Visiting Hawaii is a
mind-blowing experience. Not only is the scenery amazing, the culture is warm and inviting. The hula dance is a big
part of the charm of Hawaii. Not many of us are able to make a trip to Hawaii to experience this in person but to
get a feel for the Hawaiian experience doing a simple little hula dance will give the impression of being there.
This easy hula dance is called, "Pearly Shells" and is great fun for kids to learn.
The hula dance tells a story and
the movements of the body convey the message. "Pearly Shells" is a simple little song that is popular today in
Hawaii. Both girls and boys can perform this simple hula and have fun. Each line of the song has motions with the
hands and the feet that explain the words to the song.
The first line is describing the
pearly shells that come from the ocean, the sun that is shinning and that covers the shore. The hand movements are
to pretend you reach down to the beach and grab shells, then raise your hands holding the palms facing up but keep
them closed as if holding the shells. That is 'Pearly shells', then 'from the ocean' with open hands move them in a
gentle waving motion as if they are floating on waves. For 'shinning in the sun', move your arms over your head
making a big circle like the sun and then for covering the shore lower your hands to waist level and move them
slowly side to side like you would if you were moving them over the beach sand.
The second line of the song
tells about how the hear will fell when seeing the shells and that the person will feel more love for you than they
could ever feel for any amount of shells the see. The movement for 'When I see them' is to extend your right hand
raised straight out and up and the left hand up to your eye.
For the phrase about the heart
speaking of love, the movement is simply over the heart cross the hands. Then for the phrase that no amount of
shells that are pearly will have more value, the movement is again picking shells off the beach.
The third line of the song says
that the person has kisses for every single grain of sand and then even more kisses then there are stars that shine
in the sky. Then the phrase talking about the shore and all its sand, the action is pretending to gather up tiny
grains of sand off the beach. And then to describe all the kisses they have to give, simply pretend to throw a
kiss.
The last part of the phrase,
describing the endless kisses that are more in number than every star, the action is raising the hands over the
head reaching for the stars in the sky.
Using the Kaholo step, keep
moving two steps to one side and two steps to the other side while doing all the hand movements. Once you have
completed the all the hand movements at the end of the third line of the song, keep repeating the movements for the
three lines to the end of the song.