Tamagusuku Ryu Senju Kai Hawaii will host its first in-person fundraising event since COVID-19 on Saturday at the Hawaii Okinawan Center.

The event aims to raise money for Senju Kai Hawaii, an Okinawan dance school based on Oahu, so that it can send its students to Okinawa to attain their dance certification. The event also will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the school’s founding.

For Senju Kai Hawaii’s founder, Frances Kuba, sending her students to become certified on Okinawa is a valuable opportunity.

“You get more confidence when you perform with the local performers,” Kuba said. “And they bring all that knowledge back to Hawaii, and they’re able to share and perpetuate the culture, so it’s really meaningful.”

Kuba is a licensed master Okinawan dance instructor who grew up on Okinawa. She began learning Okinawan dance when she was 3 years old.

Kuba’s mother also was an Okinawan dancer, and the two of them would often attend dance performances or music recitals together.

But it wasn’t until Kuba moved to Hawaii that she realized the importance of perpetuating one’s culture.

“There’s a lot of Okinawans living in Hawaii that are searching and want to learn about the culture,” Kuba said. “Me, sharing the lifestyle, how we were raised, the respect, the mannerisms, everything … a lot of the Hawaiian community appreciated that.”

Upon that discovery, Kuba realized her calling and began teaching dance classes in Hawaii in 1997, when she founded the Senju Kai Hawaii dance school. The school teaches the Tamagusuku Ryu style of Okinawan dance, she said.

While every Okinawan dance school has different certification processes, Senju Kai Hawaii requires students to travel to Okinawa to participate in training and in “konkuru,” which is the annual dance competition that doubles as a certification test, according to the dance school’s news release.

There are five levels of certification, Kuba said. Completing the highest level certifies one as a master dance instructor. Attaining this level of certification requires a minimum of 15 years of training, she added.

So far, Senju Kai Hawaii has seen nine of its students become certified in various levels of dance. In 2023 the school plans to send two of its current students to test for their first level of certification.

Sending students for certification is often costly, as it includes things like hiring hair and makeup services, kimono rentals, airfare and more, Kuba said.

Fundraising has been especially difficult since the onset of COVID-19, she added. Until recently, precautionary measures have kept the school from holding dance performances throughout the year, which would usually supplement their fundraising efforts.

However, with more than 40,000 Okinawans estimated to be living in Hawaii, Kuba says that there is still a significant demand for activities that provide connection to Okinawan culture.

“We truly appreciate the community support,” Kuba said. “We ask for continued support for the culture and arts, because without them we are not able to perpetuate it.”

The fundraising event will run from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It will include performances by Senju Kai Hawaii’s dance students, a silent auction, a raffle, food, drinks and more. Those who would like to purchase tickets can do so at Senju Kai Hawaii’s website .

Linsey Dower covers ethnic and cultural affairs and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service organization that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.