Heali’i Polynesian Revue shares aloha spirit through Pacific Islander song and dance

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Ohana is more than just a Hawaiian word — it’s a feeling. And you feel like family with Heali’i Polynesian Revue.

This professional group of more than 200 performers is keeping Pacific Islander traditions alive through song and dance in San Diego and across the world.

“It’s not a competitive group. It’s cohesive and we just, you know, “malama” each other, just take care of one another,” said Kathy Heali’i O Nālani Gore Stanley, founder of the Polynesian Revue.

Stanley is the Kumu Nui, or hula master, teaching the island song and dance she grew up with.

“In Hawaii, I danced a lot on TV and productions. Guy Lombardo had a big show in New York when I was 6 and 7. It was called Paradise Island,” she said.

With her father in the Navy, Kathy’s family relocated from Oahu to San Diego and joined the Hawaiian Club in 1967.

Over the past 50 years here, she’s created an even bigger ohana.

“My parents taught us to live the proper way and to share and always be kind to one another,” she said.

This aloha spirit is what shines through the Heali’i’s Polynesian Revue, with mom, Kathy, daughter, Edie, and sons, James and Anthony, at the heart of it all.

“Hula for us, you know, it transcends culture, it transcends language,” said Edieann Heali’i, the artistic director. “When you watch a dancer perform, when you feel you’re embodying not only the composer’s translation, but your body, your own, and you’re taking it with you. And I think that’s really what transcends cultural backgrounds and languages because you can feel your energy. That’s love, that’s sadness, that’s happiness, that’s beauty.”

There’s a clear message, one Edie has carried with her through international dance competitions and different platforms such as Hawaiian Airlines advertisements.

“It really is about energy and about understanding the importance that we’re all connected in some way, shape or form, even through the music, the sounds of the music, like how you hear the different instruments that we play,” Edie said.  “While touring around the world, I realized the importance of people needing to bond together and to have teambuilding and so that’s a lot of what I do here today. And I created my power of Hula, which all talks about how it’s creating bonds across the oceans so that we all understand that we’re exactly alike, you know, to motivate, inspire, heal and connect across barriers.”

“You are seeing everybody and all their passion that they’re putting into it, from the youngest being two years old to the oldest around 87 years old,” said James Lee Keolamaikalani
Stanley, Kāne director.

Their mission is to teach everyone about legacy and lineage.

“Hawaiian, Tatian, Samoan and Maori are the four focal points that we focus on, but through those four cultural areas, we’re able to connect into a storyline that tells the audience about an important aspect of life,” Edie said.

Each year, the group performs a number of traditional and innovative songs and dances at the Spring Showcase in April. This year it took place at the Kit Carson Amphitheater in Escondido where each member was eager to share their culture with anyone who pulled up a seat.

The family performed an original song that drew from the feeling of community its importance to them.

“My children wrote the song and the melody and the theme and so it’s super special for us. And we have three of our girls at the moment that are all with babies. And so it’s kind of dedicated to new life coming into this world,” Kathy said.

They know they are better together and this foundation has inspired their motto, “No task is too great, when done together by all.:

Click here to discover more about the family’s history and decorated accomplishments or to learn about their open dance classes.

“I get to do something that I love with the people that I love with the culture, that we love to create a space that people can leave in a better place than they left and for me it creates a cup that is always overflowing,” said Anthony Lee Kauka Stanley, musical director.

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