Cottonwood AZ (April 23, 2014) – Did you know that the State of Hawaii has TWO official languages – Hawaiian and English? The Hawaiian language is alive and well!
Come learn how to speak it correctly! Kumu Hula (Hula Master) Kehau Chrisman from Hawaii is announcing the start of a “Beginner Hawaiian Language class” for students 15 and older. Students will learn Hawaiian pronunciation, simple sentence structure, and vocabulary, along with a little Hawaiian culture and history. Classes meet on Wednesdays at 4:00 – 5:00 PM starting May 7, 2014 at the Cottonwood Civic Center, 805 N Main St. The course will run 8 weeks, or longer if there is interest, and the cost of each class is $8.00. Participants should bring notepaper and a pen or pencil to class. Optional: Hawaiian dictionary.
Chrisman, formerly of Hawaii and now a Cottonwood resident, trained in Hawaii for 17 years to reach the highest rank of Hula Master similar to a PhD in Hula) following rigorous protocols taught by well-known and respected masters in Hawaii’s hula legacy. She first started teaching hula in Hawaii in 1997 and has been teaching hula, Hawaiian language, and `ukulele classes in Northern and Central Arizona since 2004. Her teaching methods include an integration of Hawaiian arts, language, and culture, just as her elders in this discipline taught her.
Students travel from Prescott, Flagstaff and throughout the Verde Valley to learn from Kumu. Here are some comments from current students: “We’re so unbelievably fortunate to have someone of Kumu’s caliber and commitment to Hawaiian culture living and teaching in the Verde Valley.” “Personally, I love the hula sister/brotherhood established in our Halau.”
For more information, visit www.arizonahula.com, call Chrisman at (928) 639-4683, or email her at kumuhula@halauhulailima.com.
