In art of Tahitian dancing there are 3 main forms of dance:
O'tea, Aparima, & Ahuroa.
- O'tea is usually part of warm ups and choreographed rapid hip motion which is synchronized with the unique formations and the vibrations coming off of the drums. In this form of Tahitian, you would always find the dancers in either pareos(short skirts) or grass skirts paired with a matching top or coconut bra and to finish it off a outrageous head piece.
- Aparima is more of a medium pace which is played by both the string and drums combined. This type of dance tells the story about daily life using intricate hand gestures flowing the semi-fast movements of the hips, but most of the time the story is about a vahine(girl) finding her way through the Polynesian islands. Look for the dancers wearing similar costumes as they did for O'tea except the headpiece is replaced with a flower.
- Ahuroa is a very slow and sensational form of Tahitian dancing. It's more used for the women ages twenty - five and older. Like the aparima, Ahuroa uses intricate hand gestures but the hips are in more of a swaying action. The costume would a be a long dress that flows with a unique and individual design on it to had a little island flavor.
Hi Kiani!
ReplyDeleteWow I had no idea there were three different parts of Tahitian. Do you dance all three forms and if so which one do you think you are the best at performing?
I remember seeing Tahitian dancers perform at the Cultural Festival two summers ago. I am pretty sure that what I saw was the o'tea form of Tahitian.
ReplyDeleteI love the names of these types of dances. Do you think you can show us some pictures of the costumes? Like the head pieces?
ReplyDeleteHi! I had never been aware of all the different forms of Tahitian dancing. It sounds all so interesting how each dance differs in rhythm, form, and style. I look forward to reading more about this later!
ReplyDeleteTahitian dancers are always such a large attraction at the school, but there are never enough people that look into it. This was really insightful on the basics and now I can say that I know more about it than just "it's a dance."
ReplyDeleteHonestly I didn't even know there were more than one form of Tahitian dancing, but I'm glad to learn about them now.
ReplyDeleteWow I didn't know there were different type of Tahitian out there. I think if I were a Tahitian dancer I would like to do a O'tea and an Ahuroa dance. I like how it looks when hips are moving crazy with a grass skirt. It reminds me of those dolls that Hawaiian truck drivers own haha. I also like the sound of Ahuroa. I think if I were to do Tahitian, I would want to be very graceful and smooth :D
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteThe art of Tahitian dancing seems so graceful and I don't think I would be very good at it. Saying that, I think it's amazing how easy people make it look. Keep up the good work!
This post has definitely given me some info I didn't know about Tahitian. A lot of people just know it as a form of dance, but there's clearly much more to it than that. Can't wait to read more about it!
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