© Elissa Poma/WWF-US

Elissa Poma from WWF shares her passion for the dance traditions of Yap.

The art of dancing holds such an esteemed placed in all cultures, throughout all of time. That’s especially true of the Yapese — traditional dance remains a strong part of their identity. Every Yapese person, regardless of his or her place in society, is expected to know how to dance — in fact, as soon as a child is old enough to pay attention and follow instructions, his parents begin teaching him. They’re performed during special occasions, such as big feasts and marriages.

I appreciated that the traditional stick dance these teenage boys were performing is still alive in their culture and not just for tourists. And the precision with which they performed one evening during sunset was masterful and hypnotizing.

Visit our site for information on group travel to Micronesia with WWF or creating a custom private trip to Micronesia for just you and your family or friends.

Eco-tours to Micronesia support conservation efforts.

“If you spend every day of your life in the ocean, you’re bound to fall in love with her creatures,” says Ron Leidich, a marine biologist and conservationist who leads our World Wildlife Fund snorkeling eco-tours in Micronesia. Micronesia’s waters teem with fish such as whitetip reef sharks, jacks, trevallies, eagle rays, lionfish, gobies, trumpetfish and turtles, mandarinfish, angelfish and rainbow parrotfish.

However, a steady demand for reef fishes to serve as food and to stock aquariums around the globe means that overfishing and illegal fishing tactics with cyanide and dynamite have become lucrative and commonplace strategies. WWF supports an initiative calling for the area of protected coral reefs be increased from 15 percent to 30 percent globally. Palau’s president is among those world leaders committed to the efforts.

When you travel to Micronesia with Asia Transpacific Journeys and the World Wildlife Fund, you are supporting conservation work around the globe. Reserve your space on this eco-tour to Micronesia by calling 800-642-2742. Departs May 14, 2010. Cost: $8,995 per person, based on double occupancy.   Single supplement: $1,750.