Two Maui women in running for Miss Aloha Hula title
Soloist competition is Thursday as Merrie Monarch Festival gets underway
Riann Nalani Michiko Fujihara will represent Halau o Ka Hanu Lehua.
Kyleigh Hokuao Manuel-Sagon will represent Halau Kekuaokala‘au‘ala‘iliahi.
Riann Nalani Michiko Fujihara will represent Halau o Ka Hanu Lehua.
Kyleigh Hokuao Manuel-Sagon will represent Halau Kekuaokala‘au‘ala‘iliahi.
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Growing up, both Maui contestants in this year's Miss Aloha Hula competition admired their older hula sisters who graced the stage in the soloist competition at the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo.
On Thursday, their dreams will become reality as they compete onstage in what is known as the Olympics of hula.
"Running for Miss Aloha Hula has always been a dream of mine since I was a little girl," said 24-year-old Kyleigh Hokuao Manuel-Sagon of Halau Kekuaokala-'au'ala'iliahi, based in Wailuku."I have looked up to my hula sisters who have competed and many former Miss Aloha Hula contestants. I am so proud to be running this year as a Miss Aloha Hula contestant, and even more excited to share my aloha in my presentations this year."
Fellow contestant Riann Nalani Michiko Fujihara will also represent Maui and Wailuku-based Halau o Ka Hanu Lehua.
"When I was a child, I watched each Miss Aloha Hula contestant represent their hula lineage, their kumu, their halau, and their kupuna, ohana and hoa on that stage," she said. "I am so honored to be able to represent my support system, and this competition is a way for me to not only share the mo'olelo of my kupuna, but to also give aloha and mahalo to all of the people who have gotten me to this point in my hula journey.
"It is a kuleana that I take very seriously, and I am so humbled to be learning and growing from this experience," the 21-year-old Kahului resident said.
The women will compete this year with a limited crowd of family, halau and supporters at the Edith Kanakaole Stadium in Hilo. There are a total of 10 contestants from different halau. Last year the competition went on with no audience due to COVID-19 after being canceled in 2020.
But both Maui women are happy for any audience, saying it helps with their performance.
"The audience plays a huge role in creating that buzz in the air, and they contribute to the adrenaline rush that comes with competing on that stage," said Fujihara, who has been dancing with her current Kumu Kamaka Kukona for 17 years but started learning the art while in preschool.
Fujihara, who competed last year with no audience, said "it was such a different experience because the atmosphere was completely quiet."
Manuel-Sagon did not compete with her hula sisters last year, but the 24-year-old from Kahului also credited the audience as a factor in her performances.
"The energy from the audience has been a motivation for me to connect more with people through my dancing," she explained.
Manuel-Sagon began dancing at the age of 5 with Halau Hula Olana on Oahu. When she moved back to Maui in 2007, she began dancing with Halau Kekuaokala'au'ala'iliahi with Na Kumu Haunani and 'Iliahi Paredes. In 2015, Manuel-Sagon won the Miss Hula o Na Keiki title.
For her kahiko, or ancient hula, Manuel-Sagon will dance to "Ne'ene'e mai o Ka'ula," or "Ka'ula draws nigh," which honors Prince David Kawananakoa and his familial roots in Kauai and Niihau.
Her 'auana, or modern hula, will feature the song "Aia Ka Nani I Hanaula," meaning "beauty abounds there at Hanaula." It was written by 'Iliahi Paredes in honor of Aunty Puanani Lindsey of Maui Cultural Lands.
Manuel-Sagon will honor Lindsey and the beauty of Hanaula, which is a hill in the West Maui Mountains where the halau has had the opportunity to do its community service work with Lindsey and Lindsey's son, Ekolu Lindsey.
A 2020 graduate of Western Oregon University, Manuel-Sagon currently is working at Enterprise Holdings as a management trainee.
For her kahiko, Fujihara will dance to "Kaulilua I Ke Anu o Wai'ale'ale." It was written by the Kauai Chiefess Kaumealani and it was given to King David Kalakaua -- the monarch for whom the Merrie Monarch Festival is named -- as a makana, or gift. The song speaks about a lehua that is growing on the top of Wai'ale'ale on Kauai. The lehua's growth is stunted due to the harsh and cold nature of its environment.
Fujihara said there are many interpretations of the song -- one involves the lehua being compared to a woman and the struggles she endures in life. Although the woman does not necessarily overcome the obstacles, the difficulties she faces cultivate her into a pillar of strength to withstand the cold.
Fujihara's hula 'auana song is "Ala Anuhea," which was written by Kukona, who was inspired by the beauty that surrounds him and the different fragrances that sparked fond memories of love. It also references the beauty of Maui's Mauna Kahalawai and Pu'u Kukui.
Currently a senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Fujihara is majoring in Hawaiian language with a minor in education. She will graduate with a bachelor's degree in May.
Due to COVID and most of her classes moving online, she moved back to Maui after living on Oahu for college.
She was able to dance with her halau and physically be on Maui to train for the soloist competition.
The Miss Aloha Hula soloist competition will air live at 6 p.m. Thursday on K5 and also online at www.hawaiinewsnow.com/merriemonarch/.
The halau or group performance will be held on Friday and Saturday. Both broadcasts also begin at 6 p.m.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.