Hula has been commercialized for entertainment and to promote tourism in Hawaii. In the 1800s and 1900s, the Hula 'Auana, the westernized hula, developed, with melodic songs, string instrument accompaniment, and sensual gestures. Hula dancers performed on tourist shows and Hollywood films, introducing mainland Americans to the feminized version of Hawaii.

In the 1890s and early 1900s, hula dancers and Hawaiian musicians toured the U.S. mainland. Usually women, the dancers danced in their grass skirts, while accompanying musicians played their kitschy Hawaiian melody on their steel guitars and ukulele. American Newspapers reported hula dancing and people's perceptions of hula, and advertisements showed where and when hula dancers performed.

The Hawaiian dancers and musicians performed at the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition and other American world fairs in 1899 (Omaha), 1901 (Buffalo), 1909 (Seattle), 1915 (San Francisco), and 1939 (New York). For Seattle and San Francisco, the Hawaii Pineapple Growers' Association sent women with Hawaiian and Caucasian ancestry to give and promote pineapples to fair goers.

While mainland audiences revered the hula dancers, people at home didn't approve of their dancing. When the dancers got back home, some of them received scorn from strangers.

Read the rest of the article here: https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/ndnp-hawaii/Home/historical-feature-articles/hula-on-the-mainland Read the history of the hula: https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/ndnp-hawaii/hula

The Democratic Banner, November 08, 1921, Page PAGE THREE, Image 3 http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88078751/1921-11-08/ed-1/seq-3/