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

I have dancing (hula/Tahitian) on my mind. In fact, I began dreaming about it over a week ago. Why is it that you can have it down practicing at home, but as soon as you get into the studio, you’ve lost it?

I’m still working my butt off practicing Tahitian for tryouts. Most of the people are supportive. They wouldn’t tell you that you have no chance even if it were true. There is one lady though who tells you exactly what she thinks. She thinks that no one can possibly be ready to perform unless they have danced for a year. Somehow just one negative comment destroys all the good comments.

I keep reminding myself how much I’ve improved in 6 weeks and that I will get the rest of it down soon. There are lots of things to concentrate on. I constantly remind myself of many things while dancing: feet together, shoulders straight, not moving and large movements and breathe. Yes, those of us beginning sometimes forget to breathe enough. Now I have to add, “smile,” “attitude” and “relax the shoulders.” Apparently in my attempt to not move my shoulders, I look stiff. The attitude required is confidence and thinking you’re the sexiest woman in the room.

I think the main thing now is too keep my cool, as they say.

Technorati: hula, Tahitian, dance, anxiety

I survived the Tahitian dance workshop. I still have a lot to work on. I have some trouble walking and doing the moves at the same time. Being able to dance low (crouching almost) is still tricky. I almost fell over a couple times. I need to remember “balance.” I downed a very large bottle of water during the class, plus snacks.

I enjoy it. I’m sure that when I’m better at it—when it’s easier—I will love it. For now, it’s practice, practice, practice. Tonight though, I think I’m going to bed early. The workshop was 3 ½ hours. We took breaks, but my legs muscles aren’t developed enough yet. Soon though. Those quads are starting to appear. I finally have calves. See, I have always had chicken legs. I was called “chicken legs” though most of school. Soon they will be chicken legs no more. It got to the point where I was self-conscious wearing shorts. I stopped caring sometime in college. The Midwest gets too hot in the summer to wear pants.

I’m sure you wonder how I got into hula/Tahitian dance. This summer I went to Hawaii for the first time with my son. I was mesmerized by the dancers I saw. It is so beautiful. It looked like it would be fun. I never saw how much the dancers sweat. They must drip like me and the others at my halau. I needed a new hobby anyway. I get bored easily, and I love to try new things all the time. So, I began dancing in the middle of August. I have a long way to go before I’m good at it, but I hope it won’t be too long. Every week is a challenge—and I love a challenge. It’s really great exercise as well. That’s just a bonus. I hate to exercise, so this is really good for me.

I may be overly ambitious. The purpose of the workshop was to teach what you need to know to try out for competition. Tryouts are in a month. Wish me luck.

Technorati: Tahitian, Hawaii, dance, hula

Well, it’s hula-update day. It gets easier and harder each week. It’s easier to do the moves, but something new is added every week, which again makes me wonder if I will ever get it.

This week it was doing the hula movements to the beat on the ipu heke (that’s a double gourd). This is the more traditional hula. Frankly, it would help if the teachers would explain when you are supposed to do certain movements before I attempt it. I think it helps to hear the music or beat first. The Tahitian danicing seems to be going better. My knees are getting stronger, but I still can’t get down very low. I have a lot of work on perfecting the movements before I can go fast as well. I seem to be learning this dance quicker.

I get a lot of encouragement from a couple of the teachers, but one was a bit surly last night. Perhaps she had a bad day…but I do see that she doesn’t have much patience with the beginner class. She’s very knowledgeable about hula, but I wish she could explain it better.

I was thinking about what to write today, when I realized that I had plenty to write about–my new hobby. I started hula and tahitian dancing last night. Surprisingly, my legs aren’t that sore. At first while watching the other girls, I thought “I’ll never be able to do this.” Then I tried some moves and thought “I’ll never be able to do this.” After about 15 minutes, then I thought “Well, I can do this…but I have to keep my feet together, knees bent and shoulders from moving.” That last part is the hardest. Then came tahitian…Boy can those girls move! I had the timing pretty good, and I kept up pretty well. But my legs started cramping while dancing, and I had to rest more often.

It was lots of fun, so I’m looking forward to class next week. There’s no set structure. If you want to begin hula, you just jump into the beginners class and start to follow. The ones who have been dancing for awhile are very helpful. The girls are great, but I am the only white girl…and I am really white. My Hawaiian friend is getting a major kick out the whole “white girl does the hula” thing.

So if anyone wants to learn hula, send me some comments. I know a website that gives a list of the schools around the country. And, if you live in the San Jose area, I know a friendly school with a record of winning competitions.

I will keep you posted as to how the hula goes. I know 6 basic moves, which need perfected. It’s really great exercise for the thighs.

Technorati: hula Hawaii