Akino Suzuki

Studio Stewardship

Akino first came to LSHO in 2018, when she was introduced to Hawaiian Hula and ‘Ori. At the time, it felt like a sunny refuge from the noise and pace of city life. It was grounding, expressive, and completely different from other Western dance forms she had known before.

After a year at LSHO, she began to perform and compete. Her first competition was in 2019 with the ‘Ōte’a team at HiP in Paris, and later she joined the ‘Auana team, performing at Hula ‘Oni E Europe in 2023. But while competition has been part of her journey, what she feels most drawn to is the creative side of dance and the importance in telling stories - exploring meaning and culture through movement. She has co-choreographed pieces for Disney and contributed to the short film ‘Ola I Ka Wai / Water is Life: Dancing the Ahupua‘a,’ which was shown as part of the 'Ma uka to Ma kai: Quilting the Hawaiian Landscape' exhibition at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.

For Akino, LSHO serves as so much more than a dance community. ‘In a city like London, where people move in and out of each other’s lives, it becomes a thread that holds everyone together. People find collective effervescence through a shared love and respect for Polynesian culture where we carry stories within the dance. And to continue that journey of perpetual learning. We gain such an important perspective of the world, our relationships with others and our relationship with the land.’