IBDI 50th Anniversary Ball

Well the long awaited big day finally came and Lani and I had to cut short baby-sitting our full of energy grandson. Lynn of Dance magic 808 and Marsha of IBDI had put out an APB (All Points Bulletin) that there was gonna be another event besides the IBDI affair at the Pacific Beach so bettah heli-on real pronto cause parking goin' be a problem. So my personal time-keeper who is in reality my main squeeze Lani made sure we got to the Pacific Beach in plenty of time. Got to our destination in plenty of time and nada problem in finding a parking space on the 4th floor. A bit early so we waited as more guests trickled into the foyer outside the Grand Ballroom.
The doors opened at 5:30 but the "happy juice" well wasn't gonna be serving the hard stuff until 6 bells. But es alright cause we got to bump fist with some guys and got some good hugs from the gals who we know from long time back.


Dana Morey was at the Reception Table by herself but she's one akamai chick. No need ID card 'cause she can spark you fo' face recognition and can tell you your assigned table number and no forget to get your parking ticket validated in one breath. Soon after, the two regular lovelies Shirley and Delia came to assist Dana.


At the entrance to the ballroom were guy-greeters all dressed up and real spiffy. Just happen to corner two of them for a photo shot. I couldn't lasso the third guy cause he was busy showing guest to their table. Gonna have to corral Roy Ninomiya next time.


I was glad to see Henry Lee and Jane spinning the music disc. For a big time Golden Anniversary, the dance music gotta be golden, too, and the team of Henry and Jane are just the right DeeJays to mix the right kine of magic to get everyone on the floor to dance. And that they did even before the ice-breaker "SnowBall Dance" and after.


The EmCee for the evening was Kay Yahiku, a gal with so much energy and totally akamai in keeping the program running smoothly like a well greased wheel. So much enthusiasm in a small package that you can't help loving her and her masterful style.


Invocation was said by Renna Villanueva, IBDI's Dance Director and 2nd Vice Prez. Her choice of words in the prayer was very touching and inspiring. She didn't leave any stones unturned as she made known and expressed wholehearted thankfulness to all who made IBDI an enormous success throughout the 50 years...the officers, the volunteer dance instructors, the students, the reception people, the kitchen helpers and the list went on. You gotta love this dynamic gal,. too.


It was grindz time but the dancing continued for those waiting to be called to the buffet line, and during dinner and after dinner.


At about 7:50, IBDI Prez Chistopher Jay took to the mike and gave the President's Welcome Speech. Not a common kine of speech but a historical one....the 50 year history of IBDI with a touch of personal history concerning Christopher and his lovely wife Charlene start into ballroom dancing.


Four past Presidents of IBDI who attended this golden event were honored and recognized...Paul Araki (1985-1986), James Yee (1987-1988), Harold Kaneshiro (1992), and William Kam (1993-1994).



Representatives of the various dance organizations and professional dance studios were introduced by the EmCee and there were many. I was able to get shots of those who were seated near our table......Al Franz, and Debby Borges Barboza.


More spectacular showing tonight as IBDI continues their 50th Anniversary at the Palladium.

Stay tune for SHOWTIME PART 1 with the Professional/Amateur Demonstration and SHOWTIME Part 2 with all Professional Dance Exhibition...........

Nifty 50's & 60's Oldies Bash 2011 Completely Sold-out

Aloha Dancers & Readers,
I just received the following e-mail from the "Bash" Chairman Wendell Kwan that the Nifty 50's & 60's Oldies Bash 2011 has been completely sold-out. If you had intentions of attending this year's record breaking event at the Pacific Beach Hotel on October 14, please read on................

Aloha Frank!
Thank you for all your help, really appreciate it! BUT, we are completely SOLDOUT as of August 4, 2011! Last year we had 700+ guest join us for Nifty 50s & 60s Oldies Bash 2010. With the ever increasing popularity of our event this year registration was 20X, TWENTY TIMES ahead of last years event and we SOLDOUT completely as of August 4, 2011. This year we broke all records to the point that we soldout 10 weeks prior to our event.

