Tahitian/Polynesian dance classes in Hawaii

topic posted Fri, July 10, 2009 - 7:12 AM by  Indu
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Hi all,

I'm very lucky to be visiting Hawaii in the beginning of January '10. VERY VERY excited. Now i thought that I can't visit without booking at least one lesson in Tahitian or Hawaiian dance. Can anyone recommend any teachers - also recommend good places to visit in the Hawaiian Islands? I've been told Kauai is a good place to visit...
posted by:
Indu
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  • What island(s) will you be visiting, and how long will you be staying?
    • We are going to be there from 1st jan till 16th (ish). Hoping to visit Kauai, big island and Maui (or two of those three, it depends on our budget!). we are flying in to Honolulu though, so we might be there a night or two....
      • I can't speak for Tahitian dance because I've never studied it. You mentioned you'd like to "book" a class: have you ever studied Hawaiian dance before? And are you looking to attend a class or take a private lesson?

        What I can tell you that I do know about Hawaiian dance is that it is unusual for someone to just drop in for one (or even two or three) lessons, unless you already have training from a particular teacher or have been recommended by your teacher to visit someone. Hula generally requires that you learn the basics of a school/teacher, and that can take anywhere from several months to several years. If you are a more advanced hula dancer, you might be able to "drop in" on a class as a visitor, but to do so, you should obtain direct permission from the teacher, or kumu, preferably at the recommendation of your own teacher. Kumu hula discourage what is known as "halau (school) hopping" because each school comes from a lineage of hula teachers, and there is a certain mystique or privacy related to each school's methodology.

        If you are not an experienced hula dancer, what I would recommend is instead of trying to find someone to teach you (which might prove to be either difficult ... or very expensive), try to find as many good hula and/or Tahitian dance performances as you can to experience. There are hula-related events going on all year round on every island; the "Alternative Hawaii Vacation Guide" is a great online source for finding them.

        One more piece of advice, if you don't mind: for only about two weeks of travel, I'd stick to only a couple of the islands. It might give you a little bit more of an opportunity to delve deeper into the rich cultural life there than can be experienced at the beaches and tourist spots.

        I hope this has been helpful.
        • Thank you SOOO much!!!

          Very interesting what you are saying - i have not done ANY hula, and was hoping to maybe book an intensive 2/3hr lesson with someone. I have done belly dance for 5.5 yrs now. Some of the moves i know are similar as i have met people who have done hula/tahitian tamure and its amazing how some movements are almost identical.

          I would be happy to just see the dancers - i'm going to be there from the 31st dec this year til 16th jan. We're going to be on oahu for a couple of days just to get our bearings and then spending most of the holiday on kauai and then big island to see some of the volcanic stuff! I can't wait, its going to be amazing. We've booked ourselves in to a luau near the end of our stay as i know they have good dance shows. Its hard to know as tourists, how to avoid the 'crappy' stuff and teh good stuff to see!

          Thank you for your advice
          Indu
          x
  • Re: Tahitian/Polynesian dance classes in Hawaii

    Tue, November 10, 2009 - 8:01 AM
    Go to www.mele.com/resources/hula.html .. they have a comprehensive listing of schools by island. Also each halau is different. Certainly someone can be found who will offer you private lessons at very least there, if not a visit to a casual adult class. At very very least, they should give you advice on where you can find recreational hula classes as well, if that particular halau does not offer such things.

    Strongly advise you to take some introductory classes where you live before getting lessons on the island :) at least rent a hula dance video, or look on youtube, and practice the basics. Warm you up a little before you jump in :)

    good luck
    Jeni

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