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'Spirit of hula' helps hotelier

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Members of Hula Mau Loa, including Na Do-yeon, right, perform the traditional Hawaiian dance at the Seoul Citizens' Hall on a regular basis. / Courtesy of Na Do-yeon
Members of Hula Mau Loa, including Na Do-yeon, right, perform the traditional Hawaiian dance at the Seoul Citizens' Hall on a regular basis. / Courtesy of Na Do-yeon

By Kang Seung-woo

Marketing director Na Do-yeon of European-style luxury hotel Le Meridien Seoul does not fit the typical hotelier image. She is also a hula dancer.

Na, is shrugging off the stereotype and preaching about what the traditional Hawaiian dance is contributing to her job, hoping many will follow in her footsteps.

"I am exposed to a variety of stressful situations because I am engaged in the hospitality industry, where I have to deal with people from all walks of life and crack a smile all the time," Na told The Korea Times.

"However, dancing hula helps me keep composure under any circumstances and feel less stressed, which is thanks to the aloha spirit which means mutual regard, affection and warmth in caring.

"In that respect, I think the aloha spirit is almost identical to the spirit of hospitality."

Na's journey with hula came from out of nowhere one day in 2012, when she was ill in bed with herpes zoster for a week and had no choice but to watch TV.

"I was so devastated to suffer from such a disease even though I had just turned 30 at the time," she said.

"While blankly killing time channel-surfing, I accidentally switched to a channel showing Japanese movie Hula Girls, in which the traditional Hawaiian dance excited me a whole lot and encouraged me to do it -- although I had never been to Hawaii at the time."

It did not take long before the active hotelier fell in love with the Hawaiian dance.

"Before hula, I dabbled in different dance activities, including jazz dance, flamenco, salsa and belly dance, but I used to quit after two or three months. However, hula was different and I was fully captivated," she said.

"Despite my hectic schedule, I tried my best to attend the hula class every weekend."

She added: "It was a rare experience for me to do something with such passion outside of my hotel duties because it truly entertained me."

In addition, she belongs to a 10-member dance club, which adds more zest to hula.

"At the beginning, I had an opportunity to step onto the stage with my team and ahead of the performance, we prepared for it together and we built strong teamwork in the end," she said.

The 37-year-old is one of 300 Koreans practicing and performing hula here and her team "Hula Mau Loa" has regularly performed at the Seoul Citizens' Hall. The squad belongs to the Citizens' Hall as one of its artists.

Every summer, the team flies to Hawaii and hones their skills, as well.

While enjoying hula, Na wants to change a pre-established conception of the dance, while hoping it will reach out to more people.

"Many mistakenly identify hula with belly dance whose costumes are too revealing, but we do not put on such clothing," she said.

"In addition, regardless of age, gender and physical abilities, everybody can hula dance to their capabilities, enabling people in their 70s and 80s to try it."


Kang Seung-woo ksw@koreatimes.co.kr


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