Our Active Core Committee, thru hard work and excellent management focuses on maximizing "marketing, advertising and promoting" our event, EARLY! With past experience and success it has lead to another record breaking Nifty 50s & 60s Oldies Bash 2011!

We do not sell Tickets, but encourage everyone who is interested to "Register". Registration is on a "First Come, First Served" basis. We are also limited by strict Fire Code Laws and have to work within the Safety and Comfort policies afforded by the Pacific Beach Hotel's Grand Ballroom.

Your kindness for announcing in your Blog that Nifty 50s & 60s Oldies Bash 2011 is now completely SOLDOUT would be most appreciated! Frank if you can also add, "We look forward to everyone joining us for Nifty 50s & 60s Oldies Bash 2012!"

Please mail or email your contact info to:

Email: wkwan2@hawaiiantel.net Wendell Kwan - Chairman or diyoshida7@yahoo.com Diane Yoshida - Treasurer
or Mail: Wendell Kwan
Nifty 50s & 60s Oldies Bash
47-559 Hua Place
Kaneohe, HI 96744
PH. 239-5360

Thank you Frank!

Wendell Kwan
Chairman
2239-5360

Dancing To The Music With Lucas Jaime

"DANCING TO THE MUSIC" with LUCAS JAIME at USA Dance's Night Club 2 Step Workshop on August 20, 2011. (Article written by my good friend Marie Laderta.)...........


You'll be surprised how many places you can do this dance at. Night Club 2-Step or just Two- Step for short, is a beautiful partner dance that involves triple rhythms and is danced to the most emotionally inspiring slow songs making it the perfect dance for
romance, weddings, and socials. Often thought of as a "simple" dance, it is more than that when danced at higher levels. It also provides a good foundation for technique for other dances, even faster songs when the technique is applied properly.

At the most basic level, the Night Club 2-Step is a quick to learn dance. "At the advanced level it is an incredibly stylistic and flowing dance that requires a much higher skill level and partnering connection. At the very top level, it can be anamazingly graceful and technically powerful dance that incorporates techniques from other dance forms such as Tango and other dances leading to presentation moves and syncopated rhythms." (Quoted from Bruce Gombrelli on Night Club 2-Step.)

To conduct this workshop, USA Dance features Divino Ritmo Dance's Lucas Jaime, professional dancer, instructor and choreographer, renowned for his rhythm and show dances, and former salsa/hustle champion. Originally from New York, Lucas has made his home in Hawaii teaching International and American style competitive and social dancing for the past 3 years.

Come join Lucas at USA Dance's workshop for 1 1/2 hours of fun, technique, styling and musicality:

Date: Saturday, August 20th, 2011
Place: The Ala Wai Golf Course Palladium
Time: 12:30p Registration
1:00p Workshop

Cost: $10 for USA Dance Members
$20 for Non-members

For more information, call Glenn Okazaki of USA Dance at: 428-1704

Quick Step Workshop - Success or Bummer?

It's always a boost when I receive feedback about a past event that was highlighted on my Blogsite. Otherwise, how would the readers know if it was a success or a bummer. Got this e-mail from Glenn Okazaki describing last Saturday's USA Dance Honolulu Quick Step Workshop. Read on.......

Aloha

On the Q-step class last Saturday, what can I say, what can I say…. Everyone was having a fun time. Seems everyone wants more advanced steps/amalgamations than basic techniques. But even though these are advanced steps, we are giving our all on the techniques to help our students execute them. We broke the steps down to the very fundamentals from transferring weight/distribution to actually running/skipping and getting weight to foot. It was truly fun teaching it. Will see everyone on Saturday for part Deuce.

