Miss Aloha Hula (Solo) Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

The solo hula class for women, danced by one wahine and judged on her own, with the Hawaiian language treated as part of the performance.

Miss Aloha Hula is the solo hula class for women. Where the group classes place a whole school of hula, known as a halau, as a team, this class places one dancer. She is a wahine (woman) entered on her own, and she is placed against other soloists rather than against teams. In the festival the template is built from, it sits alongside the group Hula Kahiko and Hula Auana classes as the individual showpiece of the programme.

The template follows that structure: one Individual item, filed under the Wahine (Women) division only, with the language set to Hawaiian and a 10-minute limit with the warning at ten minutes. A soloist has nowhere to hide in a class like this. Every gesture, every step and every word of the chant or song is hers alone, so the class rewards depth of preparation, memory and composure as much as technique.

The source publishes no scoring rubric, point scale, criteria list or eligibility rules, so none is asserted here. The 10-minute limit and the scale on the template are working defaults for an organiser’s own event. The results the template draws on do show that five places were awarded in the most recent Miss Aloha Hula class, and that a Hawaiian Language Award is given within it, which tells organisers that the use of the language is recognised in its own right.

The template’s score label is a rating out of 10 in the item index and a 100-mark working scale on the assignment. Both are organiser conveniences. Anyone running a solo hula competition should decide which scale the panel will use, agree what each judge is looking for, and publish the entry rules, the time limit and the number of places before registration opens.

This page describes how the class is organised for people who run events. The chants, songs and protocols belong to the communities and halau who carry them, and they are not explained here.

Where Miss Aloha Hula (Solo) is run

On eTalenter this item is used in one template, the Hawaiian hula festival template, as a single Individual assignment under Wahine (Women). The template is built from the results published by a long-running annual hula competition in Hawaii, United States. Other hula competitions and halau showcases run their own solo classes with their own rules, so read an organiser’s notice before assuming the same arrangement.

• Hawaii, United States (the competition the template is built from)

Key facts

• An Individual item: one dancer is entered and placed on her own
• Filed under the Wahine (Women) division only; there is no men’s solo on the template
• Language on the template is Hawaiian
• The template carries a 10-minute limit with the warning at ten minutes; these are defaults, not published rules
• The source prints no judging rubric or age rule, so the scale is a working one for the organiser to set
• Five places and a separate Hawaiian Language Award appear in the most recent results the template draws on

On eTalenter, Miss Aloha Hula (Solo) is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Rating out of 10. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Miss Aloha Hula (Solo) is most often entered as an Individual competition, commonly run for Female, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 10 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Miss Aloha Hula (Solo)

What a Miss Aloha Hula (Solo) panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• The source publishes no judging sheet, so what follows is organiser guidance for agreeing yardsticks with a panel, not rules from the source
• Command of the language: correct pronunciation and phrasing of the Hawaiian text, which the source recognises with its own award
• Memory and composure: a soloist who knows the piece completely, with no hesitation or visible searching for the next phrase
• Technique: clean, controlled footwork, hip work and hand gestures that are precise and match the meaning of the words
• Expression: a face and presence that carry the feeling of the piece for the whole performance, not only the opening
• Dress and presentation: attire and adornments that suit the piece, worn neatly, with nothing distracting from the dance
• Time discipline: finishing within the agreed limit so the programme is not squeezed

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Miss Aloha Hula (Solo) under Scoring Setup, or start from judge scoring and tabulation software.

How to prepare for Miss Aloha Hula (Solo)

How entrants and their teachers usually get Miss Aloha Hula (Solo) right on the day:

• Settle the rules before registration opens: the age or experience requirement, the time limit, whether music is live or recorded, how many places and any language award, then publish them
• Register each soloist with her halau or teacher as a named contact, and confirm the piece she will perform before the programme is printed
• Learn the words and their meaning before polishing the steps; a dancer who understands the text gestures with more conviction
• Rehearse the whole piece from memory without cues, then in front of a small audience, so the first performance is not the first time under pressure
• Film practice runs and review posture, gesture height and footwork against the beat, one section at a time
• Test any recorded track or live accompaniment on the venue’s sound system before the day, and agree a signal for starting
• Time every rehearsal against the agreed limit and plan a cut if the piece runs long
• After a loss, ask the panel for comments and work first on the weakest area, usually the language or the expression

Frequently asked questions

Is Miss Aloha Hula (Solo) judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, commonly for Female, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Is Miss Aloha Hula a group or a solo class?

A solo class. One woman is entered and placed on her own, unlike the group Hula Kahiko and Hula Auana classes that place a team.

Can men enter Miss Aloha Hula?

On the template the item is filed under Wahine (Women) only. Men’s competition on the template is the group Kane division, not a solo.

How long is the performance and how is it scored?

The source publishes no time limit or scoring rubric. The template uses a 10-minute limit and a working scale as defaults, and an organiser should set and publish their own.

Does the Hawaiian language matter in the judging?

The results the template draws on include a separate Hawaiian Language Award in this class, so the language is recognised in its own right. How much weight it carries in an organiser’s own event is for the organiser to decide.

How many places are awarded?

The most recent results the template draws on award five places, though the number can vary with entries, so the template fixes none and the organiser decides.

Want the full judging picture? Read judge scoring and tabulation software, or browse every on stage competition item.