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Polynesian Cultural Center
We made two trips to the Polynesian Cultural Center recently. For the first, we all took my parents on the Friday of their week here. Then Danielle, Gabbi, and Jacqui took Nonni and Uncle Gabe on Monday (while I was in Kaua'i for work). The PCC has a deal where you can come back within three days for free, so we figured we could work the system.... Well, the return trip only includes admission to the exhibits (which are great), but not the evening show. So, it wasn't much of a savings, but well worth it! We got seasons passes for a great deal and plan to use it every so often!
It was a little cloudy the first day we went, so they moved the Canoe Pageant indoors. Performers representing each of the Polynesian Cultures from the Center (Hawai'i, Aotearoa, Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa, and Tonga) were dressed in different colors for each culture and performed traditional dances.
Each of the performances was unique, but we could see some similarities from one to another.
We also have learned a lot about the different styles of Polynesian dancing. The real hip shaking style is attributed to the Tahitians. Danielle is no longer looking for hula classes....
We practiced our spear throwing with the Tongans!
Tahitian dance lessons! The women move their knees forward and backward quickly to shake their hips. The men move their legs out and in from the knees like scissors. My dad really caught on and apparently has been showing off his moves in Massachusetts!
More Tahitian Dance
Hula is much more about hand motions. There is very little hip shaking. Your movements are designed to tell a story.
Jacqui went on stage with the Samoan to demonstrate the difference between coconut milk and coconut juice. His presentation is definitely one of the highlights of the day. We learned a very effective coconut cracking method from him that we have used successfully.
Don't try this at home.... he flew of the coconut tree and started tossing them down. Getting a coconut from the tree to edible is a fair amount of work. What you see on the shelves in the stores is the inner nut that had to be removed from the fibrous outer covering. Then you've got to deal with the hard shell of the nut....then, getting the meat out is a task in itself!
We tried our had at making fire by rubbing sticks together. We got smoke! but no fire.....
We were a little late to the luau, but Jacqui had a chance to hula on stage. Gabbi was on her way down to join her, but unfortunately it was a pretty quick song.
After the luau, heading for the evening show!
The evening show was pretty spectacular. Great performances, professional dancing, humor, fire. We had a great time on each trip!
It was a little cloudy the first day we went, so they moved the Canoe Pageant indoors. Performers representing each of the Polynesian Cultures from the Center (Hawai'i, Aotearoa, Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa, and Tonga) were dressed in different colors for each culture and performed traditional dances.
Each of the performances was unique, but we could see some similarities from one to another.
We also have learned a lot about the different styles of Polynesian dancing. The real hip shaking style is attributed to the Tahitians. Danielle is no longer looking for hula classes....
We practiced our spear throwing with the Tongans!
Tahitian dance lessons! The women move their knees forward and backward quickly to shake their hips. The men move their legs out and in from the knees like scissors. My dad really caught on and apparently has been showing off his moves in Massachusetts!
More Tahitian Dance
Hula is much more about hand motions. There is very little hip shaking. Your movements are designed to tell a story.
Jacqui went on stage with the Samoan to demonstrate the difference between coconut milk and coconut juice. His presentation is definitely one of the highlights of the day. We learned a very effective coconut cracking method from him that we have used successfully.
Don't try this at home.... he flew of the coconut tree and started tossing them down. Getting a coconut from the tree to edible is a fair amount of work. What you see on the shelves in the stores is the inner nut that had to be removed from the fibrous outer covering. Then you've got to deal with the hard shell of the nut....then, getting the meat out is a task in itself!
We tried our had at making fire by rubbing sticks together. We got smoke! but no fire.....
We were a little late to the luau, but Jacqui had a chance to hula on stage. Gabbi was on her way down to join her, but unfortunately it was a pretty quick song.
After the luau, heading for the evening show!
The evening show was pretty spectacular. Great performances, professional dancing, humor, fire. We had a great time on each trip!
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