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Monday, September 30, 2019

Young and the Experienced.

Music and dance may tingle humans when very young - but it is just a passing fancy like most new items in life and not really considered a necessity. The first great musical age is the teenager, defined by a short, sharp burst of contemporary intense music -- such as punk and metal -- peaks in adolescence and declines in early adulthood, Teenage years are often dominated by the need to establish identity, and music is a cheap, effective way to do this, Most are going to school and share music and dance information with their fellow students.

"Social dancers sometime like to remind themselves to be the "social" in social dancer."


 Adolescents quest for independence often takes the shape of a perceived stance to the target status quo, that of parents and the establishment. Intense music may be seen as aggressive, tense and characterized by loud, distorted sounds. It may have the rebellious connotations that allow adolescents to stake a claim for the autonomy that is one of this period's key life challenges. Once people overcome the need for autonomy, the next life challenge concerns finding love and being loved. People who appreciate this "you" that has emerged from this contemporary music -- such as pop and rap -- begin a rise that plateaus until early adulthood.

"Pearly Shells" by Don Ho


In their twenties they begin to frequent more "adult" parties and many will start going to night clubs the young music begins to evolve. On Oahu many clubs are known for the young crowd and the music is more intense. As intense gives way to the rising tide of contemporary and introduction of mellow -- such as electronic and R & B -- in early adulthood, the next musical age emerges. These two "preference dimensions" are considered "romantic, emotionally positive and danceable," Fifty years ago they had the term "never trust anyone over thirty." The young made the dividing line. On Oahu it is moving up slowly.

"The achievement of one goal should be the starting point of another."
~ Alexander Graham Bell

Social

From the Social Dance Rag:
The character of the dance establishes the styling technique. Rise and Fall in Waltz has a natural and graceful rise and fall because of the pressure on the one count and relaxing on the two and three counts. Yet, in Foxtrot there is little rise and fall, and the dancers just glide across the floor.Though the two dances share many figures, those figures will be danced differently for each of the two dances. Applying the appropriate technique to capture the character of each dance, rather than the blindly trying a "one size fits all" approach, is one of the most joyful aspects of learning to dance socially.

"Being a social dancer may mean you are ready and willing
to help others enjoy the dance."


Finally, there is the technique associated with each figure -the amount of turn, sway etc. Nice if you want to be an exhibition or competition dancer. However, what is often overlooked is that these are actually descriptions of what the finish product should look like, not prescriptions for how to achieve it. Many instructors teach by the book, but most social dance instructors discourage students from referring directly to a technique book because it was never intended for social dancers. The technique described in books were developed by watching good dancers perform and describing the result.

"Waikiki" by Amy Hanaialii


Without a good instructor to provide information about the actual method of achieving these results, the technique books can seem overly legalistic and extremely cryptic. It's understandable that someone whose exposure to "technique" consists of dealing directly with a book would have a bad image of technique. So, even if you are a recreational or competition dancer, dancing is about enjoying yourself. Dancing technique is not meant to take away from your enjoyment, its purpose is to enhance it! The more you understand about the categories of technique, the more enjoyable dancing will be to you, and the more enjoyable you will be to dance with.

"Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a person's growth
without destroying their roots."
 

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Blogging

I am running out of time and I have a lot of places to cover where I may help and I must be on my way. My physical limitations will have me concentrating on West Oahu. But hopefully, I may get dance information from other parts of Oahu. At five blogs my experiment of over dilution is just about over. There was a pause, then the average hits per day began to go up again, just kind of slow. So it seems as though the total reader/dancers may be increasing and they will concentrate on their favorites which is happening now. Then for now, we can be patient and wait it out for the rest of the year.

"Social dancers believe that we can all be social dancers –
but only if we actively choose it."


Town Dancer blog had been way ahead of the others but has been losing hits as the others increase. Of course, Town Dancer lost one of the best bloggers in Hawaii. They may just even out pretty much the same. We are getting increased competition from Facebook and understandable if you are interested in getting hits in Nigeria or Afghanistan. We are pretty well limited to the dancers on Oahu. Whatever, Dancing in our blogs is looking good in spite of the Rail Disaster. And yes we have heard the Rents are going up. Gotta pay for the billions on the Rail Catastrophe. And the worst is yet to come.

"Walk Through Paradise" by Melveen Leed


The City Council under Caldwell is doing well. Their good wishes to all their loyal voters - they realize that you are already seeing an increase in your ordinary living expenses such as food, clothing, rents and automobile items throughout the island. And you understand that gas and property taxes must be increased to pay for the Rail Crisis. So they ask all our good citizens to tighten your belts and hope this will end soon. Meanwhile, they are going to give themselves a little raise.

