Jonny Kealoha is the charismatic host of a struggling Waikiki Polynesian lū`au show. To everyone’s surprise, including his own, he is appointed as the successor to a high school boy’s hula class when his former Kumu Hula (master hula teacher) passes away. He becomes as much a student as a teacher through the demands of leading the boys to a significant cultural event and rediscovers the sanctity of the culture he had previously abandoned.

Every spring since 1971, the best hula hālau are invited to Hilo, Hawai‘i Island to perform in the most prestigious hula competition of its kind: the Merrie Monarch Festival. Follow the journeys of three hula practitioners—a teacher, a chanter, and a dancer—as they prepare to step onto the stage.