‘It’s a revenge’: the global success of the Tahitian dance that Europeans tried to outlaw

The fast, hip-shaking dance of Tahiti is taking off around the world, with thousands of women taking classes and competing

Wearing intricate costumes made of plants and adorned with tropical flowers, the women look spectacular. While their torsos remain completely still, somehow, impossibly, their hips are moving in circles so fast it's almost a blur.

These women are performing traditional Tahitian dance, or Ori Tahiti, in Tahiti's annual cultural festival, the Heiva. And they're not alone. Thousands of women across the globe, from Mexico to Japan, are doing it too.