At the reception table were Grace Nohara...now she's gotta be The First Lady Of Dance in Honolulu since she's been spearheading or hosting some of the finest dance events at the Pacific Beach, and Delia Tom. Inside the ballroom, the showcase dancers were practicing their bit as seen each time the ballroom door swung open.
Changing of the guards at the reception table (Shirley, Delia, and Dana) as it was time to enter the ballroom. Gotta admire the work of this frontline volunteers....making sure that the guests are seated at the assigned tables. Lani and I were seated at Sergio and Renna Villanueva's table. What an honor for us to be seated at the same table with such talented dancers and performers. We did get to chat with Sergio and Renna a little but because they were on the agenda to dance in the showcase, they were busy moving to and fro to help prepare their Dance Appeal Dancers for the performance.
As we entered the ballroom, the floor started to fill with dancers to the music....Japanese type dance music. It took me a while to get accustom to the beat since there were hardly any heavy down beat like the American dance music. Finally got tuned in and Lani and I headed for the dance floor with the Waltz..then the Cha Cha..then the Rumba. The music was pretty good once you get tuned in and everyone on the floor appears to be in tuned with it.
After a short while, DeeJay Henry Lee and assistant Jane spinned some heavy down beat dance music which brought more dancers to the floor.
Chris Jay, Prez of IBDI, was the EmCee for the evening. He did a terrific job in keeping the program going on schedule.
After a short "Welcome", Marsha said the invocation...first in English, and then in Japanese for our visitors. Well done, Marsha. Then it was time to grind the excellent choice of buffet dinner. No need to hash this over since we all know the high quality of entries the Pacific Beach dishes out. Right?
In the Dance World, Lani and I meet a lot of excellent dancers who dance and teach for the pure enjoyment of it. A few of them were seated near us....Calvin and beautiful Debra Ota who recently scored good at the Black Pool dance competition. Then there were Roger Izumigawa, a dance icon, and his pretty partner Isabel Vong, and Sergio and Renna Villanueva who are new to us....they are certainly an attractive couple who are star quality showcase performers. Also one of our favorite performing couples...Ed and Matilda Felix.
At times we sat with friends of Sergio and Renna. Our table was like musical chairs going on. Sometimes a bevy of beauties would come and seat and chat with us and then when they left others would fill in. Can't remember all their names but thanks to Sergio who knew everyone of them I was able to list them on this photo.
After dinner, EmCee Chris Jay announced that there will be a "SnowBall" dance before the Exhibition Dancing. Well, we all are familiar with the "Snowball" but it was a good fit for our Japanese visitors. Got them off their seats to dance not your traditional Waltz but to a lively Cha Cha. Good to see that since before the "Snowball", at times ladies would be dancing together as partners.
Ooops! almost forgot the main attraction. The Live Band from Japan couldn't make it so a singer from Japan filled the bill. I can tell you he was awesome. He not only has a wonderful singing voice and charisma, he is an excellent showcase dancer, too.
Being a dancer, he belted some of the greatest danceable songs to the tempo of the Waltz, Foxtrot, Cha Cha, Rumba, Tango, Samba, and Swing. WOW! is the word for his performances in both genre.
Kenichi, a many awarded skilled dancer in Japan, showcased the Rumba and the Cha Cha with local dancer Charlotte Bugarin. (Charlotte with husband Ed are well known exhibition dancers.) There were a lot of technique and passion in their performance which made it enjoyable to watch.
Next to perform were professional dance teacher Yanna Samkova and Cole Horiso who danced an exciting and colorful Paso Doble. This performance was the best Paso Doble that I've ever seen at the Pacific Beach. Cole displayed the strength and mastery of a matador while Yanna was superb in her performance. A dynamite performance of the Paso Doble that's gonna be hard to beat.
Local favorites Ed and Matilda Felix followed with a smooth flowing International Waltz. Lovely, lovely performance. Lani and I never cease to enjoy watching this couple perform.
Dance Appeal Formation dance choreographed by Sergio and Renna Villanueva came out strong scorching the dance floor...I mean dressed in firefighters uniform, ladder, and siren....did some swing dancing, line dancing, and broadway that kept this showcase moving nonstop. Sergio and Renna brought their magic of fun and entertainment to the audience, again.
Tommy Nakamura and Stephanie Uechi dance an excellent Foxtrot. Now I commented before how superb his Waltz performance with Stephanie in a previous blog. This time, the Foxtrot performance outdid his Waltz. Keep on going, Tommy!
Professional dance teacher Lucas Jaime and Kristen Kuznew danced a theatrical medley with a lot of lifting and drops that brought many ooos and applauses....more of a cabaret type performance which is always a crowd pleaser.
Professional dance teacher Carlos Chang and Yulia Sharipoza concluded the Exhibition part of the program with a fast and well executed Samba.
It was an event well organized by Grace and her committee that brought Professionals to entertain our local dancers and Japanese visitors in this Matsuri Hawai Goodwill Dance. General dancing continued till 11:30PM. We got lucky too in winning the table center piece.
(left click on photo to zoom in)
