Hula is the traditional dance of the Hawaiian people, accompanied by chant or song (called mele). Early Hawaiians danced to mele that expounded on every aspect of life - warfare, death, birth, sex, even surfing. But contact with the Western world changed hula. Considered lewd by American missionaries who arrived in Hawaii in 1820, hula nearly vanished in 1896, when the Hawaiian language was abolished from local schools.

Hula resurfaced in the early 1900s, and was popularized in the 1920s and 30s by Hollywood and a budding tourist industry. Practiced widely throughout the Hawaiian islands, hula is commonly divided into two categories: Ancient hula, called kahiko, is accompanied by chant and traditional instruments (the pahu drum and gourds known as ipu), and the hula that more modern style called 'auana (accompanied by song and musical instruments such as the guitar, ukulele, or the double bass.)

Hula is taught in schools called halau, and hula teachers are known as kumu hula, where kumu means �source of knowledge�. While there are many dance forms that throughout Polynesia (including Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, and Aotearoa/New Zealand), the hula is unique to the Hawaiian Islands, and breathtaking to watch.