Don't come to the islands expecting opera and ballet, or Las Vegas-style floor shows either. Other than pub-crawling to bars and nightclubs in Papeete, evening entertainment here consists primarily of feasts of island foods followed by traditional dancing -- and whatever else you and your companion can concoct in these extraordinarily romantic islands.
Of course, the Tahitian hip-swinging traditional dances are world-famous. They are not as lewd and lascivious today as they were in the days before the missionaries arrived, but they still have plenty of suggestive movements to the primordial beat of drums.
Every hotel will have at least one dance show a week. The best are on Tahiti, especially the thrice-weekly performances at the InterContinental Resort Tahiti that feature one of the best troupes, the Grande Danse de Tahiti. Also good are the Friday and Saturday evening shows at the Captain Bligh Restaurant and Bar.
Moorea has one of the best shows at Tiki Theatre Village, where the dancers wear traditional costumes. Among Moorea's hotels, the InterContinental Resort and Spa Moorea stages a spectacular beachside show on Saturday nights, and the Club Bali Hai has a free performance at 6pm on Wednesday, followed by an à la carte barbecue, making it also a very good value.
If you want to see the very best Tahitian dancing, come here in July during the annual Heiva Nui festival, when the top troupes compete on the Papeete waterfront. Plan early, since tickets can be hard to come by if you wait until the last minute.
