From Susan Hutchison, amazing videos of male hula dancers. Ya’ll. Have a cool drink before you watch this.
There are other more recent videos but embedding has been disabled. Check them out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Er0cltTD50&playnext_from=TL&videos=xGjsT1KBQzU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xr1Wd17w-g&NR=1&feature=fvwp
The Merrie Monarch Week is a sacred event in the Hawaiian Islands. Tickets go on sale in December for the following April. The video may offer eye candy, but these dancers are dedicated to the art of Hula and what it represents to the Hawaiian people. When the European explorers “discovered” the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiians did not have a written language. Instead, they depended upon the hula to tell stories of their history, culture, and religion.
Historical Romance Author Jill Marie Landis lives on Kauai and attended the Merrie Monarch Week. She recently hosted a book signing with Kristin Hannah and Stella Cameron at the Kauai Borders – Jill Marie invited her local hula group to perform! Check out her blog for more info, http://www.jillmarielandis.com/
And I also talked about the Merrie Monarch Week in my monthly newsletter for the military charity, SOS America Inc.
http://sosaloha.blogspot.com/2010/04/april-celebrates-national-tartan-day.html
You can also find info about the Big Island of Hawaii, which hosts the annual competition, on the SOS Aloha Blogsite.
Enjoy the hula!
Sarah, thanks for the video … but we want more reports from RT! How was Mullet-Mania?
Whoa… that’s totally hot. Should have gotten that cold drink.
And my veri word is large77! LOL
Ummm, anyone else watching this and wondering if they had anything on under those loincloths?
Ya know, this was certainly no great hardship to watch. This, and male belly dancers…
In fact, why aren’t there more romances featuring male hula dancers? Never mind esoteric martial arts, paranormal flimflam, and Alpha rawr-ness. Just give a man I can dance with! With rhythmn!
Uh…whoops, spelling. Darn this borrowed, ergonomic keyboard. I meant, rhythm without extra ennnns.
But still want male hula or belly dance hero! Would be FUN.
Holy sexy hula men!
Kim, thanks for the information about Merrie Monarch Week.
Wow. Thanks for the info, Kim. It’s great to have background on the dance.
And…yeah, I’m pretty happy I decided to get a nice glass of ice water first.
Wow, I wish I could swivel my hips like that…
Loves the musculature created by controlled movements. Martial artists and dancers…I have a problem behaving around them.
Spamword: ideas94. Yes. that’s about accurate.
Huh. Wonder when that guy on the left lost his anklet.
…
…I’m … looking at the wrong place, aren’t I?
Hapax—anklet, they had anklets? I could take my eyes off other parts of their anatomy.
And the time it must have taken to practice this incredibly demanding dance in unison. Wow! Something so exciting about the effort going into practicing their religion and culture this way. I like a man with dedication—and great bodies too.
Beautiful culture and beautiful dancers!
However, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I kept hoping the “bows” holding up those costumes were going to slip! 🙂
I love watching cultural dances, being of Hispanic origin we have some of our own in Puerto Rico that are just lovely, but nothing compares to the beauty of Hawaiian and Maori dances. Controlled movement and storytelling is just amazing. Wow!
I love Friday Video’s loving the hula…that was one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen!
Since I don’t see getting back to Maui for a while, this is a nice reminder. The luau we attended had a cheesy host, but the dancers were breath-taking.
And for peace, love and happiness, everyone should check out Hawaiian slack key guitar music.
wow, real mix of feelings watching that! I found I had a great appreciation for how dificult the dance must be (I’m taking a yoga class, and noticed similar movements and poses – they ain’t easy!) combined with a ‘take it off! take it off!’ feeling towards those costumes! This made for a VERY nice start to my daily internet browsing 🙂 Mmmmmmmm…..
boy89 – Ok, it’s probably wrong to lust after a boy who was probably born close to ‘89 (my son’s age!)
Lexie asked, “Ummm, anyone else watching this and wondering if they had anything on under those loincloths?”
I don’t know the answer but I assume that Hawaiian dances, like Highland Warriors, do not wear anything under their “skirts”. But the question reminds me of a funny story that Jill Marie Landis shared with the RWA Aloha Chapter last month.
RWA hosted its national convention in 1995 on Waikiki Beach. Jill was the keynote speaker and invited a local chanter to perform a Hawaiian blessing to open the convention. 20 minutes before the speech, Jill spotted the chanter in a beautiful muumuu, but her male dancers were still dressed in tshirts/shorts. Before she could ask about their dress, the dancers spotted a waiter pushing a cart full of tableclothes. Using their Hawaiian ingenuity, they borrowed several table cloths, stripped themselves of Western clothes, and created their own native dress. The chanter and dancers delighted the RWA members!
So anything goes in the islands!
Just one of the many reasons I write Hawaiian Paranormal.
There is just something about watching beautiful dance done so well… I should have had that cool drink.
My favorite hula troupe is Na Lei Hulu I Ka W?kiu, based in the San Francisco, CA. They’re not very traditional and have some beautiful dances set to non-traditional music (classical, rap, techno, etc.). Of course, they do have traditional dances as well. I catch their show every fall and I’ve dragged many friends to see them as well as my 6-year-old niece.
http://www.naleihulu.org/
Beautiful men! Thank you!
Hapax – you weren’t the only one! I was watching to see if he was going to put it back on… unresolved gestalt!
Beautiful dancing. I love hula. I often wish I had had the opportunity to learn it. That and belly dancing. I still might!
Now that’s indigenous dancing! Woo!
All I know about Hawaii I learned from Lilo and Stitch so thanks for the info on Merrie Monarch Days.
I “discovered” hula a few weeks ago and Fell In Love. It is graceful and powerful and beautiful. Yes, the men of Ke Kai O Kahiki are GORGEOUS. But the different halaus have people of all body types, ages, weights etc and they are all amazing. These men and women are Strong!
I live in Missisippi and sat up until at least 4:30 AM three nights in row to watch the live stream from KFVE. If anyone is interested, all of this year’s competition is still posted on their website at:
http://www.kfve.com/Global/category.asp?C=185589
There are also behind the scene interviews and such at:
http://www.kfve.com/Global/category.asp?C=184055&nav=menu177_2
Check Miss Aloha Hula 2009, Cherissa Henohean?puaikawaokele K?ne. Her halau, Halau Kealaokamaile, swept the women’s division this year.
I can’t imagine I won’t be watching every year from now on. It is beautiful.
I’m fairly impressed at the hip swivelling. Also considering a move to Hawaii…
Erica: I was thinking of the Maori dances, too, while watching these guys. Really enthralling, IMO.
I love that the hula is their language. I’d totally stay up and watch a live feed of the Merrie Monarch. Totally amazing.
When is there going to be an RT/RWA in Hawaii again?!
Wow. That was… intensely masculine. And gorgeous. I <3 hula.