Mahea Uchiyama is the founder and director of the Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance in Berkeley. She's also the president of the board of World Arts West, which puts on the annual extravaganza that is the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival.
Uchiyama grew up within the Hawaiian hula tradition of her hometown, Washington D.C. Her love for the practice later brought her to places like Hawai’i, New Zealand and Tahiti, where she studied dance and immersed herself in local culture. She spoke to KALW’s Jen Chien.
"The energy of the wind, the sound of the water, the look of the trees as they're moving..."
You can catch HalauKa’uaTuahine in concert this Saturday evening at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. Tickets can be found here.
The San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival runs June 3 — June 19.