Glenn

(Frank's note: Please click on the link "That's Dancing" for 'Part Deuce')

Bantay Bata 2011 Act Two

A 15-minute break for more general dancing and the sellout event brought more dancers to the dance floor. The Gonzales Band dance music with vocals was golden and non-stop like each tune was stitched to the next song. I recognized some of the songs that are on the Gonzales Classics of Hawaii music CD. (If you're one of the lucky ones to own this gem, then you are lucky).


The Divino Ritmo Dance Company opened Act Two with a Special Presentation of a Swing Medley with a mixture of Broadway. It was a terrific treat performed very explosively by a foursome from a professional dance studio that wowed the audience.


Professional Lucas Jaime and Noreen Ho put on a dazzling show in their performance of the International Cha Cha. It was radiant...a hot number that was brilliantly performed.


The new dance organization Dance Magic 808 Founders Richard and Lynn Nakamura entertained the audience with a fast and furious Quick Step that delighted the audience. It was dynamic and well executed.


Edwin and Matilda Felix added a new twist to their International Waltz performance. Not often do International dancers dance apart in the Standards, so this small change made their performance appealing and very enjoyable to watch.


The International Tango Show by Professional Lucas Jaime and Jun Nishioka had so much fire, fury, and passion that I gotta add ecstasy to this number. It was a very enjoyable performance.

A Special Guest Presentation of Hip Hop/Jazz by youngster Noah McConnell might be the beginning of including Street Dancing into Exhibition Showcases in the future. Noah who hails from 24/7 DanceForce did well on his debut.


Cole Horibe with Professional Yanna Samkova closed the showcase with their International Rumba Show. Far from the cry of their previous fantastic exhibition of the fast moving Paso Doble, tonight's performance was intriguing, passionate, and filled with a high level of showmanship and beautiful lines.



More general dancing continued till the stroke of midnight and a "funtastik" and successful event came to an end for this year's Bantay Bata.

Much credit go to the Officers, the Program Committee, and all those who were a helping hand in this event. Maraming salamat! Paul Laderta, who helped with the decoration of the Ballroom, the beautiful name cards on each table, and the Centerpieces, your artistry is the greatest. (The announcement came a bit too late that the Centerpieces were not to be taken home). Also kudos to all the Exhibition Dance performers and to Divino Ritmo Dance Studio for showcasing Professionals Yanna Samkova and Lucas Jaime.

Bantay Bata Hawaii 2011

Maaari ba tayong magsayaw? Just brushing up on my "making out in Tagalog". Yeah, I tried the Filipino translation of "shall we dance"? Friday night at the Bantay Bata shingdig at the Pacific Beach Hotel and got my A** burned off dancing with a circle of ten lovely ladies who were sizzling and getting down ala boogie with the Twist and Disco. I gotta admit that my main squeeze Lani got into action, too. But lest we forget about the grand purpose of this wonderful fundraising event, "Dancing In Paradise (Project for Bantay Bata 163), here goes the spill.......


Buffy Gonzales was sure a bright sight as Lani and I got to 7th floor Grand Ballroom. She was later joined by lovely Delores Juan at the Reception Table as more dancers checked in for table assignments.


There were a few showcase performers polishing up their routine on the floor but as soon as DeeJay Jesse Gonzales cut loose his wide collection of deep down mellow tunes, the floor got flooded with social dancers.


Our friend Marie Laderta who is one of the key players of the Bantay Bata Project greeted us. I didn't recognize her at first because she had painted her face with a butterfly in preparation for her showcase performance. Anyway, I got a clean shot of her with "Aunty Sandy" and Lani.


General dancing continued till it was time to start the program. EmCee for the evening was Eric Barsatan who kept the program rolling along smoothly. His welcome remarks included a short history of the "Project and its Mission" since inception in 1996. He also introduced many of the representatives from the various dance organizations on Oahu, and the professional dance teachers and owners of dance studios.
It was good to see the maestro Geoffrey Fells who was sitting next to our table.


