Aloha Hula NYC Hula Dancer from New York City, NY

Aloha! Aloha Hula NYC specializes in Polynesian dances and provides lu'au entertainment for all your occasions. Along with our hand-crafted costumes, costume changes during the show, audience participation, live/recorded music and dances, we guarantee your guests will be on their feet dancing hula and shaking their hips to the beat of Tahitian drums. Hula is much more than just dance. It is the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people. It is an expression of history, religion and the human spirit. Hula tells a story about life in Hawaii through graceful hand movements. Wearing beautiful tall headdresses, grass skirts and hand tassels, dancers perform Tahitian, Otea, moving their hips to the fast, pulsating drum beats. - FIREKNIFE DANCERS AND MUSICIANS are also available - ELEIA was invited to dance with Auntie Hula's Royal Hawaiian Dancers and has performed in front of thousands of people throughout the East Coast. She was a guest dancer for award-winning and Grammy-nominated artist Robert Cazimero with his Halau, Na Kamalei, in the recent New York City concert, "On the Island." She also had the honor of performing with Halau o Keikiali'and Kawika Alfiche's presentation of "The Sacred Hula: Ka Wa Hula — Hula Through Time" at Symphony Space in New York City, which won critical acclaim in The New York Times.Performing at venues from Ocean City, MD at the Princess Royale; Knoeble's Resort in Pennsylvania; Hawai'i Visitor's Bureau events and numerous venues throughout the Tri-state area, Eleia enjoys sharing aloha and Polynesian cultures with everyone.Co-founder of Aloha Hula NYC,dancer and choreographer, she is also a member of a hui Na Lehua Melemele and continues to perpetuate Hawaiian culture through hula to the local Hawaiians in NYC and the Hawaiian at heart. NALU has been seen on commercials such as,"Dove Body Wash" and "The Travel Channel" featured as a Polynesian dancer. Nalu has appeared as Liat in "South Pacific", Tahitian girl in Conan O'Brien, numerous roles as a Pacific Islander in soap operas and a cameo appearance opposite Blair Underwood in "Sex in the City". She is a model and has worked with Cosmopolitan, Self, All You Magazines, print ads and billboards throughout the U.S. including Hawai'i and Asia. She is yoga teacher and conducts workshops in NYC and overseas. She is a student of Halau Pua Ali'i Ilima o Nuioka under the direction of Kumu Vicky Holt- Takamine of O'ahu. MATI is the Director and Co-Founder of Dance Central New York and AHNYC. She's appeared on every major network and in commercials as a Polynesian and Principal Dancer for Spain's "Amena cellphone" and "Total Payments Online." Mati has a BFA in Dance from the University of the Arts and shares her love for dance throughout the East Coast and abroad.She had the honor of performing with Halau o Keikiali'and Kawika Alfiche's presentation of "The Sacred Hula: Ka Wa Hula — Hula Through Time" at Symphony Space in New York City, which won critical acclaim in The New York Times.She is a studentof Halau Pua Ali'i Ilima o Nuioka under the direction of Vicky Holt-Takamine of O'ahu. ANDY:With family ties to O'ahu, Andy developed an insatiable love for Hawaiian music and the fingerstyle tradition of ki ho'alu (slack key guitar). He continuously returns to Hawai'i to study with Hawaiian slack key guitar masters including Ozzie Kotani, Keola Beamer and George Kahumoku,Jr.He has become an ambassador of this art, delighting audiences on the east coast.He performs solo or with musicians at a variety of events in the tri-state area. In 2007,he performed at the 15th Annual Taro Festival in Hana,Maui and opened for the Makaha Sons and Hoku Zuttermeister at the Thomas Meehan Center for the Performing Arts. He continues to provide musical accompaniment for various hula groups including Na Lehua Melemele and Halau Pua Ali'i Ilima. CHRIS has performed at many events on the East Coast including Joe's Pub NYC with Vince Gill.He can be heard on CD's by Dan Bonis,Terrence Martin and Billy Rush(Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes). Chris co-authored an instruction book,"The Art of Hawaiian Steel Guitar, Vol.2" w/Grammy winner Stacy Phillips,published by Melbay Productions. BILL 's music evokes memories of an island paradise.The music of Hawai'i captured Bill's heart at an early age. He has shared the music and culture of Hawai'i with audiences everywhere - from Atlantic City's finest casinos to Carnegie Hall and at Honolulu's historic Hawai'i Theatre as a finalist in the KINE/Aloha Festivals Falsetto Contest.He has recorded more than 200 Hawaiian songs in his recording studio.Through these recordings and performances, Bill has earned the respect of living legends of Hawaiian music for preserving and spreading the tradition while moving it forward.He is a member of the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts which presents the Hawaiian music community with the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards,the Hawaiian equivalent of the Grammies.