New York (CNN) — In a dance studio nestled inside a building next to New York City Hall, Tamara Bejar Hernandez counts to the beat of a traditional Tahitian dance song as a group of ladies shake their hips from left to right and gracefully glide their hands up in the air and down their arms.
“One, two, three,” Hernandez, founder of the Pacific Islander dance group Lei Pasifika, yells out. “Pretend you’re smelling flowers.”
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