Project Title: Nä Ali’i
Recipient Organization: Pacific Islanders’ Cultural Association
Lead Artist: Käwika Hiwahiwa Alfiche and Hälau Aloha Pumehana o Polynesia
Genre and Date Awarded: Traditional Arts, June 2003
To Be Completed: June 2004

Käwika Hiwahiwa Alfiche (Käwika Alfiche), founder and artistic director of Halau Aloha Pumehana o Polynesia, will collaborate with Pacific Islanders’ Cultural Association to create Nä Ali’i, a new performance work about four specific members of Hawaiian royalty (ali’i) and their effect on the culture’s history.

Members of the ali’i class were believed to be direct descendants of the gods and treated as such. Hawaiians composed many mele (songs) and hula (dances) to capture the greatness of their ali’i. The piece will begin with Kamehameha the Great, who first united the island nation, and progress to Queen Lili’uokalani, the last reigning monarch, who was taken from her throne by a foreign government. By presenting an historically accurate work in an affecting manner, the collaborators seek to enhance understanding of Hawaiian culture among Bay Area residents, particularly those in the Hawaiian community.

Stories will be told through traditional hula, mele hula and mele oli (dance, songs and chants), possible documentary clips of interviews with kupuna (elders of the community) and an historical narrative. The artists also will exhibit representative artifacts at the production. The Pacific Islanders’ Cultural Association will collaborate with the lead artist Käwika Alfiche and the company members on research, collecting the art and artifacts, and managing details of concert production. The project will culminate with production of the work in summer 2004.

Hälau Aloha Pumehana o Polynesia is a traditional, non-competing hälau hula (dance group) committed to perpetuating the Hawaiian culture. The group’s primary performance focus is on hula kahiko (ancient style of dance). Its founder and artistic, Käwika Alfiche, studied with some of Hawai‘i’s great traditional practitioners.

Pacific Islanders Cultural Association’s (PICA’s) goals are to educate and inform the general public, as well as members of the community who are separated from the islands, about their cultural origins. The organization works to advance the education, health, and welfare of the Pacific Islander community, and to foster pride in cultural ideals, history, and traditional and contemporary arts and crafts. Among other activities, PICA has produced the Aloha Festival annually since 1996 in San Francisco.

LEAD ARTIST

Käwika Hiwahiwa Alfiche (Käwika Alfiche) is founder and artistic director of Hula Halau Aloha Pumehana o Polynesia. His legacy of traditional Hawaiian knowledge comes from Kumu Hula and mentors: Ray Kahikilaulani Fonseca of Hilo, Hawai‘i, Kehaulani Kekua of Anahola, Kaua‘i, Hökülani Holt-Padilla of Wailuku, Maui, Harriet Spaulding of Keaukaha Hawai‘i, and Tiare Clifford of Kaua‘i.

Hälau Aloha Pumehana o Polynesia is a traditional, non-competing hälau hula (dance group) committed to perpetuating the Hawaiian culture, including oli (chant), mele (traditional songs), himeni (modern songs), nä mea hula (arts, crafts, implements), lole hula (hula attire), _`Ölelo (language), mo’olelo (stories) and ceremonial practices. The group’s primary performance focus is on hula kahiko (ancient style of dance).

• Ka Wä Hula, Phoenix, AZ, hour-long original hula drama, 2002
• Aloha Festival, San Francisco, 30-minute presentation of hula kahiko (ancient dances), 2002
• 24^th Annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, 15-minute suite of chants and dances, 2002
• Arizona Aloha Festival, Phoenix, AZ, 30-minute performance of chants and dances, 2002
• 23^rd Annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, 15-minute program of chants and dances about Hana, Maui, 2001
• Aloha Festival, 30-minute presentation of contemporary mele (songs), done in ancient style, 2000
• HO’IKE: Polynesian Medley, Mercy High School, San Francisco, 1999
• Aloha Festival, 30-minute presentation celebrating the travels of Kalakaua, 1998
• Aloha Festival, 30-minute presentation relating to Hawaiian royalty, 1997
• HO’IKE: A Journey Home, at the Fashion Center, 1997

Featured on KQED's "Spark" program.

http://www.kqed.org/spark/artists-org/hulahalau.jsp