IONA CONTEMPORARY DANCE THEATRE
Oh My Goddess! (Ola Ko'u Akua Wahine)
is a ground breaking new work featuring contemporary representations
of the four Hawaiian goddesses Pele, Hi'iaka, Namaka, and Poli’ahu.
IONA celebrates the artistic expressions of Hawai`i's diverse cultures
and communities in this “Japanese butoh dance, meets haute couture fashion, meets Hawaiian culture” unique and forward thinking new work.
Oh My Goddess! was a brilliant success and will live on past the world premiere to be performed at high schools, prisons, local and corporate events. A documentary film is in the works and we hope to tour the show to new communities near and far.
EXCERPTS FROM OH MY GODDESS!
IONA's newest evening-length work, Oh My Goddess! (Ola Ko'u Akua Wahine!) premiered on September 29, 2023 at the Hawai'i Convention Center. The work features contemporary representations of the four Hawaiian goddesses Pele, Hi'iaka, Namaka, and Poli’ahu in a gallery-style format. These excerpts are taken from the dress rehearsal.
AUDIENCES LOVE
OH MY GODDESS!
Amazing. IONA never disappoints! Gorgeous costumes, mesmerizing movement, beautiful dancers, creative and immersive experience.
Incredible costumes, ethereal music, Pele's olympic-level strength and flexibility, off the charts originality.
Stunning…mesmerizing….speechless
(LOVED) The whole concept; the four reflective stages and four exquisitely presented Goddesses, and the deeply contemplative music resulted in tranced enchantment for the viewer.
I am sooo moved, affected by ALL the goddesses. These dancers BECAME the spirits - fierce and wild, lovely and creative, fluid and nurturing, stately and centered/grounded. Each one offered an amazing performance. (Cheryl), thank you for bringing the interior of your creative and beautiful soul to us, to me, to remind me of what is real.
The costumes, the lighting, the dreamlike atmosphere...I was mesmerized... Always love experiencing the fruits of Cheryl's team at play!
I loved the creativity, dance, costumes and strong cultural relevance. It was incredibly beautiful and educational, too!
The Costumes were very much works of art. The movement of the goddesses was completely in sinc with their "characters". The whole show was captivating and spellbinding. Bravo - Well done!
“Spectacular costumes designed by creative genius Cheryl. Visually stunning! Room was perfect for installation. Mirrored floor and dancers gliding movements WOW! Mahalo Nui Loa!”
I’ve read about the mythology of the Hawaiian goddesses. Seeing it come to life, with modern day stories and then seeing the environmental impacts blended in the costumes made the performance well rounded. I haven’t seen anything like this and appreciated the level of detail that went into everything. It was a good reminder that the goddesses are very much alive and we interact with them everyday. Even though we do not realize it.
“This was the first IONA show where I brought my 12 year old who is taking contemporary dance at Midpac. She was blown away. It was fun to watch this experience through my daughters eyes. She learned about a new dance, butoh. She was mesmerized by the costumes and inspired to make her own costumes. Also being Hawaiian, it was beautiful to see Iona’s art form transform the stories of these goddesses. Beautiful show.”
I want to see it again and bring all my friends! Spectacular work!!!
I see the vision behind this company as hope. The viewer is a part of the experience; the soul uplifts with the triad of music, costume, and dance.
Cheryl is better than ever. Her brilliance and creativity are sublime. Her intertwining of dance, music, costumes, visuals…are unique and unparalleled. Her contributions to the arts, especially in Hawaii, are outstanding and so important.
Please put on more productions! Your works are visually, emotionally and physically mind blowing and we all want more!! Incredible. Thank you so much for all the creativity, hard work, heart, soul and expense that went into this.
