A New Year 2018 Greetings to Readers & Dancers

A Very Merry Christmas

To our Weblog Readers, and our friends in the World of Dance.....Social, Latin, Round, and Shimmy.
Happy Dancing!

Pan Pacific Ballroom Dance Society Christmas Ball 2017

It was a huge turn-out for the Pan Pacific Ballroom Dance Society Christmas Ball last Saturday night at the Palladium. And the Christmas Spirit was evident from start to finish. You know da kine..."bettah to give than receive!" Don't know who coined that phrase but it sure worked last night. Okay flash back! My main squeeze and I got to the Palladium about 7'ish and was greeted with a hug from Matilda Felix (who with her hubby Ed invited us as their guests). "Maraming salamat, Ed at Matilda!" Then we were both given red color fabric shopping bags filled with surprise goodies. Didn't get to examine the contents till we got home. Useful stuff to have when there's a hurricane emergency but I couldn't wait to dig into the onolicious manapua when I got home. 

Matilda Felix and Luby Brienzo at the Reception Table

The Music Man for social dancing was Ed Felix

Joseline Sangalang and Rick Bienzo. Joseline was EmCee
for the evening program                                                     

Yes! There were door prizes for the lucky number ticket holders
Serving out the prizes was Roxanne Kaino and I gotta say that there
were a lot of prizes to give away during the three or four breaks.

Santa Claus and Mrs. Santa opened the first segment of the program
as they paraded along the entire ballroom with a helper handing out
SNICKERS candies to everyone .                                                           

Captured this shot just as Santa's helper gave us a SNIKERS.

My main squeezed still had a painful injured knee and that hampered us from doing much dancing except for a few steps. So I went paparazzi and got a few shots of some of the merry dancers. Some of them I knew while others smilingly allowed me to take a of photo them.

Charlene and Chris Jay

. 

Debra and Derek. Derek is Friends of Ala Wai Prez

Eugene, Nancy, Marsha, and Roy

Beverly and Clayton

Stanley and Annie

Rick Brienzo. He was the stand-in Music Man during the Dance
Exhibition part of the program. while Ed Felix  was performing
in the showcase.                                                                            

Roxanne and Rick

Karen and Ernie Choy

Snow Jade and Linda Batt

Atlas III and Kathy

Atlas Cooke III and Kathy Uyehara

Herbert and JoElla

Mrs. Prado, Faith, and James

Henry and Joanne Rimas

                                 

Snow Jade, a friend, and Linda Batt. Snow Jade is a Round Dance Teacher
and posts photos and videos on her Snow Jade Bunch FaceBook page.
You can view her posts of the Pan Pacific Ballroom Dance Society
   Christmas Ball there.                                                                         

The showcase of exhibition dancing started with each couple being introduced as they entered the dance floor and performed the Waltz.                                                                                                       

Atlas Cooke IV and Haleen Digmon

Paul and Tracy Ta

Ed and Matilda Felix

Reggie Gascon and Jennifer Lin

The Electric Slide got nearly everyone on the dance floor

The fun continued with a Congo Line dance

There were two solo exhibitions. A Tango by Atlas Cooke IV and Haleen Digmon, and an International Foxtrot by Reggie Gascon and Jennifer Lin..

Atlas IV, Haleen, and Reggie waiting to be
called to the dance floor for the dance exhibition
part of the program                                               

Jennifer and Reggie

There were still some more prizes to give away.  Mitzi Lee and
Roxanne Kaino were at the prize table                                   

More social dancing continued

Before performing the Tango, Atlas IV and Haleen expressed 
their appreciation to the dance organizations that started them
in Ballroom Dancing and later into Exhibition Dancing          
                                                                                           

Atlas Cooke IV and Haleen Digmo Performing the Tango

Reggie Gascon and Jennifer Lin performing the International Foxtrot

Pan Pacific Ballroom Dance Society Formation Dancers performed a medley of International Waltz/Tango/Foxtrot to
concluded the showcase part of the program.   (View video of the Formation Dancers  @ Frank Sierra Jr. Facebook).                                                                                                                

Joseline Sangalang, Annie Curley, and Matilda & Ed Felix

Pan Pacific Ballroom Dance Society Formation Dancers

Social Dancing resumed and continued till closing

Helpers and volunteers were acknowledged: Friends Tom, Vernon, Nobuko, Mr. & Mrs. Claus, Eric & Luby Brienzo, Gene Inoshita, Ed & Matilda Felix, Mitzi Lee, Jeffery Umeda, L. Fujiyama, Greg Wong, and Roxanne Kaino.
Many thanks to Joseline Sangalang for sharing her notes of  the program with me. Much appreciate!

