I first encountered Hawaiian hula in 2013 while visiting friends on the Big Island. I later wrote about seeing my first hula in Waimea, an experience that stayed with me. When I saw that hula, I felt something emanating from the dancer that I could not yet name. I knew I wanted to understand what I was witnessing and learn how that presence, feeling, and spirit were expressed through her movements.
Before that trip, I had already spent several years studying Kahi Loa, a philosophy and energy practice rooted in traditions from Kauaʻi with Dale and Jeanne Stacy in Greensboro, NC. I completed Levels I and II in 2007, finished the final level in 2009, and began teaching the practice in 2012.
Hawaiʻi was never a place I had dreamed of visiting or placed on a bucket list while growing up. In many ways, it simply kept finding me.
After I returned from Big Island, I searched the internet for a class to join. I really didn't think I'd find one in Charlotte, but I did. I reached out by email to inquire and joined my first soon after!
I began my hula journey with my first teacher, Anela of Aloha Island Hula Girls in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dancing and performing with the group introduced me to hula and inspired a deeper desire to understand the culture, traditional techniques, protocols, and chants connected to the practice. I enjoyed the sisterhood of hula.
At the time, much of the group’s repertoire reflected the hapa-haole style commonly presented in entertainment settings along the East Coast. That experience gave me an important beginning while also encouraging me to continue studying beyond performance and seek a deeper understanding of hula as a cultural practice.
I still wanted to know what that hula I saw in Waimea was about and how the dancer evoked those feelings in me.
One of my hula sisters, pictured here, had studied with a kumu on Oʻahu. Through her, I made the connection that would lead me into a deeper study of both traditional (kahiko) and modern ('auana) hula.
When I moved to the coast of North Carolina, I found myself without a hula group. A local dance teacher knew I did hula and asked if I'd teach a class. I hadn't been dancing hula for that long myself, so I thought she was crazy for asking. I wanted to keep dancing (preferably with a group not just alone) and it seemed the only way to keep dancing hula was to perhaps teach and find others to join me...
So, I realized if I was going to teach, that I really needed to study with a traditional hula teacher. I asked my hula sister about the kumu she had lived with and learned from on Oahu and also reached out to another kumu on the Big Island I had seen in a documentary on the Volcano and hula.
After speaking with both kumu, the timing of my university spring break and when I could go aligned more naturally with Kumu Kea’s schedule. She would be just returning from teaching in Japan and ordinarily did not accept intensive students immediately after coming home. Still, she told me that something had prompted her to work with me. That decision became the beginning of a deeper relationship with hula and the lineage through which I continue to learn and share today.
After that initial connection was made, I've traveled frequently to Hawai'i for intensives to study with Kumu Kea (teacher of hula) and I return sharing what I can with others on the East Coast. I also take workshops with other Kumu's and hula teachers in person and virtually.
I've been teaching and performing hula since 2016 and practicing and learning hula since 2013. My lineage of traditional and modern hula is by way of Kumu Kea (Pattye Kealohalani Wright) shown here. "Kumu Kea" founded her school of hula (Hālau Hula) Na Puakea O Koʻolaupoko in 1973.
I have permission to share within this lineage although I am not a Kumu myself, I am a hula teacher sharing aloha.
Still today, I take workshops with other traveling Kumu's. I learn from my students, and I learn from watching local hula dancers in my area that I admire.
When I taught my first six-week adult hula series and a weeklong children’s hula camp, one of the parents asked how they could find me on social media. Until then, I had not really considered that the classes might continue or that people would want to stay connected.
I needed something simple and memorable, so I quickly on the spot came up with Redheaded Hula Girl and went home to create the FB page.
Over the years, I have occasionally considered changing the name to something more traditional, such as Amanda’s Hula Studio. Each time I mention it, though, people tell me how much they love the Redheaded Hula Girl identity. So, for now, that is how I am known although this work is much more than "me", the dancers in class and my performance group are a big part of all this too!
I love being a student myself. What I am able to share from my Kumu, I enjoy sharing with others that may not be able to travel to Hawai'i. Please note, I am not a Kumu, perhaps one day I will earn the right and privilege to be called one through the 'uniki process. I honestly never set out to teach hula, it happened organically and from messages in dreams and heart conversations with my Kumu, it is part of my soul's calling and service.
For now, I teach and share what I can with love and joy to enrich others' lives and bring smiles and women together. If you are desiring to learn from a Kumu with virtual classes, there are several offering their wisdom on-line and you can search for one that you resonate with, you can also travel to Hawai'i to study directly with a cultural expert and the land itself.
By day, I am a university Senior Lecturer of Human Geography with a background in natural resource management. I also teach a variety of contemplative practices in movement, ritual, and stillness. With my background in Earth Sciences, Sacred Spaces, and Mythology, - and my personal interest in spiritual growth, hula for me brings it all together.
My hula classes and educational events are focused on the physical technique of hula and most importantly for me, on the spiritual aspect of hula. Without the spiritual aspect I always felt hula was missing something (read my journals for more).
I educate hula students on three styles of hula including 'auana and kahiko along with hapa-haole (which I consider a separate sub-category of 'auana due to the time period and influences). I myself love learning and continue to study, research, and spend time in Hawai'i to learn more about the culture, the aloha spirit, and the hula diaspora (the spread of hula around the world).
In addition to the classes and hula school, I also lead a performance group, Emerald 'Āina Hula Dancers. As a group, our focus is less on the entertainment style as we focus more on the educational side of hula with the events we do. Most of our events are at assisted living facilities, schools, and the yearly Pacific Arts Festival.
There are no expectations to perform if you take a class, just enjoy classes and have fun! There are also many ways to still be part of the Emerald 'Āina Hula Dancers without getting "on stage". You can contribute what lights you up in supporting those that are dancing. As a group we do not enter competitions as it is not about that for us.
Through the performance group and classes, the focus is to help hula students center, find peace, share aloha, appreciate our Earth, and connect to the bigger picture of their lives and each other.
The world needs more aloha as Kumu Kea says and I believe like her, that hula is one way that people can begin to experience aloha. I also believe hula helps dancers to feel more of a positive connection to themselves, others and our beautiful Earth.
Hula brings joy and smiles into our lives and helps us to slow our fast-paced lives down, even if just during a class or a workshop. Many of the ladies I teach report feeling SO good after a class. Doing an hour or more of hula completely shifts our mindset and energy.
I do hope you'll become part of the community of hula dancers here in the Crystal Coast if you feel a calling inside your heart. The ladies in each group really are supportive and enjoy seeing each other weekly as it is way more than a dance or physical activity. I also always encourage those studying hula with me to study with Kumu's and/or other hula teachers as we can learn from everyone we meet and every experience.
As the Hawaiian saying goes, A'ohe pau ka 'ike i ka hālau ho'okāhi , Not all knowledge is learned in one school.