the School … Hālau Hula Ka No'eau
We at Hālau Hula Ka No‘eau have built our reputation on the philosophy and creed that the “art of hula” expresses all we see, hear, smell taste, touch and feel. We are guided by the belief that the best foundation in creating something new is a thorough understanding of the past. The best environment in which to succeed is one that encourages discipline, commitm
ent and creativity. Established in 1986, in the rural town of Waimea on the Island of Hawaiʻi, by Kumu Hula Michael Pili Pang, the hālau (dance school) maintains the philosophy and the hula ku'i style of dance associated with hula master Maiki Aiu Lake. In 2002, the main school was relocated to Honolulu on the Island of Oahu and currently runs thirteen classes a week. Artistic Director … Kumu Hula Michael Pili Pang
Kumu Hula, artistic director and choreographer Michael Pili Pang has turned to the origin of hula, its means of expression and documentation - to voice the political, social, cultural and economic context in which Hawai'i exists today. A protégé of Maiki Aiu Lake and Mae Kamāmalu Klein, Michael Pili Pang graduated through the 'uniki rituals of hula in 1979 as an `ōlapa (dancer) and in 1985 as a kumu hula (master teacher of Hawaiian dance). He received a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Dance from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa in 2005. Combining his western academic education with his hula traditions Kumu Hula Pili Pang has presented lectures, demonstrations, and concerts at universities and colleges in Hawai'i, North America, Canada, and Asia. He founded Hālau Hula Ka No'eau in 1986, in Waimea, on the island of Hawai'i and continues to perpetuate the art of hula at his current hālau in Honolulu, on the Island of Oʻahu. Pang was appointed the Executive Director of Culture and the Arts for the City and County of Honolulu by Mayor Mufi Hannemann. He served in this capacity throughout the Mayor’s term of office. Today, he teaches nine hula classes a week and is the Executive Director of Mu'olaulani, a non-profit corporation promoting hula as an inherent art form. The Company … HULIAU
The hālau's performing group, Huliau, has emerged as a front-runner in placing hula on the concert stage. The company’s name was chosen first as the theme of the hālau’s annual dance concert but has become a statement and philosophy for the company’s continuance of hula practices and cultural beliefs in this modern day world. Huliau is translated as “a turning point”; a change in time; a concept of being rooted in the past and moving forward into the future. Huliau is made up of artists and practitioners maintaining the traditions and cultural practices associated with hula. Each of the performers began their journey in hula as a student in the dance school Hālau Hula Ka Noʻeau. Their association with the hālau extends from 1986 to the present. Since 1994, Huliau has performed in over 40 cities across the United States, Canada, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.