Dancing in the Sea of Life Hula Newsletter

Transcription

1 Dancing in the Sea of Life Hula Newsletter

2 "Puʻu Kānehoalani - the royal companion of Kāne" Photograph by Janet L. Clark He 'opu halau. A house-like stomach. A heart as big as a house. Said of a person who is kind, gracious and hospitable. 'Olelo No'eau - The Hawaiian Book of Proverbs & Poetical Sayings Collected and Edited by Mary Kawena Pukui Join Our List In This Issue David Joel Spencer Many Traditions One Heart March 2014 Here in America we think that a-stomach-as-big-as-a-house literally means overeating and the resulting body fat. But in this 'olelo no'eau (Hawaiian proverb), the meaning is less literal. It refers to a very big-hearted person - someone who is kind, gracious and hospitable. It refers to the disposition of one's state of mind. Hawaiians believe that the seat of thought, intelligence and moral powers resides in their na'au (small intestines, gut). Na'au also means heart, mind. Today we think of the heart as the seat of moral powers. We value being open-hearted - compassionate, gracious and generous. But sometimes it feels like we have lost these abilities - especially when facing difficulties. How can we be loving, when anger, hatred, jealousy and impatience arise? An Afternoon of Native

3 Dance, Song and Storytelling We're excited about the upcoming collaboration with the American Indian Center and Halau i Ka Pono featuring Native American Indian and Hawaiian dance! This performance is made possible by the Chicago Community Trust. Proceeds go to fund the continuing work of cultural preservation by these two organizations. $10 in advance $15 at the door $7 for seniors, students, people with disabilities, military personnel. Sunday, March 30th 2-4 pm 19th Century Club 178 Forest Avenue Oak Park, IL Get Your Tickets Today! The Hawaiian Volcano Goddess, Pele, can easily exhibit such emotions. She can be totally consumed by anger and jealousy. And when she acts on her feelings, there is total destruction of anything in her way. We have many such stories about her that we secretly love. Why? Because she mirrors our own negativity - our emotions that seem to just flare up out of nowhere and trap us in a negative reaction, compulsively replaying past "Pele" by Herb Kane and the cover of the popular novel - Daughters of Fire - set on the Big Island of Hawaii by Tom Peek scenes in our head. How can we escape these feedback loops that keep us stuck and unhappy? One way is to be kind and gracious to yourself. Give yourself some empathy. Allow yourself to pause and notice how your body is feeling. Are you off-kilter, short of breath with a racing pulse? If so breathe deeply. Then notice if you're also judging yourself. Are you being hard on yourself or blaming others? Just acknowledge your feelings and be ok with the process and return to your breath. This is one way to build space around your emotions and not be totally consumed by them. HULA CLASSES If you're a meditator like me, take at least five minutes to sit and give your mind and body a chance to settle down. This is a way to be kind to yourself, to calm down and be able to think clearly about what path to take

4 next. It works for me. Yet there are moments when it seems impossible to be compassionate - such as when we're too tired, hungry, sick, or stressed. A friend once told me the term "deferred maintenance" - putting off housekeeping - as being illadvised. Adult NEW Beginner Hula Classes A wonderful way to feel the energy of Hawaii, gently tone your body, strengthen your core, and enjoy dancing to the beautiful music of Hawaii. No experience necessary. Men, Women age 16 years and older welcome! Mondays 6-7 pm Tuesdays 11 am - 12 noon Saturdays The same is true for our bodies. Committing to a discipline that regularly cares for our bodies and minds is a good way to train to be a compassionate person. We all know what's good for our bodies - get enough sleep, good food, water, and regular exercise (like hula). Likewise, committing to a regular meditation practice is a good way to train the mind in compassion. There are a lot of different ways to meditate. You might want more instruction at some point, but the main thing is sitting still, feeling the breath and noticing what's going on. There is no right or wrong way. A new season is on the way - rebirth, starting fresh. Let's make a more conscious effort to schedule caring for our bodies and minds. Kind caring for others goes hand-inhand with self-caring. Let's all spring-clean our heart's house. Malama pono (Take care of body, mind and heart), June Kaililani Tanoue Kumu Hula 8:30-9:30 AM Auana Modern Hula Men, Women aged 16 years and older. 6 months experience or permission of Kumu. Dance to the melodic music of Hawaii. P.S. Here's a hula to a beautiful song written and sung by Jason Poole. It speaks of the beauty of Halawa Bay and how we need to listen to our kupuna (elders) and malama (take care) of the land for our children.

