ʻAuana, the Cirque du Soleil show in Wakīkī, held auditions for additional hula dancers Monday at the Outrigger Waikīkī Beachcomber Hotel.
Now that the show is more than 100 performances into its run, one of the performers, Māhealani Kamau, shared what her experience has been like so far.
Kamau is originally from Oʻahu and said she’s been “dancing since [she] came out of the womb.” She was performing for Disney in Florida when she found out she’d been cast in ʻAuana.
She spoke to The Conversation about performing in the show and reconnecting with home.
“I hope that everybody who comes to see the show gets to take a piece of what we are there to show them. It's really just the collaboration of people of all different cultures. We have the acrobats that are international, and then we have us as the home and the connective tissue to the host culture of Hawaiʻi,” Kamau said.
“I get chicken skin when we have locals in the audience, and then we hear the ‘chee hoos’ at the end, and they give us a standing ovation because they've seen all the shows that have come through Hawaiʻi and to get that kind of response from the local audiences is really rewarding," she continued.
The entire show is in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, so for audience members who may not understand the language, Kamau feels the message still gets across.
“They still appreciate and they still understood the stories we were portraying. That is like the best thing and the most rewarding thing for us to have," she added.
"I just want audience members to come here and enjoy, feel a part of our ʻohana and our stories, and what we're doing in Waikīkī to resurrect the stories. And to bring light and love and life back to Waikīkī, because it's been kind of run over by tourism, the hotels and everything, and our stories got lost."
Editor's note: Outrigger Hospitality Group is an underwriter of HPR.
This interview aired on The Conversation on March 17, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
