Hula dance shakers .. “shake shake shake” .. “shake shake shake” .. “hula shakers!”Hula dance shakers are an accessory female Polynesian hula dances use to highlight the hand movements while hula dancing. The shakers are made the same way as a hula skirt and are shaken normally forward and back while hands and arms are moving in performances. Hula shakers are more of a traditional style of accessory for hula dancing especially for the Cook Islands and Tahitian cultures. The Hawaiian version of a shaker is called the Uli Uli, this type of shake is more of a rattle style of shaker with seeds or beads placed inside the Uli Uli to be used in a similar way to a tambourine to follow the tempo of the dance. The Uli Uli is normally decorated with patterns or flowers around the head of the shaker. The Ul Uli is carved out of wood in a sort of bottle shape hence the rattle sound it produces with the beads and seeds. All the top sport teams have cheerleaders with matching out fits and shakers, but they call their shakers Pom Poms. The Pom Poms are to catch your audiences eye during performances, this is not too unalike the hula dance shakers which are there to help the dances to enhance their movements when telling stories of love and war in their Polynesian shows. The movements of the hula shakers are a soft flick motion forward and back with the hands like waving goodbye by the female hula dancer, not a hard out cheerleading thrusting up and down round and round action. The shakes are also not as round and fluffy or too colourful like cheerleader models but more palm tree like in style and less in your face, “but still there”. Made the same way hula skirts are made the hula dance shakers are a very simple accessory to make with the right material, the hand held end of the shakers are like a bulb or ball shape making it easier to hold when shaking. Also they are fitted with a lasso to go around your hand so as not to be dropped while dancing. Shakers were more prominent 20 years ago than they are today, because of the style of costumes that were being created then, which needed something extra to add to the appearance. So just remember the next time you pick up some Pom Poms and start to shake them here, there and everywhere, they can also be used to accentuate your hand movements while shaking your hula hips. Return to hula-with-me "Home Page"
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