This is a documentary movie about HULA, the sacred dance of the Polynesian peoples. Most of us have seen or heard this kind
of dance in other contexts, perhaps in travel documentaries about Hawaii, and have perhaps heard that hula tells a story. The head of a hula school in Hawaii shows how the students of that particular school recreate one of the great myth cycles in Hawaiian experience through dance, and the songs and chants that accompany the dance.
The school, its entrance
ceremonies (there are actually ceremonies for nearly every aspect of life), practices of the students, and finally the ceremonial reenactments in dance of one of the foundational Hawaiian myths. The teacher tells the story (in English) as the dancers sing, dance and play the story.
It is an excellent film, and far more than I anticipated when I first decided to see it. It will be of interest not only to those
interested in dance, but those interested in mythology, religion, folklore, song, music, and Hawaiian and Polynesian culture generally. There are some very powerful dancers/actors in the story as well.