ABOUT US

Kumu ‘Auli’i L. Heine Hirahara was trained in hula from an early age. She first learned hula from Kumu Hula Maiki Aiu Lake at the age of 5 yrs old. Later, she learned hula from her mother Leinā’ala Kalama Heine at the age of 9 yrs old until her adult life. Her mother is the founder of hula hālau Na Pualei o Likolehua. A few of Leināʻala Kalama Heine's teachers were Leilani and Puanani Alama, George Holokai, Joseph Kahaulelio, Vicky I’i Rodrigues, and Maiki Aiu Lake. Leināʻala Kalama Heine graduated as kumu hula with Maiki Aiu Lake in 1973.

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In 2013, ‘Auli’i’s mother Leināʻala started to train her for the ʻūniki ceremony. Before Leinā’ala passed in 2015, she asked her oldest daughter Niuli’i Heine to complete the Kumu hula training. Kumu ‘Auli’i received her kīhei on January 13, 2018 at the ʻūniki ceremony in Punalu’u. Kumu ‘Auli’i also learned ‘ike Hawai’i and spiritual knowledge from her Tutu Rebecca Pai’āina Kalama and her mother Leinā’ala Kalama Heine.

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In 2021, Kumu ‘Auli’i received the name of her hālau from a message from her mother, and she opened her first class with her three children. The hālau has grown to 30 plus members. Kumu ‘Auli’i holds hula classes weekly in Honolulu, O’ahu.