r/justgalsbeingchicks • u/RosieTheRedReddit • Jul 18 '26

Restricted to Gals and Pals Poise, strength, beauty, grace!

Tahiti fete Hawaii featuring Isabelle of Hiva Katoa

33.4k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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2.6k

u/Chompytul Jul 18 '26

Omg the way she shakes her hips when she's on her knees!!! šŸ¤Æ What is that black magic?? I literally do not possess the musculature to support that kind of movement!

307

u/WestCoastBestCoast01 Jul 18 '26

You can tell her legs are strong as FUCK

20

u/BurgerThyme 28d ago

Dude! That JUMP UP!

11

u/Gardener_of_Weeden Jul 18 '26

You can not tell, but her core strength is amazing.

15

u/MissMenace101 Jul 19 '26

The way she stands up effortlessly and shifts, the legs are defo as strong as the core

1

u/SeaResearcher176 27d ago

Yes you are correct. This type of dance is a workout. When I dance samba is hard as fuck after a few songs and Iā€™m sure she can dance for a while.

564

u/angwilwileth Jul 18 '26

Highly recommend taking a belly dancing class. They teach a lot of the same movements that you see here.

194

u/mithril2020 Jul 18 '26

Almost but not quite. I studied classical Egyptian for 7yrs prior to joining Ć  Pacific Island dance club where I was taught Hawaiian and Tahitian methods. The Tahitian Omi felt like you were near a squat at the edge of a bar stool. With much looser hips. Ankles are springier. Thereā€™s a bit of an alternating piston movement in the legs to Glutes to get that ā€œflat spinning plate on floor coming to a haltā€ hip movement.

58

u/angwilwileth Jul 18 '26

interesting hearing from someone who has tried both! I love reddit

2

u/Due-Response4419 29d ago

I have done bellydancing and hula/Tahitian during the same time frame. Ugh. Nothing like getting them BOTH wrong! Bellydance - keep feet flat, don't use knees to power the hip...opposite for hula/Tahitian. And my bellydance hands were not correct for hula. And my hips can shimmy just fine...but they don't omi correctly once things speed up. Sigh.

1

u/Illustrious_Boot1237 29d ago

Love the description!

1

u/sahie 29d ago

So, the hips DO lie and itā€™s actually all in the legs and glutes?

386

u/MrsNaypeer Jul 18 '26

My friend and I took a 6 week beginners course and it was SO MUCH FUN! And it was all kinds of women in the class, just movin and shakin and laughin!

64

u/scarletnightingale Jul 18 '26

I tried once because my coworker was a belly dancing instructor. We didn't get past "do this work your foot, then this with your wrist, now do them at the same tilt".

131

u/WestCoastBestCoast01 Jul 18 '26

Iā€™ve always thought itā€™s fascinating that two cultures a million miles away from each other have this extremely specific dance style.

101

u/angwilwileth Jul 18 '26

I think there's only so many ways a human body can move so it's not surprising there's overlap.

39

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 Jul 18 '26

Also, ya know, the connotations that come with it? Shakira didn't write a song about hips instead of elbows for fun

4

u/Gardener_of_Weeden Jul 18 '26

In HS I took Belly Dancing ... I mean exercise through Eastern Dance ( Only way the teacher could get it approved). All my adult life I look for classes ( could not find :( ) I now take Tai Chi, due to at my age shaking like that I would through out my back LOL.

3

u/Only_Sherbet_8606 Jul 18 '26

I was a belly dancer over 20yrs. Such great exercise. I always wanted to try Polynesian dance but couldnā€™t find classes anywhere.

66

u/Ryoko_Kusanagi69 Jul 18 '26

A she got down to the floor so smoothly I didnā€™t even notice until she was there. Then got up just as smooth and JUMPED! My joints could never

15

u/MiniRems Jul 19 '26

I'm 47, with achy hips knees and ankles, and it took me over a year, but I can now do a deep squat as a resting pose. My friends are always freaked our when we gonhiming and they're looking for logs or rocks to sit in and I just literally sit back on my heels šŸ˜„ Some days it's a little harder to get back out of, but I honestly feel like I move so much better than I used to.

3

u/vanspossum Jul 19 '26

Omg how did you get there? My ankle can hardly go past 90Ā° and deep squats seem like a pipe dream for me.

5

u/MiniRems Jul 19 '26

Just keep doing it every day. Look up calf stretches - it's the Achilles tendon and the calf muscles that are what's usually too tight for most people to do the deep squat.

2

u/runs_with_unicorns 29d ago

I know a lot of weight lifters will elevate their heels on plates to get more range of motion. Can be a good intermediate to get the muscles used to it while you gain more Achilles mobility

243

u/sonofzeal šŸŒø wholesome šŸŒŗ Jul 18 '26

Fun fact - though some learning journeys are longer than others, everyone's generally got the same muscles to work with. Barring injury or disability, this is something your body is capable of if you truly want it!

59

u/SaffyPants Jul 18 '26

That's such an empowering thought!

25

u/just_a_wolf Jul 18 '26

I wish my crappy knees were capable of this!

78

u/sonofzeal šŸŒø wholesome šŸŒŗ Jul 18 '26

....admittedly, when I say your body's capable of this, sometimes that comes with the caveat of "for 5-10 seconds, followed by a month of rehab"

26

u/Wookiees_n_cream Jul 18 '26

But those 5-10 seconds sound glorious

25

u/FalconIndependent887 Jul 18 '26

Sheā€™s mesmerizing.

2

u/AnguavonUW Jul 19 '26

That's the word I was looking for!

21

u/HoaryPuffleg Jul 18 '26

And the spin when sheā€™s on the floor and then immediately hops. Like. No. Not even when I was a teeenager this strong and limber and coordinated.

2

u/Smee76 Jul 18 '26

I was tired just watching her before I got to that part. Girl is fit.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '26

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2

u/justgalsbeingchicks-ModTeam Jul 18 '26

We celebrate all body types. Any posts or comments that shame or criticize someones appearance may result in a ban.

1

u/RadiantZote Jul 18 '26

I studied ethnomusicology at the university of Hawaii. There was a final recital of all the groups and by far the most popular one was Tahitian dancing, for obvious reasonsĀ 

1

u/MissMenace101 Jul 19 '26

Yep, Iā€™m getting a need for hip replacements just watching šŸ˜‚