Pōpoloheno – Songs of Resilience & Joy
| Ticket Information Regular Price: $52 - $73 Ticket prices include all fees. Run Time: 2 Hours Reserved Seating |
Pōpoloheno: Songs of Resilience & Joy is an unprecedented musical initiative celebrating the often-overlooked contributions of African descended individuals in post-contact Hawaiian history. This transformative project, sponsored by the Gerbode Foundation and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, features original mele inoa (name songs) that honor historical figures and stories, ensuring that their legacies become an integral part of Hawaiian cultural memory.
Recognizing the significance of this project, four-time Grammy Award winner Kalani Pe‘a joins an impressive roster of artists, including Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winners Kamakakēhau Fernandez, and Patrick Landeza, Ikaika Blackburn, jazz vocalist Azure McCall, as well as award-winning composer Māhealani Uchiyama and her Hālau Ka Ua Tuahine in performance.
Recognizing the significance of this project, four-time Grammy Award winner Kalani Pe‘a joins an impressive roster of artists, including Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award winners Kamakakēhau Fernandez, and Patrick Landeza, Ikaika Blackburn, jazz vocalist Azure McCall, as well as award-winning composer Māhealani Uchiyama and her Hālau Ka Ua Tuahine in performance.
"Māhealani Uchiyama released her newest song on Lei Day. It is part of the album, "Pōpoloheno: Songs of Resilience and Joy," which launches June 13 and celebrates a compilation of stories of people of African descent in Hawaiian history."
https://alohastatedaily.com/2025/05/05/lei-day-marks-release-of-mahealani-uchiyamas-new-song/"The title Pōpoloheno refers to the pōpolo, a dark-colored berry native to Polynesia and historically associated in Hawaii with people of African descent. Once used pejoratively due to colonial influence, the term is here reclaimed to affirm identity, resilience, and pride."
https://worldmusiccentral.org/2025/05/01/new-album-reclaims-black-hawaiian-histories-in-song/
About The Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance:
The Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance connects all people through traditional dance and music in order to foster a greater understanding of our shared human history and promote cross-cultural communication.
Since its founding in 1993, the Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance (MUCID) has offered ongoing instruction in the performance arts of the Pacific Islands, North & South India, Zimbabwe and the Middle East. Classes for beginners through advanced level adults and children are taught by master teachers. MUCID also offers classes in the Hawaiian language and special workshops on the mbira, a unique musical culture of Zimbabwe.
Our center is conveniently located in the beautiful Berkeley City Ballet Building, 1800 Dwight Way in Berkeley. It offers two studios with the latest wood sprung floor and mirrors. It has excellent light and a quiet and inspiring atmosphere.
Since its founding in 1993, the Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance (MUCID) has offered ongoing instruction in the performance arts of the Pacific Islands, North & South India, Zimbabwe and the Middle East. Classes for beginners through advanced level adults and children are taught by master teachers. MUCID also offers classes in the Hawaiian language and special workshops on the mbira, a unique musical culture of Zimbabwe.
Our center is conveniently located in the beautiful Berkeley City Ballet Building, 1800 Dwight Way in Berkeley. It offers two studios with the latest wood sprung floor and mirrors. It has excellent light and a quiet and inspiring atmosphere.
For more information, visit centerforinternationaldance.org/popoloheno
