The Hula O Nā Keiki is unlike any hula experience you might see attending a luau. The Maui-based hula competition is for children ages 5 through 17. For the past 30 years, children from across the state have gathered at Kāʻanapali Beach Hotel to learn, interpret and perform mele, or songs, about Maui. This year, seven hālau, led by their kumu, or teacher, from across the state competed. Hula wasn't always celebrated as it is today. In the 1800s, western missionaries sought to wipe out Hawaiian culture by banning Hawaiian language being taught in schools and hula. Public performances of hula were banned, and the dance was taught secretly for the following decades. If caught performing hula, a person could be charged a hefty fine. When Hawaii King David Kalākaua took the throne in the late 1800s, he made it his mission to revitalize hula and other Hawaiian practices. Click the link in bio to learn more about how the dance competition is reviving the art of hula. #hula #hawaii