Te Mire Ura Traditional Dance Competition on Rarotonga
The Te Mire Ura, Dancer of The Year Competition, is a perfect way to experience the beautiful, energetic, sensual and exciting traditional dance of the Cook Islands. The Cook Islands Te Mire Ura is the annual Dancer of the Year Competition held on the island of Rarotonga every April as the highlight of Island Dance Festival Week.
The traditional dancing of the Cook Islands is considered the most sensual and enlivened dancing in the South Pacific. The men in a show of stamina and energy provide the physical rhythm section with much stomping and the women sway their hips and dance while creating images in the air with their hands. The dances tell traditional stories passed down through the generations and practiced rigorously since early childhood.
Dance & Costumes Impressions
Island Dance Festival Week includes many dance displays and competitions. The Cook Islanders are passionate about their dance, the Te Mire Ura is a serious and hotly contested competition to discover the best dancers in the islands. The main competition categories include; junior, intermediate, seniors and "golden oldies". The highest honour is the crown for the best male and female Dancers of the Year.
Each island in the Cook Islands group has its own special dances and there are many small competitions throughout the year. It is the Te Mire Ura that is the grandest and most prestigious of these. The dancers are accompanied by traditional music including drumming on the pate (wooden drums).
The Cook Islands Te Mire Ura, the Dancer Of The Year Competition held on the island of Rarotonga is an ideal way to fully experience the fabulous nature of Cook Islands Dance, traditional music and costume. If you cannot time your holiday for this magnificent festival, cultural centres Te Vara Nui and Highland Paradise in Rarotonga and many of the hotels have displays of dance for visitors to attend.