How to shake your hips like a hula dancer

【How to】 Shake Your Hips Like A Hula Dancer

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we're going to talk about how we move

our hips and our body now and our school

of hula we dance in the I ha or bent

knee position so you can see the nice

deep knee bend that Manu Mellie has here

we're going to teach you first the lever

or the sway because you will find that

this hip motion applies to every hula

step that we will cover throughout our

series as she has her deep knee bend in

this she's going to bring her hip in the

hula position to prepare to step so

we're going to step to the right and so

she's going to lift that hip far to the

left

she doesn't lift her shoulders or her

head if she's looking straight ahead in

the mirror and her eyes are going to

stay on that same level level even

though she's lifted that hip to the far

left all her weight is going to be on

her left and the right foot is in the

ready position ready to accept the

weight when she steps on it as she steps

on her right the hip is going to follow

through and go to the far right and then

it's up there in that ready position

that preparation position for her to

step again to the left and so step to

the left and step left and let's go to

the right step right and finish and

prepare step left follow through finish

and prepare and right follow through

finish and prepare step left follow

through and finish and prepare for the

step again we're going to use the ether

for you to dance to because the EBU

really speaks to the feet and every time

the EBU hits the ground your foot should

hit the ground so she's in the

preparation position with her hip on the

far left lifted as though she's going to

tuck it under that arm remember to pull

that belly button back so you've

tightened the whole pelvis area

remember the pelvis has thrust backwards

never forward shoulders back chest high

head held high I'm going to give her an

hour preparation it's going to sound

like this one two three or and and then

we're going to do our lever our slow

sway as she steps right and left ma Coco

ready level right left right left right

left right left right left right left

right and left and right and left and

this rolling or modified figure eight

that we do with the hip is the hip

motion for all the succeeding steps now

let me tell you what the hip is not

doing the hip is not going just back and

forth and like a pendulum it is not

doing that the hip is being lifted on

the left and then sort of going down in

a figure eight standing on its side

being lifted on the right side and down

in this figure eight pattern and being

lifted on the left side

so let's make sure that we're not just

swinging our hip side to side like a

pendulum but we are making this figure

eight that is standing on its side

lifting the hip let it come down and

then up for the preparation on the

opposite side let's play special

attention to that as we do this lever

again here's our preparation one two

three and step right left and right and

left and right and left right left right

left right left right left right left

right and do a pow

[Music]

Hawaiian Hula Dance 101 | Roberts Hawaii

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There’s a lot of hoopla on hula, the art form is known around the world – from little fishing villages in Japan to dance troupes in New York City.

You probably grew up seeing hula performed on TV, with tanned girls in grass skirts against a backdrop of swaying palms. Or it was the routine you learned for your college luau. At the very least, you know the hip gyrating moves from the hula hoop you played as a child. (Fun fact? Even though hula hoops sound like they were invented in Hawaii, the origins date back to a form of exercise and play in early fifth century, ancient Greece!)

But while many people have their own experience and personal memory of the dance, few know the background, history, and meaning of this storied art form which dates back to ancient Hawaii.

Traditionally accompanied by an “oli” (Hawaiian for chant) or “mele” (Hawaiian for song), hula today is known and celebrated around the world for its graceful moves and the images it conjures of balmy weather and Mai Tais on a sandy beach. But the origin of hula was born hundreds of years ago by Native Hawaiians to share stories through dance.

The two main categories of hula are hula ‘auana and hula kahiko. Prior to western arrival to Hawai‘i, the ancient form of hula performed was known as kahiko, and when performed, includes chant and traditional instruments (like the pahu hula, tall drums, or pahupahu, bamboo pipes). Under the influence of westerners, that form of hula evolved over the 19th and 20th centuries to what today is referred to as hula ‘auana (meaning to wander or drift). This newer form of hula is typically accompanied by song and western-influenced instruments like the guitar or ‘ukulele and is the one you probably see more of today on TV or in movies.

According to Hawaiian mythology, Laka is the goddess of love, the forests, and is also widely acknowledged as the patron of hula. Legend has it that Laka gave birth to hula on a sacred hill, Puu Nana, in Kaana on Molokai.

All hula dances derive from a series of traditional moves including:

Ha’a: This is a basic stance, and how most hula begins. In this move, dancers stand erect with their knees bent.
Lewa: Literally translated at “lift,” this step involves lifting the hips.
Hela: One of the most basic movements of the feet, for hela, a dancer touches one foot to the side at about a 45-degree angle in front of their body. The dancer keeps their weight on the other foot and while maintaining the bent-knee stance. They return the foot to the starting position and repeat with the other foot.
Ka’i: In this position, the dancer lifts one foot, then raises and lowers the heel of the opposite foot. The movement then repeats with the other foot.
‘Ami: This is a basic hip rotation with variations including the ‘Ami ‘ami, ‘Ami ‘ôniu and ‘Ami ku’upau.
Holo: Similar to the lewa, appears as a running movement.
Kâholo: To Kâholo a dancer performs the lewa move while traveling. The dancer first steps to one side and follows with the opposite foot, then steps to the same side again.
‘Uehe: In this move, the dancer lifts one foot and shifts their weight to the opposite hip when stepping down, then raises both heels to push the knees forward. These movements repeat on the opposite side.
Lele: Another walking move, in this position, the dancer lifts their heel with each step.

