DANCERS UNLIMITED: SPRING COMMUNITY WEEK
10 – 9:30PM
Honoring our companyʻs roots in Hawaiʻi, we are excited to partner with designer Kauila Kanakaʻole, the great-grandson of beloved Kumu Hula Edith Kanakaʻole. Bearing his family tradition and knowledge in Hula and Chants, along with his training in fashion design from The New School, Kauila is unveiling “Ola Ka Huakaʻihele O Hiʻiaka”, or Becoming Hiʻiaka - a fashion show that is rooted in traditions and ceremonies, and is a celebration of Hawaiian resilience and ingenuity.
Other notable collaborators of the week include Uncle Calvin Hoe, a Smithsonian-featured Hawaiian Master Instrument Maker and Musician, and AAPI dancers and movement artists who create work in New York City.
May 22nd, 2023
VERSD FUNDRAISER CLASSES
Peridance
126 E 13th St, New York, NY
The donation-based fundraiser classes at Peridance Center are taught by AAPI artists who create work in NYC. All proceeds are donated to The Lenape Center, as a part of our land acknowledgement practice.
10-11:30am - Yoga with Aminry May Reyna
11:30-1pm - Company Class with Dancers Unlimited
2:30-4pm - Contemporary Fusion with Anthony Aiu
4-5:30pm - Ori Tahiti with Anthony Aiu
6:30-8pm - Self Defense with Asian Defense Alliance
(Registration available through VERSD on dunyc-hi.com)
May 24th & 27th, 2023
UNCLE CALVIN HOE WORKSHOPS
La Mama
47 Great Jones Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10012
Hula Kiʻi s an endangered Hula art form. In the workshops, Uncle Calvin will lead activities including making kiʻi with coconuts, teach Hula and mele about Hawaiʻi, and facilitate a mini in-workshop performance.
24th: 5:30-7pm, Hula Ki'i (Puppetry)
27th: 1-2pm, Hula Ki'i (Family and Kids)
(Registration available through LaMama, and dunyc-hi.com)
May 27th, 2023
OLA KA HUAKA'IHELE O HI'IAKA (Becoming Hiiaka) FASHION SHOW
Peridance
126 E 13th St, New York, NY
As we celebrate culture and identity this year, fashion designer Kauila Kanakaʻole, grandson of the legendary Hawaiian family of hula and chant practitioners, to create the story and designs of the fashion show, Ola Ka Huakaʻihele O Hiʻiaka / Becoming Hiʻiaka, where Fashion and live performance art connect hand in hand in this earnest yet cultural storytelling.
Beginning with the origins chant then onto the reclamation and then concluding with audience participation, the performance is designed for the audience to feel the vibration of Hawaiian culture and how it is connected to the land and space we live on.
Kanakaʻole is creating fashion garments rooted in traditions and ceremonies passed down for generations in his family, and his training in fashion and apparel design from The New School.