When Josh Masters learned that his best friend’s fitness studio was destroyed in the Lahaina, Maui fire, he was devastated. “I felt helpless.” So, he did what he knew best. He led some Zumba classes in Silverdale and immediately raised $700 to help his close friend, Keoni Manuel, get through the difficult time before emergency funds were available.

On Aug. 24, Masters and Zumba instructors Olymar Gallagher and Lisa Farrell-Waiss hosted a live outdoor Zumba class for about 30 participants who filled Town Square in Bainbridge Island and danced to benefit Maui-Strong and Manuel.

Manuel is a Polynesian dance fitness and Zumba instructor known for creating PolyFit, a form of dance fitness that incorporates traditional and modern dance movements with traditional drum beats and ancient Hawaiian and Samoan music. He taught classes at his Lahaina Hot Lava DanceFit Studios, destroyed in the wildfires.

Masters met Manuel at a Polynesian Dance Fitness training in Puyallup. Manuel saw how well Masters performed and invited him to Maui to help with master classes and significant training events. “Now, Maui’s my second home. I’ve been there several dozen times,” Masters said.

In 2022, Masters joined Manuel’s dance group, Aumakua Productions, an international Polynesian dance company that entertains tourists at Maui hotels and cruise ships. He worked on a cruise for 19 days with ports of call in Tahiti, San Diego, Catalina Island, the Hawaiian islands, Moorea and Bora Bora. “It was a pretty fun ride.”

After that trip, Manuel welcomed Masters, “Maui is your home. You’re part of our family now.”

When the wildfires swept through Lahaina Aug. 8, Manuel lost everything. The fires destroyed his studio, which contained all the dance costumes, ukeleles, props, and sound equipment for Manuel’s 30 dancers.

“A lot of instructors lost their homes, and they lost family members. It breaks my heart,” Masters said. “Because I’m part of the Ohana, his family, and the hālau, I knew that there was something I needed to do to help.”

Island Fitness owner Alexa Rosenthal and her husband, Michael, have sponsored many fundraisers over the years and said, “It’s tragic what happened in Maui, but it felt good to get out into the community to help another community.”

There is a “heart-to-heart, island-to-island” connection between Bainbridge Island and Maui because many residents go there for winter break and Christmas vacation, Rosenthal said. Her first visit to Hawaii was to Maui.

Janna Chan creates a striking pose during the Zumba Dance for Maui fundraiser Aug. 25 at Town Center.

Josh Masters, Island Fitness instructor, leads an outdoor Zumba Dance for Maui fundraiser to benefit Maui-Strong. Masters’ mentor and instructor lost his Lahaina business in the fires.