Teoraroa ‘O’tea

There’s no other place we’d rather be and i’ve been to other places… they, by no measurement, can compare to what my daughter has learned and experienced here. The training, the knowledge, the culture. its all there, but there is also diversity, frienship, and comraderie.

I have been dancing for this studio for the last four years and I absolutely love it. Auntie Moe is so incredibly knowledgeable in the culture and she loves what she does. Auntie Moe takes the time to help each student become a better dancer. We take our competitions very seriously. Of the group competitions over the last several years we have taken first place in almost every category that we entered. Auntie Moe pays very close attention to detail and everything has to look perfect. It’s not easy, but it definitely pays off. For the solo competitions, she dedicates so much time to every dancer that wants to compete. She will help you with costumes for first timers, review your choreography, and do everything that she can to help you succeed. I always look forward to my Thursday nights! Over the years these people have become like a second family to me. When you spend 8 hours rehearsing/​costume making together, you can’t help but become close. This studio definitely changed my life. I have never been an amazing dancer, but doing competitions, shows, and feeling all of the support of my hula sisters and Auntie Moe, I have gained so much confidence. I wouldn’t want to dance for any other studio!!!

I absolutely love this place. When i first signed up & started which was 3 years ago, i felt so comfortable with all the girls. They made me feel right at home. Kumu Moe also went out of her way to do one on one lessons with me and also added a beginners class. It helped so much! ive learned alot since ive been there. I will continue to stay with Teoraroa and once my daughter gets old enough this is where she will be trained =)

I’m not sure I can adequately express how much Kumu Moe did for my daughter when she danced here… and even now, when she dances somewhere else.
My girl is that strange mix of stubborn and shy and when we were looking for a halau, we visited 5 different halau from Berkeley all the way to Hayward to find the right fit. She was 4 years old and had danced for 6 months in Berkeley but they discontinued their keiki program so we had to find somewhere new. And my girl wanted to dance both hula and tahitian. When we first went, it was a little hectic trying to figure out what was going on… people coming and going… dancers, parents, etc. But everyone was friendly… and well, you know, I kinda talk a lot so I didn’t have a problem finding people to talk to and figure out what was going on and how it all worked.
So she decided it was the right place for her and we started. The first class, she stood behind the wall that jutted out next to the dance floor. Pretty much for the whole class. But Kumu was so patient and so loving and by the next class she was out on the floor. Fast forward 6 years… and many performances, competitions, bonding trips… and my daughter decides that she doesn’t want to dance tahitian any more. Sigh. And we live in Oakland, so Hayward has become kind of far. So, after many conversations with Kumu, and with her advice and blessing, we decide that we will go to another halau that is closer to home and only does hula. This decision ripped my daughter’s heart out because she absolutely adores Kumu Moe and of course, all of her keiki friends. And of course, as a parent in a halau, you know how much time you spend there and the friendships you make, so it was just as hard for me to leave my Teoraroa family as well. Kumu taught my daughter to be strong and beautiful (inside and out) and considerate and reliable and care for others… all in addition to teaching her the beauty of hula.
I would not hesitate to recommend this halau to anyone — and everyone there will help any and all dancers and their families to feel welcome. Even after we left, when I was having trouble making some hula adornments, guess who stepped in and helped when I just could not figure it out? That’s right — Kumu Moe. Because she loves her dancers — even those who are not with her anymore.

This is the best halau you will ever find! I have been going here since I was 5. Everybody is friendly and we’re all just one big family. Kumu Moe is a great teacher and she is funny. Everyone hangs out and talks with each other. Not only do we learn how to dance, we learn the meanings of the songs and Hawaiian culture. We make the costumes together and help each other out. It isn’t very expensive, either ($ 55 a month for hula AND tahitian dancing lessons). Ke Ola Loa (Teoraroa ‘O’tea Hawaiian name) is my second family. We all love each other soo much! Aloha!
P. S. We’re not on B Street anymore. We moved to Mission between the Mexican ice cream shop and Jack in the Box. :)

I would give this 0 stars if i could. Just like @Christina D, said I called them up and asked if I could come in to get more info regarding tahitian beginner classes. She said to come in on Thursday at 7. I did as I was told. By the time I got there she was sitting at a desk, talking to some lady. After the lady left, she went in front of the class, and start teaching. Absolutely paying me no attention what so ever. Seriously, this is how you would treat your future clients/students?I waited for about half an hour and ended up chatting with the drum players who was feeling sorry since I was standing the whole time being ignored. I watched the dancers dance too which by the way was absolutely chaotic. They weren’t dancing in sync. She never paid attention to the students that are new/​need help. She put the good/​experienced dancers in the front closest to the mirror and the newbies has to stay in the back and do their best to follow the dance. She never did anything to help the newbies. She was just standing there watching the dance without criticizing or encouraging. I finally left after almost an hour of waiting without conversing a word with her.

OK so i call this place and tell them a friend of mine and I are interested in taking the beginner hula lessons. The person over the phone sounded a little hesitant and then said shes really busy and probably couldn’t start a class until Aug. (in 2 months) No biggie we weren’t in any hurry to start. I asked if it was OK to come check out the place and see if we liked the atmosphere. She explained that it was fine to come and that they were having a competition coming up next week and said it’ll be good to come then to see a variety of the dances. So long story short we show up at 7:15 like the lady over the phone stated. We seen a ton of girls showing up and not like i was expecting them to come up and say hi but everyone made us feel outta place. We felt like everyone was looking at us, so i decided to talk to one of the ladies that was standing off to the side. I introduced myself and told her that i called last week and was told that it was OK to drop in and check everything out. She went on to say they were really busy because they had a competition coming up next week and everything was really hectic. I then started thinking why would the person over the phone tell me to come if she knew it’d be really crowded. We decided to just hang out and wait outside since it seemed like most of the girls were inside changing. After about 15 minutes pretty much all the girls were inside and we decide to ask someone if we can come in and watch. She said shed go ask and comes back and tells us that they are really crowded and that there’s not much room and told us to go around the front of the studio and watch through the window, WTF! watch through the window? This is how your going to treat your future clients? REALLY! I was extremely disappointed in being dissed. I would of appreciated it more if she had asked us to come back another time. My friend insisted we give them the benefit of the doubt and at least watch. we watch them go through a whole routine, after feeling stupid watching through a glass window we left. The instructor or who ever ran the place still hadn’t showed up and we left feeling very dissed and just shooed away. There isn’t a friendly or family atmosphere here. As a New potential dancer i didn’t feel welcomed at all. I will not be returning to this place again.