The last time I did a Tahitian dance was for my second grade class May Day program in Hawaii. And I well remember my teacher, Mrs. Mo'o scowling at me as I tried to shake it up. "Lift those heels!" she'd bark at us. Of course, all the Polynesian girls got it naturally. It's genetic I think. I had seen plenty of Polynesian dancing growing up in the South Pacific, so I just squeezed my eyes shut and shook my little hips as fast as I could and I suppose that was sufficient for Mrs. Mo'o to let me be one of the lead dancers to go around the mayday pole and dance in front.
So, back to this class. There were about 24 of us and I'm pretty sure I was the only Haole there. Although, there was another lady there that looked about as white as me. We were upstairs in a dance studio and the instructor came in wearing a red pareo (lava lava) and started the music right off without any preamble. The room shuddered with the beat of the drums and she started shaking those hips. I have to say, Tahitian dancing is sexy. It's aggressive and sensual at the same time. I soon got the hang of it, but because the music was so loud, I couldn't hear her instructions at all. She wasn't very personable. I guess I expected her to make the rounds and give us encouragement and tips for getting the shaking just right. I couldn't see my rear end to know if I was doing it right. I kept wanting her to tell me if my hip action was acceptable. And of course, I had flashbacks of Mrs. Mo'o's frown as she watched me turn circles trying to get my hips to cooperate with her instructions.
A girl I met there, who attends another Hula fitness class, commented that she felt that this lady was doing advanced moves despite the fact that this was a free introductory class and that most of us seemed to be new. I didn't know. I was just doing my best to keep up.
I've heard that Zumba is a hip shaking kind of fitness class, but, I daresay the Tahitian Dancing is better. From what I could tell and the comments made by other Polynesians there, the instructor was doing a lot of traditional Tahitian moves that have been around for hundreds of years.
It was a fantastic workout, and I'm exhausted, but I can't give this class much more than a Fairy Godmother Award. This class would be great for moderately experienced dancers and above, but not brand new people. But it's worth it to try it at least once.
The reasons for the award are:
- The instructor wasn't very friendly.
- I couldn't hear her at all over the music
- Her moves were complicated and changed quickly.
And the location of the Tahitian Dance Fitness class is: LA Dance Company (Tehamata of Utah) 4797 South West Ridge Boulevard (5950 West) WVC, UT
Note to rating system:
Unicorn: Excellent
Fairy Godmother: Good
Fairy: Fair
Goblin: Horrible
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