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The different danses:
-The o'te'a, the most spectacular of the Polynesian dances, is performed either by a group of male dancers (o'te'a tane), or by women only (o'te'a vahine) or mixed (o'te'a amui). It is usually inspired from local legends and is caracterized by the dancers costumes ("more" or skirt made of vegetal fibers, head pieces, necklaces, feathers) and the acompanying percussions of the to'ere( wooden drum with one longitudinal slit struck with 1 or 2 sticks, imported from the Cook Islands at the end of the 19th century), the pahu (tall cylindrical wooden drum made out of tamanu, pu'a or miro wood, with a shark skin membrane struck with the hands) and the faatete (a small drum with membrane struck with two sticks in a very fast rhythm).
Among the male dance movements, the most used is the "pa'oti" meaning scissors,for the back and forth movement of the knees, legs bent and the heels slightly above the ground, with arms apart and fists closed. The paoti to'ere has a very fast rhytm and the paoti pahu is slow. This dance requires the dancer to have great physical resistance especially for the thighs.
The female dance movement is a hip movement created by the alternate bending of the knees, with the feet as flat as possible (heels to the ground) and arms spread apart, horizontally, it is the ori Tahiti or tamure.
The ra'atira (group leader) shows his creativity in the choreography and direction of his group.
-The aparima, thanks to a smoother rythm, is an expressive dance that tells a story gracefully with the help of slow hand movements and gestures.
To illustrate every day life scene, the aparima vava is performed seated and not sung.
The aparima himene is danced and sung, acompanied by the guitar, ukulele and pahu.
Some gestures are defined but many are adapted or invented.
For this dance, a colorful « pareu » is worn as a short or long skirt for women and tied « tihere » -style for the men (kind of trousers with one end pointing down on one leg) or rolled on the hips.
Head flower / fern wreaths and flower / fern necklaces complete the costume.
The « maro » or traditional loin-cloth has made a come back in folkloric performances.
-The hivinau is a "in-between" or "recess" dance performed either at the beginning, or in transition, or at the end of the performance. This dance is inspired by the manoeuver of lifting the anchor performed by the european sailors on their ship.
In the hivinau, two concentric circles of dancers criss-cross, with impromptus of couples dancing.
-The Paoa is an improvised and sometimes very sensual dance performed by a couple dancers, dancing to the rythm of the percussion orchestra and the dialogue between an orator and a mixed choir seated.
The origin of the paoa is not really clear: some say this dance is linked to the fabrication of tapa cloth by women singing together, others link this dance to a royal couple embracing each other, with the theme of fishing often present.

Brief history:
Even though part of the Polynesian culture, under the influence of the missionnaries, dancing was prohibited by the Pomare code in 1819 : "Any song, game or lascive entertainment is strictly prohibited".
Only at the beginning of the 20th century, dancing is authorized to celebrate the taking of the Bastille, then progressively in all official festivities. Then comes the famous era of the torrid and wild parties at theQueen's or Lafayette night clubs...
In 1956, Madeleine Moua created a dance group Heiva Tahiti composed of the prettiest girls of Tahiti. She began organizing the performances and establishing the rules still followed to this day. She knew how to express her creativity and reveal her sense of innovation in her magnificent costumes, her choreographies and the structure of her orchestra.
In her foot steps, former dancers of Heiva Tahiti like Coco and Paulina will create their own groups.
The most known groups: Feti'a (of Teupo'o), Maeva Tahiti (of Joel), Porinetia (of Julien), Tahiti Nui (of Paulette Vienot), Tiare Tahiti (of Paulina), Te Maeva (of Coco), Tamarii Mahina (of Betty).
The eighties confirm particularly the groups of Te Maeva and Ia Ora Tahiti of Gilles Hollande.
The choreographies evolved a lot and an effort of codification in gestures has particularly been achieved by Louise Kimitete, Paulina Morgan, Pauline Carillo-Dexter, Coco Hotahota,and many others…