Mary Jo Freshley
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Mary Jo Freshley (born September 25, 1934) is an American instructor of
Korean dance Dance in Korea began with shamanistic early rituals five thousand years ago and now ranges from folk dance to newly created and adopted contemporary dance. Overview Korean traditional dance originated in ancient shamanistic rituals thousands ...
. She teaches at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the
Halla Pai Huhm Halla Pai Huhm (alternately, Halla Huhm, Pai Halla, or Pae Yŏng-ja; 1922–1994) was a Korean-American dancer and the most well-known teacher of Korean dance in Hawaii. She established the Halla Pai Huhm dance studio, and after her death, the Ha ...
Dance Studio. Freshley is one of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii's Living Treasures of Hawaii. Even though she is not ethnically Korean, she is one of Hawaii's foremost experts on Korean dance.


Early life

Freshley was born on September 25, 1934, in
Homeworth, Ohio Homeworth is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in southwestern Knox Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 492 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Salem micropolitan area, about east of ...
. She earned an undergraduate degree from Bowling Green State University in 1956, and a master's degree in education after that. She taught physical education in Michigan, and once she moved to Hawaii she also taught at
Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...
.


Dance

After moving to Hawaii in 1961, Freshley began learning the dances of many cultures, such as Hawaiian, Okinawan, Filipino dance, and Japanese. Freshley began studying
Korean dance Dance in Korea began with shamanistic early rituals five thousand years ago and now ranges from folk dance to newly created and adopted contemporary dance. Overview Korean traditional dance originated in ancient shamanistic rituals thousands ...
under
Halla Pai Huhm Halla Pai Huhm (alternately, Halla Huhm, Pai Halla, or Pae Yŏng-ja; 1922–1994) was a Korean-American dancer and the most well-known teacher of Korean dance in Hawaii. She established the Halla Pai Huhm dance studio, and after her death, the Ha ...
in 1962. She began assisting at the Halla Pai Huhm Dance Studio in 1973. Freshley has also studied with Kim Pyong-Sop and Kim Chon-Hung. Freshley took over the studio after Huhm's death in 1994. In the same year, she retired from her teaching position at
Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...
, started teaching at the studio full-time, and founded the Halla Huhm Foundation. Much like Halla Huhm, she did not receive a salary from the dance studio, and used funding surpluses to bring guest instructors from Korea. However, Freshley's ethnic heritage as a European-American led to some criticism from the local Korean community, who believe that a Korean should have taken over Huhm's work and studio. She was also excluded from the studio's performance at the 1989 Smithsonian Folklife Festival because of her race. She is still active as the director and master teacher of Halla Huhm Korean Dance Studio. Freshley also teaches at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In 2018 she was honored as a Living Treasure of Hawaii for her work in preserving Korean culture in Hawaii and for creating the studio's archives.


See also

*
Ha Soo Whang Ha Soo Whang (; 1892–1984), was a Korean American social worker. She was the first Korean social worker in Hawaii, and acted as a bilingual interpreter for the families under her care. A graduate of Athens College, she was affiliated with the YWC ...
*
Halla Pai Huhm Halla Pai Huhm (alternately, Halla Huhm, Pai Halla, or Pae Yŏng-ja; 1922–1994) was a Korean-American dancer and the most well-known teacher of Korean dance in Hawaii. She established the Halla Pai Huhm dance studio, and after her death, the Ha ...


References


External links


Halla Huhm Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freshley, Mary Jo 1934 births Living people Dance teachers Bowling Green State University alumni Kamehameha Schools Educators from Ohio University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa faculty Koreanists American women academics