A note from Kumu Nani
I often wonder if my mother knew it would all turn out like this….I wonder if she knew what she ignited the day she decided it was not ballet, it was not tap, it was not even Obon (Japanese dance), but hula that her daughter would learn. She left me for heaven before I had a chance to ask her these things…and I wonder now if she watches me…and if she is smiling….
A woman’s life and her choices are greatly influenced by the choices and the decisions their mothers make for them as children. My mother is the daughter of Okinawan immigrants to Hawaiʻi. She was raised in a Japanese speaking home and her mother belonged to every Okinawan social / civic club in Honolulu. Even though she learned all things Japanese / Okinawan from her mother, my mother loved all things Hawaiian. She loved the music, she loved the food, she loved the arts and crafts, she loved the people, and she fell in love with one particular Hawaiian boy…my dad. For her eldest daughter, despite her own blood and culture, she chose for me…hula. And so it began when I was about 8 years old that I attended my first hula class taught by Nāpua Harris Woodd, where the roots were planted. I learned under Nāpua until she retired about 5 years later. She had a certain style and posture of hula that I loved and so for the next 16 years, I searched for another teacher. I finally found it with Uncle Kunewa Mook and Hula Hālau ʻO Kamuela ʻElua.
It is with Uncle Kunewa and the 18 years that I spent with him that my foundation and major learning took place. My years spent as alakaʻi of the hālau were years of great learning and I am forever grateful to Uncle for the years he invested in me. Uncle taught me discipline and hard work. He taught me the science of the choreography and the art of the dance. He taught me the importance of being meticulous…and in those wonderful moments, he would share the moʻolelo and the huna noʻeau of our traditional kahiko. It is with Uncle that I learned the competition side of hula and it is with Uncle that I won two solo titles, the first in 1992 and the second in 1995. It is with Uncle that I was provided an opportunity to dance on the Merrie Monarch stage with our sister hālau in 1993. And so it was with Uncle that my dream of becoming a kumu hula began.
December of 2006 brought me to Mohala Reese with whom I began ʻuniki training and who blessed the opening of my hālau, Hālau Hula Moaniʻaʻala Anuhea, on February 1, 2007. I remained with Aunty Mohala until I was invited home to Hawaiʻi to study under Aunty Mae Kamāmalu Klein in January 2009. I achieved ʻuniki under Aunty Mae as Kumu Hula on August 14, 2010 in the lineage of Aunty Maʻiki Aiu Lake in Kailua, Hawaiʻi. Aunty Mae continues to bless my hālau and to guide me as I make my own way.
My hālau follows the same virtues and principles that Aunty Maʻiki and Aunty Mae have passed down to us. We practice ha‘ahaʻa (humility), hōʻihi (respect for one another), manawaleʻa (generosity), kaulike (equality/justice), and pākiko (self-control). In doing so we give honor and glory to God and to one another. My hālau is a place of learning and nurturing, so it is my mission to offer a place my students can call “home” and where they can grow in their knowledge of all things Hawaiian while they still learn to grow as people.
To the one who gave me that first taste, Nāpua Harris Woodd, I will never forget you. To Uncle Kunewa Mook, I am proud and grateful for all that I carry with me from you. To Aunty Mohala Reese, I humbly say thank you. To Aunty Mae, you are my guiding light. And to my mom….I can feel your nod of approval…and I hope that you are smiling…..
Papa ʻUniki Kupukupu 2010