For me, hula has always been … " There’s no need for Hokulani Holt to say anything else. Those few simple but powerful words clearly communicate the important role the Hawaiian dance has played in her life.

In addition to herself, the cultural programs director of the Maui Arts & Cultural Center (MACC) counts several esteemed kumu hula (hula teachers) in her family: her grandmother, Ida Pakulani Long; her mother, Leiana Woodside; her aunts, Kahili Cummings and Mae Lobenstein; her sister, Ulalia Woodside; and her son, Lono.

"My mother has a picture of me dancing when I was about 3 years old, but I don’t remember that," Holt said. "My earliest memory of dancing is when I was around 8. My Auntie Kahili was my kumu hula then. Lessons with her were whenever she wanted them to happen. She had regular classes for her other students, but because she and I lived in my grandparents’ house, hula for me was whenever she told me to dance — no matter what time of the day or what day of the week it was."

Holt credits other cherished mentors for honing her talent and expanding her knowledge about the hula, including Hoakalei Kamau‘u, who instilled in her a deep love for hula kahiko (traditional dance), and Pualani Kanaka‘ole Kanahele, whom she considers her "chant kumu."

Hawaiians had no written language until the 1820s, when the Christian missionaries introduced the alphabet to their new converts. Until then, all information — legends, genealogies, societal customs, religious ceremonies, natural wonders, the feats of gods, warriors’ victories and defeats in battle and more — was passed orally from generation to generation, much of it through songs, poems and chants.

"Hula has helped me appreciate the richness of the Hawaiian language," Holt said. "As dancers, we bring to life the words of the composers of old. We express their emotions and transport the audience to the place and time period of their stories. Although hula is enjoyable to watch, it should not be seen as just entertainment. It shares the insights, lessons and experiences of our ancestors, and inspires us — both dancers and spectators — to incorporate their wisdom in our daily lives."

To celebrate the hula and to preserve its legacy, the late kumu hula Akoni Akana started an adult competition called Maui Festivals in 2000. When he became ill and could no longer organize the event, he and Holt agreed she would continue it using a different name. Thus, Ku Mai Ka Hula (Hula Appears) was born. Holt has served as its competition director since its inception in 2006.

Eight halau will be competing this year (one from California, one from Washington state, two from Japan and four from Hawaii). To receive an invitation to participate, halau (hula schools) must have placed or won top awards in other prestigious contests such as Hawaii island’s Merrie Monarch Festival, Kauai’s Mokihana Festival, Oahu’s King Kamehameha Hula Competition, E Hula Mau in Long Beach, Calif., Ia ‘Oe E Ka La Hula Festival in Pleasanton, Calif., Ku Mai Ka Hula in Tokyo, and Ka ‘Io Hula Festival, which has been held in Acapulco and Mexico City.

Halau perform kahiko and auana (modern style) hula in Solo (for the title of Ms. Hula Maui and Mr. Hula Maui), Kupuna Wahine (women ages 50 and older), and Kane (men’s) and Wahine (women’s) Group categories. All dancers must be at least 13 years old.

"Ku Mai Ka Hula features halau who have been judged ‘the best’ by well-respected kumu hula," Holt said. "It is a program of hula excellence."

This year’s judges are Taupouri Tangaro from Hawaii island, Leimomi Ho from Oahu and Maka Herrod from Kauai. Tangaro is the professor and chairman of the Humanities Department at Hawaii Community College in Hilo, and the kumu hula of Unukupukupu, a halau based at the college.

Ho, the kumu hula of Keali‘ika‘apunihonua Ke‘ena A‘o Hula, has taught hula at Kapiolani Community College for more than a decade. Herrod is the kumu hula of Na Hui O Kamakaokalani and the executive director of the Malie Foundation, which plans and implements the annual Kauai Mokihana Festival.

MACC presents Ku Mai Ka Hula in association with Kauahea (kauahea.org), a nonprofit organization founded by Holt in 1994 to preserve and perpetuate the Hawaiian language, arts, traditions and spiritual practices. Many of Kauahea’s educational activities and programs revolve around the hula.

"Through hula, you learn not only Hawaiian culture but Hawaiian values," Holt said. "These include ahonui (patience), paahana (hard work), kokua (help), laulima (cooperation) and hoihi (respect). Hula encourages you to push yourself out of your comfort zone, to look at the world through the eyes of others, to be grateful for your abundant blessings. To me, that popular phrase ‘Hula is life’ means more than ‘Hula is what I love to do.’ It means ‘Hula is who I am.’"

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.