Lively music filled the Carey Student Lounge at Saint Vincent College on Tuesday night.
Residents of Latrobe and Unity donned grass skirts and flower necklaces in preparation for an event that Lee Intachai, assistant director of community relations and outreach at Saint Vincent College, has coined Hulacise. Intachai intends for the program to educate guests about Hawaiian culture while helping them burn calories.
Intachai, a Hawaiian native, spent the hour teaching guests different hula dance steps. She has hula danced for about 40 years and has participated in her uncle’s shows since she was 3.
“I was born and raised in Hawaii,” Intachai said. “I’ve been dancing since I was 3 years old. I just love it, and I missed it so much. It’s so fun for me to be able to share it with people here.”
About 40 people attended. Students and community members blended together on the dance floor as they followed Intachai’s lead. Many of the guests were new to the dance and decided to attend as a fun activity with their friends.
A group of Latrobe residents, Debbie Lape, Farah Watkins and Elaine Mickinac, went to the class together as an afternoon outing.
“We do Jazzercise and Zumba together, and this sounded fun,” Lape said.
Despite having never hula danced, the ladies were excited to be there together. The women spent most of the event dancing and laughing with one another.
“We always have fun when we’re together,” Mickinac said. “That’s the most important part.”
Intachai plans to make the event a weekly occurrence each Tuesday night in the student hall. Intachai said members of the college staff are striving to meet the goal of community inclusion and outreach by making the campus more accessible. She added that many people are not aware that the campus is always open to the public.
“We’re trying to invite people from the community into Saint Vincent,” Intachai said. “A lot of people don’t know that they can come on campus. We’re also trying to add in more cultural events, and hula is perfect for that.”
