Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu

Aleina Leiola Campbell lives deep in the lush valley of Mānoa. Her grandmother began teaching her hula when she was just a baby. When Aleina was seven years old, she joined the hālau that her grandmother belonged to—Rose Joshua of Magic Hula Studio. However, as dancing often took a backseat to playing sports, hula didn’t become a priority in her life until she turned 12. When Aleina entered Stevenson Intermediate, she was chosen to represent her class in the May Day Court. After the May Day performance, her group was asked to dance in a school hula competition. As luck would have it, Kumu Hula Sonny Ching was appointed their kumu and in 8th grade Aleina decided to join Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu.

“It is so hard for me to express what hula means to me and what it has done in my life. Hula is no longer a class I go to, but it is an extension of who

I am. It lives in every part of me and has helped me become the person I am today. It has also taught me more than just hula, it has taught me life valued lessons. I share with my family the values that I have learned in hula—ha‘aha‘a, lōkahi, hō‘ihi, and most of all, aloha.”

Hula has helped Aleina keep in touch with the values and traditions of her ancestors that she hopes to pass on to her daughter. Being a part of the hālau has given her lifelong friends and an extended family. It has also taken Aleina across the world—to many states as well as countries. Aleina was given the kuleana of alaka‘i at Hālau Nā Mamo O Pu‘uanahulu and it has been a great honor. She excitedly looks forward to the next decades as a haumana of HNMOP.