Hula Voices featuring Maluhia OʻDonnell
Wednesday, September 4 | 5:30-7pm
The Volcano Art Center’s 2019 Hula Voices series continues on Wednesday, September 4th. The September program features cultural practitioner Maluhia OʻDonnell with moderator Desiree Moana Cruz. Hula Voices is an oral history project, presenting engaging, intimate “talk story” sessions with Hawai‘i Island’s hula practitioners & musicians, as they share their hula genealogy, traditions, protocols and experiences. These free, educational offerings occur regularly on the first Wednesday of each month, from 5:30 – 6:30pm at the Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Park entrance fees may apply.
Maluhia O’Donnell, daughter of Hugh O’Donnell and Jo Ann Togioka, was born and raised in Kansas City, MO. Her maternal side are descendants of the island of Kauaʻi, and she was fortunate to spend her summers with her grandparents in Kekaha and extended ‘ohana, which laid the foundation for her in learning about Hawaiian culture and values. Maluhia is a graduate of Loyola University New Orleans and is fluent in English, Spanish and Hawaiian. She has traveled extensively throughout the continental United States, Europe, South America, and Japan.
Currently, Maluhia serves as the Director of Pūnana Leo o Waimea, a Hawaiian language preschool of the ʻAha Pūnana Leo, an organization that has been integral in the Hawaiian language revitalization movement. For the past 10 years, she has been a member of Hālau Nā Kīpuʻupuʻu, under the direction of Kumu Micah Kamohoaliʻi. Hula is not only about learning a dance and its story, but is also about ceremony, prayer and keeping the traditional practices of our kūpuna (elders) alive. Being fluent in the language, learning these practices, and being able to weave them into every facet of life and carry it on in her personal life and as a teacher fuels her fire to continue learning hula and those practices.
Please join VAC in celebrating the Hula Arts at Kīlauea with Hula Voices. These programs are supported in part by funding from Hawaiʻi Tourism, the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Research and Development and members of the Volcano Art Center.