Hula kahiko
The ancient style — chanted (oli) and accompanied by the ipu (gourd drum) and pahu (sharkskin drum). We learn the foundational steps, the basic motions, and the meaning behind every movement.
Ka lā i ka mauli ola·The sun at the source of life.
Hālau Hula I Ka Lā · TorontoThe Ancient Art Of Hula In Toronto.
For more than twelve years we've taught the ancient Hawaiian art of dance across the Greater Toronto Area — sharing the warmth of the Aloha spirit through mele (song), movement, and ʻohana (family). Your first class is on us.
Ka lā i ka mauli olaThe sun at the source of life.
Why hula
More Than Dance. A Practice For Life.
Hula is the embodied storytelling of the Hawaiian people — language, history, prayer, and joy all carried in the body. At our hālau, we honour both kahiko (the ancient style) and ʻauana (the modern style), taught with reverence and a great deal of laughter.
Hula ʻauana
The modern style — danced to mele (song) with ʻukulele, guitar, and bass. Graceful, often joyful, and the form most people picture when they think of hula.
ʻŌlelo & protocol
Every class begins with oli (a chant asking permission to enter the dance) and ends with mahalo (thank you). We learn enough Hawaiian language to understand what we dance — and to honour where the dance comes from.
Meet our kumu hula (teacher) Read her full story
Joanne Vicencio
Kumu Joanne Vicencio is the founder and director of Hālau Hula I Ka Lā Toronto — a Toronto hula school dedicated to sharing authentic Hawaiian values and traditions, with a sister school of the same name in Clovis, California.
She is also the founder and director of AlohaFest Toronto, the city's celebration of Polynesian culture at Mel Lastman Square — now marking ten years in 2026.
Classes & sessions
Find Your Place In The Hālau
We teach across three age bands — keiki, ʻōpio and mākua — plus open community workshops. New dancers are welcome at the start of every session.
Keiki
Ages 5 – 9
Our youngest dancers
Learn moreʻŌpio
Ages 10 – 17
Youth & teens
Learn moreMākua
Adults · 18+
Adult dancers
Learn more We present 
AlohaFest Toronto · 2026 marks 10 years
The Festival Our Hālau Built.
In 2015 our kumu and a handful of dancers organized one summer afternoon of hula at Mel Lastman Square. In 2026 AlohaFest Toronto marks ten years — the city's largest celebration of Polynesian culture, and our hālau still organizes, hosts, and dances at every one.
Where our dancers dance: the Mel Lastman main stage at AlohaFest, community hoʻolauleʻa (gatherings) across the GTA, weddings and corporate events, school cultural days, the annual hālau hōʻike (showcase), and — every few years — alongside our sister hālau in California.
@hulaikalatoronto
Follow Us On Instagram
Class videos, performance clips, behind-the-scenes from rehearsals and the festival — all year round.
E komo mai · Welcome
Come Dance With Us.
Whether you've danced your whole life or have never set foot in a hālau, there's a place for you here. Reach out to Kumu Joanne to arrange a visit.