Leilani Bivera Bond

Nā Kumu Hula Leilani Bivera Bond - Nānā I Nā Loea Hula Volume 2 Page 20

Leilani Bond started teaching hula to the children of Kauaʻ i in 1981. Her hālau now includes adult women with classes held in Wailua and Pō‘ipū on Kaua‘i, and in Reno, Nevada.

Kauaʻi was such a good place to grow up in. As a child I had many wonderful experiences and met several famous people who came to Kaua‘i because I helped my dad Larry Rivera with his shows at The Coco Palms Resort and in Honolulu. He began working at the Coco Palms in the early 1950s and he composed and performed many songs that have become famous. “Wai‘ale‘ale” became really popular and I remember that we were invited to perform it at The Waikīkī Shell.

In those days the tourists came on the ocean liners and my dad frequently sang “Love and Aloha,” which talks about the Lurline sailing away. My sister and I were photographed holding a lei up so that one of the ships could be seen through the middle. That photo became famous.

I started taking hula lessons from Aunty Kuʻlei Pūnua when I was three-years-old. I really enjoyed the Hawaiian music, the stories, and the many ho‘olaule‘a we participated in. There were no stressful competitions then; the gatherings of musicians and dancers were a lot of fun. I tried my best to learn as much as I could. I decided that I wanted to teach hula too but I knew I had to work really hard to learn the meanings of the words and the spirit of the dances.

After I graduated from high school. I started Hawaiian studies classes at Kaua‘i Community College but soon decided to postpone the rest of my education in order to assist my parents with the shows. I also put on shows of my own for conventions and other hotels and entered some competitions. I began working in guest services at Coco Palms and got to know and learn from Mrs. Grace Guslander, Aunty Sarah Sheldon, and Aunty Sarah Kealamapuana Malina Kaʻilikea about Hawaiian culture and arts. In order to educate tourists about our culture, I did a lot of research on hula and Hawaiian music while I worked in the historical museum at the resort. I taught tourists how to play the ‘ukulele, sew a lei, make a hula skirt, and other Hawaiian arts and crafts. These skills became part of my everyday life and I learned leadership and developed my creativity while making many good friends.
When I had my first daughter, I became determined to pass on the Hawaiian culture to my children. I decided that I would do this through hula. So I started holding classes in my home for neighbors and relatives and continued teaching as my family grew.

Throughout the years Iʻve learned from several great kumu hula. Aunty Sarah Kealamapuana Malina Ka‘ilikea worked with my father and so she has given me friendship and knowledge over many years. I also acknowledge Uncle George Nā‘ope, Frank Hewett, and Vicky Holt Takamine for their tutelage and continuing friendship, and I have received much from Sarah Sheldon, Pat Nāmaka Bacon, Edith McKinzie, and Pua and Nalani Kanaka‘ole. I received a year of training in hula kahiko from Willie Pulawa who was teaching on Kauaʻi in the early 1980s. His training encouraged me to be creative with kahiko. All these teachers helped me to recognize and realize the traditions of hula.

As a kumu I try to teach my haumāna to understand what they are dancing about and how to express the emotions in (lie chants and songs. Because I don’t come from a family that speaks Hawaiian, I’ve worked hard to learn the language and am still learning. Before I create a hula, I study the words and try to list all the meanings I can find. I then try to decide what the writer intended to say. That helps me to create and enjoy the emotions of the hula.

Like everyone else I start my students with the basics because (hey need to have that foundation and discipline. Usually kahiko is taught first but because of today’s modern English-speaking environment, l teach the keiki a hapa haole song. That’s how the children learn that the motions, words, and timing all move together. Then (hey learn kahiko and ‘auana and I always explain (lie meanings of the Hawaiian words. As the students get older they learn aspects of Hawaiian arts and crafts.

About five years ago some mothers of my students and oilier friends asked me to start a ladies class. Some were in my classes as little girls, others stopped taking hula when they became teenagers and had other interests. The ladies dance with a lot of feeling and try hard (o understand the songs. A new challenge came to me a year ago when Janet Rasmussen of Reno, Nevada asked me to teach hula in her home. I go there every six weeks and these women have really blossomed into good hula dancers.

Preparing and participating in competitions take a lot of time and energy. I have wrestled with the idea of competing for profit or prizes and it never really settled in my spirit. I try to tell my haumāna that if we decide to compete, then I challenge them to compete against themselves; to convey in a true spirit of aloha, their sincere affection for their hula sisters. I ask them to practice and exemplify what Hawaiians call ha‘aha‘a and to see competition as a chance to perpetuate our Hawaiian culture. When I see my haumāna understand these concepts, then I feel I’ve succeeded as a kumu hula and no prize can replace the inner peace that I gain.

“When I had my first daughter, I became determined to pass on the Hawaiian culture to my children. I decided that I would do this through hula."

20 Leilani Rivera Bond