Monday, February 21, 2011
Is Hula Dance Authentic?
After reading the article this week about Hula Competitions, I continue to think about the topic of authenticity that we keep bringing up in class. Hula dancing is in important part of the Hawaiian cultures, but I wonder how competitions has changed its intent as a means of storytelling and poetry. While competitions are supposed to be fun and continue to spread the Hula tradition, they have turned into shows and many rules and regulations affect the choreography. First, they are scored, and judges like innovation; is changing the choreography still make it an authentic dance? Second, the emphasis is on a form of entertainment to impress an audience, which requires choreographers to be unique. Major structure changes have been imposed due to the time restraint dances have to occur in. I continue wondering, though don't have an answer to, if these changes still make the dance authentic and preserve the wonderful Hawaiian tradition, or has it changed it into a form of consumerism? Are these changes bad or is this just the natural progression of dance in the 20th-21st century?
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Good questions. Some other, related ones to consider: can a dance be both commercial and authentic? And who decides or has the right to decide if a dance is "authentic"?
ReplyDeleteI feel as though a dance can be both commercial and authentic; however, I do think it is easy to lose the authenticity if enough people gain access to the dance and want or want to promote it. It's similar to the way salsa changed when it entered the United States. People liked the authenticity, but it became more Americanized as the dance became more popular. It seems like companies, perhaps those specifically in tourism, may also choose an aspect of a certain dance and try to make it more attractable. In my opinion, this is where the authenticity gets lost and dances become more commercialized.
ReplyDeleteI think a dance can be commercial and authentic, because for the American culture, commercialism is an authentic idea. Some of the best dances are ones that have evolved from other dances. In fact, every dance has changed from something before it. Why do we always question changes that can become a new dance style? It seems like the Hawaiian hula and the contemporary hula, while two different dances, both have their own unique attributes that are helpful to understanding the dance and the culture that is associated with it.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Christina. Many dances have both "traditional" and "modern" versions that appear to be in conflict with one another, and their practitioners may argue over which is better or more authentic. But they can certainly each be judged on their own terms.
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