Kauai Ballroom Dance Club 7th Anniversary Ball

Lani and I heard that the best restaurant for breakfast was at the TIP TOP Restaurant in Lihue. So our driver and travel agent, Roy Hamasaki, got all of us (Roy & Sandy, Andy & Monica, Wayne & Joyce, and Lani & me) piled into the van for the long ride from Wailua to Lihue. The ride wasn't as long as the ride the day before and it was comfortable. Okay, now we know where to grind whenever we are in Kauai 'cause the food was onolicious. I gotta tell you that this is the place to go fo' order "soft scrambled eggs" for breakfast.

OKAY, LONG STORY SHORT. Gotta get ready for the big dance at the Hyatt Resort & Spa in Poipu. Traffic wasn't as bad as the day before..maybe because it was Saturday. Got to the Hyatt in plenty of time. Lani and I were pretty excited because coming to Kauai for the Kauai Ballroom Dance Club 7th Anniversary was a new experience for us.

The Ballroom was BIG and the dance area was the largest square-shaped dance floor that I've ever seen.....a dance floor that is best for exhibition and competitive dancing and including social dancing. But wait...gotta check in at the Reception Table (RT) for table assignment.


The Hanapepe Chapter was in charge of the Picnic and the Ball this year. So it wasn't a surprise to see Alton and Lynette Miyamoto who we met at the Picnic manning the RT, along with Mike and Lisa Martin, and Cornelia Works.

Okay, back to the ballroom. The sound system and the dance music was top-notch...you know da kine dat you can hear and feel da beat and rhythm deep inside you. I looked for the DeeJay to congratulate him or her for such excellent selection of dance music. But no such luck until Glenda Tamashiro told me that there is no DeeJay and that the music is coming from the I-Pod located on the side of the stage. What a genius idea by choreographer Roy Tamashiro of Hanapepe Chapter to program the dance music on a media equipment.


General dancing continued non-stop throughout the evening with short breaks for the showcase of exhibition dances by the Hanapepe Chapter, Dance Magic 808, the Lihue Chapter, a solo by Richard and Lynn Nakamura, an impromptu West Coast Swing by the Kilauea Dance Club, North Shore Dance Club, and Koloa Dance Club, and a speech from the Kauai Mayor who also sang "The Maui Waltz" as dancers got on the dance floor. There were few seat-warmers at this event but even they couldn't resist the call of 'The Electric Slide'. Even the Mayor got into rhythm of it.



EmCees for the event were Tony Romo and Elisa Delgado. Tony, an elegant speaker kept the program moving along smoothly while Elisa handled the music during the Showcase.

Blessings was said by Napua Romo and it was time to hit the buffet line. The music was non-stop, so those who waited their turn to get to the buffet line were burning the dance floor with full vigor.....the swing, the cha cha, the hustle, the mambo, the Viennese waltz, the quickstep, the merengue and the list goes on and on because the music never stopped.

The Showcase of Exhibition Dances went very well and I could see the long hours of hard work and practices paid-off in the performances. The colorfull costumes worn by the dancers really added flavor to the exhibition dancing. Congratulations with a big mahalo to all of them and also to the Hanapepe Chapter of the Kauai Ballroom Dance Club Anniversary Ball Committee for bringing enjoyment and entertainment to this wonderful event.



The Hanapepe Chapter danced the East Coast Swing choreographed by Roy and Glenda Tamashiro. The dancers in the routine were Collin Dana & Paula Schultz, Tomas & Adela Chavez, Taylor Campbell & Lynn Jackson, Dan & Cornelia Works, Dennis Lo & Violet Bucao, John & Brenda Visitacion, and Roy & Glenda Tamashiro.



Dance Magic 808 danced the Internationall Quickstep choreographed by Richard and Lynn Nakamura. Dancers in the routine were Noli & Wowie Boado, Richard & Lynn Nakamura, Ed & Candy Matsuda, and Larry Arinaga & Candace Yap.



The Lihue Chapter danced the Rumba choreographed by Ken & Ellen Kitabayashi. Dancers in the routine were Medina & Bryson Cabalteja, Marites & Tom Yano, Doug Duvauchelle & Jeanette Bonilla, Eddie & Fely Ibanez, Millie & Juanito Duarosan, and Ken & Ellen Kitabayashi.







Closing the Showcase was a Solo International Foxtrot & Tango Medley by Richard and Lynn Nakamura of Dance Magic 808.

The Kauai Ballroom Dance Club 7th Anniversary Ball, and Picnic was very well planned by the Hanapepe Chapter and I believe everyone was hep to the music and dance. The buffet was onolicious and all the people in attendance were very friendly.

A big mahalo to Grace Takabayashi and Marie Laderta who kindly shared some of their photos of the Picnic and the Ball on this blogsite.

