To experience Hawaii, one has to smell the gardenias, feel the rhythm of the ocean and hear the beat of ancient drums. Nonetheless, Gloria Fujii has found a way to fool the senses and transport Seattleites to an island oasis - in Wedgwood.
The local hula instructor leads "tours" of the islands every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at Concordia Lutheran Church, 7040 36th Ave. N.E. Fujii's school, Halau Hula O' Napualani, offers classes in hula, Tahitian and Maori dancing, but she teaches more than just the steps.
"We take them to the islands, to a waterfall, to a mountain peak," Fujii said. "I want my students to feel all of that. I bring in the flowers of Hawaii. I bring in the music of Hawaii."
Learning the culture
In addition to footwork, her students study the culture of the islands.
"We do some relaxing story time, where we talk about the songs we are learning and where they come from," Fujii said. "I really want people to feel like they can pick themselves up and go back in time.
"Before [the Hawaiians] had any written language, they passed on their history and told of their culture through the language of the hula dance," Fujii said.
Traditionally, men did these story-telling dances, but today most of Fujii's students are women.
She schools these students in both the flowing movements of modern hula and the bolder style of ancient hula. Until the 1940s, Fujii said, the dance was "more rhythmic and bombastic" with movements that were "low to the ground."
"Modern day hula seems to be more romantic. It's more lively," she explained.
In addition to hula, students also can explore Tahitian dancing and drumming. The fast movements are "very pulsating, very exciting," Fujii said. "They really speak to the language of the drums."
Students also can try out the more restrained steps of Maori dancing. This style originated in New Zealand and has "more of a native Indian feel," said Fujii, who also serves as the school's choreographer and artistic director.
"They don't move around as much," she added.
Instead, they use hand movements and facial expressions. Rather than moving with gusto, the dancers sing boldly and make subtle movements such as raising their eyebrows.
"They are singing their story more than they are dancing their story," she said.
Something for everyone
In addition to a wide range of classes, Fujii's school attracts a diverse body of students.
"We teach classes to all age groups," she said, adding that students can start as young as age 4 and can dance for decades.
Halau Hula O' Napualani offers classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced dancers, as well as courses designed for mothers and daughters.
A few students "were raised in the islands" and "wanted to have a sense of the Hawaiian community," said Fujii, who grew up on Oahu.
However, with just 14,000 Hawaiians in Washington state, she said, "Hawaiians are a minority in the classes."
Most of her students are "people who have been there and loved it and didn't want to lose it," she explained.
One such student, Andree Chicha, started hula dancing in 2000, after a trip to Hawaii. "I looked at the dancers and realized they were older," she said.
Inspired by the women who were still swaying into their 40s, Chicha signed up for classes when she returned to the Northwest.
"I just flat-out love it," said Chicha, who dances with Halau Hula O' Napualani three nights a week.
Students get hooked because "it is a wonderful stress relief," Fujii said.
She notes that many of her students are professional women such as flight attendants, doctors, teachers, real estate agents and lawyers.
"They come in dragging, and they leave ready for the world again, recharged. They feel as if they have just come back from the islands."
Chicha agreed: "As an attorney, life can be pretty stressful, and driving in traffic for an hour to hula class can be stressful, too. But five minutes in the door and that all goes away."
Long-running classes
Fujii speculates that the stress-busting benefits of dancing and the tranquil island atmosphere of her classes are what keep her school thriving. She started the school in 1971 while studying at the University of Washington; now Halau Hula O' Napualani is the oldest Hawaiian dance school in Seattle.
Fujii's first class had just 10 students, but now the school has multiplied to include about 100 dancers.
For more information about Halau Hula O' Napualani of Wedgwood, visit www.alohaislandtreasures.com or call 417-9566.
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