The hivinau is a dance from Tahiti where the dancers turn in pairs around the orchestra. It is often either the first or the last dance of a dance festival or used as a transition between two dances.
Although an old dance, it is not traditional, the name hivinau probably derived from a yell by the officers of any passing European ship: "Heave now!", and the subsequent turning of the wheel with anchor chain by the crew.
The dance has two circles, one of men, another of women, turning around the centre axis where the orchestra sits, as whether the anchor is to be heaved. Every time a male and female dancer meet each other, they turn to each other, yell: "Hiri, haʻa, haʻa" and may perform some knee or hip shakes respectively.
Tahiti is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Australia. Divided into two parts, Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti, the island was formed from volcanic activity; it is high and mountainous with surrounding coral reefs. Its population was 189,517 in 2017, making it by far the most populous island in French Polynesia and accounting for 68.7% of its total population; the 2022 Census recorded a population of 191,779.
Anchors Aweigh is a 1945 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney, starring Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, and Gene Kelly, with songs by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn. The film also features José Iturbi, Pamela Britton, Dean Stockwell, and Sharon McManus.
In partner dancing, closed position is a category of positions in which partners hold each other while facing at least approximately toward each other.
The heaving line bend is a knot for securely joining two ropes of different diameter or rigidity. It is often used to affix playing strings to the thick silk eyes of an anchorage knot in some stringed instruments. In nautical use, the heaving line bend is used to connect a lighter messenger line to a hawser when mooring ships. It is knot number 1463 in The Ashley Book of Knots, and appeared in the 1916 Swedish knot manual Om Knutar.
Trouble in Tahiti is a one-act opera in seven scenes composed by Leonard Bernstein with an English libretto by the composer. It is the darkest among Bernstein's "musicals", and one of only two for which he wrote the words and the music. Trouble in Tahiti received its first performance on 12 June 1952 at Bernstein's Festival of the Creative Arts on the campus of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, to an audience of nearly 3,000 people. The NBC Opera Theatre subsequently presented the opera on television in November 1952, a production which marked mezzo-soprano Beverly Wolff's professional debut in the role of Dinah. Wolff later reprised the role in the New York City Opera's first staging of the work in 1958. The original work is about 40 minutes long.
Hula is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (oli) or song (mele). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form.
A monkey's fist or monkey paw is a type of knot, so named because it looks somewhat like a small bunched fist or paw. It is tied at the end of a rope to serve as a weight, making it easier to throw, and also as an ornamental knot. This type of weighted rope can be used as a hand-to-hand weapon, called a slungshot by sailors. It was also used in the past as an anchor in rock climbing, by stuffing it into a crack. It is still sometimes used today in sandstone, as in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in Germany.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the music of Tahiti was dominated by festivals called heiva. Dancing was a vital part of Tahitian life then, and dances were used to celebrate, pray and mark almost every occasion of life. Examples include the men's ʻōteʻa dance and the couple's 'upaʻupa.
The roller is an agricultural tool used for flattening land or breaking up large clumps of soil, especially after ploughing or disc harrowing. Typically, rollers are pulled by tractors or, prior to mechanisation, a team of animals such as horses or oxen. As well as for agricultural purposes, rollers are used on cricket pitches and residential lawn areas.
Tuʻi Kanokupolu (chiefs) are a junior rank of the Haʻa Tuʻi in Tonga.
A windlass is a machine used on ships that is used to let-out and heave-up equipment such as a ship's anchor or a fishing trawl. On some ships, it may be located in a specific room called the windlass room.
The ʻaparima or Kaparima (Rarotongan) is a dance from Tahiti and the Cook Islands where the mimicks (ʻapa) with the hands (rima) are central, and as such it is close to the hula or Tongan tauʻolunga. It is usually a dance for groups. There are two types of ʻaparima: the ʻaparima hīmene and the ʻaparima vāvā, the latter being performed with music only, and no singing. The music is often played on the guitar or the Tahitian ʻukulele.
The tāmūrē, or tamouré as popularized in many 1960s recordings, is a dance from Tahiti and the Cook Islands and although denied by the local purists, for the rest of the world it is the most popular dance and the mark of Tahiti. Usually danced as a group of boys and girls, all dressed in more.
Tahiti Trot, Op. 16, is an arrangement for symphony orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovich of the song "Tea for Two" from the musical No, No, Nanette by Vincent Youmans. It was composed in 1927 and resulted from a bet between the composer and the score's dedicatee, Nicolai Malko.
Kakegoe (掛け声) usually refers to shouts and calls used in performances of traditional Japanese music, Kabuki theatre, and in martial arts such as kendo.
In sailing, heaving to is a way of slowing a sailing vessel's forward progress, as well as fixing the helm and sail positions so that the vessel does not have to be steered. It is commonly used for a "break"; this may be to wait for the tide before proceeding, or to wait out a strong or contrary wind. For a solo or shorthanded sailor it can provide time to go below deck, to attend to issues elsewhere on the boat or to take a meal break. Heaving to can make reefing a lot easier, especially in traditional vessels with several sails. It is also used as a storm tactic.
Danjiri Matsuri are cart-pulling festivals held in Japan. The Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri is probably the most famous. There are other Danjiri Matsuri held in the City of Kobe and Haruki Town, but they are less popular and spectacular. The highlight of the Festival is a race between floats representing different neighborhoods.
Sasa is a Samoan word for a particular group dance. The sasa can be performed by both males and females in a seated position or standing. Hand movements are used to depict activities taken from everyday life.
Frolicking Fish is a Silly Symphonies animated Disney short film. It was released in 1930.
P. O'Reilly; La danse a Tahiti