What is Auana?

Auana is Cirque du Soleil's first resident show in Hawaii, and the first built from the ground up around Hawaiian culture. It opened on 17 December 2024 at the OUTRIGGER Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel and plays five nights a week.

What the name means

Officially written ʻAuana, with the Hawaiian ʻokina at the start, the word means "to wander" or "to veer off the beaten path". In hula it is also the name for modern hula, hula ʻauana, with its guitars and flowing movement, as opposed to the ancient chanted hula kahiko. Both meanings fit: the show wanders through Hawaiian history and legend, and it sets traditional culture in a very modern circus.

The story and the eight acts

The show is built as eight chapters, each tied to a Hawaiian story. Voyaging Swings honor the Polynesian navigators who found the islands. The Lyra aerial hoop is an ode to Hina, goddess of the moon. In the water bowl, a performer swims and dives as Mamala, the legendary chiefess of old Honolulu's harbor. A roller-skating duo tells the naupaka legend of separated lovers, a rola bola act turns the art of surfing into balance, and a foot juggling duo tips its hat to the golden age of Waikiki tourism. A sand painting chapter slows everything down, before the Wheel of Life finale retells how the 'alae 'ula bird brought fire to people. A comic host and a live band playing Hawaiian music tie it together.

Who made it

Director and co-creator Neil Dorward worked with cultural creative producer Dr. Aaron J. Salā, kumu hula Hiwa Vaughan, costume designer Manaola Yap, Hawaiian language adviser Keao NeSmith and musical director John Signor, with a cast mixing international acrobats and local performers. Cirque du Soleil's co-founder Guy Laliberté has said a Hawaiian sunset inspired him to start the company, so the show is, in a sense, a homecoming. Visitors describe the result as an "interesting and respectful take on the Hawaiian culture", and it holds a 4.9 out of 5 rating on Viator. Ready to go? Start with where to sit and what it costs.