We got to the Palladium a bit early and waited with the crowd of Line Dancers for the doors to the ballroom to open.
At the Registration Table we received copies of the workshop schedule plus step by step description of the Line Dances and musical scores to be taught in a yellow brief holder. We were a bit early for the Hustle and West Coast Swing classes which was scheduled to start at one o'clock.
Line Dance by visiting instructor Karen Hedges was first on the agenda. With a remote headset mike, she belted out the quick footwork of line dancing in Ballroom #2. I'm not much of a line dancing hoofer but Lani is one that enjoys it. And the instructions Karen spilled out was clear and precised.
At the same time in Ballroom #1, local line dance instructor Bev Braun was teaching the Beginner's level with a Latin beat to visiting Big Islanders line dance instructors Miles, Sandi, Juanita, Jean, and Virginia. They all have their own schools pepppered throughout the Big Island.
Before I go any further, our gracious host Carolyn welcomed all for attending this first day of workshop and presented flower leis to the visiting and local instructors.
I got to meet Mona L. Davis who choreographs and teaches Line Dancing on the Leeward Coast of Oahu. She continued the pace after Karen but going into the more advanced level. Talk about quick-quick footwork but the experienced dancers kept up with her. This gave an opportunity for those who want a slower pace to go to Ballroom #1 where beginners level is being taught. Mona is an excellent instructor and although diminutive in size, she's got a big voice and teaches very well.
Okay, I'm back in Ballroom #1 chatting with the instructors from the Big Island. Nice people and easy to talk to. They're here for all three days event.
Time really flew by quickly...then it was lunch time. It was fun making my own sandwich of ham and turkey with a lot of fresh veggies and fruits and no spare on the condiments. Of course Mona was in the tick of this by handing out packages of chips and doing a good job that there was plentiful to feed all the attendees.
One o'clock clicked by fast, too. Sandy Zook began teaching Night Club Two Step in Ballroom #1....easy to follow steps but then Sandy has always been one to make it easy for anyone to learn be it Line Dancing or Night Club Dancing. No doubt, that is one of the reasons she has a large following.
But it was time also for the Hustle in Ballroom #2 and we had one of Hawaii's prime ballroom instructors as our teacher...Debby Borges of Dream To Dance Studio. She taught for two hours going from the basics to the more advanced steps. She was really organized and teachable and her instructions were easy to follow but telling that to my feet took a bit of coaxing. No problem for Lani, though..she'll can adapt to the Hustle easily.
I sat out the second hour 'cause I was happy just learning the basics and a bit more during the first hour. Lani stayed for the 2nd hour as the students changed partners. It was good to see Kay Yahiku in the Hustle class. She was used as Debby's partner to demonstrate the lady's part.....and as she confided, "I like to learn all kind of dancing".
In Ballroom #1, the dancers were on a short break. So I got to chat with some of them. They were from the West Oahu Line Dancers Club and they expressed it with a lot of pride. (So Pepe, if you're reading this...here's another venue you might want to check out and don't forget Mona Dabis on the Leeward Coast).
It's been a long day at the Palladium and the three o'clock West Coast Swing finally came. I had expected our host Carolyn to teach the West Coast Swing since she is an excellent teacher in this field...but instead a guy and a lady filled in. Now there are good and there are not so good instructors and all of them have different methods of teaching. After 15 minutes of a boring lecture on the West Coast Swing a couple went to sit down and Lani and I followed. After 5 minutes, four more couples and a lady left the floor to sit it out. I'm not sure if they were just as bored with the teachings but after 30 minutes, several couples walked out of the ballroom. However, there were other couples that stayed on.
I think Carolyn Noah did a wonderful service for the Line Dancers and the Night Club Dancers by organizing and hosting Local Kine Workshop this weekend. It brought unity and a venue for a dance genre that is constantly growing in numbers. Local Kine Workshop continues on through Sunday with more Line Dancing, Night Club Dancing, National Teachers Association (NTA) Workshop, and Open Dancing. Much Kudos to Carolyn Noah....a job well done.
(Left click on photo to zoom in)
