International Night: A Spotlight on Hawai‘i

Photostory by Max Dudoit-Mendoza
Photos not from author are captured from event livestream

Flyer that reads: UH Hilo International Student Association Presents 51st Annual International Night 2026. It shows two groups dancing and performing.

Pictured is a lit stage with Samoan dancer, Teiya Myers, front and center Ke Kalahea's very own, Teiya Myers, performing for Sāmoa. Friday, February 27th, was International Night 2026. International Night is a night for students at UH Hilo (and sometimes outside guests) who appreciate or belong to different ethnicities to perform different talents rooted in their cultures. Performances from Hawai‘i, Japan, Pohnpei and Kosrei of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Philippines, Palau, Marshall Islands, and Samoa graced the stage at the Performing Arts Center.
Some performances that stuck out to me was Tinikling (a Philippine folk dance where dancers skillfully dance between constantly moving bamboo sticks) performed by the Filipino Studies Certificate Program. As well as Wotagei (a Japanese high-energy dance performed in the dark with glow sticks) performed by the Japanese Student Association. It is also important that I highlight the performances centered around Hawai‘i.

Photo shows the Filipino group performing a folk dance called Tinikling, where they dance between moving bamboo sticks Philipine folk dance: Tinikling

Photo shows the Japanese Student Association performing Wotagei, where they dance with bright glow sticks in the dark. The Japanese Student Association performing Wotagei

Photo shows Hui Hanakahi performing mele with sticks as they are sat on the stage Hui Hanakahi performing mele and hula

The evening began with Hui Hanakahi opening the night, performing various hula (dances), mele (songs), and oli (chants) that honor the 200th birthday of Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani Keanolani Kanāhoahoa. Ruth was appointed to the council of King Kauikeaoli and became Royal Governor of Hawai‘i island from January 15th, 1857, through March 2nd, 1874. She adopted a Victorian sense of fashion, wearing dresses and hairstyles of the Victorian age. Her estates were filled with modern mansions and elegant palaces, and while she was proficient in English and well-versed in the beliefs and practices of Christianity, she preferred to live in a traditional hale pili (grass house), worship the ancient akua (gods), and chose to speak strictly Hawaiian even to foreigners planning to do business with her. Ruth left much of her land to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, which would become a large source of income for Kamehameha Schools (Imua!). My favorite story about her is how she supposedly saved the city of Hilo from Mauna Loa's eruption in 1880 by offering the lava goddess Pele liquor, red handkerchiefs,, and a lock of her own hair. Hui Hanakahi references this story in their performance of Wahine Lei ‘Ula.

International Night was a beautiful display of passion and love for all these incredible cultures, and I plan on going again in the years to come.