Maui Council honors kumu hula Iola Balubar for 50 years of excellence in hula

The Maui County Council unanimously adopted a resolution Friday morning in the Council Chambers honoring kumu hula Iola Balubar for 50 years of excellence in hula and her dedication to the Maui community.

Balubar, 79, the founder and director of Hālau Hula O Keola Ali’iokekai, was recognized for her half-century of teaching and preserving Hawaiian culture. Her hālau has won numerous awards and participated in various competitions in Las Vegas and San Francisco, the Merrie Monarch Festival and 34 appearances at the Queen Liliʻuokalani Keiki Hula Festival on Oʻahu.

Her hālau also has been recognized for introducing keiki and kūpuna to hula and Tahitian dance.

During the meeting, Balubar reflected on her journey, which began when she was 6 years old with a desire to become a teacher like her own first-grade instructor.

“I admired my teacher, Mrs. Gasper, so much at Waiheʻe School,” Balubar said. “Then I said, I’m going to be just like her, not thinking that it was going to be through doing dance the hula. And I carried that through to be proud to be a teacher because of Mrs. Gasper.”

The daughter of the late Richard “Pablo” Caldito Sr., the first Filipino-American elected to public office and a longtime Maui County supervisor and council member, Balubar noted that while she chose the arts over politics, the spirit of public service remained a family trait. Her brother, Richard Caldito Jr., also served in public office, and her sister, Charlene Rodrigues, worked for the Maui County Department of Parks and Recreation for 42 years.

“Maybe we weren’t in politics or politicians to be there, but we loved it because of my dad, who loved it too,” Balubar said. “I just love people, and I just love to be around them.”

Council Chair Alice Lee, who introduced the resolution, noted her own family’s connection to the hālau, mentioning that her sons had taken hula from Balubar.

Balubar expressed gratitude for her students and the values she has worked to instill in them, including laulima, kuleana and aloha.

“I believed that I still remember their names, and I took every student at heart,” she said. “I loved everyone, and I’m so happy that I could share my other home with them.”

The kumu hula also shared a poignant moment remembering the late Council Member Tasha Kama, whom she described as a dear friend who had met with her just months before the anniversary to offer help with the celebration.

“I loved Tasha, and I know she loved me because we talked many times along the ways about how proud she was of me to carry on my legacy too,” Balubar said.

The ceremony concluded with Balubar thanking her husband of 55 years, her sons, and the broader Maui community for supporting her work in hotels and international venues over the decades.

“To you, the community of Maui, with so much respect of what I do, the opportunities of teaching so many students,” Balubar said. “My blessing of what Aloha is all about, my fullest, ultimate mahalo.”