Founder & Director, Lani Cantu

Lani Cantu was born in 1966 in San Isidro, Macabebe, Philippines, and immigrated to the United States with her family in the late 1960s. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Lani embraced her new surroundings while holding on to her Filipino heritage. Her passion for hula began in the third grade when her teacher introduced her class to the graceful art of Hawaiian dance with the song “Pearly Shells.” This early experience sparked a lifelong love for hula, guiding her toward a journey of cultural exploration and personal expression.

Lani went on to study traditional hula under the guidance of esteemed Kumu Hula Sybil Pruitt and Kumu Mahea Uchiyama, who instilled in her a deep respect for hula as a sacred and storytelling art form. With their mentorship, she not only mastered the technical and cultural aspects of hula but also developed a profound understanding of its spiritual roots.

Over the years, Lani has had the privilege of performing and ministering across the United States and in parts of the world, using hula to connect with diverse audiences and share messages of hope and faith. Today, her commitment is to serve others and solely share the gospel through the art of hula, seeing it as both a calling and a means to uplift and inspire those around her.