There are many styles of Polynesian Dance – too many to mention here. Hula originates from Hawaii. Traditional Hula does not include fast hip movements and is seldom performed as a group but rather by an individual. The movements are languid and always tell a story. The basics of modern hula are only about four or five steps. Traditional, however, has a catalogue of over ten steps.

Kahiko -- Traditional. Chant oriented with movements passed down from generation to generation. They usually have something to do with the ancient gods and goddesses of Hawaii. Generally, you will not see a smile on the faces of the performers.

Auana -- Modern. The dancing you see performed at resorts in Hawaii, smiling dancers in long pareos, or sarongs. The dances usually have to do with everyday things: love, happiness, sadness, the sea, the air, the mountains.

Hula is the language of the heart and therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people."
~ David (Kâwika) La`amea Kalâkaua, King of Hawaii, 1874 to 1891
Ori Tahiti

The fast hip movements of women dancers is the trademark of Tahitian dance and is known as the Tamure, or Ote’a. Ori Tahiti means Tahitian dance. Tahitian dance has the same isolation parameters as ME Dance. The upper body is kept still, and most of the movements are done with bent knees. There is, however, a less complicated repertoire of moves that are in spite of themselves not easy to master. The Otea, in particular, is extremely high energy and not for the faint hearted.

Ote'a (Oh tay ah)
The most spectacular of all Polynesian dances, performed by a group of male dancers (Ote'a Tane) or a group of female dancers (Ote'a Vahine), or sometimes male and female dancers (Ote'a Amui). It is inspired by old legends; the themes consist of a certain number of variations, the length of each one being determined by the beats of the To'ere drums. Sometimes the theme of the Ote'a is a contemporary one (celebration of a wedding, welcome of an important visitor, marking of an important event, etc.). The Ote'a are usually performed in traditional costumes

(A'ahu Mo're).
Aparima (Apar reema)
Definition: 'apa (kiss) rima (hands), the kiss of hands. The Aparima tells a story set to music and mimed by gracious gestures of the hands. It is slow paced and graceful and similar to the Hula. The Aparima is a group dance inspired by scenes of daily life.

BASIC POLYNESIAN DANCE MOVES AND TERMINOLOGY
Ami – large hip circle.
Afata- Box: hips hit in the shape of a box
Fa'arapu- hips move around in fast circles
Fa'arori - varu fa'arapu (you do a fa'arapu in the shape of figure eight)
Fa'amenemene- ami fa'arapu (you do a big ami and a fa'arapu @ the same time)
Ope - to the left & right ( you put one leg out and push and then the same to the other side – very similar to hip taqs but with the knees bent more)
Nu'utere Ne'e- duck walk – a squat with the knees together and shuffling forwards.
Tamau- sway right, sway left (hips bump from side to side) Also performed on the toes.
Te'I - on toes
Toma- double bump (hips hit twice to one side then twice to the other, also called OTAMU. Also performed on the toes.
Varu- figure eight (hips move in the shape of a figure eight parallel to the floor – very similar to the belly dance eight but with the knees deeply bent and the buttocks pushed up more to the rear)

I found, as a belly dancer of some years, that the majority of the movements, at beginner level, were not physically hard to do. Mentally learning them, however, is not as easy as you might suppose. A different kind of coordination is required, though some of the movements are similar in execution and posture to MED. The hands, for example, always have the fingers closed. The knees are bent much more than with belly dance and the feet have a different placement and are often much further apart. It is possible to fuse both belly and Polynesian (Bellynesian) but the purer forms are much more interesting and much more of a mental and physical challenge for those looking to learn something new and different.