Stepping into Hawaiian dance

Ku’uleialoha Fahilga credits her energy and agility at 69 to the hula.

That vivacity was on display Wednesday when the Maui native taught her one-hour Hawaiian hula dance class at the Costa Mesa Senior Center.

The Huntington Beach woman began teaching the class at the center three weeks ago.

“Swing your hips, swing, swing, swing,” said Fahilga as she and her 12 students danced the kawelu, a basic hula step.

“Are you guys getting the hang of it?,” she asked. “It’s easy, huh?”

For Anaheim resident Linda Turner, the hula is easy on her knees, and it’s fun.

“I’m not fluent yet in the dance,” Turner said as she took a break. She started the class last week.

It takes more than two classes to become “fluent” in the hula, Fahilga said.

“You just need the basics to be able to dance, and practice,” said Fahilga, who wore a blue, flowing skirt.

Grace Yamashiro of Huntington Beach certainly understands that.

Yamashiro has been taking the class for three years at the senior center in Huntington Beach, where Fahilga also teaches.

Most of the students in her Wednesday Costa Mesa class also take hula lessons in Huntington Beach.

“We followed her here because she’s a good teacher,” Yamashiro said.

Hawaiian music filled the room on the second floor of the senior center. Some members, attracted by the music, stopped by the room’s doorway.

Fahilga hopes Costa Mesa Senior Center members learn of the free class and join in on Wednesdays.

Fahilga has been teaching Hawaiian dance for five years in Huntington Beach but has been dancing for most of her life.

“My mother taught us when we were little,” she said about learning the dance as a child on Maui.

“I teach the class twice a week, and it keeps me active and healthy,” Fahilga said.

The free class is held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th St. For information, call the center at (949) 645-2356.