I have a confession.
I underestimated the athleticism required for dance. Specifically ura – the cultural dance of the Cook Islands. I thought it would only take up to 1 month to get good at it.
Yeah, I was wrong
You’d think I’d know better having danced when I was 3 years old. But back then, I didn’t wanna know about ura. I despised practice because it meant I’d have to freestyle solo. And I was only about the netball life.
And now, 30-something years later, I’m back at it again. Doing the dance like my kid’s lives depend on it. So confident that I can pick it up in a heartbeat, like a 3-year-old.
Not happening
I gotta tell ya. No matter your age, it aint easy. And I shoot the you-know-nothing glare to anyone who says it’s easy. From this I’ve learned that I can be both naive and judgey.
And here are some other surprising lessons I’ve learned about ura – Cook Islands dancing.
Balance is a thing
You know them cop tv shows where they get people to balance along the line to see how wasted they are? What that show tells us is that you’re gonna look like an idiot at some point in life.
Like the time I tripped on stage. TWICE.
Now, I could blame it on the costume (or ‘the line moving on its own’ for the wasted guys). But the TRUTH IS: me and them tipsy peeps need to get real good at balance so we can stand tf up ON-DEMAND.
Because zig-zagging across the line, or doing baby splits on stage – aint cool.
Mobility matters
Normal voice: How low can you go?
Deep voice: How low can you go?
Deeper voice: How low can you go?
Barry White voice: How low can you goooooo?
If you’re Beyonce, you can back-bend pretty low, in which case you’d do really well at ura. If you’re a regular person from up the road – maybe you can’t back-bend as low. In which case, you’d be like me – STUCK. Because did you know that you need a bendy back and core for ura?!
Did you also know that it takes frekin YEARS to get hips that don’t lie?! (What does that even mean? I don’t know but it fits the famous singers-theme)
For me, it took 1.5 years before I felt comfortable in ura (as in, 1.5 years for it to stop hurting). This is the point where I shoot the you-know-nothing glare at people who says it’s easy.
Because stretching is as important for ura as Bey is to Jay Z. Sure, he can get by without her – but will he be AS badass? You can get by without stretching – but will you be AS badass? I’m telling you, ura and other everyday things are 100 times easier when you’re bendy. Stretch every day – and see how low you will goooo.
Strength’s power
Ura’s like a tower: without a strong base – it’ll fall to pieces and everybody gon’ be in tears. In ura, the base is the core and lower body. If they aint strong, it’s gonna be struggle-city and YOU will be in tears.
And just like a tower, you can build your strength up. Brick by brick. Little by little. It’s gonna suck. The building process is long, and hard. It’ll feel awkward and frustrating. Especially when you know what to do but your body don’t wanna do it.
And the humbling news is – you can’t skip the process.
So take it slow man, bit by bit. Progress is coming, and it’ll take a few years. I’m cool with that. Are you cool with that?
Takeaways
Were those lessons surprising? For sure I was dang SHOCKED when I found out that ura’s not as easy as it looks
• Getting real good at balance to stand tf up on-demand
• Having Beyonce-level mobility to do impressive moves
• Building strength to not end up in crying in struggle-city
And as it turns out, the simplest things are never the easiest.
All them things require DAILY practice. For decades. Literally.
That’s a looooonng ass time.
So you gotta love the process. Because AS YOU KNOW, you can’t skip the process.
With love
Lady L
P.S. Don’t go through it on your own, join me for fun workouts by clicking here
