Aloha Chair and Members of the Budget Committee,

My name is Ali McKeon Pineo, and I am the Executive Director of Adaptations Dance Theater (ADT)—Maui’s only professional contemporary dance company.

I am writing this testimony in strong support of ADT’s line item to $90,000 in the FY26 Office of Economic Development budget, so that we may expand our Bring it Home program into a biannual season, increase employment for our professional dance artists on island, and deepen our service to the Maui community.

I was born and raised on Maui, trained at Maui Academy of Performing Arts, and later studied at Stanford and UC Irvine before dancing professionally in California. Every summer I returned home to perform with ADT’s Bring it Home series—because it was the only professional performance opportunity available on the island for artists like me. It allowed me to stay connected to Maui and to keep my artistic identity rooted here.

In 2021, I returned home permanently with my husband and newborn son. I stepped into a leadership role at ADT—first as Co-Artistic Director and now as Executive Director. That journey was only possible because Bring it Home existed. It’s what helped me—and many others—see Maui as a place where a professional life in the arts was possible.

Since its founding in 2013, ADT has provided over 100 artist contracts, created over 120 performances, and grown a programmatic ecosystem that supports local and returning artists, students, kupuna, and audiences across generations. Bring it Home now includes not just performances, but choreographic residencies, free classes, mentorships, and educational intensives that form a real pipeline for professional dancers raised in Hawaiʻi.

We are ready to expand Bring it Home to include two full residency and performance cycles annually—offering six performances, over 43 artist contracts, and two sets of educational intensives. We’ll reach an estimated 1,800 audience members and circulate nearly $93,000 back into the local economy through wages, rentals, partnerships, and tourism.

We are proud to be a small but mighty team with a strong track record. We’ve been included in the Mayor’s budget for two years and offered an OED grant last year, and we are grateful for that trust. Today, we ask for your help to scale our impact.
Please restore and increase ADT’s FY26 line item to $90,000. With your support, we will continue to build a future for contemporary dance on Maui—one that’s local, sustainable, and rooted in community.

Mahalo for your time and consideration.

Warmly,
Ali McKeon Pineo
Executive Director
Adaptations Dance Theater

I am writing in support of the proposed funding allocated to Adaptations Dance Theatre (ADT). Through the opportunities they have created for professional dancers, ADT has provided me with ways to come home to Maui and be with the community I care most about. As a dancer who was born and raised on Maui now living on the mainland- finding ways to stay connected to home is deeply important to me. It is thanks to ADT that I have been able to come home to be in fulfilling projects, teach workshops to dancers on island, participate in community outreach, and give back to a place that has given me so much. Those experiences are immeasurably meaningful and I hope to continue creating more with ADT. We are taught that our relationship to this island should not be extractionary, and through ADT I am able to spend time paying gratitude to home. From having the honor of sharing dance about Aunty Sally Ann's incredible life and activism, to performing for the kupuna at Kula Hospital, I am so humbled to be a part of what ADT is doing and sincerely hope they can receive the financial support necessary to continue doing their work.

To Whom it may concern:

As a small business owner who makes a living in the wedding industry, I strongly support any legislation aimed at providing more support to this vital sector, especially on the island of Maui. The wedding industry is a major contributor to Hawaii’s local economy, sustaining countless jobs and small businesses, mine included. On Maui, where communities are still recovering from economic hardship and natural disasters, helping the wedding industry thrive means supporting families, preserving culture, and sustaining local livelihoods. I urge lawmakers to recognize the importance of this industry and pass measures that provide meaningful relief and growth opportunities.

Mahalo Nui for your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Chad McDonald/Stir Beverage LLC