Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Mahealani Douglas.
Hi Dawn Mahealani, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been dancing as long as I have been walking. At age three, I was trying ballet and tap, though my teacher thought my personality was a bit too big for that genre of dance. By nine-years-old, I was into cheerleading and winning awards once I reached high school, also dabbling in hip hop dance. Soon after, I was drawn to ballroom dancing and competed and placed in the Latin style for a few years before injuries made it too painful to put on the shoes. A dancer could not live without dancing. It is like breathing, so my next idea was to travel to Hawaii.
I found a kumu (master hula teacher) who welcomed me in her home to study hula intensively with her one-on-one as well as in the halau (hula school). I fell in love with hula, and the rest Is history. I kept going back to study for weeks at a time, multiple times a year, and she made me her hanai daughter (a practice of informally adopting someone into one’s family in Hawaii). I also learned Tahitian dance and some Samoan and Maori dance there as well I have Maori ancestry on my Scottish side, so it made sense that I was drawn to Polynesia, but I didn’t realize until later that I was also a distant cousin of the last heir to the Hawaiian kingdom on the same Scottish line—Princess Kaiulani who was a Cleghorn. I feel deeply rooted in the culture now and want to continue to share it with others for the rest of my days.
I started my own company in Atlanta in 2017, at first teaching some friends to dance in shows with me. Once business picked up, I left my college teaching job to run my business full-time and had Polynesians and other Pacific Islanders seeking me out to train to dance and perform in our shows. I continued my own training as it is a lifelong practice by going to dance in a luau production in Hawaii for a while and traveling to all the Polynesian countries we represent—Tahiti, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Samoa. It has always been important to me to source material and costumes from their birthplaces, so the people we are sharing with in the US see the authentic presentation. No show is too small or too big, from birthday parties and weddings to large corporate or citywide events, and we have performed in 11 states and 3 countries. We also love sharing educational programming with schools and libraries.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I was blessed that my business was successful from the time of the launch of my website. Bookings were pouring in enough that I could leave my other work and focus on my business full-time within the first year. I saw growth every year up until the pandemic in 2020. Like most businesses, the pandemic had an impact and caused worry about how to sustain and recover. Interestingly, we still had more bookings in 2020 than in the first year in business. 2021 was slightly up from 2020, and we were fully recovered by 2022 with our best year yet in 2023. The lesson from that time that has stayed with me as worries pop up from time to time about what is happening in the country and economy is that if you keep believing you have a valuable offering and keep connecting with your target audience, you will survive the ups and downs. I also keep God central in my life and believe that my success comes from Him.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Mahealani’s Polynesian Entertainment is an award-winning entertainment company sharing the culture of our ancestors from the Pacific Islands of Hawaii, Tahiti, New Zealand, and Samoa through song and dance. Named Best Event Entertainment Services Georgia 2023 and 2022, Best Entertainer Atlanta 2021 and 2019, and Best Wedding Entertainment Company Southeast USA 2020, our Polynesian dancers and fire performers take audiences on a journey across the South Pacific. Being the only authentic, professional Polynesian entertainment group in Georgia and surrounding states, our company is uniquely positioned to share cultures that many people in the Southeast would not get to experience otherwise. We pride ourselves on running our shows much like shows you see when visiting Hawaii.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Whether you are interested in booking our show or are just interested in learning more about Polynesian culture, you will find a wealth of information on our website at dawnmahealani.com. Our purpose is twofold—to entertain and educate audiences.
Contact Info:
- Website: dawnmahealani.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/dawndouglas1
- Facebook: Facebook.com/dawndouglastalent
- Twitter: twitter.com/dawndouglas10
- Youtube: YouTube.com/dawndouglas
- Other: tiktok.com/dawndouglas10
