Occupation Hula dancer | Spouse(s) Kahauanu Lake | |
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Born 28 May 1925 ( 1925-05-28 ) Died 20 June 1984, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | ||
Margaret Maiki Souza Aiu Lake (28 May 1925 – 20 June 1984) was a hula dancer, kumu hula, and influential figure in the second Hawaiian Renaissance. She trained with the hula master Lōkālia Montgomery, graduated as an ʻōlapa (dancer) in 1946, and opened her first school, Margaret Aiu's Hula Studio, soon thereafter. She was the first person in the 20th century to be allowed to term her school a hālau, and in 1952 opened Hālau Hula O Maiki. She brought several innovations to her teaching, accepting interested students regardless of background and emphasizing related traditional arts in addition to hula. In 1972, she was the first to publicly advertise a class for kumu hula.
She raised a great number of pupils who went on to become the next generation of teachers themselves, and has been called the "most important hula teacher of the 20th century". Her notable former students included Leina'ala Kalama Heine and Robert Cazimero of The Brothers Cazimero.