Winners shown with Moku O Keawe Foundation Advisory Board members Sig Zane, son Kuhao Zane and wife Nalani Kanaka’ole who served as hula competition judge. (Photo courtesy of MOKIF)

MEDIA RELEASE

7th Annual Moku O Keawe International Hula Festival
Nov. 1-3, 2012 at Waikoloa Beach Resort

Winners of the 7th Annual Moku O Keawe International Hula Festival were announced Saturday night to an enthusiastic crowd at Waikoloa Bowl in Queens’ Gardens.

Awards were presented to Makua Solo, Wahine Solo and Wahine Halau, after three nights of competition in ancient Kahiko and modern Auana divisions. (Kupuna Halau and Solo winners were announced Friday).

The top-scoring Wahine Halau was Hui Hula Naleikalakupua (1,102 points) from Japan, under the direction of Kumu Hula Yukiko Hanayama.

In second place was Hawaii Island’s own Beamer-Solomon Halau O Poohala (1,089 points), Kumu Hula Hulali Solomon Covington. Covington’s niece, Leiomalama Solomon, won the Wahine Solo title; she performed “Kimo Hula,” composed by her great-great-grandmother Helen Desha Beamer, for the auana selection.

Fourteen halau — seven from Japan, six from Hawaii and one from Mexico — competed in the three-night event, which also featured Hawaiian cultural workshops and Made-in-Hawaii Marketplace during the day at Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort and Spa.

WINNERS 7th Annual Moku O Keawe International Hula Festival:

2nd Place Makua Solo Hula: Kyushu Hawaiian Association Kamalu Lani, 490 points
Kumu Hula: Keiko Ito
Soloist: Sanami Hayashi

1st Place Makua Solo Hula: Hula Halau Kahula O Hawaii, 545 points
Kumu Hula: Kyoko Kubokawa
Soloist: Miyuki Iota

3rd Place Wahine Hula: Kyushu Hawaiian Association Kamalu Lani, 1,084 points
Kumu Hula: Keiko Ito

2nd Place Wahine Hula: Beamer-Solomon Halau O Poohala, 1,089 points
Kumu Hula: Hulali Solomon Covington

1st Place Wahine Hula: Hui Hula Naleikalakupua, 1,102 points
Kumu Hula: Yukiko Hanayama

3rd Place Solo Hula: Koga Mamina Hula Studio, 1,009 points
Kumu Hula: Mamina Koga
Soloist: Hiromi Sato

2nd Place Solo Hula: Hula Halau Kahula O Hawaii, 1,018 points
Kumu Hula: Kyoko Kubokawa
Soloist: Megumi Toyosawa

1st Place Solo Hula: Beamer-Solomon Halau O Poohala 1,086 points
Kumu Hula: Hulali Solomon Covington
Soloist: Leiomalama Solomon

3rd Place Kupuna Hula: Hui Hula Naleikalakupua, 598 points
Kumu Hula: Yukiko Hanayama

2nd Place Kupuna Hula: Hula Halau Plumeria Kamalu Lani, 618 points
Kumu Hula: Harumi Soejima

1st Place Kupuna Hula: Halau I Ka Wekiu, 634 points
Kumu Hula: Karl Veto Baker and Michael Casupang

The Moku O Keawe International Festival is sponsored by the Moku O Keawe Foundation, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing, enriching and educating the practice and development of hula and its associated arts.

Sponsors include Waikoloa Beach Resort, the Hawaii Tourism Authority/County of Hawaii CPEP Program and others.

— Find out more:
www.MOKIF.com/updates