Hula has a long and rich history as it struggled to find and make its mark in an evolving society.

According to Hawaiian legend, the goddess of hula, Laka, gave birth to the hula dance on the island of Moloka‘i. When Captain Cook made landfall in Hawai‘i in 1779 Hawaiians had been performing hula for centuries.
When protestant missionaries arrived to Hawaii in 1820 they were shocked by the Native Hawaiian’s open form of dancing and believed hula promoted old heathen beliefs.
The missionaries launched an effort to eradicate hula in the islands and were able to convince Queen Kaahumanu, wife of Kamehameha I, to have it outlawed in 1830.
Following Queen Kaahumanu’s death in 1832 some chiefs stopped recognizing the ban on hula, and in 1834 Kamehameha III openly disobeyed the previous “kapu” (law), forbidding the public performance of hula.
Starting in 1851 public hula performances became regulated through a licensing system, with a heavy fee levied for each performance.
During King Kalakaua’s reign hula enjoyed a public revival. Kalakaua said, “Hula is the language of the heart and therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people,” and his coronations in 1883 and jubilee in 1886 both featured hula performances.
In the 1890s and early 1900s, hula dancers and Hawaiian musicians toured the U.S. mainland. Usually female, the dancers danced in their grass skirts with musicians playing their kitschy Hawaiian melody on their steel guitars and ukulele.
The Merrie Monarch Festival started in Hilo, Hawaii in 1963 when Helene Hale, the chairman of the County of Hawai‘i looked into new ways to attract visitors to the island during an economic downturn.
Hula Girls, an award-winning Japanese film directed by Sang-il Lee hit Japanese theatres in 2006. Starring Yū Aoi , Yasuko Matsuyuki and Etsushi Toyokawathe film is based upon the real-life story of a group of girls using hula to save their small mining village, Iwaki.
In 2008, members of a local hula dance troupe, the “Obama Hula Girls” made headlines as they helped the city of Obama, a fishing port town in Japan, celebrate the election of President Barack Obama.

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How to Dance the Hawaiian Hula Dance: 6 Steps

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In this article:

Steps

Additional articles

Sources

The hula dance, invented by the Polynesians in the Hawaiian Islands, is a unique movement danced to a chant or tune ^{[1] X The source of information} . At the very beginning, chants and voices were used as instruments, and dance was like the lyrics of a song. Nowadays, hula is danced to the guitar or ukulele. This article talks about the basic hula dance.

Steps

1

Kāholo: Place your hands on your hips or at your sides. Bend your knees a little. Take two steps to the right. Then two steps to the left.
2

Kao: Swing your hips from side to side.
3

`Ami: Make circular motions with your body, as if you are spinning a hoop, but do not shake your shoulders.
4

Remember that the truth of the dance lies in the hands of , as they tell stories.
5

Move your hips and legs to the rhythm of the music. Hula can range from slow dance to fast rhythms of "live" songs.
6

Watch an example of dancing on in this video . Study the fluidity of her movements while dancing.

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Tips

In some dances there are also foot movements. To do this, lift your heel slightly off the ground in a quick, gentle motion.
Be smiling and look like you are asking someone to dance.
Do not look directly at the audience. Your eyes should follow your fingertips and draw your viewers into the story your hands are telling.
If you are a fan of Disney cartoons, then watch the cartoon Lilo and Stitch. Lilo (a girl) teaches Stitch (a creature from another planet) how to dance the hula and play the ukulele. In the last song/credits, they dance the hula together at the Merry Monarch festival.
Merry Monarch is a real hula dance competition held on the Big Island (an island in Hawaii) throughout the week.

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What will you need

Bare feet (optional, but recommended for the full experience)
Mat (optional)
Skirt (optional)
Ipu (gourd bottle used to create rhythm) (optional)

About this Article

Other Languages

How to Dance Hawaiian Hula - Wiki How English

The hula dance, invented by the Polynesians in the Hawaiian Islands, is a unique movement that is danced to a chant or tune[1] X The source of information . At the very beginning, chants and voices were used as instruments, and dance was like the lyrics of a song. Nowadays, hula is danced to the guitar or ukulele. This article talks about the basic hula dance.

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How to shake your hips like a hula dancer