Where Are They Now – Hualani Obrero-Zablan

On Sundays, the studio hums. Music pulses through the room, feet shuffle across the floor and dancers move in sync. In the middle of it all is Hualani Obrero-Zablan, calling out cues and offering encouragement. One class ends, another begins. The music continues, dancers rotate and Hualani remains — grounded, in her element, from noon into the evening.

Movement has always been part of Hualani’s life. Growing up on Lānaʻi, she was constantly in motion, running cross country, playing basketball and softball, and cheering. “There wasn’t much to do, so you stayed out of trouble by staying active,” she recalls. Sports gave her structure and sparked an early interest in how the body works.

That interest deepened in high school, when her father was injured in a construction accident and spent several months hospitalized on O‘ahu. After he returned home, Hualani often joined her mother at his doctor’s appointments. With limited access to specialized care on Lānaʻi, she wanted to understand what he was experiencing so she could help with his recovery.

By the time she graduated from Lānaʻi High School in 2008, she had her sights set on a career in health and movement. She moved to O‘ahu to study kinesiology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. But leaving Lānaʻi was hard. She missed the island’s pace, her family and the close-knit community.

That sense of connection returned when she found Maʻohi Nui, a Tahitian dance group. It became a creative outlet and a tie to culture that grew deeper over time. “When I moved here, I didn’t really have a community. Maʻohi Nui gave me that again,” she explains.

As she progressed in school, she also rose within the group, not just as a dancer but as a leader. By the time she earned her degree in 2014, she was helping train younger performers while continuing to refine her own craft.

She spent the next two years working as an athletic trainer at the University of Hawaiʻi, supporting the football, basketball, volleyball and softball teams. The role was a natural extension of her academic path, but even then, dance remained a steady pull.

These days, that rhythm defines her week. She teaches eight classes, working with students as young as four and as old as 60 years old.

She’s also still learning. Since 2017, Hualani has been a haumāna, student, of Hālau Hiʻiakaināmakalehua. After a few years of teaching, she says the shift has been refreshing: “With hula, I get to just be.”

Around that same time, she stepped into a different kind of rhythm, one rooted in production and pace. She joined Hawai‘i’s Finest as an executive assistant, drawn to its mix of local culture, fashion and live events. From clothing production to concerts, she helps with staffing, coordination and operations, having learned everything, as she puts it, “from the ground up.”

Through it all, she still makes time to choreograph and perform at shows, lūʻaus, private events and most recently, in solo competitions. This March, at Ia Ora Tahiti Competition of Anaheim, she placed first in her age group for both mehura and ʻōteʻa and earned second place overall as the grand champion. A few weeks later, she placed fourth among more than 30 dancers at Te Ori Here Tahitian Dance Competition.

For Hualani, though, it’s not about awards. It’s about giving back — a value that brought her home last year.

She returned to Lānaʻi to lead a workshop for the island’s Tahitian group, sharing choreography, refining technique and helping younger dancers grow. There wasn’t a formal group like that when she was growing up, but her love of performance took root early during May Day and other school events.

She continues to support the group from afar, helping with lyrics, translations and questions throughout the year. Whether she’s visiting Lānaʻi or welcoming her parents to Oʻahu, her ties to the island remain strong. Its slower pace offers her something she doesn’t always find in her day-to-day: room to breathe.

She’s learning to carry that sense of calm with her, pausing to take it all in and remember what it means to simply be.

“We forget to enjoy the journey when we’re always moving,” she says. “Going home reminds me to just live and be in the moment.”

 

“Where are they now?” features alumni from Lānaʻi High & Elementary School, shedding light on their journeys post-graduation.