A few minutes before noon, several museum goers were walking through the ʻEwa Gallery at Capitol Modern on Wednesday, Nov. 5, and looked suddenly surprised. Behind the art installation they were observing, four dancers dressed in white were seated in silent meditation.
The dancers are part of Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre, which will have performers taking over the museum’s galleries, courtyard and lobby this Friday, Nov. 7, as part of a free First Friday event called A Night at the Museum with Iona. On Saturday, Nov. 8, the same performers will participate in Ionasphere 2025, a gala that brings in more than 25 percent of the dance companyʻs annual budget, according to its website. The events are sold out. But, A Night at the Museum will allow walk-ups, as space permits, Cheryl Flaharty, the founder and artistic director of Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre told Aloha State Daily.
This year, the dance company is celebrating 35 years of performances in the community. The museum takeover and the gala include 30 dancers and 88 costumes, she said.
“It's almost the same show each night,” she said. “We have a couple of additional pieces for the gala.”
The shows are bringing back some pieces from earlier in the dance company’s existence.
“It's like a retrospective,” Flaharty said via a phone call after the rehearsal ended. “Some of these pieces haven't been performed for years.”
Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre is celebrating its 35th year of performances in Hawaiʻi. Its performance of "Oh My Goddess! (Ola Ko'u Akua Wahine!)" included Hiʻiaka, shown here. (Olivier Koning) 
"Oh My Goddess! (Ola Ko'u Akua Wahine!)" featured contemporary representations of four Hawaiian goddesses: Pele, shown here, Hi'iaka, Namaka and Poli’ahu. (Olivier Koning) 
"Oh My Goddess! (Ola Ko'u Akua Wahine!)" featured contemporary representations of four Hawaiian goddesses, including Poli’ahu, shown here. (Olivier Koning)
Some dancers who were part of productions more than 30 years ago have returned to be part of performances this week.
“It's been great bringing all these generations together to celebrate the company's legacy, and how much work we've done over the years here in Hawaiʻi,” she added.
Iona Contemporary Dance Theatre, which was formerly known as Iona Pear, started in 1990, according to its website. It is inspired by butoh, a Japanese dance form that involves meditation and improvisation and is highly visual, she said.
“I often joke, and I say dancers come out of the womb dancing,” she said. “We're destined to be dancers, because it's not an easy job. It's not an easy career, an easy life, an easy lifestyle. We're all extremely dedicated to the art form. Any dancer you meet, they have a passion for dance.”
Flaharty knew she wanted to be a choreographer as a student at Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School. She started with ballet, tap and jazz classes. She was also part of the school’s drill team, she said. Flaharty thought she would be a jazz dancer and enrolled at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she took a contemporary dance class from Betty Jones.
“And that changed my world,” she said. “I became a modern dancer. After that, I danced in Betty's company for about three years before I moved to New York. And then when I was in New York, I met Poppo [Shiraishi], my butoh teacher, and then I got introduced to butoh. And now I've merged my contemporary dance training with my butoh [training], and I created something very unique to Iona.”
The dance group does the kind of performances where they paint themselves — with audience participation — and have brought to life Pele, Mother Nature, genocide and more, often while wearing elaborate headpieces.
“I would just say it's so important, especially in this day and age to support the arts,” Flaharty said. “They add so much to our community, to our lifestyle, our enjoyment of life. Without the arts, life is not as beautiful. And the arts are struggling, so I just want to say it's really important to support the arts.”
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
