Patrick Makuakāne & Nā Lei Hulu i ka Wēkiu

“Patrick Makuakāne’s dance company is a San Francisco institution. Is that a strange claim to make for a hula troupe? Not when you see it and experience its transcendent blend of ancient and modern, the sweeping humanist themes of its stories, the glorious variety of the bodies on stage. I know people who claim that one night at Nā Lei Hulu changed their lives. I have no reason to doubt them.”

—Armistead Maupin

About RITUAL

Nā Lei Hulu i ka Wēkiu is thrilled for the world premiere of RITUAL to take root at the Presidio Theatre.

We use ritual to create meaning in our lives, to connect, to grieve, to transcend, to hula. In the shelter of the Presidio, we embody rituals that transform the soul of a revered elder into an ancestral guardian. We ritualize food and honor our last moments on earth. In the name of our ancestors, lunch and the holy disco, let our epiphany transpire.

At home in the sacred and profane, Kumu Hula Patrick Makuakāne, excavates how ritual binds us together and invigorates agency through chant, movement, song and dance. “In this time of uncertainty, let us together investigate the wonder and power of ritual.”

Creative Team

Written, choreographed, and directed by Patrick Makuakāne, with original chants composed by Dr. Kalei Nuʻuhiwa. Musical direction by Shawn Pimentel and Patrick Eskildsen. Lighting Design by Patty Ann Farrell. Stage design by Jerome Espiritu. Costumes by Malia King and Koanui Johnson. Guest vocalist: Cassie Punahele Bush.

Dancers: Kahala Bishaw, Jerome Borjal, Christoper Brodie, Meredith Noelani Burkle, Marleen Bush, Edna Cabcabin Moran, Kaila DeFries, Julia Diskin, Ryan Fuimaono, Jason Laskey, Lola Laskey, Janella Leano, Jason Paul Ogao, Delilah Paskowitz, Tanisha Reshke, Neil Romabiles, Isabel Siu, Rachel Melia Smith, Desiree Woodward-Lee, Lehua Zane.