Hālau Hula
KaʻUhane O
Ka Pākīpika

This is a brief history of our hālau and founder. For information on our classes and offerings, please see here.

Born in Hawaiʻi and raised in Canada, Kumu Paddy Wailani Kauhane has both Canadian and Native Hawaiian ancestry. While she has been blessed to learn hula from many excellent teachers over the years, three in particular helped build the foundations of our practice: Kumu Edwin Malulani Kahea Beckley (“Uncle Eddie”), Kalaya Nilson, and Kumu Blaine Kamalani Kia.

As a child in Port Coquitlam, BC, Paddy took Creative Dance from Kalaya Nilson, a mix of hula, Tahitian, Maori, and even jazz. Kalaya had many years of experience dancing hula as part of the famed Aunty Maiki Aiu Lake’s performance group. After a break from dance, Paddy returned to Kalaya, bringing her own children along. Many of our members got their start with Kalaya, including our Poʻo, Puanane, Makalei, and Hokulani.

Kumu Paddy Kauhane

“Polynesian dance is steeped in humility and we always learn to give respect and acknowledgment to our teachers before us”

Simultaneously, Paddy learned hula and other Hawaiian traditions under the tutelage of her uncle and first Kumu, Edwin Malulani Kahea Beckley. She would visit him regularly in Seattle, WA, at the Wakinikona Hawaiian Club. Uncle Eddie had an illustrious background; his uncle, Fred Malulani, was a master chanter and craftsman who succeeded his mother Maria as Kahu (caretaker) of Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum. They were direct descendants of Chief Kameeiamoku, who bears the kahili on the Hawaiian Coat of Arms.

Paddy had never intended to start a hālau (hula school), or become a Kumu (teacher). Luckily for us, Uncle Eddie recognized her talent, drive, and passion. In 1999, after more than 20 years of mentorship, Uncle Eddie told Paddy, “I’ve taught you all I know. It’s time.”

With Uncle Eddie’s encouragement and Kalaya’s blessing, Paddy set out to open a hālau in Maple Ridge, BC. She built her student base by offering workshops through the arts council, parks and rec, and multiple schools. Sadly, Uncle Eddie passed away in 2000, but not before he got to see Kumu Paddy open her hālau – the Hālau Hula Ka‘Uhane O Ka Pākīpika – fulfilling his last wish for her. Now the hālau is going strong and boasts more than a hundred students, some having been there from the very beginning.

The third teacher we acknowledge is Kumu Blaine Kamalani Kia, a prolific and well-respected Kumu and Kahu based in O’ahu. He is the founder of the nonprofit LAUAKEA Foundation, and the founder and operator of The Ladies of Hālau Ka Waikahe Lani Malie and The Men of Hālau Kahulaliwa. He is the proud student of Kumu Darrell ‘Ihi’ihilauākea Lupenui and Kumu Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett. He is also a cultural advisor, musician, and actor – in fact, Kumu Paddy first learned of him when he portrayed a character based on her own father in the 1988 film, Aloha Summer. When Kumu Blaine and Kumu Paddy met in 2003 at E Pili Kakou, he said, “I don’t believe in chances”, and graciously offered to become her Kumu. He remains her Kumu to this day and is an invaluable resource, helping to ensure that we continue Hawaii’s traditions in good faith.

Today, Kumu Paddy guides our hālau from her home in O’ahu, and visits Canada frequently. Adamant that being a Kumu shouldn’t be responsible for her bills, Paddy has found fulfilling work, from the Life Foundation to the Bishop Museum to the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii. She has been the recipient of many honours, including the ‘Ōiwi Leadership Award (2022), the Herman S. Prescott Award (2024) and being recognized as one of Hawai‘i’s Most Admired Leaders (2023). But hula remains as her passion, her calling, her heart.

Hula is a complex and deeply meaningful practice that goes far beyond artistic expression. To do it right, it must incorporate history, geography, protocol, philosophy, and storytelling. It requires humility. It can teach you strength and grace, physically and spiritually. It can enrich your life in ways you never dreamed possible.

Our hālau is based on the unceded traditional territory of the Stó:lō, Semiahmoo, W̱SÁNEĆ, Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group, Kwantlen, Katzie, and Stz'uminus First Nations’ in what is now referred to as Maple Ridge, British Columbia. These lands have a unique and rich cultural heritage with strong ties to the Native Hawaiian people that must be preserved and perpetuated.