Austin Resident Hula Master

Take a look at some of Austin’s
most interesting people and
see what brought them—and
kept them—in Austin. These are the
extraordinary people of Austin that
give this area its unique character.
This month’s interview is with
Pei-San Brown, director of community
education at Ballet Austin and
a faculty member/hula instructor for
Ballet Austin. To find out more about
Pei-San, go to www.geocities.com/
island_rhythms.
Hawaiian-born. World traveler.
Hula instructor. Austinite. Pei-San
Brown, director of community education
at Ballet Austin, tells Opulence a
little bit about what she appreciates
about the capital city, what brought
her here and why she calls Austin
home.
Q: What brought you to Austin?
A: Graduate school brought my
husband and me to Austin. We
both went to graduate school
at the University of Texas.
Q: Why did you decide to stay?
A: Oh, gosh, we had such a great experience
here during graduate school,
and I hear it’s a very common thing
that once people come to Austin,
they don’t want to leave, because of
the quality of life here. I don’t know,
really. It just seemed like a very warm,
friendly, accepting city with lots to
do. I think we have so many options,
and it seems like a very young city,
which keeps on changing and growing
with the times. It just seems like
Austin offers a lot to people who are
interested in people. The city is generally
warm and friendly and health
conscience and open to every open
to anyone, no matter who you are.
Q: Tell me about living in
Austin. Why do you love it?
A: Oh, I love Austin because of
the diversity of the people that live
here, their open attitudes, lifestyles,
and everyone’s interested in health
and fitness and being outdoors.
There is lots of hiking, biking,
walking. I just really love that. I
love living a really healthy lifestyle
and in a place where I can experience
a lot of different things.
O p u l e n c e B e a t
Meet P ei-San Brown
by Mashel Parker
“Austin offers a
lot to people who
are interested
in people.”
o p u l e n c e w i n t e r 2 0 0 8
9
Q: Do you think Austin
is family friendly?
A: Absolutely, yes. There are
very diverse aspects of Austin
that lend themselves to different
groups of people, but at the same
time all these various groups of
people—single, married, older,
younger—can all come together
in certain places, certain community
events, and they all accept
each other, which I think is great.
Everywhere I go I see children and
dogs, people of all ages, all ethnicities.
I really really like that; people
feel welcome to go wherever
they want to go here in Austin.
Q: What is your favorite
thing to do in Austin?
A: My favorite thing to do in
Austin, that’s really difficult. Probably
to take my dogs on a walk
around the lake. I really enjoy
that a lot. I do that twice a day.
Q: What are some of the interesting
places you have gone?
A: Well, my most recent and
frequently visited spot is Hawaii
because I grew up there, and I try
to go back at least once a year.
Sometimes I am lucky enough to
go twice a year. I go not only to
visit but also to reconnect with
the culture and what I consider
my hometown, Honolulu, but
also to learn more about hula.
I take a lot of hula classes. I go
there and I try to learn from certain
hula masters so that I bring back
more knowledge with me. One of
my other favorite places is Ireland.
I love Ireland. Everyone is really
friendly and the food is spectacular.
And Australia, again, very open and
so diverse down there, and they’ve
got lots of great seafood and lots of
great beaches. So I really love that.
I’ve been other places like Paris,
Mexico, of course, and all over the
United States, but I tend to gravitate
back toward places that I find are extremely
friendly and welcoming, like
my three favorites: Hawaii, Australia
and Ireland.
Q: If could live anywhere in
the world, where would it be?
A: Hawaii. My husband
says I’m like a one note:
Everything’s Hawaii.
Q: What is your involvement with
Ballet Austin, and how long have
you worked for the organization?
A: I am the director of community
education for Ballet
Austin, and this is my fifth
season with the company.
Q: How long have you
been a hula instructor? And
do you feel there is a hula
scene here in Austin?
A: I’ve been a hula instructor for
about five years now, and have
been on faculty as a Ballet Austin
Butler Community School hula
instructor for two seasons. My
sister and I are the hula instructors
for the Butler Community School,
and our mother has been a hula
teacher in Houston for more than
10 years. There is a hula scene
here in Austin, but not all of what
is presented is authentic hula—a
lot of it is Polynesian dancing from
the other islands and countries
in the Pacific, and often times
authentic hula is not fully understood
or appreciated because of
the current misconceptions about
hula. Hula is a very important
Hawaiian cultural art, and my
goal is not just to share hula with
Austin, but to educate our audiences
about what authentic hula
truly is. Thus, while we perform
for many, many private parties,
we also do a lot of performances
for the libraries, museums, and
schools around Austin. We recently
danced at the Texas Book Festival
for the second year in a row.
Q: Describe some of the
differences between hula
found in Austin and hula in
Hawaii. What makes it unique
in an Austin setting?
A: The difference between hula
in Hawaii and in Austin is that in
Hawaii, hula is very much understood
as a cultural art and not
simply a form of entertainment. It
is integral in almost every aspect
of Hawaiian life, from celebrations
to educational events to
religious events. Here in Austin,
hula is usually expected to be
simply a form of entertainment.
We especially enjoy performing
for museums, libraries, schools,
and for events, such as the Texas
Book Festival, because in these
environments people are especially
receptive to learning about
different cultures and art forms.
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