Leigh-Anne
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
When the spring rolled around, that uneasy feeling in her gut was still there whenever she practiced.
She didn't mention it to her kumu or anyone else in her halau.
She just kept pushing, trying to get it right.
Finally, the week of Mary Monarch arrived.
Leanne and her hula sisters flew to Hilo and checked in to the Naniloa Hotel.
That night, they sat in the audience in Edith Kanakaoli Stadium and watched the Miss Aloha competition.
The next day, it was their turn to compete, Kehiko night.
Leigh-Anne remembers waking up that morning to perfect Hilo weather, blue skies with a cool mist coming off the ocean.
The dancers spent the day rehearsing on the hotel lawn before heading over to the stadium.
When they got there, they had some time to kill before they had to get ready, and most of the dancers wanted to watch the first groups perform.
But Leigh-Anne decided that she needed some time alone and fresh air to clear her head, so she made her way back outside.
As she sat there, breathing in and out, Leanne could hear the first women's group take the stage inside the stadium and start to perform Hina's chant.
Meanwhile, out in the audience, somebody had started to sing.
With the storm raging against the black sky, the announcer got on the mic.
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited.
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited.
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited.