Gary Moskowitz
Miki Lani and a group of hula dancers are preparing to bring the
"aloha spirit" to Glendale on Sunday.
The Van Nuys-based "Royal Ladies That Sit on the Rainbow" Hawaiian
dance group will perform their Kanikapila 2003 show at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday in Carlson Fellowship Center at the First United Methodist
Church of Glendale, 134 N. Kenwood St.
The show, which is open to the public, is the group's first
performance in Glendale. Tickets are $15 in advance, and $20 at the
door. Additional parking is available in the Glendale Unified School
District parking lot across the street from the church, at 223 N.
Jackson St.
Members of the 50-person group, and three Hawaiian musicians, will
perform traditional and modern Hawaiian dances at Sunday's show, said
Lani, the group's teacher.
"I feel that people's body language suddenly changes just by
talking about Hawaii," Lani said. "It's that aloha spirit that we
will share with people this weekend.
"Hollywood depicted hula girls in the past as slim women only, but
that is not the case. The original hula dancers were men. And now, we
have mostly women of all ages, shapes and sizes."
The performing group's Hawaiian name is Halau Hula 'O
Kawahineali'inoho' ikeanuenue-'elua, Lani said. The group has been
together for three years and performs once each year in Hawaii.
Group member Marta Zimmerman said people who attend Sunday's
performance can expect to be "moved."
"We want to transplant people to Hawaii through dance," Zimmerman
said. "And it won't be the typical hula dance that most people think
of. We will do a mix of traditional and modern dances."
The group, which rehearses weekly in Burbank and Temple City, has
all female members now, but next year hopes to recruit men, Zimmerman
said.
