{"id":158039,"date":"2022-04-22T15:49:30","date_gmt":"2022-04-23T01:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=158039"},"modified":"2024-03-14T23:20:24","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T09:20:24","slug":"lopes-captures-miss-aloha-hula-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/04\/22\/lopes-captures-miss-aloha-hula-title\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa grad student captures Miss Aloha Hula title"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Piʻikea<\/span> Lopes performs No Puna Ke \u0100iwaiwa Hikina (Photo Credit: Merrie Monarch Festival\/Cody Yamaguchi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Windward Oʻahu<\/span> wahine (woman) working toward a master\u2019s in the College of Education<\/a> and at Â鶹´«Ã½nuākea<\/span> School of Hawaiian Knowledge<\/a> at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa earned the coveted title of Miss Aloha Hula at the 2022 Merrie Monarch Festival. Piʻikea<\/span> Kekīhenelehuawewehiikekauʻōnohi<\/span> Lopes<\/strong>, captured top honors in the competition\u2019s solo category held in Hilo on Thursday, April 21. Lopes is the daughter of Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language<\/a> Director R. Keawe Lopes, Jr.<\/strong>, who is also her kumu hula (hula teacher) alongside her mother, Tracie of hālau (hula school) Ka Lā ʻŌnohi<\/span> Mai O Haʻehaʻe<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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Lopes\u2019 father\u2019s familial roots in Kohala are honored on stage (Photo Credit: Merrie Monarch Festival\/Bruce Omori)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 21-year-old is working on a master\u2019s of education in teaching degree to help fuel her dreams of becoming a Hawaiian immersion school kumu. Thousands tuned in to watch Lopes compete against nine other soloists at the 59th annual hula festival at Edith Kanakaʻole<\/span> Stadium. She secured the top title with a score of 1,168 points, with a 63 point lead ahead of the competition\u2019s second place contestant. Lopes also won the Office of Hawaiian Affairs ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian language) award.<\/p>\n

“The Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea<\/span> ʻohana<\/span> is very proud of our haumāna (student) Piʻikea<\/span> Lopes for her outstanding hula performance on Thursday evening,” said Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea<\/span> Dean Jon Kamakawiwoʻole<\/span> Osorio<\/strong>. “She maintains a legacy of excellence in artistry and preparation that is characteristic of her halau, Ka Lā ʻŌnohi<\/span> Mai o Haʻehaʻe,<\/span> and her parents, Tracie, a former Ms Aloha Hula, and Kumu hula, Keawe Lopes, director of Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language. The life of our language and arts continue because of families like the Lopes.”<\/p>\n

Nā mele (songs)<\/h2>\n
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R. Keawe Lopes, Jr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lopes\u2019 hula kahiko (traditional dance), No Puna Ke Āiwaiwa Hikina venerates the district of Puna, Â鶹´«Ã½,<\/span> and expresses the need to continue to cherish and hold fast to traditional references in mele and moʻolelo<\/span> (stories) that continue to help make sense of and navigate the present.<\/p>\n

Her modern dance or hula ʻauana<\/span> paid homage to her father Keawe\u2019s lineage in Kohala. Lopes glided across the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island stage to mele, Pua Be-Still composed by famed musician Bill Aliʻinoa<\/span> Lincoln mentioning the picturesque scenery that Kohala natives embrace and hold dear in fond recollection.<\/p>\n

Hula lineage<\/h2>\n

This is the second consecutive Miss Aloha Hula title secured by Keawe and Tracie\u2019s hālau. In 2021, Rosemary Kaʻimilei<\/span> Keamoai-Strickland<\/strong>, a former ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> student at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa won the honor at the legendary hula festival.<\/p>\n