Invocation was said by Pas Ignacio, and the USA National Anthem and the Philippine National Anthem was sung by Deputy Consul General of the Philippines Paul Cortes. The Program Committee had not missed a beat. They had printed handouts of the whole program including the words to both National Anthems. So everyone joined in the group singing. That was so cool!


The Showcase had two Acts with a 15-minute intermission for general dancing fitted in between. Paul Laderta was the EmCee for the showcase part of the program and he handled it like an experienced pro with a nice touch of little quips of humor. Mahusay iyan! (That's good!)


Act One started with a beautifully danced Hula by Iwalani Tseu to the unforgettable tune "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". She was very graceful in her movements and it was an akamai addition to the Exhibition Showcase.


Professional Lucas Jaime has always thrilled audiences with fantastic moves with Yanna but he proved that he can thrill the audience just as well with newcomer Laila Spina. Their Theatrical International Cha Cha was exhilarating and a good hype to start the tone of the showcase.


Another newcomer Josie Banasan teamed with Professional Leo Tomas to showcase the Romantic Rumba. It was sensuous and it was good to see a new face in exhibition dancing.


Fil and Elvie Padilla came to dance and they sure burned the floor with more intricate moves in their performance of the Hustle. It was HOT, a heartbeater, and truly exciting!


Slowing down the pace was an International Slow Foxtrot by Albert Lui and Shu Weng. It was just enough to slow down the heartbeat and it was a good performance which showed artistry in motion by two experienced dancers.


Another newcomer to showcase performance was "active senior" Wesley Numazu who danced a delightful skit with Professional Yanna Samkova. Their performance of the East Coast Swing was by far entertaining, exciting, and stimulating.

Not often do we see a high level of emotions in a dance exhibition but tonight Marie Laderta and Professional Lucas Jaime pulled out a winner in dancing the International Rumba to "Ode To A Butterfly". It was filled with passion picturing a true-to-life experience of the dancer Marie. A very moving and wonderful heatwarming story translated into a dance story prime performance.



INTERMISSION and General Dancing (stay tuned for Act Two)

Dance Magic 808 Social Dance @Hale Ikena

Wow! Another BLAST this week. If you haven't tasted the magic of Dance Magic 808, no hu hu. The new dance organization is on Dance Fever Oahu website. Read all about the organization's mission....it's not only Ballroom but will be incorporating all style of dances and might include HIP HOP. Line Dancing is already on a roll.
Last night was their second Dinner and Social Dance at Hale Ikena since it's formation early this year. It was a Thursday night and as usual the menu called for Mongolian Beef but there were other entries on the menu that could tickle the palate. When Lani and I got to Mulligan's, the line was a bit long getting to weigh and pay for our dinner but it was worth the wait. It reminded me a little like the Shabu Shabu eatery. You know...get your bowl of goodies and bring it to the chef to cook and wait at your table for the waiter to bring the cooked meal to you. I skipped the beef and went deep for the jumbo shrimps and crab meat and garnished them with fresh fruits and veggies. A dash of olive oil brought out the ono favor, and not to mention the two scoops of fried rice which were a meal in it self. Lani and I had to eat light since we were gonna do a solo demo on the Night Club Merengue. General dancing was in full swing when we entered the Ballroom. But before I go any further, I'll let our EmCee Lynn Nakamura's e-mail give you, our readers, a first hand look of this fun filled evening of social dancing, dance demos and exhibitions, and onolicious dinner..........


Mahalo to all of you who were able to attend tonight's 2nd social dance at Hale Ikena. It was another successful dance thanks to all of you. We want to thank and recognize our hardworking instructors, future instructors, our website creator and our DJ for what they do or will be doing for Dance Magic 808.





At our social, we showcased our students (some are very, very new to dancing) and were very proud of all of them. They all did very well. Thank you to all the students who participated in the group dances (class steps).



