Kumu hula sparked renaissance of Hawaiian culture

She touched the lives of thousands and helped spark a renaissance of Hawaiian culture.

The legacy of kumu hula Leina‘ala Kalama Heine was honored Friday as hundreds laughed and cried and gave their final aloha in a memorial service at Magic Island in Ala Moana Beach Park.

After the service, a flotilla with friends and family scattered her ashes at sea, and they later met for a “celebration of life” in the Pikake Room at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

Friday’s memorial was held under a giant tent and featured a moving melodic send-off from entertainer Robert Cazimero, who was backed by a full chorus.

Heine, leader of the award-winning Halau Na Pualei o Likolehua, had danced solo with the Brothers Cazimero for more than 30 years.

Cazimero spoke about his friendship with Heine, saying it was so strong he was unaware she had any other friends, even though she did.

“We were sassy. We were young. We were fabulous,” he said to booming applause. “Ala is one of those people who makes you think you can do anything.”

Born in Honolulu as Rebecca Leina‘ala Kalama, she attended Kamehameha Schools and graduated from McKinley High School before marrying Samuel Ladd Heine. Together they had four children.

Heine’s career in hula goes way back. She trained as a kumu hula under the late kumu Maiki Aiu Lake. She also studied with Joseph Kaha‘ulelio, Vicky I‘i Rodrigues, Ruby Ahakuelo, Puanani Alama and the late Leilani Alama.

She founded her hula halau in 1976 on the slopes of Kapalama Heights with students mainly from nearby Kamehameha Schools.

She would go on to judge the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo and be a regular at the Prince Lot Hula Festival at Moanalua Gardens and the Queen Liliuokalani Keiki Hula Competition.

Heine died last month at the age of 75.

During Friday’s service, speakers remembered her as a significant figure with a towering personality who embodied unconditional giving and aloha.

Honolulu City Councilman Ernie Martin called Heine “a woman of strength and wisdom” and “a pillar of force and influence within the community.”

Kamana‘o Crabbe, CEO of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, described Heine as “a valiant leader” and “tremendous force in the Hawaiian community as kuma hula, Hawaiian entertainer extraordinaire, cultural leader and community advocate.”

Crabbe called her one of the greatest cultural leaders of the last 50 years, helping to give birth to and drive a renaissance of Hawaiian culture and arts going back to the 1970s.

Cazimero, sitting behind a piano, serenaded his longtime friend with a medley of songs. He also spoke of her spirited nature and large personality.

“Ala is not the type of person who will talk about you behind your back,” he said. “If she has something to say — whether you are a referee, a paddling coach, a politician or a haumana (student) or, even more, a friend — if she has something to say, she will tell you.”

The audience laughed as Heine’s sister, Rose Kalama Lum, described the hijinks she and her sister got into growing up in Kapalama, Waimanalo and Waikiki before hotels transformed the landscape.

Lum said her sister, even as a child, was blessed with superior talent.

“My sister was a master, a master at everything,” she said. And that, she added, included being a mother, as she worked several jobs to help raise her four children.

“She was so loved by everybody, and I mean everybody,” Lum said. “I’m fortunate — and you are, too — that you shared in my sister’s life.”