Honolulu Weekly

Aloha for Haiti / Haiti may be physically thousands of miles away from us here in Hawaii, but distance is no obstacle in the emotional response to a tragedy witnessed only through the media. Neither is it an obstacle to feelings of solidarity and a sharing of love for those affected by the devastating earthquake. International medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontière (Doctors Without Borders) is on the ground right now and we can support them by raising funds.

Aloha for Haiti is a one-night-only event taking place at Mercury Bar this Friday. This fundraiser will showcase performers from all over O’ahu and 100 percent of the proceeds from the event will be given to Doctors Without Borders. That is likely incentive enough to get down to Chinatown and have a few drinks on Friday, but the line-up is such a one-off that it has to be mentioned as well.

You probably already know about Cherry Blossom Cabaret; the provocative, sassy burlesque and cabaret troupe that can sing, dance and act–as well as shimmy and shake free of their costumes–but this might be your first chance to see Dakini Dance Company. Dakini is an experimental belly-dance troupe that combines tribal fusion and improvised tribal belly dance techniques. If that’s not enough belly dancing to seduce you, multi-disciplined dancer and singer Willow Chang will be there too. Perhaps you were unaware that Honolulu had its own Brazilian Carnival Dance troupe; well you can see them, Samba Axe, on the same stage as Hawaii’s human beatbox Jason Tom. Laughtrack Theater will be in attendance and DJ Jetboy and DJ Rolando de la Vega will be spinning. Rounding out the line-up is three-time Grand Slam Poetry Champion Bridget Gray, whose words have been published in several anthologies and textbooks, and are said to awaken the human spirit–quite fitting considering the whole reason behind the show.