Kumu Noenoelani Zuttermeister

Kumu hula Noenoelani Zuttermeister has her halau in Kaneohe, Oahu. She is also a Music lecturer in Hawaiian chant and dance at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where her courses are offered in the Department of Music, and, the Dance Program in the Department of Theatre and Dance. Her knowledge has been passed down to her by her mother Kaui Zuttermeister.

Aunty Noe is a staunch guardian of the old ways and feels a responsibility to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture and the legacy her mother left to her. “It is important that we remember our past because it is there that we can find our roots”, she says.

She along with her family and students have been invited to appear in numerous national and international festivals. Aunty Noe has judged many hula competitions. She has been judging in the prestigious Merrie Monarch Festival since 1990 and will be judging in the year 2000.

In 1999, she traveled to teach workshops in Ikaho, Japan and in the 38th Asia Folk Dance Camp in the National I-Lan Technology College in Taiwan, R.O.C. She has been asked to perform along with her halau at the Smithsonian Millennium Celebration.