Dancer, Choreographer, Musician, and Teacher
Māhealani Uchiyama is an award-winning dancer, musician, composer, choreographer, recording artist, author and teacher. An advocate for cultural understanding, she is the founder and artistic director of the Māhea Uchiyama Center for International Dance in Berkeley, California. She is also Kumu Hula (hula teacher) of Hālau Ka Ua Tuahine of Berkeley, California and is the creator and director of the annual Kāpili Polynesian Dance and Music Workshops.[/playbit_biography_details]
Recently, I learned that a track from one of my recordings was sampled and used without my permission in a rap music single with explicit lyrics, and that I was referred to by name as the “featured artist.” Please know that I was never approached by the performer for my permission, and that if I were, I would not have given it for such a project. I am working on having all references to me removed. ~Mahealani