Uniki Program
Lehua Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett pauses for a photo with members of the Te Hau Nui School of Hula & Tahitian Dance during a recent hula training clinic in Santa Cruz, CA.
Keala has been accepted into the Uniki Program to become a certified hula teacher under the lineage of world renowned Lehua Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett. The 2-year journey is dedicated to her late Kumu Lorraine Kinnamon who was trained in the same Uniki Program.
Meet the Uniki Program Master Teacher
Kawaikapuokalani Hewett
“Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett is the kumu hula of Kuhai Halau O Kawaikapuolani Pa Olapa Kahiko, established in 1978. In his youth, he received specialized training from his grandmother, Eva Kana’e, and studied under Edith Kanaka’ole while attending the University of Hawaii at Hilo. He also studied with Aunty Emma Defries, and has since been recognized as her protégé. His work in the field of Hawaiian culture takes him off island and abroad on a regular basis. His halau now includes students from Kauai, Maui, O’ahu and Japan. In addition, Kawaikapuokalani has served the hula community as a judge in various competitions, and has generously shared his compositions with numerous halau hula.” – E Pili Kākou I Ho`okahi Lāhui
A Journey with Kumu Kawaikapuokalani Frank Hewett
By Karen Valentine
This is a story about one who might be called a Hawaiian renaissance man. This man is multi-facetted and multi-talented, with an insatiable drive to serve his culture through sharing his knowledge. Like a tripod that will fall over without its three legs, Kumu and Kahuna Kawaikapuokalani Frank Loea Lehua Hewett could be called a master of three arts: hula, ho‘opa (healing) and haku mele (song composition). All are woven together, as all are intrinsic to the whole of this man.
Na Kumu (The Teachers)
It was said by those who watched the famous hula dancer ‘Iolani Luahine that she seemed to float on air as she moved.
Kahuna (spiritual leader/master) and much-honored Kumu (teacher) Hula Emma DeFries was as much a master healer as a teacher, composer and dancer…
Honorary doctorate
Conferred May 12, 2023
“An accomplished kumu hula, award-winning composer and singer, Frank Hewett is an advocate for the culture and arts of Hawai‘i as well as an author, researcher and practitioner of Hawaiian medicine. While Hewett shares his wealth of knowledge with students as a Hawaiian studies lecturer at Windward CC, the recognition was proposed based on his numerous lifetime achievements.
The recommendation letter stated: “While teaching for the University of Hawai‘i, Kawaikapu was still largely involved in promoting Hawaiian cultural traditions and values within the broader community. Not only was he a performing musician and hula dancer, but he also continued to work within the community to teach hula, culture, and the healing traditions that were taught to him by [Kahuna Emma] DeFries.”
As a member of the Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts, Hewett has won numerous Na Hoku Hanohano awards as a composer and performer. He started his halau in 1978 and continues to teach hula to students from around the world. Hewett is directing a project to document the learning experiences, teaching methods and upbringing of kumu hula who are considered kupuna to preserve that knowledge for future generations.”