Hula Basics starts with the foundation of every hula dance.This class focuses on hula basics of the ancient form of hula, working with the beat of the ipu (gourd drum). As we dance to the sound of Hawaiian chanting, we pick up important hula vocabulary. The proper hula form that we learn provides the foundation of every hula dance. While dancing, we systematically work the entire body from the feet up.We have a rare opportunity in that our kumu hula (traditionally trained and graduated Hula teacher) is also trained in traditional lomilomi massage and limbering techniques that hula halau (schools) used in olden times. Kumu Mālia weaves in elements of Haki Kino (body limbering) and Hakihaki (massage therapy with both hands and feet) throughout the class to enhance body awareness, flexibility, and strength.

Mālia Helelā

Kumu Mālia Ko’i’ulaokawaolehua Helelā strives to live a life of grace. Her hālau (hula school), which meets at Still & Moving Center, is Nā Hula Ola Aloha. Completing her ‘ūniki (graduation) under Kumu Hula Pulu’elo Park in 2002, she now teaches hula and oli (traditional Hawaiian chanting) to a wide range of students, from infants and toddlers to kupuna. Mālia studied oli under Kumu Hula Keola Lake. She began her formal training in lomilomi massage as a teenager. She was licensed by the State of Hawaii as a massage therapist in 1998 and as an esthetician in 2002. Her hula practice and lomilomi practice, she says, are the same. She continues to look to the beauty and grace of the Hawaiian environment for grounding and inspiration. Mālia has become a respected and beloved cultural practitioner in Hawaii.