A new performance blending hula, contemporary dance and storytelling is set to premiere in Wailuku this June, created by acclaimed Native Hawaiian choreographer Christopher Kaui Morgan and inspired by queer Hawaiian moʻolelo.

Presented by Maui Public Art Corps in partnership with Hale Hōʻikeʻike at the Bailey House/Maui Historical Society, the County of Maui and the Lei Pua ʻAla Queer Histories of Hawaiʻi project of the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities, the site-specific pop-up performance is grounded in personal narratives shared through the Hui Moʻolelo: Lei Pua ʻAla initiative.

At a time when transgender identity is under assault in Washington, D.C., Hawaiʻi’s LGBTQ+ history is being shared and celebrated. With help from a grant from the Mellon Foundation, a new group that calls itself Lei Pua ʻAla Queer Histories of Hawaiʻi, in collaboration with Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities, is elevating gay heritage in the public sphere. Its projects include a set of new historic designation markers popping up around the city, a popular hula show in Waikīkī that highlights Hawaiʻi’s long transgender heritage and a website that brings to light the poignant life stories of path-breaking people and places once kept in the shadows.