5 Wednesdays 7-8 PM Beginning Kahiko Classical Hula Go deeper into the culture of Hawaii through the chants and hula of Hawaii. Men and women age 16 years and older. 6 months experience or permission of Kumu. Wednesdays 6-7 PM Advanced Hula Adults 1 year experience or permission of Kumu. Mondays 7-9 pm Fridays 10 am - 12 noon David Joel Spencer Healing Waters Hula Check our website for class schedules. All classes are held at our sister organization: Zen Life & Meditation Center 38 Lake Street Oak Park, IL. For more information call or

6 Kumu Hula Michael Pili Pang returns to Chicago! May 9-11, 2014 Hula & Oli Workshops; Hawaiian, History and Art Conference; and Hula Performance at DePaul University's Courtelyou Commons All events at DePaul University are Free and Open to the Public Dave Spencer, MA is a graduate in Arts Administration and Policy Program from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. and works in development at the American Indian Center. His father is Diné (or Navajo) from New Mexico and mother is Chata (or Choctaw) from Mississippi. They relocated Dave Spencer to Chicago in the early 1960s. Dave was born in Chicago and raised in Wicker Park on the near north side. Although his parents are fluent in their respective languages and knowledgeable of their tribal practices, Dave and his siblings were not raised in a cultural environment. When they were exposed to culture, it was through powwow (a gathering of myriad respective tribal people that share a circle to culturally exchange and celebrate via songs and dances). Dave still struggles with his tribal identity and believes that he's attained an urban Indian identity which is vastly different - a more intertribal and urban-base as opposed to tribal specific. Dave sings and drums which keeps him very connected to his culture. Dave Spencer began by telling us about his cultural practice. Thousands of stories, both humorous and tragic, have connected me to the oral tradition. In 1996, a traditional practitioner gifted me an "internal

7 Mark your calendars for another unforgettable Hawaiian experience! Registration for Hula workshops available soon. MAHALO!!! THANK YOU!!! We are very grateful to everyone who helps Kumu June and Halau i Ka Pono with contributions of time or funding. Both are so valuable to us! WARM MAHALOS In February To: Hoda Boyer, Janet L. Clark, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Hao Hao Wang, Lynn Leinartas, Susana Banuelos and Afterschool Matters, Nkosi Harvey, Lori Murphy, Czerina Salud, Nicole Sumida, Sarah Evans, JoEllyn Romano, Karen Mansfield, Nineteenth Century Club, Jason Poole, Yvette Wynn, Ed Leinartas, Fowzi Kelty, Dave Spencer, American Indian Center, Mary Susan Chen, Pua Case, Robert Joshin Althouse. opportunity" to become a oral practitioner. Thus, I am singer of intertribal powwow songs. My teacher, Sterling Big Bear Jr., of the Ponca Nation (Oklahoma), brought me to the Drum and taught me Soldier Dance Songs that contributed to the continuum of song, language and cultural practice in Chicago. After 18 years, I still consider myself a novice singer because Drum culture is very complex. The Drum (or Grandfather) is vital to our way of life as he provides the means to communicate with the spirits. For the sake of brevity, Grandfather is life who possesses medicine. Grandfather is a person of different form. Grandfather is our relation, an immediate family member. My role as a singer in Chicago is critical due to the dissipating number of singers in this local Native community. There are approximately 35 Native singers that serve a population of 65,000 Native people in Chicago. I continue to practice the oral tradition at the American Indian Center (AIC) for various community events and family requests. I cannot stress the importance of songs for community/family situations. Part of my cultural practice and process is to observe other singers at various powwows to learn new songs and decipher what songs are appropriate for/to dance styles and events (i.e. memorials, journeys, celebration, etc). I continue to participate because this is the responsibility I committed to at the start of my learning. It is an honor to be a singer to fulfill a community need. In 2006, I completed my Masters of Arts in the Arts Administration and Policy Program at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Due to my involvement with the community and the AIC, I chose this path of study to combat years of misrepresentation of the diverse indigenous culture and existence, while creating a means for cultural retention resulting in Native empowerment. My academic experience as a Native student has been full of stereotypical non-first-voice information that continues to be recycled every school year. Thus, my ambition to conceive and implement first-voice arts programming at the AIC is vital to the future of not only indigenous people, but to the general

