UC Irvine

This qualitative research study explores the experiences and values of five Maui dance artists who believe Maui has influenced their movement practice. The experiences of my five research participants, collectively, provide a glimpse into the complex nature of aloha on Maui. Aloha, which means love, kindness, sympathy, and compassion, and refers to the welcome extended to strangers in Hawaii, also has a history of smoothing over ethnic tensions resulting in feelings of exclusion. Correspondingly, Aloha emerges as a shared ideal and influence on mindset and approach to dance for all of my research participants. The interplay of experience, influence, and aloha, while not always harmonious, manifests in each of my research participants' value of cultivating and sharing with the community through their dance practice. This research is also a parallel reflexive study of the complexity and richness of my Maui experience, which has lead to a deepened understanding of my own identity as a Local and as a dancer/choreographer.