We had 2 solo exhibitions. Andy & Monica Pascua did the Filipino Tango (they will be teaching this in the future) and Frank & Lani Sierra did the Night Club Merengue (they will teach this at the next class session). Both couples did a great job getting the audience excited about the dancing. Thank you all for performing.

We also want to thank everyone for making it such an enjoyable evening. It was fun encouraging the dancers by cheering and clapping. We appreciated everyone's enthusiasm.

At the social, we also took the opportunity to introduce the management staff of Dance Magic 808.

We apologize that the dance had to end early due to some unexpected necessary work that needed to be completed that night. We appreciated everyone's understanding. Because we had to leave early, Hale Ikena's management has informed us that the next time we have our social, we can stay until 10 pm instead of 8:30 pm.

Here are the names of the Management Staff:
President: Lynn Nakamura
Vice President, Treasurer & Dance Director: Richard Nakamura
Secretary: Candace Yap
Board of Director: Audrey Fu

Names of our Instructors:
Andy & Monica Pascua
Elsie McGrew
Joshua Manzano & Stephanie Shimizu
Robert & Vanelle Hirayasu
Frank & Lani Sierra
Roxanne "Roxie" Kaino
Lester & Henrietta Muramoto
Cullen & Cheryl Chong - we forgot to mention them


We want to thank our DJ, Andy Pascua, for playing the dance music tonight and we would also like to thank Henry & Joanne Rimas for being the DJ at our 1st social dance.

We also want to thank Noli Boado who did a fantastic job creating the Dance Magic 808 website - www.dancemagic808.wordpress.com - we are still adding and updating the website with instructors' pictures and other information. Thank you Noli - we are very appreciative of your work.


Joshua Manzano had a very pleasant surprise from the students and instructors of Dance Magic 808. Roxie Kaino & Eileen Nakano, representing Dance Magic 808's students & staff, presented Joshua with a card and funds to help him with his expenses when he travels with the UNLV Dance Sport Team to compete at locations outside of Nevada. We at Dance Magic 808 have very wonderful people that are so caring and are willing to help other people if they can.

Derek & Keiko Oh brought the really cute bags that Keiko designed to distribute to the dancers that had ordered them at our 1st social and to sell to other dancers that wanted to purchase the bags. The monies collected for these bags ($10) will be donated to the United Japanese Society of Hawaii to help the Japanese people. Thank you Keiko & Derek for your generousity and to everyone that is helping them by purchasing a bag.

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Derek Oh since it was his birthday. He didn't answer when Joshua Manzano sang, "How old are you today?"

We hope that you'll all be able to join us for Dance Magic 808's 1st Anniversary Ball which will be held on Friday, July 6, 2012, at the Pacific Beach Hotel.
We'll need some volunteers to help us at this ball so if you are available and would like to be a part of this fabulous evening, please send us an email.
If you would like to participate in a group routine, please email us. We plan to have several group routines and will be advising you on the dances so you can decide on the dance you want to participate in.

Thank you all again for making this 2nd social dance so successful and fun. We look forward to seeing you all again at either our classes or our dances.

Richard & Lynn Nakamura
Founders of Dance Magic 808
cell 372-2256 (Lynn)


On hand was Peter Loo of U.S. Army MWR Business Ops Division who presented Appreciation Awards to last session dance instructors.

