Te Mana Ora Workshops
See our list of guest artists, both past and present.
TMO 2025 Guest artist
Amelia Butler
Amelia Butler is an indigenous Māori performer, dancer, choreographer and instructor from Auckland, New Zealand. From a young age she began to learn the traditional art form of Kapa Haka with the guidance of her family and school teachers. Amelia has dedicated her work to sharing the Māori culture to learners living abroad and has been teaching and performing dance at an international level for over 20 years. Amelia moved to Los Angeles in 2008 to pursue a career in dance and has worked as a professional dancer in the LA entertainment industry. While residing in Southern California, she founded and leads the Los Angeles based traditional Māori performance group, Ngā Ānahera Māori, that teaches te reo Māori online and haka & poi workshops in the US.
Amelia’s tribal affiliations are Ngātiwai, Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Awa.
Past Guest Artists
Māhealani Uchiyama
2018
Māhealani Uchiyama is an award-winning dancer, musician, composer, choreographer, recording artist, author and teacher. An advocate for cultural understanding, she is the founder and artistic director of the Māhea Uchiyama Center for International Dance in Berkeley, California. She is also Kumu Hula (hula teacher) of Hālau Ka Ua Tuahine of Berkeley, California and is the creator and director of the annual Kāpili Polynesian Dance and Music Workshops.
Kawika Alfiche
2018
Kawika is the Kumu Hula (Master teacher) for
Hālau o Keikiali'i, and is the Director for the
Kaululehua Hawaiian Cultural Center in South San Francisco and has been teaching hula and Hawaiian cultural arts for over 25 years. With a mission to preserve and perpetuate all things Hawaiian, Kawika spends his life learning, teaching, and sharing his culture through the hula and cultural arts and continues to teach throughout the globe.
Moena Maiotui
2018
Moena started dancing at 5 years old. Since 2008 she is the female leader of Tumata Robinson’s group Tahiti Ora. Her artistic performances allowed her to promote tahitian dance in international tours bringing her across the world. She has created a lot of choreographies for Tahiti Ora with “The Legend of Marukoa” at the Heiva i Tahiti 2011 and “Pifa’o or the Malediction” at the Heiva 2014, both shows awarded by the Prize Madeleine Moua in the Hura Tau category.
Keali'i Reichel
2017
Kealiʻi Reichel is a popular and bestselling singer, songwriter, choreographer, dancer, chanter, scholar, teacher, and personality from Hawaiʻi. He has spent his life educating the world about Hawaiian culture through music and dance. Reichel was one of the founding directors for Punana Leo O Maui, a Hawaiian language immersion pre-school. He has taught Hawaiian culture and language at the University of Hawaiʻi's Maui Community College, and he was the Cultural Resource Specialist and curator at the Bailey House Museum in Wailuku.
Adelina Hanere
2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Adelina is a famous 'Ori Tahiti dancer and instructor with over 40 years of experience. Adélina won Mo'orea’s Best Tahitian Dancer award 3 times and in 2012 her Halau, Hinemanea competed in Tahiti’s Hura Tapairu Competition. In 2013, Adélina also had the honor of judging Tahiti Fete Dance Competition. She was able to utilize her skills alongside some of Tahitian dance’s strongest critics such as Mahealani Uchiyama, Lorenzo Schmidt and Teiki Villant from Les Grandes Ballets De Tahiti, Roiti and Etua, Executive producer for Hawai’i’s Polynesian Cultural Center.
Henry George
2016
Henry George is a visionary leader dedicated to perpetuating Polynesian culture through the arts. In 2002, he founded Te Vaka Nui, a Polynesian dance group whose name, meaning “the grand canoe,” symbolizes unity in cultural preservation. Within a month, Te Vaka Nui grew to 50 members, performing across festivals and events before Henry and his wife, Yvette, relocated to Las Vegas to expand their impact. Today, Henry continues to inspire and lead as the Director and Co-founder of the largest Polynesian dance group in Las Vegas, sharing the richness of his heritage with audiences worldwide.
Auntie Mel
2016
[Team Member Name] is a skilled professional with extensive experience in [industry/field]. Passionate about [specific aspect of the job or industry], [he/she/they] deliver(s) exceptional results and drive(s) success for our clients.
Get In Touch
Address:
Hōkūle'a Academy of Polynesian Arts
5180 N Elston Ave. Chicago, IL 60630.
Email:
Phone:
(847) 722-8098
