Hula course has all the right moves
Guests at a Hawaiian resort can now learn everything about hula, the Polynesian dance form. But they’ll be put through the hoops to get there. The Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina is offering a two-day high-intensity workout that is a world away from strumming ukuleles and swaying grass skirts, the L.A. Times reports. Instead, master hula teacher Laakea Perry will put students through a US$3,500 course that summons the stamina-building activities used by warriors of centuries past, including tree-climbing, ocean swimming and rock running underwater. Perry, who is part of the award-winning, all-male Ke Kai O Kahiki dance troupe, said the course is open to men and women who are guests of the hotel, and is intended to instil in participants the grace, strength and forbearance of generations past. Sanjiv Hulugalle, the GM of the resort in West Oahu, said the course is part of a broader strategy to promote the state’s heritage. “In many ways, as a new resort, we set out to rediscover Hawaiian culture, sharing a dream that has brought people together for thousands of years,” he told KEYT in an earlier interview.