TRAGICALLY HIP IN RETELLING HISTORY OF HULA
TOMOKA Heneker says she is not just a dance teacher, she is a storyteller.
The chief instructor at Gold Coast Hula Dance School is teaching traditional Hawaiian culture hula – and it is not about shooting from the hip.
“The Gold Coast is much like Hawaii,” she said.
“True hula wasn’t popular here when I started the school. Everybody just knows that hula dancers are wearing coconuts, grass skirts and moving their hips.
“It’s not just a hula. Hula is telling the story of history and Hawaiian story with graceful hand motions and body moving.”
Ms Heneker teaches up to 60 people each week, including Julia Saito Lee, 5, and the classes are growing.
“I was teaching classes just once a week, now I do lessons almost every day,” she said. Ms Heneker is also looking at starting classes in Sydney. “We’ve performed at the Gold Coast Mulcultural Festival, Pasifika Festival in Brisbane, resorts, hotels, restaurants and bars.”