Student Guidelines
What We Teach
The Academy of Hawaiian Arts hula curriculum is grounded in the learning of our basic hula steps. In our rigorous Level 1class, you will learn how to perform the basic steps in the Academy's style, as well as the hula terminology that goes with it. In our Level 2 class and above, you will learn hula choreography in concert with Hawaiian mele, or songs. Knowledge of the Hawaiian language is not mandatory for enrollment in the Academy; however, during the course of your studies, it will be necessary for you to learn to sing or chant (kahea) the words to many of the songs.
Performance skills are incorporated into the teaching, and your training will be based on helping you develop into a skilled performer. Performances are an essential aspect of our curriculum: they provide the means by which we achieve our mandate as an educational institution. However, there is never any guarantee that as an Academy student you will be included in any performance. Participation in performances is based upon need and skills as determined by the Kumu hula only.
Be advised that preparation for a performance may require changes in the class schedule, including temporary cessation of regular classes.
Class Representatives
Each class has a representative who will provide students with information regarding upcoming events and performances. Be sure that you introduce yourself to your class rep, and that they have a way in which to get in contact with you (e-mail and telephone, as well as address). It is your responsibility to regularly check your e-mail or the AHA website for updated class and event information.
How We Behave
The origins of hula are lost in the distant past. The ways in which hula was taught and lived have changed dramatically over the years; the ways in which hula is taught today differs radically from the days before outsiders came to populate the Hawaiian islands. Despite those changes, there are still rules of behavior that govern how we are to behave in the halau, in our classes, and towards our kumu hula and their kokua (assistants). Following are the formal Policies and Procedures of the Academy of Hawaiian Arts:
Non-Discrimination Policy
The Academy of Hawaiian Arts admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin
to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available
to students at the Academy. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,
national, and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions
policies, scholarship and loan programs, employment, and other Academy administered programs.
- Personal hygiene and grooming are very important in hula. All garments should be clean and pressed.
- Attire for attendance in all classes is the Academy uniform: black AHA T-shirts for both kane (male) and wahine (female). Kane dancers recommended to wear loose-fitting shorts.Wahine dancers are required to wear white hula pa‘u.
- Kane and wahine with long hair should have their hair up neatly in a bun, pulled back or braided.
- Please be courteous to the class. If you are running late, are ill, or intend to not attend class, please inform your class representative before class starts.
- If you have plans and know in advance that you are going to miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what was taught when you come to the next class, and to then learn it.
- You may ask questions, but please do not disrupt the class. Ask at an appropriate moment, preferably during a break.
- If you visit with an interest to join AHA, we welcome you to sit and observe one class. If you return the following week to observe again, you will be considered a walk-in, and will be required to pay the $25.00 walk-in session fee.
- Parents of students are welcome to stay and watch. If young siblings or other family members are brought to class, we do ask that they sit quietly and watch without disrupting the class.
In addition to the formal Policies above, there are also important hula halau protocol which every dancer should know of and observe:
- Always show respect to your instructors and kokua (assistants). Kumu hula should be referred to by their title, “Kumu,” or by the acceptable honorific or title of “Uncle” or “Auntie.” (Kumu Mark should be addressed as “Kumu” or “Kumu Mark.”
- At the beginning of class, if there is time, all students should help clean the halau by vacuuming the floor, cleaning the mirror, and making sure everything is clean and tidy. At the end of class, all students should help to close the halau by clearing away leftover water bottles and trash. Restroom trash containers should be emptied at the end of each class.
- When your Kumu is speaking or showing an example, please keep quiet and pay attention. Listen and learn from what is being said or demonstrated. You will benefit from paying attention.
- Think before asking questions. Use your own eyes and ears first; learn by observing.
- Learn and practice what you are taught so that you can keep up with your class. You are expected to memorize kahea by your next class.
- Always take off your shoes before you enter the heart of the halau (it’s OK to leave shoes just inside the doorway). When you go outside, put your shoes on so that you don’t bring dirt back into the halau.
- Beepers and cell phones should be turned off unless you are expecting an emergency call (if so, please explain to the kokua before class).
- Handle your hula attire with respect: hula pa‘u are considered to be a sacred garment, and should not be treated casually or carelessly.
- As you continue your training, you will often hear the phrase, “ai ha‘a,” which literally means, “bend down” or “go lower.” This low-to-the-ground style of dancing is a trademark of the Academy. However, “ai ha‘a” also means to “be humble,” which is a trademark of hula. Please remember to always respect your “hula elders,” which means not only your teachers and their assistants, but also your hula sisters and brothers who have more experience in this halau than you do.
- When you join a new class, show respect for your classmates by remaining at the back of the class. The front row positions belong to the more experienced dancers; wait to take a front row position until you are asked to by an assistant or your Kumu.
- If you visit a class that is not your own (for example, to review your basics), remain in the back of the class. Keep in mind that you are a guest when you are not in your own class.
- Try to remember to ask the kokua to help you, and not your classmates. It is the responsibility of the kokua to help you, and they will be sure to show you the correct movements.
- All students/haumana start in the Basics class and will be placed in an appropriate class based on skill level as determined by the Kumu. Please be aware that ongoing attendance is necessary to be successful in any class, as choreography is learned in progression.
- It is not appropriate to share what is learned at the Academy of Hawaiian Arts with non-Academy of Hawaiian Arts members, including choreography or original mele, without permission.
And just a few final points to remember:
The halau is not a playground; children should be discouraged from running, yelling, or playing inside the halau.
Practice, practice, practice! Some people find it helpful to (audio) record the class so that they can practice at home; others make note of steps and choreography. Whatever you need to help you learn is recommended. Practice is fundamental: as Kumu Mark says, “If you only dance a couple of hours a week, you will look like a ‘couple-of-hours-a-week’ dancer.” Keep in mind your reasons for wanting to learn hula, and apply those reasons as part of the discipline of learning.
Lastly, if you eventually decide that the Academy of Hawaiian Arts is not for you, please continue to show your respect for the Academy and the Kumu hula: (1) let your Kumu hula know you have decided to leave and why; (2) let your Kumu hula know where you intend to go; and if you choose to study at another halau, (3) please let the new Kumu hula know where you've been studying and why you left.
Mahalo nui loa, thank you very much for reading through the AHA Student Guidelines. We hope you will find them helpful, and we hope you enjoy being a student of the Academy of Hawaiian Arts!