UH Hilo Performing Arts Center announces 2023-2024 season
The 2023-2024 season is a diverse series of presented and special events designed to engage, excite, and entertain patrons of all ages!
Purchase tickets online.
Special Event:
Dance Collective
Friday, September 15, 2023 @ 7:30pm
$20 General & Discount
$10 UH Hilo/Hawai‘i Community College Student with VALID ID / Child 17 & under
Returning for its 7th year, the Dance Collective continues to feature some of the best and brightest performers and choreographers around—giving them a platform to showcase their vision and passion for dance. With a variety of dance styles and a mix of seasoned and new choreographers, this year’s show has something for everyone.
Join choreographers from Center Stage Dance Alliance, Island Dance Academy, N2 Dance, UH Hilo’s dance department, as well as independently working choreographers, for one spectacular evening of dance that kicks off the Performing Arts Center’s 2023-2024 offerings. Some material may not be suitable for all audiences.
Big Island Taiko Festival
Saturday, October 14, 2023 @ 7:30pm
Sunday, October 15, 2023 @ 2:00pm
$20 General
$15 Discount
$10 UH Hilo/Hawai‘i Community College Student with VALID ID / Child 17 & under
*All tickets are $5 more night of the performance
The Performing Arts Center is excited to welcome the return of this much anticipated bi-annual event! This exhilarating weekend of vibrant drumming and physical choreography will bring together the best of Big Island Taiko.
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- Taishoji Taiko, under the direction of Chad Nakagawa was founded under the direction of Yoshihumi Ono at Taishoji Soto Mission in Hilo.
- The Puna Hongwanji Taiko Club, under the direction of Rev. Earl Ikeda and Paul Sakamoto was founded in 2003 by Rev. Ikeda as a community-focused group, with drummers of all ages and experience, striving to perpetuate taiko as a cultural and recreational activity.
- Kona Daifukuji Taiko, was founded in 1988 by Rev. Tamiya and his wife and is comprised of youth from elementary through high school following the directions of their instructor, Akemi Iwamoto and assistants Amy Nakade and Asia Macatiag.
- Making their fourth appearance at the festival Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko from Kohala will round out the program. Imported from Okinawa and nurtured by Akemi Martin Sensi, the group now boasts over 100 active members across the Hawaiian Islands. Their performance uniquely blends traditional and contemporary influences with tremendous energy and the thunderous sound of the taiko drums.
The energetic, dramatic style of the festival will have you feeling the rhythm right to your core!
Imperfect Gentlemen
Thursday, February 8, 2024 @ 7:30pm
$20 General
$15 Discount
$10 UH Hilo/Hawai‘i Community College Student with VALID ID / Child 17 & under
*All tickets are $5 more night of the performance
A one-man show about gender and family dynamics. Created by Ben Moffat and Bradley Wayne Smith.
One actor, 10 characters, story theatre beyond measure.
Imperfect Gentlemen is performed by Ben Moffat. The work is based on events from Moffat’s life and how his father decided to live as a woman in the early 1980s. The show explores how different family members react to the change, the forces that shape our identities, and the plasticity and durability of personality. Performed in a unique style that blends storytelling with theatrical elements, the show utilizes costumes, props and projections of family photos.
The performance is recommended for ages 14 and up due to strong language and adult themes.
Kala Ramnath
Thursday, March 7, 2024 @ 7:30pm
$20 General
$15 Discount
$10 UH Hilo/Hawai‘i Community College Student with VALID ID / Child 17 & under
*All tickets are $5 more night of the performance
“…If Mozart had been transported to the South Asian subcontinent, this is what he and improvised Western classical music might have sounded like. This comparison is not thrown in to befuddle or impress. Kala Ramnath is a musician of giant-like qualities…” –Ken Hunt, Jazzwise, September 2004
Maestro Kala Ramnath with her “Singing Violin” stands among the world’s finest, most inspirational instrumentalists. Her playing has been featured on the Grammy-nominated Miles from India project, compositions of hers have appeared on the Grammy-winning album In 27 Pieces and the Kronos Quartet’s 50 For The Future. She was the first Indian violinist ever to be featured in the violin Bible, The Strad. She was the subject of a solo essay in the third edition of The Encyclopedia-Rough Guide to World Music. Her contributions feature in Hollywood soundtracks like the Oscar-nominated Blood Diamond and many more.
Ramnath is at the vanguard of the present generation of Indian instrumental super-stars. She comfortably forges musical alliances with artists of renown from different genres around the globe incorporating elements of Western Classical, Jazz, Flamenco and traditional African music into her rich and varied repertoire.
Happily Eva Afta
Friday & Saturday: April 12, 13, 19 & 20, 2024 @ 7:30pm
Sunday, April 14 & 21, 2024 @ 2:00pm
$20 General
$15 Discount
$10 UH Hilo/Hawai‘i Community College Student with VALID ID / Child 17 & under
*All tickets are $5 more night of the performance
By Lisa Matsumoto
Lyrics and Music by Roslyn Catracchia
Directed by Justina Mattos
Music Direction by Rachel Edwards
Choreography by Kea Kapahua
Happily Eva Afta, a Hawai‘i-kine pidgin musical comedy, is the final segment of the Once Upon One Time trilogy, once again transforming traditional fairy tales into a comedic local fantasy full of memorable songs and colorful characters. Meet Da Six Menehune, The Dancing Princesses, Da T’ree Fairies, Da Filipino Shoe Makers, Da Wicked Queen, and a menagerie of delightful local-style fairy tale characters in this fun and crazy adventure!
