We are extremely proud to announce that our Kaikamahine Soloist, Willow Akimoto, mesmerized the judges and won 1st place for both the Kaikamahine Soloist Kahiko and ʻAuana.

Kahiko: Through oli and mele, the Solo Kaikamahine Kahiko performance offers a spiritually resonant homage to Lāʻieikawai (Kawahineliʻulā)—a princess whose beauty, birdlike grace, and sacred presence unite natural, ancestral, and cosmological realms. Her myth underscores Hawaiian values of divine lineage (kūʻauhau aliʻi), environmental sanctity, and feminine spiritual power (ka wahine kapu). 

This performance weaves cultural memory into choreography and chant, embodying environmental reverence, ancestral devotion, and poetic artistry. It honors Hawaiʻi’s spiritual lineage and demonstrates that ancestral stories—like the rainbow—continue to guide and inspire.

ʻAuana: Our Solo Kaikamahine ʻAuana presentation was a poetic voyage through Hawaiian landscapes and emotional memory. Hawaiian Lullaby invites the audience to remember home as a place of colors, laughter, and connection. Ke Kini ʻĀnuenue evokes the cultural wonder of witnessing countless rainbows and feeling their protective blessing. Adorned in rainbow silk and blossoms, our soloist conveyed a living embodiment of aloha: inclusive, vibrant, emotional, and sacred. 

This hula celebrated the union of land, story, sky, and spirit—inviting viewers into a moment where nature and melody teach us about the beauty of emotional belonging.