Tahitian dance as an alternative to Oriental dance

Pauline ATA teaches among others Tahitian dance and Bellydance. Thanks to her experience, she shares with us valuable information on this dance, not widespread in Europe, the Tahitian dance, by comparing it to Bellydance. An exciting interview!

What are the characteristics of Tahitian dance? And what are the similarities and differences with Bellydance?

Tahitian dance requires good physical endurance because it is much more physical than Bellydancing, moves on the floor are not rare. It also requires good coordination (true brain gym) because the hand movements must match perfectly those of the feet and hips. Footsteps such as tairi tamao (swaying of hips) or faarapu (fast roll) are basic steps, but there are many others! Each step has its name and many variations. There are strong similarities with oriental dance. All hip movements are quite similar, like the varu with the outside 8. The way to perform it and the energy are different. The Tahitian dance is much lower, more anchored to the ground. The feet placement is also very important, to avoid injuries of course but also because with the costumes like the pareo you can see the legs! So, unlike oriental dance, the Tahitian dance is done with some support of the bust, this one should not accompany the movements of the pelvis.

What is the profile of your students in Tahitian dance and what does this discipline bring them?

There is no typical student’s profile; I have students of all ages and socio professional categories. This discipline gives them physical exercise, with all the health benefits it brings, but like all dances it provides a connection to the body, and has true exhilarating power, all dancers will agree!

What’s the perfect outfit and what kind of music works to practice Tahitian dance?

The perfect outfit is a pareo and a bottle of water! You can dance on all types of music, however we favor Polynesian music, and when it is cold and snowing on the mainland, there’s nothing better than the sound of a ukulele to warm up. I love the titles « Te vaka », « Nonosina », or « Toa'Ura ».

With your dance company, the Hinemarama troupe, you also merge choreographies combining Bellydance and Tahitian dance. How do you do it and what are the secrets of a successful choreography respecting the 2 dances?

I must add that in my opinion there are several levels of merging. The first level is to take music from one dance style and dance another style on it. The second level is mixing the steps of the two dance styles and finally the last level would be to create new steps, a mix of the 2 dances, a new style is then born. Since Tahitian dance is very similar to Bellydance, merging is tricky. So for now, I dance Tahitian on non-Tahitian music. I sometimes add some non-Tahitian steps, but I haven’t found a way to merge them while respecting them yet. It’s something to work on! 

When and where can our clients find you to take your dance classes and especially the Tahitian dance ones? Do you offer other dance classes and if so, which ones? Do you also practice alone or with your company other original mergers and if so, which ones?

I teach Tahitian dance on Mondays: Kids from 17:00 to 18:00, Beginners from 18:00 to 19:00 and Advanced from 19:00 to 20:30 at CEP du Prieuré, amicale laïque de St Peray (07), and Tuesdays from 18:30 to 20:00, all levels at the Dance School Quentin Gremillet in Bourg les Valence (26).
I also teach a merger between Bellydance and tribal dance.
I love merging, I mix a lot of different styles. For example, in my show "Rétro-Orient", I mix vintages dances such as the Charleston with Oriental dance. I also merged South American dances or ones from Bali.
I'm not an expert in all dances, so I try to keep a few steps and the energy of the dances that I merge, and in the respect of the cultures, honestly, rather like a tribute to all the world cultures!

What’s your background in dance?

I started Oriental dance with my mother, who has been teaching for many years. Even if as a teenager I preferred “boys’ sports” (viet vo dao and skateboard), I discovered the joy of dancing in my 20s. My first class was an eye-opener and I fell in love with this dance: I haven’t stopped since!
I took my certificate of teaching Oriental dance with Khaled Seif, a man who knows how to teach the values of teaching and dance. I grew up with world music, so I was naturally attracted by tribal merger, a perfect mix of ethnic and oriental dance music.
When I was improving my tribal style, I started Tahitian dance. There weren’t as many teachers at the time so I took Joëlle Berg’s classes every time she came to France. Joëlle Berg graduated from the Polynesian dance Conservatory of Papeete, in Tahiti. I took her classes for many years and then I went to Tahiti for the Heiva (traditional annual event in French Polynesia), to live in this culture and learn as much as possible.
It’s in Tahiti that I received the name Hinemarama (the name of my troupe). This means that I was trained with authentic teachers to teach the dance, who were also trained in Tahiti in relation with the training provided at the conservatory.
I created 2 dance troupes: The Tangerine compagny, created in 2009, specialized in Oriental dance merger, and the Hinemarama troupe, founded in 2015, specialist of Tahitian dance. I am the choreographer of several very different inspired shows: such as "Rétro-Orient", a show in a vintage universe, or "Belly-Mandala" which was created on the physical and mental shape of the mandala.
The Tangerine company has won several awards at Leyla Jouvana's "Bellydance of the world" contest, like the second place in the category merger troupe in 2014 and I won the 1st place in the category Tribal merger solo that same year. Last year, we won the 3rd place in the category classic and merger in group. The Hinemarama troupe participated in the very prestigious "Heiva i Paris" in 2017 and we finished 5th.

Posted in: Bellydance fusions

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