grass skirt | Bound for Australia

In reply to Sepia Saturday’s suggestion of four ballet dancers I give you …….

Four Hula Dancers, with their partners, late 1920s

The couples from the left are

Ron Telford and Hazel Fricke

Fenton Dobson and an unknown lady

Mr and Mrs Smith

Unknown man and May Telford

I don’t know where the photo was taken but I believe the group is from Apollo Bay. Hazel Fricke and May Telford are cousins and Ron Telford is their first cousin once removed. Apollo Bay people were very good at putting on amateur enertainments.

Hula Dancing was popular as an entertainment in the era and both the men and the women are dressed appropriately. The grass skirt or palm leaf skirt has been replaced with either paper streamers or perhaps ribbon, though I suspect the quantity of ribbon needed would have proved expensive. All are wearing leis and the women headbands to represent a wreath of flowers.

I can’t decide if the small ukeleles the men are holding are real or imitation. I can’t find similar images.

These hula dancers were photographed in 1883 and can be seen in a most interesting collection of historical hula dancer photos on A Polar Bear’s Tale blogspot

But if you really want to put a smile on your face then have a look at this video made by some students at the University of Hawaii . It gives some history of the dance then a very easy to follow lesson in doing the hula. Do join in. Guaranteed to make you happy and relaxed.