34 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY september 7-13, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com FACE TO FACE Louella Sumler is a mom, wife, nurse, and community leader in Marina. Sumler has also been a hula dancer for decades, and recently she took the lead at Ná Haumána—a dance school where students learn about Hawaiian culture, hula dancing and the story behind the music. Sumler says she’s always been involved in the community. Her family moved to the U.S. from the Philippines before she was born. She grew up learning to appreciate Hawaiian culture thanks to her father, who spent several years in the island state. If the pandemic brought anything positive, it spurred a lot of people to refocus on community. “We had to remind each other to take care of one another,” Sumler says. “I think that’s a basis of every culture.” When you bring people together, she adds, “that’s the only way that the culture can continue—and to continue in the right way.” Recently, Sumler and Juan Sanchez of nonprofit Palenke Arts hosted a Málama Maui (or “care for Maui”) with Ho’omana Hawaiian Band and other musical acts, along with and a packed lineup of performances that included Ná Haumána. The event raised over $12,000 for Hawaii relief after the devastating fires on Maui. Weekly: You’ve been leading Ná Haumána for two years. What have you learned? Sumler: To step away from my dancer mentality and into my teacher mentality. I see my success—or that I’m doing things right—not in myself, but in my students. My responsibility is to make sure that they understand now that it’s their time to shine. My time as a dancer has passed, and now my responsibility is to make sure that everything that I felt as a dancer is what they’re going to feel—to instill that dedication, that love and that understanding in their hearts, that fire that I felt as a dancer. Now it’s my responsibility to make sure that I nurture all those little fires in them. Is there a song that’s most meaningful to you as a dancer? “For the Láhui.” That means “for the people of Hawaii.” It was composed by Josh Tatofi [and is the song Sumler and her students performed at the Málama Maui fundraiser in Seaside]. He went to Mauna Kea when they were fighting for the telescope not to be built. He wrote that song on that mountain, and it was to bring the people together—to remind them that this is their home; that this is their land, and to protect it. These dancers—I’ve never seen them more dedicated to a song and to have danced it so beautifully together. I think right now, that’s my favorite song to dance, especially with all our students because I felt them when we danced it that day. We all felt it. We all felt each other. Those are the best songs to dance to. What do you feel when you dance hula? You know that feeling after you get a massage and everything feels so relaxed and you feel kind of out of yourself? That’s how I feel when I dance. I know I’m representing a culture, and I take that to heart. I’m telling their story through my body and through my voice. It’s important to know what I’m talking about. I do research, I look up the songs, I look up the places that the songs are talking about. I go to Hawaii and I feel the wind, and I feel the rain, and I see the sun, and I feel the sand. And that’s the goal for the students as well, to touch back to those places—not only Hawaii, but also the places that they come from. You’re a Filipino American sharing Hawaiian culture. It would be natural to experience some uncertainty when you start. Not being of the culture, there’s even more work, right? I just want to make sure that what I’m teaching is correct and it’s the right way to do it. Make sure that you get educated and you reach out to all the sources that you can, because there are a lot of people who want to share. You just have to be open to taking in all that knowledge. You consider food a key cultural element. Why? That’s what brings cultures together. Everybody sits at a table with their family and they share a meal. And that’s why we always have food here [at Ná Haumána]. Every practice, we have food. What’s your favorite dish? Pasta is life. I love noodles and I love pasta. When we went on our honeymoon to Rome, I thought it was the best place ever, because it was just pasta everywhere and bread everywhere. Carbs are amazing. Island Time Through dance and history, a local Filipino American woman shares her love for Hawaiian culture. By Celia Jiménez Louella Sumler poses with an Ipu Heke, a percussion instrument used when performers chant. Ipu Heke is mostly played in kahiko, an ancient hula style. CELIA JIMÉNEZ Breakthrough Men’s Community is a non-profitorganizationfoundedin1987 to teach men skills to free themselves from non-productive, painful, or unworkable patterns in their lives. Donate at: www.breakthroughformen.org LIFE TOOLS FOR MEN to Live FULLY ALIVE Transforming lives and communities better dads, better partners, better friends Now registering in person workshops for the fall and spring! For dates and more information, email enrollment@breakthroughformen.org Or visit www.breakthroughformen,org
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