Special Olympics West Hawaii

About 20 members of the Hula Halau Makanani - Kona Class performed a variety of dances June 14 at Kona United Methodist Church. The halau, led by kumu Lona Warner, wowed the cheering audience of families and friends.

“Our Special Olympics kane did a great job,” said Nikki Cleintuar, longtime volunteer for Special Olympics West Hawaii and Hula Halau Makanani participant. “They pulled out all the stops, performing the dances they’ve been learning and practicing for the past six months.”

The following fabulous photos of the performance and captions are from Nikki. Enjoy!

Adrian Cleintuar is joined by wahine dancers Patti (left) and Marcia (right) for “Island Of Love,” a dance about Kauai.

Duke Kaawa coordinates moves to frontline dancer Lisa Grieg in “Island Of Love.”

Halau Makanani’s traditional “last hula” of every performance includes all dances. It is a beautiful reverent medley of “Walk Through Paradise/Kanaka Waiwai” sung in both English and Hawaiian by Melveen Leed. Pictured left to right are Madeline Follesco, Shane Follesco, Duke Kaawa, Nikki Cleintuar, Amy Chang, Doreen Parker, Ray (Kealoha) Donager and Lisa Greig.

Kane and wahine perform this old favorite using a variety of implements, including ipu, kalaau, pu and puili. Pictured left to right are Duke Kaawa, kumu Lona Warner, Shane Follesco, Madeline Follesco, Ray (Kealoha) Donager, Doreen Parker and Adrian Cleintuar.

Ray (Kealoha) Donager is amazing at getting the poi balls to do exactly what he wants. Here he performs a Maori dance called Hoki Hoki.

This is a lively dance that comes from Tahiti. Dancers Patti, Adrian and Marcia perform Tamure using implements called ii.

By Carolyn Lucas | SOWH Online Communications Director

Hula is a way of life. It has preserved history through oral tradition and expressed the soul of spirituality. Every movement has a specific meaning and every expression is of great significance. The sacred chants communicated with the gods, recorded genealogy and events. Hula honored the Hawaiian chiefs, portrayed nature, celebrated humanity and told provocative stories.

Hip-swaying Special Olympians, along with their friends and families, are a part of Hula Halau Makanani. They are learning, performing and enjoying hula with help from Kumu Lona Warner.

Enjoy the following photos of recent shows. The images and captions came from the extraordinary Nikki Cleintuar.

Hula Halau Makanani kane & wahine pose after their performance May 10, 2008, at Crossroads Center. They are standing in front of Kamaaina Diamonds. It was to promote the Kailua-Kona store’s pre-Mother’s Day sale. Pictured in the front row are: Duke Kaawa, Shane Follosco, Ray Donager and Adrian Cleintuar. Back row has Dawn Karasaki, Bonnie Jones, Kumu Lona Warner, Madeline Follosco, Barbara Bach, Cheryl Weaver, Janice Patterson and Nikki Cleintuar.

Hula Halau Makanani Kumu Lona Warner dances at the KIM 2007 Christmas show. Warner also serves as Special Olympics West Hawaii’s head of delegation, which is second in command to the area director. Many are grateful to Warner for giving the athletes the opportunity to learn hula and Hawaiian cultural traditions. This is something Special Olympians have always wanted to do, but there was no one until Warner, who had confidence in their potential as dancers.

Halau Makanani Intermediate Class dancers perform an auana dance at the KIM Christmas 2007 show. Pictured are MaryAnne Ierides, Cheryl Weaver, Dawn Karasaki, Janice Patterson and Barbara Bach.

Ekahi Class wahine and kane perform “Ahulili” at the KIM Christmas show in December 2007. This dance uses gourd implements (ipu) for percussion. In the background, Carl Warner handles the sound.

Kealoha “Ray” Donager, Shane Follosco and Adrian Cleintuar perform a Maori canoe dance called “Na Waka” at the Kona International Market during the Christmas show in December 2007. In the background, the man in the Santa cap is the sound engineer Carl Warner.