Eleven o'clock came along real soon and it was time to leave the Hyatt for the trip back to Wailua. We did think about stopping for coffee at Big Mac but after a night of good fun and vigorous dancing and socializing with friendly people we gave a second thought to bettah "no need caffeine" this time. Well dat's all fo' now till the Kauai Ballroom Dance Club 8th Anniversary Ball next year! Aloha and keep on dancing!
(Left click on photo to zoom in)

Mahalo from Richard & Lynn Nakamura

Hi Everyone,
We want to thank you for all your support of Dance Magic 808, especially to those of you who were able to attend the Kauai Ballroom Dance Club's picnic and Anniversary Ball this past weekend. We know not everyone could make it to Kauai but we know that you were all there in spirit and giving us your support.


At the picnic we had such onolicious food and games that were so much fun that everyone had a good time and a lot of laughs.

Saturday night at Kauai Ballroom Dance Club's 7th Anniversary Ball was an evening to remember at the Grand Hyatt in Poipu. This was the first time the Anniversary Ball was held there and it was the first time the Hanapepe Chapter handled this affair. They did a really good job. The Lihue Chapter handled the ball in previous years and they too did a wonderful job.

Dance Magic 808 was well represented at the picnic and at the ball. We had 36 people from Oahu who were instructors, students and friends of Dance Magic 808. At the picnic, the Dance Magic 808 purple shirts looked awesome and everyone who wore them looked great. We had a lot of compliments about our shirts.



Our Dance Magic 808 group dancers (Noli & Wowie Boado, Ed & Candy Matsuda, Larry Arinaga & Candace Yap, and Richard & Lynn Nakamura) did a really good quickstep performance. They all looked really elegant and sophisticated in their beautiful gowns and tuxedos/coats.

We did our solo International Foxtrot and Tango medley. The audience really liked our Dance Magic 808 performances as well as the Hanapepe & Lihue Chapter group routines.

For over 10 years we have been friends with the Kauai people and have supported them by attending and performing every year since they formed their Kauai Ballroom Dance Club. The Kauai people are very gracious, honest, hardworking, and good hearted people and we are so very fortunate to have them as our friends.

We hope next year we'll be able to have an even bigger group attend their anniversary ball.

Thank you all for your support.
Richard & Lynn Nakamura
www.dancemagic808.wordpress.com
phone: 808-372-2256 (Lynn)

Kauai Ballroom Dance Club Picnic

My apologies to Alton Miyamoto for not recognizing him as the conductor of the "Know Your Partner" contest. Thanks to Gracie Takabayashi for sending me the correction. But no huhu, we goin' hear more about Roy Tamashiro later. So this is an updated blog with names of the couple that won the "Know Your Partner" contest.....

The long awaited day finally arrived and Lani and I were on HAL flight to Kauai for the Kauai Ballroom Dance Club 7th Anniversary Ball. It was a late afternoon flight but the plane was packed to capacity with tourists, people returning back home to Kauai, and a whole bunch of dancers from IBDI and Dance Magic 808 and maybe some non-member dancers who just like to travel to go dancing. I get the feeling that Lani and I could be included in that last category, too. Took just about 30 minutes of flight time to get to the Garden Island and no sooner after we landed, we were off to meet our ride (by our friend and travel agent Roy Hamasaki and wife Sandy) to the Marriott Courtyard in Wailua. I guess Lani and I were too excited about this trip that we almost forgot to claim our one luggage. Good thing we had to pass the Claim Luggage area before departing the airport....would've been a disaster if we left without our luggage and went to the picnic and the dance with the same clothes we arrived with. AUWE! Got to the Marriott with enough time to check in and then scoot off to the picnic at Poipu Beach Park. Took about a 45-minute ride but the scenery along the way was fabulous. It's been nearly 20 years since Lani and I visited Kauai and I gotta say there's been a lot of changes since then.

The picnic was well planned by the KBDC and hosted by the Hanapepe Chapter. Onolicious home-cooked buffet and a few over-the-counter pastries for dessert but mostly home-baked. It was an atmosphere of of home-style and family-style get together. This is where we met for the first time the "Big Whips" of the Lihue Chapter and the Hanapepe Chapter. "Big Whips" sounds too bossy for the Officers of those dance clubs. They were a friendly bunch and "Friendly Hosts" would be a more appropriate description. And then there was Gracie Takabayashi, a fan of my blogs and a shutterbug like me but I gotta confess that she is moreso than me. Her camera worked overtime at the picnic as well as at the "Ball" which is a sign of a good photographer.
After the ono buffet dinner, it was time for small speeches like welcome kine by Dan Works, President of the Hanapepe Chapter.


