Lane's+Memoir

As I shook my uli uli, we were halfway through our dance, I knew all the hard work had paid off. all the stress our teacher had gone through, for us, was worth it. I knew I was proud of our keiki hula group and I knew the entire hula studio would be, no matter what the outcome was in this competition.

We were in our first competition, for most of us, and all I could hope for was that my teacher would be proud of us. In the middle of our song we all turned to the left, where our teacher an our musicians were standing. Our teacher, Aunty Kanani, and the main musician, Aunty Pi'i, were smiling, and I was really happy and proud. Maybe it was a really small smile to them, but to me it was covering their whole face. Just the little smile or nod meant the world to me at that point. It made me smile even more, and I am sure that we were all proud to be dancing on that stage. When we got off the stage everyone was smiling ear to ear. I knew we did are best on that stage, and I knew for a fact, that I was proud to be out there dancing for Kanani Kalama Hula Studio.

At the award ceremony, we were sitting patiently and we heard " 3rd place for the keiki division, auana, Kanani Kalama Hula Studio," said the announcer.

Our studio burst out in cheers! To most, maybe 3rd place isn't that big of a deal, but it was really nice to be recognized for our work, and to know that it paid off. That felt really cool and it made us feel proud of our studio and who we have become as dancers.

This competition was a huge stepping stone to me, it gave me confidence,