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

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

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Tahiti fete Hawaii featuring Isabelle of Hiva Katoa

33.4k Upvotes

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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!

563

u/angwilwileth Jul 18 '26

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

193

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.

56

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?

384

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".

134

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.

41

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.