Then the fun began with the Ballroom Dance Bingo game. Whoever devised the game must've gone through the Dictionary of Dance to get all the names used in ballroom dancing. The game was a brilliant idea and kudos to the person who came up with this akamai game. There were four winners for the Bingo game that received prizes.




More games followed. One in particular was "Find Your Partner". Everyone was given a name tag with names of characters from a movie or fairy tale and we had to find a matching partner. There were about 50 people at the picnic and it took a while finding the corresponding partner.

There were five couple winners in this game and just happened that Rhett (dat's me) and Scarlett (Napua) found each other and won a prize of packaged candies. Lani (Princess Leia) and Tomas (Hans Solo) just missed the count by a few seconds.

Glenda Tamashiro, Secretrary of the Hanapepe Chapter was the "Prize Lady" who gave out all the prizes to the lucky winners of all the games.


Alton Miyamoto conducted the "Know Your Partner" contest where couples would stand back to back and raise their hand if the answer pertaining to the question was mostly about them. The elimination went quickly but a young couple, Lynn Jackson and Taylor Campbell, who remained standing won the prize.
Goes to show that "they knew who buys more dance shoes" and "who remembers most of the dance steps", for example. Congrats to the attractive couple who knew each other very well.

There were so much food left over that it was time to dig up the "doggy bag". I know, I know! es not a nice word to use but you know what I mean. The pastries I managed to take was a welcomed midnight snack after our one-stop to McDonald's along the way back to the Marriott for a hot cup of coffee.

It was a big and tiring day for Lani and me but the excitement of the trip, the friendly people and games at the picnic took time for us to cool down to a slower pace. I didn't get to sleep until past 2AM Saturday morning. Then the phone rang at 7:30AM from Sandy..."you want to go eat breakfast?" Another day of sunshine and another story to tell but later........
(Left click on photo to zoom in).

Halloween Costume Contest @IBDI Monthly Dance

IBDI held its monthly dance this past Saturday at the Palladium. It was a combination of Business Meeting for the Election of Officers for the 2012 year, a Recognition for October Birthees, and an early Halloween Costume Contest plus Social Dancing. Quiet a large package for one night but enough time to bring some fun dancing for the number of dancers who came to dance and that's including some of my dance students. The election of officers went smoothly, and the recognition for the October birthday gals and guys received a lot of applauses.







This year's Halloween Costume Contest brought in some unusual characters including Superheroes, Fairy Tales personalities, scary ghouls, Hollywood celebrities, and an "Outer Space" pink gal and a pink Gummy. OOOOPS! He did look like a Gummy character but in pink, and again maybe not. So I leave it in the eyes of you readers to guess. Anyway, the "Outer Space" couple won the 1st prize and I'm guessing that I met that cute space gal somewhere. Hmmmm! I didn't get the chance to congratulate the lucky couple 'cause they were gone in a flash of light....like being beamed back to the spaceship??? Auwe! But you gotta applaud all of them who participated in the costume contest for bringing joy and entertainment to the dance.
General Dancing with music by DeeJay Henry Lee continued on with a short break with the Horseshoe Icebreaker Dance. That brought a whole lot of the seatwarmers on the dance floor. More general dancing continued during the snack break and I gotta say that the sandwich was one of the best I've eaten...simply onolicious.

Rocking & Rolling @The Nifty 50's& 60's Oldies Bash

The crowd and the nostalgia were fully present this past Friday at the 2011 NIFTY 50's & 60's Oldies Bash at the Pacific Beach Hotel Grand Ballroom. There were more than the expected 400 hard core dancers considering the three to four deep rows of tables that surrounded the dance floor. Lani and I were seated at Table #69 and there were more numbers following into the 70's and beyond with 10 guests to a table.
I got an e-mail from Sharon Uesugi that parking at the PB is gonna be at a premium with alternate parking at the Waikiki Banyan. Not taking a chance of not finding a parking spot, Lani and I got to the PB a little after 4PM. Fortunately, we got a space on the 4th floor and I gotta tell you that there were more cars after us.
The outside of the ballroom was fully decorated with 50's & 60's memorabilias including life-like posters of Marilyn Monroe and the King, Elvis Presily. A lot of the guy-helpers were dressed like the Fonz with the tidal wave hair-do.


The gals were pretty nifty, too, with their poodle skirts and pigtail hair-do. The gals that greeted Lani and me didn't look like they were old enough to be products of half a century ago but they sure looked cute and nifty and played their role to a "T".
The ballroom was fully decorated that brought memories of the Rock & Roll era.....very colorful. And much credit for this well organized annual event should go to Chairperson Wendell Kwan, the Officers, and his excellent Committee members.