Hasta la vista fo' now and Happy Dancing!

2017 Divino Ritmo Dance Mardi Gras Ball

It was billed as Divino Ritmo Dance 9th Annual Grand Ball and it was a grand ball indeed with a heavy flavor of Mardi Gras. Not too many people dressed in costumes like you see on the New Orleans Mardi Gras videos but the organizers and deco experts did a good job in decorating the outside and inside the ballroom with colorful giant masks and colorful beads necklace. The show itself was colorful and entertaining and the performers showed that they were enjoying the dance as much as the audience were; maybe moreso. There were some familiar faces performing in the showcase and there were a bundle of young ones that showed extreme talent in exhibition dancing. By the way, if you missed this venue last Saturday night at the Waikiki Sheraton, you can purchase a DVD of the event by contacting the Aloha Dancesport Center by phone: 808.200.5540 or by e-mail: yannajs@gmail.com.

Yanna Samkova and Lucas Jaime
(Directors of Divino Ritmo Dance)

Now this was an event that my main squeeze and I waited for to attend since Lucas Jaime and Yanna Samkova invited us as their guests last month. Thank you, Lucas and Yanna. However, my gal was not feeling well but being a good wife and dance partner decided to go along with yours truly. We got to the Sheraton Ballroom a little before 8 since we were there just for the Showcase. There were two Acts with a 15 minutes intermission in between for social dancing.
A Professional Show concluded the program.  

          
   Photos of The Mardi Gras Showcase Dance Performers

 

  

  

I

  

The Showcase was colorful and spectacular that even still photos cannot capture to enjoy every passion of the performance, and the elation of the performers during the Awards Ceremony.  I may have missed capturing some of the performers on camera and for sure I missed the Professional Show featuring Daniel Buhala and Natalia Bekker, Chayton Davenport (Samadhi Hawaii) and Island Zouk Hawaii. But you can see the entire performance on professionally produced DVD by contacting Aloha Dancesport Center or by 

e-mailing Yanna Samkova. 

Congratulations to all the performers: Anna Mae Schwartz (Tango to "Kiss of Fire"), Mary Tom (Swing to "In The Midnight Hour"), William Landers (Paso Doble to "Gypsy Spanish Dancer"), Edwin Brion (Rumba to "What Ever Happens"), Sopho Divers (Show Waltz to "What The World Needs Now"), Wesley Numazu (Sailor Routine Swing), Elvira Lo (Cha Cha to "New Orleans Music"), Rolando and Gloria Padasdao (Cha Cha/Quickstep Medley choreographed by Lucas), Noreen Ho (International Waltz), Stacie Yochinaga (Argentine Show Tango to "Vuelvo al Sur"),  Lisa Wong (Foxtrot to "At Long Last"), Dominic Handl (Tango to Por una Cabeza"), Samantha and Cody White (Cha Cha to "Walking On The Sun"), Kayla Nohelani Damo, Jennifer Cooper (Bolero to "Happy Together"), Sarah Cadalora (Rumba to "Time Of The Season"), Lilyana Salinas (Show Waltz to "Ma Belle Evangeline"), Kaila Mann (International Cha Cha/Rumba to "All The Time In World" and "Respect"), Monique Sowers (Rumba to "Summer Knows"), Robert Holsen and Yumi Hi (Theatrical Waltz to "Conquest Of Paradise"), and to the DRD Formation Team (Willian Landers and Cammy Divers, Rolando and Gloria Padasdao, Robert Holsen and Shervele Bergholz), DRD Keiki Group (William Wolfsen, Tabby Severson, Lilyana Salinas), DRD Novice Ensemble (Robert Holsen, Gary Hu, Sam Teves, Chas Kenessey, Jonathan Clarke Sypert, Jones Valenzuela Jonathan Youngs, Stacie Yochinaga, Yumi Hi, Kayla Nohelani Damo, Jennifer Cooper, Becky McGarvey, Jennifer Asher, Moneque Rodrigues), and Guest Performers (Brian Regala and Kayla Nohelani Damo (Hip Hop Routine), Claudia Heu and Greg Underwood (West Coast Swing Medley) and Island Zouk Hawaii (Jonathan Troupe and Gigi Mak).     

Hasta la Vista and Happy Dancing!