03/11/2024
~ Edith Kanakaʻole is celebrated worldwide as a hula teacher, composer, chanter, and performer. During the 1970s Hawaiian Renaissance, she played a pivotal role in preserving and passing on hula traditions amidst a widespread revival of cultural practices. Her dance school, Hālau o Kekuhi, gained international recognition for its instruction in the ʻaihaʻa style of hula and chanting. Today, her legacy endures through the Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation, which is overseen by her descendants.
Before her death in 1978, Edith trained her daughters, Pualani and Nālani, to take over as leaders at Hālau o Kekuhi. They are both kumu hula and have played an integral piece in the resurgence of Hawaiian practices. The legacy continues with Pualani's daughter, Kekuhi Kealiʻikanakaʻole, who is an educator and has trained under Hālau o Kekuhi. Kekuhi was elevated to the status of kumu hula of Hālau o Kekuhi by her mother, Pualani, and her aunt, Nālani.