Huapala collection

Vivienne Mader "Huapala" was born on September 30, 1901 in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Erasmus Hall High School, and from the Connecticut College for Women, in New London, Connecticut in 1923. She died January 6, 1972 in New York. She was 71.

She studied classical and interpretive dance with Constantin Kobeleff, Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham, Ted Shawn, and Michio Ito. She lived in Hawaii in the late 1920s where she was captivated by the native dances which were much different than the hulas seen in the United States. She studied ancient and tribal music under royal court chanters and dance instructors. Mader recorded some of the dances on film and records, and become one of the few non-natives that were permitted to record ceremonies.

From the natives, Mader was given the name "Huapala" after the "sweetheart flower" of the Hawaiian islands. In 1931 she was selected to dance for the Royal Princess Kalanianaole, and in 1934, she danced for President Roosevelt when he visited the islands.

In New York, Mader organized a Hawaiian dance group that appeared at Radio City Music Hall, the Rainbow Room, and other such places. She also gave hula concerts at Carnegie Hall, Columbia University, and the New School for Social Research.