IBDI 3rd Term Student Party @The Palladium

We sure had a BLAST, too, at the IBDI Student Party last night. This was the first time for Lani and me since becoming members of IBDI. It was also a Registration Night to enroll in the 4th Term that starts on August 1st. We were greeted by Grace Nohara, and Dana Morey at the Reception Table and Dana reminded Lani and me "no forget to pick up your bento". The "party" was free to students of the 3rd Term and IBDI members, which came with a bento prepaid for a buck. Not bad bento for the price if you were planning to burn the floor and lose some excess you know what. Registration went fast and quickly, thanks to the capable staff of volunteers. Lani and I enjoyed Renna and Sergio's Samba Variation class so much that we signed up for their Night Club 2 Step I & II class. More dancers started to pour into the Ewa side Ballroom and the program began to take shape as lady EmCee Renna Villanueva called students of the six 3rd Term dance classes to perform what they had learned. It was "no shame" time and many of the students from each class hurried to the dance floor as their class name was called. Each class performed very well. Then it was time for the instructors of the 4th Term classes to show a demo of the dances for the 4th Term. Some lead instructors were not available so the Assistant Instructors filled in for the demo.(You can checkout what dances are offered by surfing to my "That's Dancing" weblog.) Lani and I were impressed with all the instructors' performances but moreso with Renna's young grandson who pinch-hit for gran'pa Sergio in the Night Club 2 Step with Renna.
There were monetary door prizes as well as potted flowers for the lucky ticket holders (tickets were given to only to those who performed in the Macarena, Electric Slide, and YMCA Line Dances lead by Renna. The fun had just begun...there was a Twist Contest for the best Twist Dance couple. Lani and I made the cut to the last six couples but could not muster enough audience votes to make the finals. AUWE! but it was good, good fun for the participants and the audience. The Round or Circle Dance was equally as fun dancing with whoever we came face to face when the music stopped....Waltz, Rumba, Cha Cha, and a whole assortment of danceable music. Yeah! the music was great so I'm gonna mention the DeeJay who has been spinning the discs for the Student Party and the dance classes in the Ewa Ballroom....Harold Kaneshiro. So guys and gals, when you see him, giv'um the Shaka Sign. We gotta appreciate all DeeJays who give their time to spin the music so we can burn the floor....and no forget the EmCees and the team of organizers who make it possible to enjoy an evening of fun games, socializing, dining, and dancing. To lady EmCee Renna who kept the program going at an exciting and entertaining high level...SHAKA and Mahalo!

What A BLAST We Had!

Sure sound like the WASABI 50's & 60's Band had a BLAST at the Cupola and at Ige's. Gotta thank Doreen Nakamoto for the wonderful feedback on the venues. Gary Moore, and impressions of Sammy Davis, Frank Sinatra, Little Richard....those are heavyweights appearing with the WASABI Band. WOW! Anyway, thank you, Doreen for your thunder. Es da kine news dancers like to know after reading whea you guys goin' be playing. So no put the brakes on giving us the big picture on what kine experience you guys had at the party. Who knows? Maybe you'll get mo' bigger crowd at your next show. Fo' now here's your thunder loud and clear.....


Thank you to all who joined us at the "Cellar" event at the Honolulu Design Center's Cupola Theatre this past Thursday, July 7, and we hope more of you can join us when we do this again this coming Thursday, July 14. We were very impressed with the place...nice smooth floor to dance on, good regular pupu menu as well as $5 Happy Hour pupus, free parking (there will be no valet this week!), full bar & drink specials, and AIR-CONDITIONING! Big Mahalo to George Chun & Andrea Dismuke from Tom Moffatt Productions for coming to show their support!!! Too bad George is having trouble with his back, otherwise, he'd be jumping up on that stage with us to do his Frank Sinatra songs! Get better soon, George, so you can grace our stage with your presence & WOW everyone with your sexy voice!!!

We'd also like to thank our Ige's gang for one terrific night on Friday...Ron Ige was so happy that the place was packed! Of course, our friend Garry Moore sure made us look good when he joined us on stage to do a few numbers with us, yeah?! Imagine, we are but lowly musicians compared to the likes of Garry Moore, who is a well-known, top-knotch entertainer here, as well as nationally & internationally! He's recently been on tour in Europe and in Branson, and is soon to return to the mainland, but in the meantime, we are blessed to have him home with us. He had so much fun, he's coming to our gig at the Cupola this Thursday, too! He appeared on national TV on "The Next Best Thing" doing an impression of Little Richard and got to meet the real Little Richard! He's also performed as Sammy Davis Jr. in "The Return of the Rat Pack" shows in Waikiki with Al Waterson, Kimo Kahoano, George Chun & Cameron Krainin. Who knows? Garry might even do his impressions for us that night!!!

