Photographer Rebecca Breyer and I will be heading out early to interview the new Miss Aloha Hula, Keonilei Ku’uwehiokala Kaniaupio Fairbanks, but I got a chance to talk briefly with her after her win, so, for those who just can’t wait for the scoops, a few quick facts before I tuck in for the night:
She’s 24, a graduate student in Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawaiçi. She teaches high school math in Hawaiian at ‘Anuenue Charter School. She began studying with Maelia Loebenstein Carter when she was 14 and is the kumu’s first Miss Aloha winner for Ka Pa Hula O Kauanoe O Wa’ahila. And despite her long Hawaiian name, she’s known to one and all as “Ti.”
Loebenstein Carter, a former Miss Aloha Hula herself, said of Fairbanks: “She has a light. She’s got a spirit that everybody wants to see. Part of it is she has such a strong faith in God and in her family and in herself as a Hawaiian woman.” In the halau, Loebenstein Carter said, Fairbanks is “everybody’s sister.”
Fairbanks, who was extremely popular with the crowd, greeted by enthusiastic shouts when she neared the stage on both occasions. Her kahiko number, “Lamalama O Mamala,” is the story of a sporting demi-goddess of O’ahu who enjoyed surfing, playing Hawaiian checkers and drinking ‘awa. Fairbanks performed it with verve, her chanting strong and clear and her face and body so expressive that she kept the viewer’s attention throughout. Her ‘auana number was a love song, “O Ko’u Aloha Ia ‘Oe,” by the late Johnny K. Almeida, written for his first wife, and Fairbanks sunk herself into the lovely mood of the song without overacting.
Fairbanks won the Hawaiian Language Award as well as the overall prize, and that was to be expected; her mother is a Hawaiian language teacher and she grew up steeped in that aspect of the culture.
You’ll have to wait until tomorrow for more; we’ll be interviewing, photographing and shooting a short video, too.
A final thought or two: I always watch for trends at Merrie Monarch and I noticed several this year, though it’s early to tell if they’ll be carried through to the group competition, which starts tomorrow night with kahiko:
• Lei that don’t match the dress but are set off by it (there was orange akulekule with a blue dress, for example, and it looked smashing).
• Orange was another trend, seen in every shade from peach to flame.
• Birds, for some reason, were featured in quite a few of the mele. I think it’s a challenge for a hula dancer to move like a bird; if you’re not particularly graceful, you end up looking like a windmill. Everyone tonight was so graceful they pulled it off beautifully, though some choreography was more creative and challenging than others.
• The dresses for ‘auana seemed a bit more interesting this year, less obviously hula dresses. Two were distinctly period costumes and several looked as though they might have gone as readily to prom or out to dinner as to the stage at Merrie Monarch.
Here’s the Miss Aloha Hula winner list, in case you missed it. Kala mai for not being able to use all the diacriticals due to the format of this blog software:
1. Keonilei Ku’uwehiokala Kaniaupio Fairbanks, Ka Pa Hula O Kauanoe O Waçahila, 1609 points.
2. Aureana Kamali’io’iwalani Tseu, Hula Halau O Kamuela, 1527 points.
3. Erica Kauçionalani Awana, Halau Mohala ‘Ilima, 1512 points.
4. Malia Ann Marks, Hälau Hula Olana, 1501 points.
5. Lewalani Duarte; Keolalaulani Halau ‘Olapa O Laka, 1496 points.
Hawaiian Language Award: Keonilei Kuçuwehiokala Kaniaupio Fairbanks, Ka Pa Hula O Kauanoe O Wa’ahila, 49 points.