SAY 5 Day 5 Dear Journal, I decided that I was going to learn to dance. Perhaps, the most familiar aspect of Tahitian culture is its dance, in particular the hip-shaking and often erotic tamure. The tamure is a step that I learned that every Tahitian learns at an early age. The tamure resembles the Hawiian hula from the waist down, but is more forceful, suggestive, and sometimes more violent than the Hawiian dance.
Tahitian dancers have amazingly flexible and controlled hip movements.
This type of dance has to be seen to be fully appreciated. As in all cultures, modern Tahitian music and dance owe quite a bit to outside influences. Popular Tahitian music is an ad-mixture of various derivations. This includes melodies and rythms acquired from American pop ar rock and roll, reggae, French chansons and even hymns borrowed from the missionaries. Like musicians anywhere in the world, Tahitian bands equipped with the most modern French guitars and Yamaha amplifiers crank out endless songs about love, romance, and betrayel.