Halau Hula O Namakahulali was founded by Kumu Hula Shirley Namakahulali Kanemura Recca, in 1993, on the East side of Oahu, Maunalua, more popularly known as Hawaii Kai. Named for her sparkling eyes, Shirley Namakahulali Kanemura Recca has been a featured hula dancer since 1948, dazzling audiences from Hawai`i to the continental U.S. With her fluid classical hula style, as well as her deadpan comic dance, she demonstrates her talent and versatility in the hula. She founded Halau Hula O Namakahulali to teach not only ancient and traditional hula, but also to share her skill in the style of Hawai`i`s showroom hula of the 1930`s and 40`s. She began her hula studies with Puanani Alama as a child, performing her first ho`ike with Aunty Genoa Keawe. Her hula performance history is long and varied, encompassing almost every major show and showroom in Hawai`i, as well as those on the U.S. mainland, as a featured soloist in grand Hawaiian showcases. Halau Hula O Namakahulali has carried on this flair for performance, taking part in many functions like Gov. Ben Cayetano`s inauguration, Aloha Tower`s grand opening, and the Aloha Bowl`s halftime, and conventions. One can see the Halau performing regularly at the the Kuhio Beach Hula Show and the annual Prince Lot Hula Festival. Shirley`s hula is taught with a serious foundation in the legacy of her teachers and culture. She graduated in hula pahu and hula `olapa, and has studied with Kimo Alama Keaulana, Sam and Kala Bernard, and George Holokai. When she teaches, she does not change the old dances she has learned. She reserves her strong creativity for the hula `auana, or modern hula. The halau has won awards at many festivals and competitions. Shirley is married to singer Joe Recca, known for his beautiful bariton renditions of Hawaiian music. Their daughters, Elan and Délys, carry on the family tradition of performing. The Reccas are a complete Hawaiian show all by themselves, with talent to spare.
