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Published: January 27th 2007
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Gene and I decided to spend our last night on the Island at a dinner and dance show. The show was absolutely phenomenal with both male and female performers dressed in tribal attire, including coconut bras for the women and straw skirts for the men, dancing the night away to the thrashing and thumping of the various types of handmade drums. The women’s dancing was very similar to belly dancing with their hips whipping from left to right and their straw skirts following their lead. The men performed tribal dances with the balls of their feet pouncing off the ground as though they were dancing on hot coal; their stamina was astonishing. It was truly a site to see.
It was not difficult to point out the best of the performers. Surprisingly enough, the majority of the female dancers had robust figures. There were two young women, likely in their low teens, who were slim and could shake their rumps like no other. I pointed out one male dancer to Gene whose dancing ranked far higher than the rest and left me mesmerized. Watching him made me wish I could take a step back in time and watch the tribes
at their best.
Toward the end of the show, both the male and female performers chose people from the audience and pulled them center-stage. Gene laughed as soon as he took notice of this and said, “Well, you might as well hand the camera over to me now.” Well, my heart started pumping, my cheeks grew flush and my fingers tightened around my camera. Knowing my history with such events, I avoided eye contact at all costs…I was merely too sober to make an ass out of myself. I was relieved to see that all of the dancers had picked their mates and I was safe in my chair…but one.
About five minutes after I entered the safety zone, the male performer that I was intrigued with appeared at my side and asked me if I wanted to dance. Out of nervousness, I rudely responded, “Well, I guess that means I have to say yes.” With the way my hands and knees were shaking at that point, I was a perfect candidate for the tribal dance.
The people were brought up to the stage area in three different groups. Watching the others make asses out of themselves
before me left me mortified. I was left with too much time to think of what the hell I was going to do when I got up there. When I was finally thrown to the wolves, with Gene laughing at me from the crowd and taking photos, I couldn’t stop fidgeting. I can probably count on my one hand how many times I’ve been embarrassed in my life; this was one of those moments. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears.
Perhaps I should have already told you first about the people at our table. First, there was Chris and Stephanie, a German and a Kiwi - nice girls, but a bit soft spoken. There was also Ed and Anna who were from England - Anna screamed conservative and proper from the moment she sat down. Like most conversations between strangers, we spoke of where we were from, was brought us to Rarotonga and what we did for a living. Gene proudly stated that I was an attorney back home, “even though she doesn’t look like one.” I was dressed in a Sarong, which is traditionally worn by the Islanders.
Well, there I was, standing in
the center of the room without about 200 people staring at me. The crew asked me what my name was and where I was from:
Chicago. Well, I should have explained that I was from the South Side of Chicago, because what they were about to see would scar them forever. The music started playing, the male performer was shaking his knees and ass in circles around me, and I knew not what else to do but to break into the booby and booty shimmy. Little did I know, but I was about to win a dance contest that I wasn’t even aware that I was part of. Sometime during my tribal boogie, Gene leaned over to the Kiwi and said, “That’s why I married her.”
When the party was over, the two Brits stood up from the table and walked out without a goodbye. They must have heard I was charging for my autograph.
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darby
non-member comment
i like...
the males, they are skinnier. i hear TV is making people in the middle of the Pacific Islands into anorexics... lying CNN.