Island Moves’ Halau Na Wai Ola-Hawaiian Dance Instruction

I’ve been coming here with my daughters (ages 7 and 9) for about a year now, and I can say with confidence that if you are looking to add a little (or a lot) of aloha in your life, look no further.
If you are interested, you can read my thoughts and experience with this halau below, but first, some nuts and bolts:
There is a ton of information on Halau Na Wai Ola’s website, including a detailed PDF file of the current or upcoming session. If you’re unsure, you can walk in to observe or, if you’re feeling brave, you can participate in a trial class for a small fee. I think that tuition prices are fair, the location is great, and the evening class times are convenient for my family. They also offer different workshops throughout the year that are open to both students of the halau and the general public. There are competition classes for advanced students, but if you are not looking to compete, you (and/​or your child/​ren) can still participate in an annual show that is very well produced. This is a unique and nice perk to share what you’ve learned with friends and family. Best of all, the vibe here is truly warm and ‘family like.’
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Now, on to my family’s personal experience:
Our journey began as a simple summer ‘something to do’ for one of my daughters who is extremely shy. I thought that hula might help, so I brought her in to observe a class. She loved the place so much that she gave me a green light to start attending immediately. I was in shock.
When we came in to turn in our enrollment packet, Kumu was away at competition, so I didn’t get to meet her. This made me a little apprehensive because I’ve heard stories about very strict and scary Kumus (teachers), and I knew that this experience could either lift my daughter up, or crush her. Luckily Kumu Kau’i turned out to be kind, patient, loving, gentle, and firm in all the right amounts. She embodies all of the things I want my daughters to have in a role model, and she is the perfect fit for us.
I began dancing shortly after my daughters, and with every class, we are immersed in an experience that includes language, tradition, history and a wealth of other cultural knowledge that is shared openly. This is important to me because my family is from Hawaii, but over the years, the culture has faded away for the younger generations (myself included). This past year I have heard my children use words and phrases that I remember hearing as a small child, I have watched my shy daughter emerge from her little shell, and both my daughters and I have formed the beginning ”forever” bonds with our hula sisters. What started out as summer hula lessons, has evolved into so much more!
Recently, while planning the dates for our summer vacation, my husband asked me, «When does hula end?» My answer: Never.

Simply put, one of the best. Hula aside, and they do it very well, there is a palpable sense of the aloha spirit that permeates this Halau. Having come into the Hawaiian community late in life, theirs was the first hula performance I ever saw. Kau’i and Anson are warm and personable people who make one feel very welcome. I have watched their daughter blossom into a well accomplished dancer, who will undoubtedly pass the traditions on to the next generations.
I am not a hula dancer; I have a wonderful Hawaiian lady in my life. As a result, I have been to many hula shows over the past decade. Na Wai Ola’s shows have consistently high production values, and are most entertaining. If you are in the South Bay Area, I couldn’t imagine a better choice for someone looking into learning about things Hawaiian.

So, I’ve been secretly wanting to take hula for almost 10 years. I held back because I was afraid my haloe @$$ would get the stink eye.
Finally, I was encouraged to go try a class by a new co-​worker, who happens to be hapa Hawaiian. She said, «Girl! No body’s Hawaiian in hula classes anyway. Who cares?» And she recommended Halau Na Wai Ola, even though she attends a halau about 1 hour away.
The timing couldn’t have been better. The first four weeks of each semester are a trial period and open to anyone. I fell in love with hula and not a single person gave me the stink eye. In fact, everyone was so nice, if they thought I looked ghostly white, I didn’t feel a hint of it!
Hula has changed my life for the better. I am so thankful for the guidance of Kumu Kau’i. She and the halau are truly amazing.

Took my 4-​year old daughter here in September 2012 for hula lessons. Kumu (Teacher) Kaui is nice and engaging, as all of the other instructors. During the class she has the kids play games and learn Hawaiian numbers and words. The little kids are in the same class as the older kids (5 – 12). I feel that sometimes the class size is too large, and it gets chaotic at times, but overall a fine school for learning hula.

Love this halau! My daughter has only been going for 3 or 4 months but it’s been great. My 6yo doesn’t have any prior dance experience what so ever but all the teachers here have been patient and are awesome making things fun — even and especially when the young ones aren’t getting the moves right away. Great location too, right near Japantown San Jose.

My 8 year old daughter is taking Hula classes with Kumu Kaui here & she loves it. She began by taking a free workshop which was very warm & welcoming & even involved the parents lol :) The class is now weekly for an hour and after having had past experience in hula, I have to say this is a much better learning experience for her. Not just dance, but much more learning along with the language, meaning, spirit and movement. Kumu Kaui is very sweet and patient with the kids, I love her way of teaching, she is beautiful and completely portrays the Aloha spirit thru her teaching. I hope to see my daughter stay here for years to come. Tuition is very reasonable as well.

