A Whole Lotta Hula Goin’ On

By Nancy K. Crevier

The swishing of grass skirts and the pounding of Polynesian drums filled the main room of the Newtown Senior Center on Thursday afternoon, August 10, as members of Jasmin and the Polynesian Dancers led seniors through a variety of Hawaiian and Polynesian dance numbers.

Jasmin Ducusin, Mary Ellen Pacete, Mei Springael, and Kai-Maura Foraker performed several dances for the enthusiastic audience before Jasmin gave step-by-step instructions to the Hula dancer wannabes. In the shake of a pom-pom, arms were waving high, feet were stepping back and forth and hips were shaking to the beat as if they had been born to the rhythm.

The Brookfield dance troupe is under the direction of Josie Rodriguez and has been performing Filipino and Hawaiian dances at senior centers, schools, weddings, and other venues since 1984. The dance group, said Ms Rodriguez, performs every spring at the Asian Pacific Festival at West Point, as well. “These girls are actually about the third generation of dancers,” she said. The four performers are part of a troupe of 20 dancers, she added.

Every year the Senior Center hosts Hawaiian dance lessons said Marilyn Place, director of the center, as well as the Hawaiian Hula Party, which held this year on August 16.