Hula ʻauana
26 schools across Canada
Hula ʻauana is the modern style of Hawaiian hula.
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The word ʻauana means to wander or drift, and Hawaiian cultural teachers describe ʻauana as the hula that has wandered from its older ritual roots: dances shaped by songs, ideas and instruments that arrived after Europeans first reached the islands in 1778. It grew through the 1800s, the era of King Kalākaua, and was later set apart as a category of its own, alongside the older hula kahiko.
What most distinguishes the two is the music. Kahiko is danced to chant and percussion: drums such as the pahu and gourds such as the ipu. ʻAuana is set to melodic, sung mele, or Hawaiian songs, carried by stringed instruments like the ʻukulele and guitar that came to Hawaiʻi with Western contact. Both styles tell their stories through the dancer's hands; what a newcomer hears first is a sung melody where kahiko is chanted.
Like all hula, ʻauana is taught within a hālau (a hula school) under a kumu hula, or teacher. As the University of Hawaiʻi's Kahoʻiwai resource puts it, dancer and musician are equally part of the art: "the joy of the dance is made so because of both the dancer and the musician."
For someone new to hula, ʻauana is an approachable place to begin. Its melodic songs and familiar instruments are easy to enjoy, and many schools run beginner classes that welcome people with no experience at all. A first class tends to stay with the basics: footwork, the hand gestures that carry a song's meaning, and learning one dance a phrase at a time. The steps and their names, the words of the mele and the story behind each dance come with time, from your kumu.
halau.ca doesn't teach hula or speak for any school; the schools and their kumu are the authority on this living tradition. The schools listed here teach hula ʻauana. Reach out to any of them to find a class near you.
Hula school serving the Greater Toronto Area, sister hālau to Hālau Hula I Ka Lā in Clovis, California. Presenter of AlohaFest Toronto.
"To begin to breathe aloha" — non-profit society established 2019, teaching hula kahiko, ʻauana and ʻori Tahiti at Blue Quill Community Hall in south Edmonton, with an annual Hōʻike.
Montréal Hawaiian hula group — the local chapter of Hālau o Keikialiʻi under Kumu Hula Kawika Alfiche — teaching hula kahiko and ʻauana with oli and mele, in French and English.
Toronto hula school sharing Hawaiian culture through hula since 1986, with Sunday classes in Scarborough for all levels from beginner to competitive dancer.
Hawaiian hula performances in Toronto, Ontario, and online hula instruction.
Markham hula hālau led by kumu hula Joy Emalani Walea Corpuz-McKoy, perpetuating hula and Hawaiian and Polynesian arts. One of the largest hālau in the GTA (around 100 members), it presents an annual Hōʻike and in 2025 became the second Canadian hālau invited to compete at the Queen Liliʻuokalani Keiki Hula Competition in Honolulu.
Hula at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre with instructor Renee Siao — recreational classes at three levels four terms a year, and the ʻOhana Hula performance club. Ages 18+; JCCC membership required.
Canada branch of Hālau Ka Liko Pua O Kalaniākea — the Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu hālau founded by Kumu Hula Kapua Dalire-Moe, a former Miss Aloha Hula whose dancers compete at the Merrie Monarch Festival in hula kahiko and ʻauana.
Founded in 1982 by Kumu Hula Mela-Lilia Uriarte — over 200 dancers across the GTA, with classes in Markham and Mississauga (ages 3+) and decades of festival performances worldwide.
Mississauga Polynesian dance school teaching hula and ʻori Tahiti, presenting an annual Hōʻike at the Maja Prentice Theatre.
Scarborough hula group run by Lourdes Sadiua, teaching Hawaiian hula and connecting local dancers through its Facebook community.
Founded 1978 in Toronto — Hawaiian hula, Tahitian and Filipino dance for all ages, with a 48th Annual Hawaiian Night held in 2026. A multi-generational community spanning beginners to experienced performers.
London, Ontario's authentic Hawaiian dance company — hula kahiko and ʻauana for performances, events, and workshops.
Hawaiian hula school in Maple Ridge, BC under the Spirit of the Pacific Cultural Society, a non-profit preserving Hawaiian and Polynesian cultural heritage. Teaches Hawaiian hula and, through its sister school Te Varua O Moana Nui A Hiva, Tahitian dance, with an annual Hōʻike.
Langley, BC Polynesian dance — hula kahiko and ʻauana, Tahitian and Māori — founded by Susan Hill Madec in 2000. Now performing as Paradise Found Polynesian Entertainers (2024), with classes for all ages and levels.
Aldergrove, BC Polynesian dance studio, also known as Carol's Polynesian Dance Studio — Hawaiian hula and Polynesian dance for all ages.
Canada's first authentic premier Polynesian dance company, established 1971. Kumu Hula Paul Tavai-Latta holds Canada's only Master's degree as Kumu Hula/Raʻatira (Instructor/Director). Classes for all ages across four BC locations plus online, with 55 years of instruction and performance.
North Vancouver Polynesian dance studio teaching Hawaiian kahiko and ʻauana, Tahitian (ʻōteʻa) dance and poi, including Hula for Health classes at Silver Harbour Centre.
Founded 2006 — Vancouver contemporary Hawaiian hula (ʻauana) group, teaching and performing at venues including the Nikkei Centre and Kitsilano Showboat, plus multicultural events and senior centres.
Carrying forward the lineage of the late Kumu Josie de Baat — hula education including lei making and pāʻū (skirt) crafting, alongside Hawaiian history and storytelling.
Hawaiian hula and Polynesian dance classes in Victoria, BC for preschoolers, school-aged children, adults and seniors, including Hawaiian dance fitness.
Calgary's only Hawaiian performance arts group, founded in 2011 and directed by Taraya Middleton, who travels to Hawaiʻi to study hula with master kumu. Modern Hawaiian routines for weddings, lūʻau and community events across Alberta and Western Canada.
Edmonton Polynesian dance and drumming group directed by Tracy ʻKelikaʻ Thorne, teaching the dances and mele of Hawaiʻi, Tahiti, Aotearoa and Samoa for over 20 years through recreational classes, an intermediate program and a performing company.