It was one of my super spontaneous nights when I was laying in bed and thought about how I could mix up my boring routine of going to the gym. I needed to do some kind of cardio, but running on the treadmill is too boring for me. I then remembered that I always wanted to do men’s hula so I immediately Unilocaled hula places in the area. Two places popped up and I emailed both places and asked for info about the classes.
Na Wai Ola responded right away and asked me to stop by the next day to check out the class. Why not?
I couldn’t find the place at first because there was nothing on the windows to suggest it was a hula school. As I compared addresses, I knew I had the right place so I went in.
The girls at the front were so nice and I was immediately introduced to Kumu and her husband Anson. They were ecstatic that I was a man who was interested in men’s hula because finding male dancers is very difficult. I was asked to join the class and that was enough to get me interested in being part of their Ohana. I not only started dancing in the men’s class, but also started Tahitian drumming on Monday nights.
Kumu is an incredibly beautiful, graceful, and humble teacher. She embraces all the dancers as her own family member and has an incredible memory of remembering all the dancer’s names. Some of the dancers has been with her since they were little girls and they are now beautiful adult women. Her husband Anson teaches the men’s hula class as well as the drumming class. He’s an awesome guy with lots of patience, encouragement, and talent. Their daughter Kanoe is an icon of the Halau and very involved with all the classes, programs, and shows that is featured throughout the year. Leiola is their youngest daughter and if you saw her, you’d swear that was Lilo in real life.
The biggest show of the year, the Hoike, takes months of practice to prepare for. It is a big show that takes place at the Fox Theatre in Redwood City and is a compilation of all the classes Na Wai Ola has. Since I started late, I had a lot of catching up to do and learning not only the dance moves, but also the fundamental basics of Halau etiquette, arm/​hand, leg/​feet, and body movements. When it came time for the Hoike, there was an excitement that I haven’t felt since being on stage with my martial arts studio in demonstrations as a kid. There was just so much energy, passion, and beauty in the show that I heard many people in the audience say it was the best hula performance they’ve ever seen.
Unilocal didn’t come thru for me this time for finding a great restaurant, bar, or business. It found me a family – oh and a great new way to mix up my workout. Aloha to my new Ohana.

We hired Halau Na Wai Ola for a Club event a few weeks ago. What an amazing show! Your dancers completely blew our minds. Thank you emails, phone calls and drop-​ins are still pouring in. Your dancers performed better than we could have ever imagined and entertained the audience. I will keep your company
in mind when booking future events and I’ll be sure to pass your name along if anyone inquiries within the Club.

Their ho’ike is the best I have seen — a wonderful story unfolds as the dancers grace the stage.
I had the honor of having Na Wai Ola perform for our inaugural flights to Hawaii. They were so awesome — their keikis were so precious — every performer was great. Kumu Kau’i is humble and exudes warmth and the aloha spirit.
If you are looking for a wonderful addition to your Hawaiian themed occassion, you’d be doing yourself a favor by hiring this group. They are professionals who deliver beauty and grace in their performance.

Aloha!!!
We had recently celebrated my son’s first bday Luau Party. I’m originally from the island of Oahu and normally we throw a Luau for our children’s first bday’s. I needed to make it as if we were at home in Hawaii. Na Wai Ola help us do just that. They brought the island spirit of ALOHA, music, and dancing to show california just how beautiful Hawaii is. But most of all they showed that island spirit. I wouldn’t have done it any other way.
Mahalo Nui Loa Kumu Kaui and Halau Ohana. :)

I wanted to find a place to take Hula… wow, I got way more than I expected! The people here take their Aloha spirit seriously, no where else was I greeted with such warmth. The class I started with has turned into two classes now, and starting their summer session as well. Not only do you learn Hula, but also the language and history… and of course Aloha… the true meaning of Aloha.
I came for a class, I left with a family of Hula brothers and sisters.
I highly recommend them.

Fantastic place for children to learn hula! My child loves it.

I went to this Halau for the first time and it was a very positive experience.
The Kumu was very real but also very friendly warm and welcoming. so was the rest of the staff here. i especially liked their philosophy on dance, to watch and listen. also that attitude and individual style is important and to just feel the dance. the words we say are more important than the dance itself and that the dance enhances the words.
great music. fun choreography. and definitely embodies the aloha spirit. i look forward to coming here every week!

