Kumu Hula Roots and Branches
Dr. Ishmael W. Stagner has spent a lifetime working with hula and related subjects in Hawaiian and Polynesian culture. His mother, Pansy Kaula Akona Stagner, was a prominent kumu hula who started out as a dancer, performing with headliners such as Ray Kinney, Alvin K. Isaacs, Lena Machado, and Hilo Hattie. Ishmael grew up to become one of the few male dancers in Waikiki in the 1950s. Later he helped to create the first male hula groups at the Polynesian Cultural Center. For over 30 years, Dr. Stagner was also Professor of Education, Hawaiian Studies, and Psychology at BYU, UH and HPU Hawai`i campus .