"Whatever the mind of a person can conceive and believe,
it can achieve."

Blogging

I am running out of time and I have a lot of places to cover where I may help and I must be on my way. My physical limitations will have me concentrating on West Oahu. But hopefully, I may get dance information from other parts of Oahu. At five blogs my experiment of over dilution is just about over. There was a pause, then the average hits per day began to go up again, just kind of slow. So it seems as though the total reader/dancers may be increasing and they will concentrate on their favorites which is happening now. Then for now, we can be patient and wait it out for the rest of the year.

"Social dancers believe that we can all be social dancers –
but only if we actively choose it."


Town Dancer blog had been way ahead of the others but has been losing hits as the others increase. Of course, Town Dancer lost one of the best bloggers in Hawaii. They may just even out pretty much the same. We are getting increased competition from Facebook and understandable if you are interested in getting hits in Nigeria or Afghanistan. We are pretty well limited to the dancers on Oahu. Whatever, Dancing in our blogs is looking good in spite of the Rail Disaster. And yes we have heard the Rents are going up. Gotta pay for the billions on the Rail Catastrophe. And the worst is yet to come.

"Walk Through Paradise" by Melveen Leed


The City Council under Caldwell is doing well. Their good wishes to all their loyal voters - they realize that you are already seeing an increase in your ordinary living expenses such as food, clothing, rents and automobile items throughout the island. And you understand that gas and property taxes must be increased to pay for the Rail Crisis. So they ask all our good citizens to tighten your belts and hope this will end soon. Meanwhile, they are going to give themselves a little raise.

"Whatever the mind of a person can conceive and believe,
it can achieve."

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Two-Centers are Valuable

We are down to five blogs and they are having a time getting going. Nobody knows from nothing. The leading blog is still an outsider with a counter which is going down in average hits per day. OK, communication is not my strong streak. I am currently in Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Word Press and Pinterest just to spread the word around and it is spreading but very slowly. Feedback is still the immediate solution just to get more dance information on Oahu to share with our fellow dancers. We have been at the point of diminishing returns for about six months. I was able to get a lot of hits off our counter that were not legit hits.

"Male Social dancers go through this in the beginning, - they will feel confused - they
know the moves and they wonder if they will ever get as good as the other leads."

Yes, the feedback phases over into a Two Center. A person willing to share their 2 cents of dance information with our fellow dancers on a blog. They may become officially Information Contributors and be on tap any time the wish to become a Guest Blogger. We need prose not poetry. Information about our dancing locations and our fellow dancers. Our blogs have one big advantage in that everything will be above board, much different than the cliques that had almost run Dancing into the ground.

"With A Song In My Heart" by Al Martino

What our Two Centers say in our blogs may not be what you think they said in our blogs.
That is Social Media.

Opinion: applies to a conclusion or judgement which, while it remains open to dispute, seems true or probable to one's own mind.

Belief: refers to the mental acceptance of an idea or conclusion, often a doctrine or dogma proposed to one for acceptance.


View: is an opinion affected by one's personal manner of looking at things.

Conviction: is a strong belief about whose truth one has no doubts about.

Sentiment: refers to an opinion that is the result of deliberation but is colored with emotion.

Persuasion: refers to a strong belief that is unshakable because one wishes to believe in its truth.

"Sometimes tradition is the way of doing things that keeps us
from doing them better."


Friday, September 27, 2019

Dancing on Oahu

Hey we have a lot smart dancers out here and they are well aware of what we dance on Oahu. What do we dance in Honolulu? At least some people are beginning to realize that everybody knows and nobody knows. There is a lot of good stuff being danced out there by people that can really feel and move to the music. And we do recognize that dancing for the "young" may differ from the dancing by the more experience dancers. We accept that some dances are still in the fad stage and will taper off as new fads come in. The Lambada, was not really a Latin dance, yet lasted over ten years and made billions of dollars.

"Social dancers do their part - they get out there and promote their dancing!"


When you read that the Mayan civilization had over 2500 different dances, you can realize the terrible fix that is happening throughout the world. What are we going to dance next year? Salsa has done very well, but Bachata is making good inroads. And there is Zouk, Kizomba and Zumba waiting in the wings for the young. Counting folk dances on this island there must be a hundred different dances. We may have the Latin dance for us, at the moment. Will it change? You bet! In the Latin Dance Studios and Nightclubs that are still to come, we will have new basics.

"Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho


They guaranteed it couldn't happen in Europe. They have guaranteed it will not happen on Oahu. The people in town just hope that when the rail falls down it will happen in Kapolei. The people in Kapolei hope that when the rail falls down it will happen in town. The people in the center just hope that either one of them is right. But Thank Goodness, we have been assured by the Rail Party of Honolulu that it cannot happen here. yeah, man. The Rail Party and Truth? We all are beginning to know them so well. Fortunately, the neighbor islands will be forced to help pay for this disaster.

"The past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited or erased -
 but we may be able to do something today,"

 

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Belly Dancing

No one ever told me that they had belly dancing in the Philippines. Perhaps just to tell me it was illegal or something like that. Actually Belly dance is a Western-coined name for a traditional Middle Eastern dance, especially raqs sharqi. Then the term "Belly dance" is a misnomer as every part of the body is involved in the dance; the most featured body part in raqs sharqi being the hips. (The Hula?) Belly dance takes many different forms depending on country and region, both in costume and dance style; and new styles have been invented in the West as its popularity has spread globally.

Belly dance websites, provide their online information on performers,
information about selected dances and dance styles, musical
instruments, and sometimes history of their dance.


Malia Delapenia, Hawaii’s premier belly dancer is an acclaimed professional performing artist, instructor and choreographer based in Honolulu Hawaii. Raqs sharqi (literally "oriental dance") is the style more familiar to Westerners, performed in restaurants and cabarets around the world. It is more commonly performed by female dancers but is also sometimes danced by men. It is a solo improvisational dance, although students often perform choreographed dances in a group.

"In this life" by Amy Hanaialii

Social dance classes on Oahu
Raqs baladi, (literally "dance of country", or "folk" dance) is the folkloric style, danced socially by men and women of all ages in some Middle Eastern countries, usually at festive occasions such as weddings. This blog will come as a surprise to those that have been taught that they dance "correctly," without any qualification to that dictum. Some people don't realized what a small cog we are in the entire world of dance. Meanwhile I have to drop into a little Salsa on Saturday.

"A complete life depends on what it was lived for"

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Dancespeak

On Oahu, we will change the Dance Speak to suit ourselves. You name it. I am glad some people are beginning to realize that some of the terms presented here have been there for some time in their dance experience. They have had to agree more or less with the meaning, but "social dance" is changing and some terms will become obsolete. Some of it may be expanded by anyone easily for more clarity. You may even write it up and share it with our fellow dancers.

"Social dancers do not worry much on what they want
from their dancing, they just dance."


Arm Waving; used mainly in competition and exhibition dancing. "Hey, look at me." Also used in countries where they are unable to achieve the Cuban motion adequately. Used extensively in the Orient where they are more accustomed to the use of the arms and hands more than the feet. In Hula, just beautiful. In Social dancing we keep it down to a minimum.

Ball: Several definitions, the front part of the foot. Also another word for fun. 'Having a ball." And from the Latin, Ballere, meaning to dance and presently meaning a formal dinner and party which may be attended by non-dancers.

Band: A group of musicians joined together for the purpose of producing music such as a Dance Band or a small orchestra.

Basics: Very important part of the "Dance." In classes, the beginners are looking enviously at the intermediates. The intermediates are looking enviously at the advance students. The advance students really are beginning to know what dancing is all about. Now they want to go back to learning the basics right. If you can dance basics good and you can dance to anything.



Beat: The essential cadence of marking time for dancing throughout the tune and continues with equal duration and force. Listening music may vary.

BPM: Beats per minute. 24 BPM in a Fox Trot is six measures. In a Waltz it is eight measures and in any two count it is twelve measures.

Big Band: The name applied to the large dance orchestras up to the 50s. Danced in the Big Ballrooms some holding thousands of dancers.

Body Lead: This refers mainly to the signals that are given to a lady through the body movement of the man. He learns to use his shoulders, upper body and head. Takes some time for the men to learn and the ladies are pure geniuses in following.

"An unexamined life is not worth living." – Socrates


Dancespeak

On Oahu, we will change the Dance Speak to suit ourselves. You name it. I am glad some people are beginning to realize that some of the terms presented here have been there for some time in their dance experience. They have had to agree more or less with the meaning, but "social dance" is changing and some terms will become obsolete. Some of it may be expanded by anyone easily for more clarity. You may even write it up and share it with our fellow dancers.

