Participating as a fish out of water, I attended a dance practice hosted by the Pride of the Pacific club here on campus.
The organization is for Pacific Islanders but they invite any one to participate in their show which they have already started practicing for.
I found this campus organization by asking my friends Richard Hernal and Ben Staley about the organization before hand since I knew they were members.
The group holds dance practices every Monday night and for any one’s first practice they ask that you sit and observe a little before you attempt to dance along side them.
The boys and girls are separated and I was thrown in with a group of strangers but everyone had a smile on their face waiting to share their knowledge of the night’s lesson, Tahitian dancing.
They also practice other Pacific Island dances from Aotearoa, Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, and Tonga but focus on one per week.
After watching a few girls perform the dance, the rest of us who were less knowledgeable of the dance stood up and learned the basics.
Most Pacific Islands appear to be just shaking their hips to the music of a ukulele but I was mistaken when I attempted to do the same with my hips.
The girls were able to teach us in small groups and try to get the basic moves down as well as feel the music.
Dancing Tahitian I learned you have to use your knees in circles for hips to move, this was challenging but I did not feel alone because other girls struggled with it too.
I had no previous experience dancing this way and even though I felt ridiculous, it was enjoyable attempting the dance with dancers with similar skill levels.
Growing up I did dance ballet and jazz and compared to those two styles, Tahitian was different because in ballet your body must stay up where in Tahitian your center of gravity is concentrated in a lower area.
At the end of the practice, everyone came together to show what they had learned it was how they ended practice supporting everyone who participated.
I enjoyed seeing everyone perform it allowed me to see what was accomplished in two hours.
No one was “performance ready” but everyone acted like this was a full performance with costumes and live music.
By ending practice this way, it emphasized that no matter how good or how bad you are you are welcome to participate so that when it is time to perform you know how it feels.
Everyone encourages you to do your best and at least try to perform with the right facials and steps you can participate in the luau in April.
The luau is the organizations largest event of the year where they invite students, faculty and families to see them perform and eat a traditional Pacific Islander dinner.
Even though I do not think I will be particpating in this year’s luau I will attend their luau to see what progress they make in the next five months.
