Kūhai Hālau O ʻIlima Pā ʻŌlapa Kahiko

Kūhai Hālau O ʻIlima Pā ʻŌlapa Kahiko offers hula, hula dance, hula classes, hula lessons, and Polynesian dance. The program is a traditional hālau hula that honors hula as a living cultural practice that carries the history, language, and ancestral wisdom of Hawaiʻi. Through the study of mele, moʻolelo, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and traditional arts, haumāʻna engage in learning that cultivates cultural literacy, humility, and a deep sense of kuleana to represent Hawaiʻi’s traditions with integrity in the spaces they enter.

Kūhai Hālau O ʻIlima Pā ʻŌlapa Kahiko (KHOI) is rooted in the community of Oceanside, California. The hālau was founded in 2019 by Ka Hula O ʻIlima. KHOI is grateful for the guidance and mentorship of loea hula (hula expert) Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett and his daughter, kumu hula Oheloulaokalani “Ula” Hewett. Lehua (Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett) is a renowned haku mele (song composer) and kahuna (healer). The hālau was gifted the inoa (name) of Kūhai Hālau O ʻIlima Pā ʻŌlapa Kahiko in the tradition of Aunty Emma DeFries, upon the ʻūniki of Aunty Ilima to kumu hula in 2022.

Guided by her passion for indigenous cultural revitalization, Aunty Ilima earned her degree in Indigenous Anthropology from California State University San Marcos in 2019. Aunty Ilima, also known as Kumu Ilima Kam Martinez, is a kumu hula and the founder and board president of ʻUmeke, a nonprofit that cultivates connection to Hawaiʻi through its various programs. The leadership team includes loea hula Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett, kumu hula Oheloulaokalani “Ula” Hewett, and kumu hula Aunty Ilima / Kumu Ilima Kam Martinez. The program aspires to nurture generations of dancers from diverse backgrounds who approach hula with humility and commitment, carrying it not only as an art form, but as a lifelong responsibility.

Last updated March 24, 2026.