Bill and Dance Hawaii Treasurer Barbara Troegner were at the Reception Table and DeeJay Mike Chinen was spinning the platters as we entered the dance area. Dancers from Aiea Ballroom Dance Club, and IBDI were present with a few members of other dance clubs sprinkled here and there.
Arthur and Joan Oda who helped choreographed the Disco Cha Cha for Lani and me some years back greeted us. They are presently Dance Teachers for Aiea Ballroom Dance Association. Then there were Stanley and Annie Nakamura, and Eugene and Nancy Shen who Lani and I use to hunt with as a group for dance venues in Waikiki during the good old days. You gotta take note about Dance Hawaii members...they will greet anyone with a smile, with the wave of the hand, a hug, handshake, or with the new fist to fist touch with sincerity.
Anyway back at the scene, it wasn't all Ballroom, Latin, and Swing dancing going on. There were Line Dancing going on, too, in the Cha Cha, and the Samba taught and led by Dance Hawaii's very own Kevin and Margaret Yee.
And to add a vibrant boost, Sally Forges came out hot and sexy with the new Merengue Line Dance. That brought the seat warmers on the dance floor to show that they got the cuchi cuchi (hip swinging ala Latino), too. Now that's like saying No Child Left Behind even tho' it was Furlough Friday. And we gotta give credit to Ida who belted out the footwork to the Merengue Line Dance while Sally led the happy boyz and gurlz in the gyration.
When it was kau kau time, all 62 dancers held hands in a circle as Sally said the invocation to give thanks and to thank those who brought their favorite pupus for the potluck dinner. It was a good time to socialize with the other dancers from the other dance clubs and picture taking.
I wasn't much of a paparazzi last night 'cause Lani and I were there to enjoy the fun but I managed to get a shot of Arthur and Joan Oda (back row right) and some of the members of Aiea Ballroom Dance Association. (For more photos by Joe Martel and his personal impression, please surf over to the Moanalua Corridor blog.) It turned out to be a good start for Dance Hawaii to continue Furlough Friday Social Dance in the coming weeks.
Before closing, there was an announcement by Richard and Lynn Nakamura's guest Susan Henobio Tejada about the upcoming La Plaza de Toros dance at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and seeking dancers to perform for their Art After Dark Showcase. (See more info in the previous blog). General dancing continued till 10 PM.
