Photos

Luau at the Pearl Beach Resort, Bora Bora French Polynesia

This photo was an accident and a surprise. I was messing around with the settings on my camera and took this photo as an experiment. I actually like it in some ways. It shows the action of the hula and the bright fires of the dancers.

The hula is a dance that can be found in most places in the South Pacific in one form or another. Every country and island seems to put their own mark on the dance. In Tahiti, dance festivals are called heiva. Dancing has been an important part of Tahitian life since before the missionaries arrived in the 1800's. As in Hawaii, these sensual dances were outlawed under colonial rule. Those who knew the hula still practiced the dances in secret. Today, the hula is an integral part of Polynesian life and is used primarily to tell a story and entertain.