MARK KEALIʻI HOʻOMALU III
Aye howzit goin yâall, my name is Mark Hoâomalu III,
but I go by KoluBoy.
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So as you may have notice by my name... yes âHeâ is my father. Growing up in the halau all my life definitely had its share of ups and downs but without it all I wouldnât be person I am today and I wouldnât change it for anything.
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As a Keiki, I would say my childhood wasnâ t your normal childhood. Compared to others, hearing that my Dad sang on the Disney Movie, Lilo and Stitch, and that I dance hula with my family in Oakland of all places, sounded a little weird to most and not many would believe me. But being around the Halau and my hula family everyday would allow me to just continue to enjoy dancing hula and being Hawaiian.
Before the halau had our own official keiki kane and kaiamahine groups, there were only a few keiki like me who were raised in the halau, and Iâm happy to say, to this day they are still here with me. With that said, Dad made sure growing up to teach us about our culture and where we come from. As well as teach us basics...which after almost 23 years of practicing them, we still havenât mastered em yet... As Dad loves to say âAlways Subject To Change...
...Hana Houâ.
Anyways like I was saying...growing up in the halau with my brother, Jaysun Kaleohano, him and I as well as the rest of us were only 9,10,11 years old when Dad and our Auntyâs and Uncles decided...we needed to start learning how to become not just hula dancers but be Competitive Hula Dancers. So from that point on we started competing in hula competitions Keiki Division.
Soon after, more and more keiki joined, and eventually we matched our aunties and uncles, not only in the number of us but also in skill and competition. For the âpro-teamâ we were just mini reflections of themselves and before we all knew it we were right there along side them, not as keiki but as kane and wahine.
As well as being a hula competitor, as a young dancer, I also performed in many different places I would have never imagined; Japan, Taiwan and Hawaii just to name a few.
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Being able to share and experience different cultures through Hula is such a blessing that wouldnât have been given to me without being apart of this Hula Life of mine.
So now that we are preparing for MM2024, I feel happy and blessed to be back at it again...and Iâm excited to share this journey with you all. From myself and the whole team,Â
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Thank you for all the support youâve given us and continue to give us throughout all these years and the years to come. Aloha!
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