in secret.
Audience members learned how to shake their hips and hula with the best of them.
"We have dancers from ages three to 78 dancing for The Barefoot Hawaiian in our Halau (hula) class," Keake'akamai said. "Most of our performers started in our hula class when they were eight or nine years old. We have 127 enrolled in our hula class. Right now, we have 20 girls who dance professionally for us and we have nine guys, five who are training for fire knife dancing."
The door to The Barefoot Hawaiian Inc. opened 21 years ago, and now has public performances all over the country. Keake'akamai said performers are a mix of all nationalities.
"I started the company out of my house," Keake'akamai said. "We go everywhere now. It is a fun thing."
The Barefoot Hawaiian Inc. is located in Des Plaines, Ill. and hopes to have other locations someday, she said.
"We have the hula school, Hawaiian shop and the Professional Dancers Company," Keake'akamai said.
Dancers begin their season in September and continue until May every year, Keake'akamai said.
Of the professional performers, nine will be attending the 11th Annual Fire Knife Competition May 12 in Hawaii.
Last year, two of their performers made it into finals and they hope to continue the tradition this year, Keake'akamai said.
The Barefoot Hawaiian Inc. continued their performance tour this month, departing for Ohio Thursday.
"It's crazy, we are here today, and then we leave for another performance tomorrow," she said.
On the Web
To learn more about The Barefoot Hawaiian dancers, as well as view photographs of their performances, visit
www.barefoothawaiian.com
online or email Gwen Keake'akamai at
info@barefoothawaiian.com
.
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