LIHUE — Mauli Ola Cook is happiest when she is performing.
She started performing song and dance shows under her father’s direction when she was a child, and eventually brought her talents to Kauai, where she put together storytelling, dance and chant shows at the former Princeville Hotel.
“A heart, I’m a dancer,” Cook said.
So it was only natural for her to combine what she considers two important aspects in her life: teaching and dance.
Cook, a Kauai resident since 1986, was introduced to creative dance when she was getting her Master of Fine Arts in Modern Dance at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.
“It was fascinating, and I have continued to study and teach it ever since,” she said.
After receiving her master’s degree in 1986, she decided to make her two passions a career. She taught creative dance in several schools on Oahu before moving to Kauai, and now hosts workshops that teach educators to use creative dance as a way of teaching in the classroom.
“Once I moved to Kauai, I began teaching creative dance and art integration instruction all around the island, driving everywhere with my car full of instruments and a big boombox,” she said.
Art integration instruction is using creative movement and dance to reinforce lessons learned in the classroom. Using song and dance is another tool in helping children learn, Cook said.
“Some children are visual learners, and some are auditory learns. Others are kinesthetic learners,” she said. “If I give a student a concept, like what causes night and day, and we dance about it, very often that music and dance will trigger something in the brain, and students will have a deeper grasp of it.”
Cook has taught in the cafeterias at Hanalei and Kilauea schools. She has also taught at the Hawaiian immersion schools in Kapaa and Lihue.
This year, Cook, along with Jamie Simpson Steele, a drama specialist and assistant professor at the college of education at UH Manoa, is bringing the art integration instruction workshop to Kauai. The workshop, which is geared toward preschool through second grade teachers, will focus on social issues like cutting in line, honesty, sharing, stealing and being a good sport.
“The real focus is helping children develop an understanding of compassion,” Cook said.
Art integration instruction isn’t just about song and dance: Cook incorporates the use of hula ki’i, or Hawaiian puppets, in her storytelling. And, during the workshop, teachers will be making their own puppet.
“Puppets are enchanting, and as soon as you bring a puppet out, children are engaged,” Cook said. “It’s another voice talking to them, and because they are hearing it from something that’s not their teacher’s voice, they remember it.”
The most rewarding part about her job is watching children come alive through the power of song and dance, Cook said.
“I love children, and I’m fascinated by teaching and learning,” she said. “It is incredibly enjoyable to me to watch children discover the power of their own creativity, and it’s a wonderful feeling when I can help someone learn something.”
The Kauai workshop will be held on three Saturdays, Jan. 30, Feb. 20 and March 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Wilcox Elementary School.
It costs $50, and teachers can register on the PDE3 website. For more information, call Kasey Lindley 839-9885, ext. 704.
