Photos

Hula Dancing

At Mana Island we were entertained each night with different shows. One night is was a Polynesian Dance Show with some of the staff from other Pacific Islands putting on a show of their local dances.

Here we have the traditional hula dance that has been around for ages. Hula dancing was a sacred part of ancient ceremonies, usually done to chants or music. The history of the hula can be traced back to India. The traditional hula used faces and arm movements a lot more than hips!

In hula dancing, each movement has a particular meaning and this coupled with the expressive hand gestures has even greater significance. While dancing, the movements that the dancers make may represent any facet of nature or life. Plants, trees, war, wind fire, water, all the elements are adequately represented and the viewer has no doubt in his mind as to its meaning. This is because hula dancing by its movements embodies the essence of thing it represents. The dancers incorporate to exactitude the elements of life and nature and the chanting aids in narrating the story. Initially in hula dancing, the emphasis was on the words only, but as many people do not understand those chants, this form of dancing has become more expressive and understandable.

Quoting from: www.indianchild.com/games/hula-dancing.htm