Robert "Lopaka" Kalani

“Uncle Lopaka” was a gentle, soft-spoken man whom we met and spent time with on his home island of Maui. While most meetings with our elders are inside, we always met outside in the elements with Uncle. Listening to his stories was like stepping back in time to the Maui of old, as he shared of his island ʻohana, childhood memories, hula influences and teachers, and opinions and thoughts on a variety of topics. To see him dance was to experience a flow of movement that hula dancers can only hope to achieve after years of study, yet it came to him naturally from a young age. Like many of the Kumu Hula we have sat and talked with, his talent was recognized early, and he went on to have an interesting and fulfilling life in hula.