Tahiti club uses dance to express culture and faith
The soft strumming of a ukulele accompanied dancers as they moved gracefully across the stage. As the rhythm of the drums grew louder, the pace of the performance quickened. Dancers matched the faster beat with sharper, more energetic movements. Dressed in green skirts with banana leaf hip bands, women moved their hips side to side and in circular motions, while men performed a mix of slow and rapid leg movements.
Evelyne Heimanu, Tahiti club president and choreographer and a senior in psychology from Tahiti, said she wants to ensure that club members understood the significance of their dance and their cultural values. “I wanted them to feel that though dancing is our culture, it is also about remembering God [who] gave us the opportunity to perform.” She added she wants to focus on how their culture connects to spiritual life.
Heimanu said they performed two dances this year, ‘ote’a and ‘aparima. ‘Ote’a is a fast dance with quick hip movements where dancers match the beat of the drummers. ‘Aparima is a slower dance where dancers use hand movements to reflect the meaning of the lyrics in the song. Heimanu translated the lyrics of the ‘aparima’ song as, “I pray to the Lord for my family, for my friends, today, for tomorrow and forever.”
Vaipoe Tefaaite, a senior studying TESOL from Tahiti and the treasurer, said the lyrics in the ‘aparima dance reflected the club’s spiritual theme this year.“The hip band is always part of our culture, so we chose the banana leaves because it’s easier to [gather] for students,” she said.
Eimeo Lee Chip Sao, a senior in hospitality and tourism management from Tahiti and a choreographer for the men, said he tried to teach members to have energy and gracefulness when dancing. During ‘ote’a, he said the boys performed a scissor-like dance, the recurring movement of legs with minimal hand movements. Even though it can be difficult, he said he wanted members to feel like they belong. “I want people to remember that our culture is beautiful. And part of the culture is being happy and being unified together,” he said.
