Halau i Ka Pono is a Hawaiian hula school in Chicago based in Oak Park, IL.  June Kaililani Tanoue, Kumu Hula (master teacher), established the school in 2009.  She is a student of Michael Pang who is in the hula lineage of Maiki Aiu Lake and Mae Kamamalu Klein. 

Hula is the art of Hawaiian dance expressing all that we see, hear, taste, touch, and feel.

Halau translates as “meeting house or place of learning,” and i Ka Pono means “of goodness, well-being, righteousness.”  Another way to say this is “place to cultivate the goodness.”  Our purpose is to teach indigenous Hawaiian culture and stories through the joy of dance.

Hula and healing go hand in hand.  The dance is a wonderful way to strengthen and get energy moving in the core muscles of the body.  It connects us to the grounding energy of the earth and opens us to the warm spirit of Aloha.  There are elements of mindful centering, flowing and breath-work involved in this Native Hawaiian dance form.   All ages can benefit.