Samoan dance continues to hold strongly to its historic origins.  The dancing continues to utilize the ancient body movements while incorporating intricate and graceful arm and hand movements.  Most dancers wear a cloth skirt called a lavalava, or a piece of cloth matting made from Pandunas

Adventist church do not practice Samoan dancing because it is proscribed by their religion.
Unlike several of the other Pacific Islands you will not normally fnd the dancers performing in grass skirts, nor is the hula a dance native to Samoa. More often than not, women performers will wear a cloth skirt called a lavalava, while men generally wear necklaces and ankle bracelets made from leaves.  Both men and women may also have feathers and/or fresh flowers incorporated into their costumes.

Included in traditional Samoan dance are:

Siva, both the Samoan word for dance and a type of dance similar to charades in the United States.  The performer stands and acts out something that is considered an everyday activity.  The performer may be a man or woman, but will usually perform by him- or her - self.

The Taualunga is performed by a single woman in parts, and then a group of men come into the dance during other parts of the performance.

Lastly, the Sasa is performed by men and women together in a group.  During this dance, the performers may sit or stand.  Most important in the Sasa are the hand movements, which show activities that are done in day-to-day life.