Hula Dance Classes Hanover PA Will Get You Singing And Dancing

By Cynthia Richardson


Don't think that you'll be just moving your body around in a grass skirt. When you do this, you chant as well while you do it. It's an essential part of the process. It portrays the words of the oli or mele (chant or song) in a visual dance form. There's a lot more to hula dance classes Hanover PA than you might currently imagine.

One of the main categories of this type of dancing that's out there out of all kinds of different variations of it is kahiko. Before Westerners came in and started influencing this art form, this is what it was like. There are traditional instruments involved and traditional chanting, giving your ear a sense of where it comes from right away.

Auana means to drift or wander, and that's what the dances of the 19th and 20th centuries were called. This is a clear indication that many felt that the changes going on in the music and the art were driving it farther and farther away to what it was originally. In this type, there's usually song that goes with it, and musical instruments that are of Western influence like the guitar, the ukulele, and the double bass.

If you choose to attend one of these classes, you might find they are not like other dancing classes you've taken. The traditional name of these types of classes is halau. In some they are more contemporary, but there are still quite a few that hold up the traditional ways of doing things, and you just might end up liking the class all that much more because of it.

If you really want to wow and amaze your teacher in this class, you can go online and research some of the most popular entrance chants there are. It's possible that entrance chants aren't even practiced in the class you're looking at, but many still do. If you don't know one already, don't worry. You're there to learn, and they're there to teach you.

Some dances in this style involve primarily standing positions, some mostly sitting position, and some even both. The sitting position is known as the soho, and the standing position goes by the name luna. Those are the two positions of this form of dancing, and both have their own specific moves that go with them. Some dancers prefer one or the other, but it's best to be prepared for both if your knees can take it.

One must get to a quality teacher in order to properly learn this style. It is true that parts of it are complicated, such as the many difficult to learn hand signals that are so subtle and intricate. But it's also true that there are easier ones as well, and with the right teacher, you can be guided and led and pointed in the right direction.

One of the most beautiful things about this is it represents and dramatizes both what is within and without. You will see by learning and participating in it that you are becoming a vehicle of expression for not only the forces of nature, like the wind and the sea, but also what's in the heart. It is empowering to act out both the powers of nature and human emotions.




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