Something To Think About...

What are the defining attributes which serve to distinguish the hula from other forms of dance?  The hula dancer maintains an erect posture with flexed knees and pelvis thrust slightly forward.  A basic position for the arms is that of being quietly held at shoulder height.  Hand and arm movements may extend outward, upward or downward, but tend to be symmetrical (to one and then the other side of the body) and parallel.  The head is normally held erect.  Footwork compliments the symmetry and flow of arm and body movement.  The orientation of the dancer (s) is that facing the viewer (s).  to turn one's back to the viewer (s) is considered bad form.

Hula attire and adornment are manifold and appropriate to era, topic/theme, gender and color symbolism.  Hula, whether depicting a pre- or post-contact setting, is also distinguishable by its musical accompaniment, with percussion instrumentation for the former and string and electronically-amplified instrumentation dominating the latter...

Hula accompanies the song and not vice versa.  That is to say, song can be performed without dance, but hula is never performed without song, for it is the message of the song which is paramount....

Pre-modern hula recounted and celebrated the deeds and passions of deities, ancestors, chiefs, heroes and heroines, with human dramas firmly and poignantly set in the context of the natural elements....

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