Final answer:
Cook Island young people learn and practice their social dancing at community gatherings, through family traditions, and educational settings. Highlighted is the Festival of Pacific Arts as a key cultural event for sharing and preserving dance traditions. Educational institutions also contribute to the maintenance and teaching of these cultural practices.
Step-by-step explanation:
Cook Island young people often learn and practice their social dancing in a variety of community settings. This includes local cultural gatherings, family events, and educational institutions. Traditional dance forms are a key part of cultural expression and heritage in the Cook Islands, and as such, are transmitted from generation to generation. Participating in dance practices serves as a medium for young people to connect with their heritage and learn about their culture.
In the wider Oceanic region, significant cultural events such as the Festival of Pacific Arts provide invaluable opportunities for cultural interchange and the sharing of artistic traditions. This festival occurs every four years and rotates host sites across various locations, including Australia and New Zealand. It features performance arts, among other cultural forms, and is a key event where young people from the Cook Islands and other remote island communities can maintain and celebrate their cultural identities.
Educational settings also play a crucial role in preserving and fostering the practice of indigenous dance forms, as seen with the case of the ula in Tonga or the full-immersion school in Seatoun, New Zealand that operates solely in the Māori language. Both in formal education and at cultural festivities, dance serves as a rich avenue for the expression of identity, community bonds, and intergenerational learning.