Make sure you invite all your friends & family to join in on the fun, OK?!!!

Love XOXOXO,
Doreen

Trekking To Old Sugar Town Waipahu

It's been ages and I mean a very long time since Lani and I have trekked to Waipahu but it was a must this past Sunday. No, not for a dance class. Of course it would've been nice to visit Renna and Sergio's dance studio while we were there but the Mazda Auto Show took longer than we had expected. So it's gonna have to wait till next time. Okay, let's rewind. Our son, Dean who assists us in our dance class at Ali'iolani CSA had entered his Mazda 3 in the Cutter Mazda Auto Show Contest. So as proud parents, we gotta giv'um support to win at least one of the prizes in his car category. There were 7 categories (Mazda 6, Rotary Engine, Protege, etc.) including the Mazda Speed 3 category that Dean was in. The "show" of all the different models of Mazdas was amazing. More amazing was the passion showed by the participants in how much work they had put in to alter a stock model into a classic model. It was a long and hot afternoon but Cutter made it an enjoyable affair; everybody got free bottled water and bento. The Hip Hop and Lambada music by DeeJay Gage kept the spirits running high. And the airconditioning in the showroom really was a blessing.
There must've been at least 30 cars entered in the contest and the 1st and 2nd place winners were voted by ballots. Long story short....Dean won 1st place and received a trophy. Congratulations, son!

Hooked On The Hustle

WOW! I never thought I'd get Hooked ON The Hustle. Gotta "stay alive" on this one 'cause it's a fun dance. Joshua and Stephanie continued the Swing Hustle at Hale Ikena last night and as usual everyone since day one showed up but some how the dance floor seemed like there were more people on it. But first! Lani and I took that long drive to Ft. Shafter for lesson numba four in the Hustle. Couldn't miss this lesson; not after Joshua and Stephanie taught the class those fancy syncopated steps last week. Got there just before the class started. Joshua started the class with isolation exercises to the beat of disco music. That's akamai since we needed to get our bodies flexible and relaxed for the steps ahead. A demo of all the steps we learned from day one to the present really helped jogged my mind as well as my feet. Repetition is a great teacher and Joshua made full use of it until he was satisfied that everyone was on the same page. What followed were welcomed moves. Never thought I'd be dancing a cross over break in the Hustle but it worked well with the lady spin out move to a dip. Walla! Most disco music go on for 5 minutes and that's how we spent the last 5 minutes; dancing all the moves that Joshua and Stephanie filled us with. It was fast and it was fun!

CSA Summer Session Ballroom Dancing Begins On The Second Lesson

Our CSA Ballroom Dance classes are no different from any contact sport club be it the various style of dancing or the martial arts club. Lani and I are not too sure who in the first lesson are really serious about learning how to dance until the second lesson a week later. We had a few drop outs who decided to hang up their dancing shoes and not make a go of it. But those who decided to hang on after the first lesson of pure and simple basic test patterns, are now enjoying the fruits of their drive.
This past Wednesday, students at Kaiser CSA voted to go for 2 hours of Waltz instead of our usual one hour of Waltz and one hour of Tango (and they wanted to do the same next week and have the Tango lessons resume during the last three weeks). Got thumbs up from all of them for this arrangement and they enjoyed dancing the Waltz.
At Ali'iolani CSA on Thursday, we had a full house. Thanks to our volunteer assistants Dean, Richard, and Yvonne, Lani and I didn't have to work too hard in getting the students who are just getting by, up to speed. (Richard and Yvonne assists us at Kaiser CSA, also). We got thumbs up, also, at Ali'iolani CSA when everyone was sure about nailing down the dance steps and were tuned in on the same page.
So what's with the cat and dog, Frank? Well, there's a delicious story back of it....so ask me about it when you see me.