A feat and a fete

Jennifer Kho

MESA DEL MAR -- A Costa Mesa dance and drum studio won first place

overall -- and placed in six other group categories -- in the senior

section of the Tahiti Fete of Hilo last weekend.

“It was a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication, but we harmonized

as one and it paid off,” said Kathy Asuega, owner of Lokelani’s Rhythm of

the Islands, a Polynesian studio in the El Camino Shopping Center. “In

the end, it was really fun and exciting.”

More than 100 of the studio’s dancers and drummers competed in seven

group categories, said Asuega, calling from Hilo, Hawaii, on Thursday.

Six of the studio’s 15 soloists also placed in the competition in Hilo.

A total of 28 groups participated in the international competition,

but Lokelani’s Rhythm of the Islands was the only group from Southern

California to compete.

The competition was divided into junior and senior sections, and the

studio competed in the senior section because it is made up of dancers of

all ages, said Erin Tripp, one of the dancers.

Tripp said the competition was an amazing experience.

“I was caught up in the whole thing, and it was exciting for me,” she

said. “I had the feeling it was going to be chaotic, but we’re like one

big family, and we all helped each other out. We were making head pieces

the night before. Some were making waistbands the night before. That’s

just what you do, and somehow it all flows together.

Although there were some rough moments, the large group managed to

work well together, she said.

“You have to be pretty patient because there are so many people with

so many different personalities in our group,” Tripp said. “There was a

lot of clashing, and then it all just fell into place. Even if we hadn’t

placed, I would have been proud to have done this, but placing was icing

on the cake. The pressure was on us, and I think we did extremely well.”

Tripp was part of the group that competed in “Tupuna Ahuroa,” a

category for women 40 and older who dance in a style that includes a long

dress. Her group won second place.

The studio won first place in the traditional costume category for its

grass skirts, head pieces with feathers, onion grass and waistbands

weaved like fishing nets to match its theme this year: “Te Tai

Etevahine,” which means “The Ocean and the Woman.”

The drum group and the groups that danced the “Otea,” a welcoming

dance, and the “Aparima,” a Tahitian hula, also won first-place rankings.

The group that competed in “Ahuroa,” a dance with a long dress, won

second place.

Costa Mesa resident Keola Asuega, 15, won first place in the solo

category for 15- to 18-year-old males.

Studio soloists Frankie Harmeier, Brian Lukela and Chrissy Gonzalez

won second-place awards; and soloists Steve Rivera and Angie Legaspi won

third-place awards.