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Things to do
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Photo by Lisa Hughes
Victoria Kaiulani Visiko finds joy in anything Hawaiian. She especially loves chanting, using an Ipu Heke double gourd to keep the beat during ancient Kahiko chants. She and her husband have even recorded two CDs (using their Hawaiian names, Kimo and Kaiulani).
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Personal: 48, married (for almost 31 years to high school sweetheart), seven children (ranging in age from 5 to 31; six are adopted).
Occupation: Owner and director of Gallery Kauai, Hawaiian Performing Arts Center of Jefferson Road (www.gallerykauai.com); instructor of Hawaiian Dance and Culture at the University of Rochester; professional Hawaiian dancer, choreographer and producer (producing approximately 200 Hawaiian events per year).
Community activities: P.E.O. (Philanthropic Education Organization), an international organization that helps women further their educational goals; my husband and I donate performances for charitable organizations.
My favorite thing to do in Rochester: I love performing with my husband at different venues in Rochester (i.e. Starry Nites Cafe and Bernunzio’s Downtown Music). We meet so many wonderful, appreciative people. I love the ambience of these places.
What I’m reading now: Everything about Hawaiian culture — I always strive to increase my knowledge of all Hawaiian topics.
Biggest challenge I’ve overcome: Singing. I have a very solid Hawaiian chanting background; my voice rings out loud and clear in the Hawaiian language ... I was always encouraged as a child to dance, but not to sing. About two years ago, my husband said, “Get past it and do it ... just sing.” So, I did! Of course, it took many years to get to the “just do it” stage. I believe that, as parents, we should not label our children. Give them the freedom to explore all their talents.
The best advice I ever received: Be true to yourself so that you can be true to others.
One thing I’ve always wanted to do but never have: Go on a second honeymoon ... alone ... with my husband. We always travel with our children ... Don’t get me wrong ... we want our children with us but, we have not been alone away from home in 20 years.
Something people don’t know about me: After my husband and I graduated from college, we moved to New Jersey, near the ocean. We lived there for 17 years before moving back to Rochester six years ago. [While there,] I owned two businesses — An Actor’s Place I (in New York City) and An Actor’s Place II (in Red Bank, N.J.) — where I taught acting. I [also] studied modern dance at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance … they wanted me to [join] the Martha Graham Dance Company. But, my businesses were booming and I was also directing off- (and off-off-) Broadway theater ... so I declined. In rare moments, I regret that decision ... but, it then passes because I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing in life ... everything Hawaiian.
What I do to relieve stress: Dance — my best works have been created during stressful times in my life; go to the Seneca Park Zoo with my husband and our children.
My biggest guilty pleasure(s): Wine, chocolate and my husband’s shoulder massages.
The one thing I can’t live without: My ohana (family), which includes my husband, children and pets — also my students and their families as well.
As a child, I always wanted to be: Everything that I am today ... and more.
The song that best describes my life: “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy or “Beautiful Hula Dancer” by John Keawe.
What people say about her: Sara Boettrich, educator for school programs at Strong — National Museum of Play: “What is most remarkable about Victoria’s teaching style is her ability to connect with everyone in a room; young and old, male and female, all are enticed by Victoria’s contagious love of Hawaiian culture. The compassion she has and shares emanates from her voice, her movements and her expressions. The fact that she can inspire teenage boys to hula on stage is proof of her gifts and talents as a teaching artist.”
