I had one heck of a workout last night. This hula and Tahitian dancing is kicking my butt. Finally after 2 months, I was shown all the arm movements to one dance. I had a few down, but not all. We have a test coming up. Yes, you heard that right a test—like school. I have to know the chanting dance in Hawaiian, translate it to English and be able to describe the movements for each verse.

In Tahitian class, we worked on basics and the dance routine. Then we worked on one movement. I had one of the advanced dancers working with me—which is great. You can’t beat one-on-one help. But, boy was I sweating. It was dripping down my face. I was sore all night long. So I have lots to practice with both hula and Tahitian. I still have at least 2 more pieces of a costume to sew. We have to have bloomers under the skirts. I guess it’s tradition when wearing the skirt outside the halau or home. For practice, I wear shorts underneath. I do the same for Tahitian under the pareo. I always worry that the pareo will come untied.

So I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with what I need to learn and get done is a short time. I’ll be practicing an entire hula dance this week and one basic Tahitian movement. The shirts I have seen that say “eat, sleep, hula” aren’t far from the truth. I once had someone ask if I did anything else. I don’t have time to do any other kind of exercise or have many other hobbies outside of dancing.

Technorati: hula, Tahitian, dance