The Dance Connection: Aiea Ballroom Dance Association 62th Anniversary

Hola Dancers and Readers,

It was a sweet and well organized 62th Anniversary for the Aiea Ballroom Dance Association (ABDA) last night at the Palladium. There was no showcase of dance exhibitions; just a grand party where all dancers enjoyed dancing and seeing and chatting with old friends. Wow! It must've been a gathering of all the dance clubs, dance organizations, and owners of profession dance studios. As Lani and I walked into the ballroom, we couldn't see the stage side of the ballroom. The dance floor was filled wall to wall with dancers trying to find openings to move forward in tune with the dynamic sound coming from the music selection of the evening's music man, Bert Burgess. But first..........

Music Man Bert Burgess

Lani and I were greeted at the reception table by Gary and Joyce (there was another lady there but she left the table before I could draw my camera out). We were given red tickets for door prizes, and white tickets for refreshments. More on this later.

At the Reception Table: Gary and Joyce

As we were looking for seats, an old friend called to us. We hadn't seen Joe Martel (Town Dancer Blog) since he moved to the Leeward Coast. KI of Dance Fever Oahu was also there. We made small chat with acquaintances along the way to the stage side where we were able to find seats.

ABDA 62nd Anniversary Stage Decoration

General dancing was in full swing till about 7:45 when lady emcee Kay Yahiku took to the mike and announced the opening of the program. Her welcome message included introducing officers of ABDA, past ABDA presidents, dance professionals, representatives from nearly all the dance organizations on Oahu, recognizing ABDA dance instructors Jim Prado and Cathy Snider (Jim was ill and couldn't be there), Annie Ferguson for most tickets sold, Jim, Cathy, and Annie were awarded with gifts presented by Deanie and Bert. And lastly, introducing social media dance news bloggers KI, Joe Martel, and me.

Lady EmCee Kay Yahiku

ABDA President Deanie Burgess took to the mike, also and shared her welcome message. Sixty two years of history goes back to 1955. A very long time and still standing. Congrats!

ABDA President Deanie Burgess

The program continued with the Waltz Mixer, better known some years ago as "ice breaker". It was led by President Deanie Burgess.

Waltz Mixer

General dancing followed till it was time for door prizes; 18 in all. To cut the distance between the table that held the door prizes and the red ticket holder of the lucky numbers, ABDA had runners Sandy Pak and Vicky Hiramoto assigned to do the leg work.

General dancing continued as many dancers headed towards the outdoor lanai for refreshments. The line was long that snaked all the way to the Diamond Head ballroom entrance. There were still many dancers moving in tune to Bert Burgess music yet to come out for refreshments. But there was no shortage of the Chinese Chicken Salad, coned sushi, Gao, and a package filled with assorted cookies. There were many volunteer servers dishing out the refreshments and they worked fast but still able to slow down to say "HI" with a smile. ABDA had this part of the program well covered.

Volunteer servers at the Refreshment Tables

One more dance before heading to the Refreshments

Caught on Camera: Dance Magic 808 Richard and Lynn

Caught on Camera: Dream To Dance Carlos and Debby

Caught on Camera: Joe "Pepe" Martel as he was heading home

General dancing was still in full swing as Lani and I walked back to our seats. Along the way I was able to get a few photo shots of some of the dancers and make small chat. It was an enjoyable evening for my main squeeze and me.....dancing to the upbeat music by the music man Bert Burgess, onolicious refreshments, and seeing and chatting with old friends.