8 population who are exposed to the romanticized indigenous culture. I continue to present and amplify Native issues through various arts programs and visual arts exhibitions while pursuing equality and opportunity in the quest for arts grant funding, as grantors are consistently disinvesting in the underserved Native communities of the United States. I am very excited and elated to collaborate with Halau i Ka Pono via the Native Eshikagou Powwow60 Series. This is a vital opportunity to speak to an audience about Native cultural practice of the Western Hemisphere. Although performances stem from indigenous ideologies, it is also an opportunity to culturally share inclusively. We are looking forward to round-dancing with everyone in attendance. Letters from Our Readers Last month I wrote about selling our home and downsizing. Mahalo to Barbara Helynn in Seattle for her response and sending this photo. ~ JT Aloha June, I am a hula dancer in Seattle, dancing with Na Lei o Manu'akepa and kumu hula 'Iwalani Christian. I always read your newsletters with appreciation and delight. Thank you for your written sharing. Several years ago my mother sold our family home in New Hampshire which my grandparents had lived in before her and where I had visited my entire life - almost 6 decades. This is a very sp...ecial home to me; my roots are there. As the finalization of the sale approached I felt sad, my breath was uneasy, and I kept thinking to myself, "I'll never be able to go inside our home again." I felt a cry lump in my heart and throat though no tears flowed. My friend Sasha suggested this meditative cleansing process

9 which I have loved. She suggested, " In your mind's eye go through every room in the house and carefully pack your belongings and your memories into your memory suitcase. Take your time and enjoy the process. As you go through each room and pack your memories you will clean the house to prepare it for the next people who will live there. Know that after you have moved on and left the home, anytime you wish to you can open your memory suitcase and once again enjoy the memories; your memories are safe in this special suitcase. Also, anytime you wish to you can fly back over the house like an angel to check up on it, and see how it's doing." Doing this meditation has been so helpful to me. Years later, I still savor taking my memories out of the suitcase to enjoy again, and I still on occasion fly over the house like an angel to say hello. aloha wale, Barbara Helynn P.S. One of my memories in my parents and grandparents home is of hosting Maka'ala Yates, my lomilomi massage teacher, to teach classes there. This is a picture from one of the classes taken in the living room of us opening and/or closing class with a Hawaiian chant. About Us

10 Halau i Ka Pono - the Hula School of Chicago is a sister program of the Zen Life & Meditation Center of Chicago located in Oak Park, IL. Kumu Hula June Kaililani Tanoue established the school in 2009 and has been teaching hula since Halau i Ka Pono means School that Cultivates the Goodness. We teach the Hula which is the art of Hawaiian dance expressing all that we see, hear, taste, touch, and feel. Hula and healing go hand in hand in our halau. The dance connects us to the grounding energy of the earth and opens us to the warm spirit of Aloha (love). Come join us! Beginners are welcome! Please communicate with us! Contact Kumu June at june.tanoue@zlmc.org for more information. May your lives be full of aloha blessings!