Sonny’s Place Hawaiian Shop:
In addition to the usual merchandise it’s been carrying such as clothing for men, women, and kids, the retail store has lots of new merchandise. A lot of it is cute stuff for girls and women, and they would make great gifts. There are also fragrances and lotions and such. I actually want to buy a lot of the stuff for myself!
Halau Na Wai Ola:
When I became a student at Halau Na Wai Ola almost four years ago, the people there quickly became my second family. They make you feel welcome and part of their ‘ohana. When I’m at the halau, I’m able to free my mind of everything else besides hula.
Kumu Kau‘i has a deep knowledge, respect, and passion for the Hawaiian culture, and her generosity and willingness to share this knowledge, hula, and her aloha with her students are just a couple of the many elements that keep the students coming back every week, eager to learn. Not only does she teach us hula, but she also teaches us the story of the dance, which gives meaning to the motions of our hands and the expressions on our faces as we dance. The respect and kindness she shows to everyone makes it so easy for everyone to reciprocate and respect her and hold her in such high regard. And her family is just the same.
So if you’re looking for a place to learn hula or tahitian and about the Hawaiian culture, a place where you can escape from the stresses of everyday life, a place where you feel a sense of belonging, your search is over. You’ll find it all at Halau Na Wai Ola.

I love the beginning hula class on Monday nights! After a stressful day at work, I always feel relaxed as soon as I step into Halau Na Wai Ola with the Hawaiian music playing and watching the advanced kaikamahine (young girls) finish up their class. They’re such a joy to watch, and they are good too!
Everyone always seems so happy and friendly. It’s like I’m back in Hawaii again. You also really get the sense of how family oriented this halau is as the kumu, her husband and the daughter teach the classes. As far as a workout, sometimes I’ll break a little sweat, maybe because it’s a beginning class? The kumu (teacher) is great and will often times have her daughter Kanoe and another young girl (I believe her name is Erin) as her assistants. I used to think that learning the hula was about shaking your hips and coconut shells, but really it is much more. It’s about the expression of Hawaiian culture and history through dance from your hips, arms, finger tips to even the expression on your face. It’s a beautiful dance. All in all, I thoroughly enjoy the class, learning about Hawaiian culture and can’t find a better way to spend my Monday nights. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming, and range from young to old.
My only little quam is I really wish they would remove the little stage in front the class. I find that it kind of hinders the view a bit, and I get more confused when they get up on there and try to demonstrate the moves for everyone to see. Perhaps it is just me, who knows.

Halau Na Wai Ola means ‘hula school of the living waters.’ Sonny is the mother of owner/​teacher (the «Kumu») and she no longer operates a store there.
This halau has been teaching polynesian dances and culture since the late 1990s. They began with just a handful of students and now seem to have about 200. Lessons are given in the late afternoons and into the evening four days a week. For a while Hawaiian language lessons were given but no longer. There is no class for ukulele either.
The annual hula show («hoiki») and dinner («luau») have become more and more elaborate with stage lighting and professional sound. The show is excellent and moves along very quickly with a new set of dancers walking on stage as the previous ones are exiting. Usually the hoiki is themed with a story-​line of some kind that ties the dance numbers together. Be forewarned that there is a large community of «mainland» Hawaiians who bring their extended families to these events, so order a ticket before going or you may be left outside of a sold out event.
This is a wonderful place to learn Hawaiian culture and dance with a warm, supportive group of people.

If you would check the web site you’ll see they are open Mon-​Thur Evening.

The retail store is now closed but the halau (the hula school) is open. It’s the most wonderful place for you to learn hula, the meaning of aloha, and true Hawaiian culture and dicipline. If anyone has been curious to learn, this is the best place you can be. Kumu is very generous in so many ways. Your life will be enriched by being a part of a great organization. This is more than a class and it will become a big part of your life and the students like your family. I can’t say enough…

Yes, they do sell Hawaiian items for the public, but Sonny’s Place is definitely more focused on its hula school, Halau Na Wai Ola.
I am currently taking the beginning hula class and it’s very enjoyable. The beginner’s class is not involved in competitions so if you’re just learning, you don’t have to worry about competing. If you are interested, there are classes that are geared more towards competition. The Kumu (teacher) for the beginner’s class is really friendly and makes all new people feel very welcome. The Halau really takes Hawaiian /​Tahitian culture seriously, so be prepared to be very respectful towards the dancing, physical space, teachers, and spirit of hula.
A very fun place to dance! :)

CDs, knick knacks, shirts, stickers, muu-​muus… are all available here. Unfortunately there is no food items on sale except for some snacks from the Hukilau. They do have hula lessons though so if you’ve been wanting to learn how to gyrate those hips, sign up for a class or two. Kids as young as 5 can sign up too.