Flashback: 1985. The Men of Waimapuna, an acclaimed male hula halau (school), were not too pleased.

Their kumu (teacher), Darrell Ihiihilauakea Lupenui, had just made a surprising announcement: For that evening’s practice, they would be participating in an exchange with another all-male hula school. Lupenui would teach the other halau, and the kumu of that halau would teach them.

Back then, knowledge about hula was closely guarded; it was not to be shared with anyone outside of one’s halau. The exchange that Lupenui proposed was a bold move indeed.

Twenty-one years old at the time, Blaine Kia had been with the halau for several years, so he knew the protocols. “Even if you disagree with your kumu, you don’t question — you do what you’re asked to do,” he said. “As it turned out, the kumu who taught us had great insights, and I realized it’s not only OK to learn from different sources, it’s a good thing. Sharing inspires creativity and fresh perspectives; it keeps hula exciting, interesting and relevant. Once the code of secrecy was broken, there was a surge of new teachers and schools, which contributed to the renaissance of hula.”

Today Kia is himself a respected kumu hula and cultural consultant. In 1996 he established the nonprofit 501(c)(3) Lauakea Foundation, which is named after Lupenui. The following year, the foundation and Kia’s two halau — the men of Halau Kahulaliwai and the ladies of Halau ka Waikahe Lani Malie — presented the inaugural E Pili Kakou Hookahi Lahui (“Come Together as One Body of People”) on Kauai.

The mission of the annual three-day conference and retreat is “to promote, to share, to perpetuate Hawaii’s rich culture and heritage by sustaining and further educating … practitioners of the hula art form and to bring (them) closer together as a ‘body of people.’”

To that end, esteemed kumu hula who are well versed in Hawaiian history, music, chants, traditions and language as well as the dance teach 90-minute workshops on topics such as hula kahiko (ancient hula), hula auana (modern hula), ukulele and lei hulu (feather lei).

This year’s distinguished instructors include Ed Collier, Coline Aiu, Joan Lindsey and Kawaikapuokalani Hewett (in addition to Lupenui, Kia’s hula lineage includes Hewett and the late John Kaimikaua, who founded the Molokai Ka Hula Piko Festival; see kahulapiko.com).

According to Kia, E Pili Kakou is one way of assuring hula will be passed from generation to generation with accuracy and integrity. Bit by bit over the years, walls and barriers have come down as participants, both teachers and students, connect and engage in open communication at the event.

“They come from around the world, from all walks of life,” Kia said. “They are cultural leaders, hula teachers, hula students, dancers who aren’t familiar with hula, but want to learn about it, and people who simply enjoy hula as spectators. Hula is the common link, and the nurturing, noncompetitive environment at E Pili Kakou fosters a feeling of lokahi, or unity. Everyone is welcome, no matter what their knowledge and background in hula might be.”

During the workshops, participants might, for example, learn a hula and oli (chant); how to play the ukulele and make an implement; and the protocols for gathering ferns, flowers and other materials for lei making. Handouts are often provided to reinforce key points.

Each year, E Pili Kakou honors a kupuna (elder) for his or her lifelong dedication to hula. This year’s honoree is Auntie Noelani Mahoe, who has taught hula, Hawaiian music and ukulele for more than 50 years. She co-authored the book “Na Mele o Hawaii Nei: 101 Hawaiian Songs” with Samuel H. Elbert, and in 2002 she received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts. Fittingly, the theme of this year’s event is “E Ola Mau ka Hula i ka Mele” (“Let us perpetuate the hula with song”).

Kia is happy to see hula being embraced internationally; there is so much interest in Japan, for instance, that E Pili Kakou is also held annually there (Sept. 2-4 this year at the APA Hotel & Resort Tokyo Bay Makuhari), and, when possible, on a three-year rotation in California, Tahiti and Canada.

“We kumu hula take our responsibility as keepers of the culture very seriously,” Kia said. “That is to make sure we perpetuate our lineage and remember where we came from. Only then can we think of sharing it with people from all over the world. When they see how we honor our kupuna (ancestors) and our lineage, perhaps they will do the same with what we pass on to them. It is a great responsibility for all, but in that way the global hula community can e pili kakou i hookahi lahui — truly come together as one body of people.”

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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.