Patrick Makuakāne is the Kumu Hula/Director for the dynamic Hawaiian dance company, Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu, based in San Francisco. He is a creative force in the hula world, and is well known for his innovative choreography. His artistry brings hula to a new level, and creates new dimensions to the dance form. He has created his hula productions to be full theatrical experiences that are visually captivating. Mr. Makuakāne teaches traditional and contemporary forms of hula, and has also developed a unique style of hula, called “hula mua,” that provides a modern appeal to the dance form. Hula mua blends traditional hula movements with non-Hawaiian music, and creates a greater depth and accessibility to the dance form.

Mr. Makuakāne was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai'i and began dancing hula at age 13. He danced professionally and was a principal dancer with Na Kamalei, the premier male hula dance troupe in Hawai'i at that time. He has performed in locations throughout Hawai'i, and for national audiences on Good Morning America in 1983, at Carnegie Hall in 1991, and at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City in 1992.

In 1998, he received a “Profiles of Excellence” Award from KGO-TV (ABC) for his outstanding work in the Asian/Pacific Community in San Francisco. In 1999, he was presented an Isadora Duncan Dance Award – or “Izzie” – which recognizes excellence among Bay Area dance organizations. In 2000, Mr. Makuakāne was awarded a prestigious two-year Irvine Fellowship in Dance, a program funded by the James Irvine Foundation and administered by Dance/USA. The Fellowship acknowledges his outstanding accomplishments in choreography and supports his artistic development. He is currently studying with hula master Aunty Mae Kamamalu Klein in Hawai'i as part of his Fellowship.

In 2001, he received the “Local Hero of the Year” Award from KQED TV and Union Bank of California. This award is given annually to five distinguished Asian American/Pacific Islanders who are heroes in their communities for their contributions in improving the quality of life throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. He served on the Advisory Board for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival (1998-1999), and also served as a panelist this year, judging auditions for over 100 ethnic dance companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.