“All aboard the Hawaiian Airlines,” a master of ceremonies for the Ho’olokahi Polynesian Club’s Luau Patience Kanda said.

Native dances from Hawaii, Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji all graced the ballroom this past Saturday night. Each of the dances brought something special from to the stage. One culture had a chieftain daughter dance and the Samoan culture danced to the song Single Ladies by Beyonce. Even though the song was modernized, dancer Taylor Loo said the moves were all traditional.”

“These moves are the ones that are commonly used and found in traditional dances.” Loo said.

They wanted to make the event as traditional as they could.

“I wanted to do luau because I’ve danced four years prior to luau and I’ve always loved to dance,” Loo said. “I wanted to be able to show the Grand Junction community what being from Hawaii or the Hawaiian culture is all about.”

Although the dances had been scripted for them, all of the choreography, costumes and centerpieces for the tables were crafted by students for the Luau. According to Loo this created difficulties for the dancers.

“The long nights where we had been practicing for six hours or so and everyone is cranky and tired, made it harder for us to focus and dance full out during practice,” Loo said. “We started planning what dances we wanted to do around September or October and we have been practicing since then up until the night before luau.”

The last dance included all of the cultures getting up onto the stage and dancing one final dance. Even though they are from different smaller communities, they are all part of a larger one here at CMU.

For more information about Polynesian Club and their events contact Advisor Nathan Watchman at nwatchma@coloradomesa.edu.