DeeJay for the event was Douglas T. Oshiro of Tapestry. His wife Lisa was also on hand to assist (sorry I didn't get a shot of her). None-the-less the tempo of the music was inviting for Lani and me. No one got on the dance floor at first but the tempo of the Cha Cha got to my dancing feet....then the Rumba, the Swing, and the NightClub Two Step. More dancers got on the floor and the beat went on and on non-stop.

Being a native son of Maui, Lani and I got to meet five nifty gals from Maui High School, a guy and a gal from Kaimuki HS, and two guys from Waimea HS in Kauai.

Lenny Ho who sat at our table with friend Yvonne entered the costume contest and won first prize for his 50's Fonzie look...black jacket, and tidal wave hair-do and all. They are from Kaimuki High School.

There was more than that meets the eye especially when the gals found a guy in the Ladies Restroom. Nah! it wasn't a guy.....only a gal with bulging muscles that burst out of her T-shirt sleeves and a painted moustache above her lips. Scary for the gals but Lani thought a shot of "her" would be an amusing touch for the blog. So it was time to have a little fun....of course Lani insisted that I be in the photo, too. Auwe! Boy! what sacrifices a husband has to do for his main squeeze.

And the beat went on as more dancers crowded the no-room-to-dance floor before the program started. The tempo was heated up with the Twist, the Monkey, the Mash Potato, the Continental, the Rock & Roll, etc. Tom Moffet's presence and voice sure added color to the hip music.


A well deserved break from the maddening crowd came when the Chairperson, Wendell Kwan opened the program with a "Welcome Speech". "He's da Man who has been spearheading "da Bash" every year.


EmCee was Champ, OC16 TV Personality. He was hilarious with the ground rules and the warnings for those who came with oxygen-breathing equipment or on wheelchairs. He kept the program really alive and moving....he was an all-around guy who sees all and knows all about seniors who goes to McDonalds and warning them not to steal the condiments. Whooo boy! Dis guy got eyes behind his head, too.

Okay, it was time to grind after all the energy spent on dancing. Invocation was said by Sharon Feetham.....short and sweet...I liked that.
More NightClub dancing.....Electric Slide, Boogie, Twist, Hand Jive, Salsa, Cha Cha, Swing, Bunny Hop, NightClub Two Step, etc.
An Elvis impersonator belted a romantic tune that made some of the ladies swoon and go ga-ga. And if breaking a sweat or dancing your A** Off for the night was your desire...THIS was it!


So far no Nifty 50's & 60's Oldies Bash is pau without a costume contest..ja like last year. I was happy to see that friends Deanie Bates of Aiea Dance Club, Lenny Ho, Yvonne Dias, Gayle Handa, and the "muscle gal" Melanie entered.
Contest judges were Carol Kai and Melveen Leed. There were more gals than guys in the contest but there were only three winners in each group that received prizes. But all was not lost...every ticket holder got a Nifty 50's & 60's Oldies Bash music CD. Including the take home fabulous centerpieces, everyone was a winner. We got the towering red polk dot balloon. I gotta say that Lani and I accomplished our desire to burn our A** Off and it now was time to hit the road for home.

Another thing...the event was closed to "walk in's"....only those guest who were registered and wearing name badges were allowed into the ballroom. So if you're eyeing up for next years "Bash" be sure to register early. Bettah yet..as soon as the poster or announcement is made public. Neva can tell when the total numbers goin' reach the closing point. Much kudos to Chairperson Wendell Kwan, the Officers, and the guys and gals of the 2011 Nifty 50's & 60's Oldies Bash Committee for a very well planned and entertaining event and most of all for bringing back the "Happy Days".

USA Dance Rocks @The Palladium

Wow! Thanks to Glenn Okazaki, Carl and Gayle we're getting some feedback on "wat's goin' on afta da fack". Okay, you guys and gals know what I mean. I bettah get dis on da hotwire pronto before my friend Calvin, so go on and read Glenn's e-mail ..........

Hi Frank and Calvin,
Can you guys insert this into your blogs? It’s an email I got from our members who attended our last dance in September. They have nothing but great things to say about the dance.
Thanks,
GlennO

September 24’s USA Dance social at the palladium started off with a “bang” … and it never stopped! Really … the music was awesome, from the very first dance to the last … and we honestly did not want to go home. I remember Warwick telling us once that the music is your third partner … and boy, did we have a great third partner that night! It was definitely a night to remember. Thank you, DJ Gary Kawasaki … you “ROCK!”

It was also nice to see some of the contenders to the Hawaii Star Ball “strutting their stuff” that night, getting ready for the grueling week ahead. They all looked great!

And by the way, we just heard there’s another fun dance scheduled for this Friday, October 7 at the palladium. Please don’t miss out, okay? It’s guaranteed to please!

Carl and Gayle