Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/1508325
Hawaiian Dance at Ocean Hills—a Legacy of Aloha Hawaiian dance came to Ocean Hills in the mid-1990s in the beautiful form of Marilee Garcia. Marilee had been a professional dancer gied in various dances of the Polynesian islands, including Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, e Philippines, and the Māori of New Zealand. She performed throughout California, once even appearing as the opening act for Bob Hope with her two partners. Marilee was well-versed in the history of Hawaii, its people, and its culture, particularly its long tradition of dance. She brought with her not only expertise in dancing, but an accomplished ability to teach. She taught us many different types of dances, from traditional chants to the fiery Haka, and being an excellent seamstress, she even made most of our costumes. Marilee taught until she retired at age 90 in 2018. She had suffered a stroke a few years earlier but worked her way back to keep up her classes here. At the height of her time here, she had three classes and about 24 students. We performed a big show in Abravanel Hall every other year, always with sets, costumes, and a highly entertaining program. She always commandeered a group of willing men to perform dances traditionally done by men. We were sought aer, performed at the many luaus held by various clubs, both here and at other venues. Aer 2011, our numbers were not large enough to produce our own show, so the tap teacher agreed that we would have two numbers in the tap production, which has continued to the present. Aer Marilee's retirement, I happened to see a very exciting program put on by Kailani's Wahines that included very professional dancers, including men who did the famous fire dance. Our group had dwindled to five or six at that point, and we decided to hire Kailani to get us back to performing and to increase our numbers. Kailani has proven to be knowledgeable, fun, and a woman of many talents. We have enjoyed the experience of working with her, and our class has grown. She put together two excellent numbers for our last big show, did a solo herself, and we are again looking to perform in the March 8 and 9, 2024 program. e lure of the islands remains, and I suspect we will hear Hawaiian melodies waing from the Mykonos room for many years to come. ~ Valerie ompson 14 | OHCC LIVING | OCTOBER 2023 | Ocean Hills Dance Troupe