DDK and Hula

Hello my fellow picnicers - YEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAW! Today was one of the warmest day yet this year. It was the perfect day for a stroll in the Botanic Garden, so guess what we did today? We did just that. Me, the kiddos, and the visiting cousins took a stroll in the Botanic Garden under the springwarm sun and the clear blue skies. Aaaahhhh, spring. :) 

I haven't started my Day 13 in my 30 Day Yoga Challenge yet. My family leaves tomorrow morning (really early!) and I will get back to Hot Yoga again. 

But this is not about yoga. Today's posting is about hula. 

Yesterday I had the honor to dance for the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre's 35th Anniversary Gala Dinner at the Edison Ballroom in midtown, together with the wonderful guitarist Andy Wang. We were the intro number for Pan Asian Rep's Honoree, actor Daniel Dae Kim (LOST, Hawaii 5-0). It was a very special evening and I was very fortunate to share it with a lot of my friends from the Asian-American acting community whom I've met and worked with over the years. Amazing, wonderful, awesome people!

But most of all I was reminded how very grateful I am to be studying under my AWESOME 'kumu hula', or master hula teacher, Vicky Holt Takamine, who shared the beautiful mele, or song, we performed yesterday, in NYC a few years back. I completely fell in love with this mele, and  I had the opportunity to share it together with Andy with the Pan Asian 'ohana last night. I felt very blessed. Mahalo nui kumu, for the gift of dance! 

This photo is taken by a hurried Corky Lee, who was working his own professional camera and was nice enough to snap this for me - even though, eummmm, my face was cut in half... :) 

Goodnight and sleep tight my dears. I am jumping in to the couch, which is where I'm sleeping now. Don't worry, I haven't been bad. I am sleeping on the couch so that all my guests can fit in my apartment. Lately I have been living according to the Swedish saying: Finns the hjärterum, så finns det stjärterum. Loosely translated to: Where the is room for the heart, there is room for the bum/behind. So, International Hostel at the apartment is open for business between the hours of half past heart and quarter to tush. ;-)