Aunty Mililani Kamake’e’āina Ladd resides in Richmond, Kentucky, and snowbirds with us in South Florida part of the year. Her journey in hula began at the age of 15 in Honolulu on O’ahu. Although she did not have the chance to perform during her early years, the knowledge she gained was invaluable. After moving back to the mainland, she did not return to hula until she was 21, when she had the opportunity to dance with a group at special events in the San Francisco Bay Area for several years.

Later, Aunty Mililani had the privilege of dancing with a strict hālau under Kumu Hula Tiare Clifford in San Francisco. However, she felt that something was still missing. This changed when her daughter, Deanna, moved to Florida and discovered Kumu Kona Garcia. During the Covid pandemic, Deanna attended classes via Zoom, later transitioning to in-person sessions. Her excitement about this hālau inspired Aunty Mililani to consider joining, despite her initial doubts at the age of 62.

When Kumu allowed her to attend a class to observe, Aunty Mililani immediately recognized that this was the hālau she had been searching for her whole life—a place to learn authentic hula and become part of a hālau family. Having trained in the hula style of the 80s, she found herself needing to erase everything from her mind and body to embrace this new, beautiful style of hula. Kumu has not only restored her connection to her heritage but has also taught her the importance of perpetuating their culture with accuracy, truth, and always with aloha.

Now, four and a half years later, Aunty Mililani is still going strong in her hula journey. Eō Na Liko A’o Puna!