Visitors to Hawaii's famous Paradise Cove Luau on Oahu's leeward coast are in for a major entertainment treat each evening, thanks to the skills and hard work of Entertainment Director O'Brian Eselu and his dancers.

Eselu, who emcees the nightly luau show at Paradise Cove and produces and directs the award-winning revue, is also the accomplished kumu hula (hula teacher) of the award-winning Ke Kai O Kahiki halau (hula "family"). Members of the halau include all of Paradise Cove's male dancers.

At the internationally acclaimed 2000 Merrie Monarch Festival hula competition in Hilo on the Big Island, the kane (men) from Paradise Cove and Ke Kai O Kahiki were named festival winner in the kahiko (ancient style) and second in the 'auana (modern style) categories. Overall, Ke Kai O Kahiki finished in second place, just three points shy of becoming the overall top kane entrant!

"Our accomplishments are the product of the discipline, study and long hours of dedication that go into learning the craft of hula and exploring the spiritual connections with our island heritage," explains Eselu. "What this means for our visitors to Paradise Cove is that they will be treated to an evening of dance featuring the very best artists performing in the islands today."