"Social dancers do not worry much on what they want
from their dancing, they just dance."


Arm Waving; used mainly in competition and exhibition dancing. "Hey, look at me." Also used in countries where they are unable to achieve the Cuban motion adequately. Used extensively in the Orient where they are more accustomed to the use of the arms and hands more than the feet. In Hula, just beautiful. In Social dancing we keep it down to a minimum.

Ball: Several definitions, the front part of the foot. Also another word for fun. 'Having a ball." And from the Latin, Ballere, meaning to dance and presently meaning a formal dinner and party which may be attended by non-dancers.

Band: A group of musicians joined together for the purpose of producing music such as a Dance Band or a small orchestra.

Basics: Very important part of the "Dance." In classes, the beginners are looking enviously at the intermediates. The intermediates are looking enviously at the advance students. The advance students really are beginning to know what dancing is all about. Now they want to go back to learning the basics right. If you can dance basics good and you can dance to anything.



Beat: The essential cadence of marking time for dancing throughout the tune and continues with equal duration and force. Listening music may vary.

BPM: Beats per minute. 24 BPM in a Fox Trot is six measures. In a Waltz it is eight measures and in any two count it is twelve measures.

Big Band: The name applied to the large dance orchestras up to the 50s. Danced in the Big Ballrooms some holding thousands of dancers.

Body Lead: This refers mainly to the signals that are given to a lady through the body movement of the man. He learns to use his shoulders, upper body and head. Takes some time for the men to learn and the ladies are pure geniuses in following.

"An unexamined life is not worth living." – Socrates


Leaders

The ladies on Oahu are fortunate that we have so many good leaders. Technique has to do with the relationship between the dance partners and someway or another the Leaders have learned to do it very nicely. If a leader does not understand the correct dance frame, then the leader will resort to using strength, forcing the follower to move a particular way, which maybe awkward or even dangerous. A proper dance frame allows the leader to indicate the desired movement clearly but without force. This in turn, allows the follower to move properly and safely and beautifully.

"Social dancers know that they are open to being up close and social with others on the
dance floor, and it is inevitable when you are switching partners at a dance."


Likewise, if the follower does not understand the correct dance frame, the leader has no method to communicate the lead. It is also important to understand that some "social dance" is counter intuitive. For example, in some figures a couple turns not because the dancers turn individually but because one partner remains relatively still, while the other partner moves past, causing the partnership to turn. Many other aspects of all dancing are also counter intuitive, and without a thorough grounding in partner relationship technique, the dance can become an arm wrestling match set to music.

"Maria Elena" by Jimmy Dorsey


Three of the most powerful tools for marketing a dance organization's services and products is through their Newsletters, Web and or Blog sites. But the benefits are many. They keep the organization's Name and dance functions out in front of potential and current members. It is the preferred media of Ballroom Dance Professionals and the least expensive PR. Advertising, newspapers, magazines, radio and TV is something else and cost.

From a London Newsletter, 30 years ago:
"Carry the lady as she were a tray of drinks The finest champagne 
 in the best glassware. Do not spill a drop."

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Tango On Oahu

Argentine Tango is coming more into prominence in Hawaii, lately. There is an upswing in American Tango and Filipino Tango and most important they got some good music. Tango is a popular partner and social dance that originated as the Milonga, an obscure word, from the Incas in Peru in the 1400s. It was just a walking dance with a pounce cat like jump after six to ten steps. The first illegal aliens that arrived with no women, went to bordellos and found they could dance the Milonga. The basic movements and the music moved down to Chile and over the mountains to Argentina.

"It happens, you look around and some other leads are doing crazy cool moves.
Their follows look like they are having the time of their lives."


It began to be modified by the increase in Europeans arriving. By the 1800s in the bordellos along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay, a new dance was born, La Milonga. It was born in the impoverished port areas of these two countries, where the music and dance was influenced by the different European immigrant populations. The tango was frequently practiced in the brothels and bars of the ports, where business owners employed bands to entertain their patrons with music. The "Tango," in the 1900s, then spread to the rest of the world. Many variations of this dance currently exist around the world.

"Blue Tango" by Billy Vaughn


Characteristics of styles of tango:

American tango is when you’ve just started dating, and you’re flirting in an atmosphere of sexual tension. Heavy in the US and a nice pleasant atmosphere.
Argentine tango is when you’ve just started sleeping together and you can’t keep your hands off each other. Watch it! All over the world. This is something else.
International tango is when you’ve been married for seven years and you’re only staying together for the sake of the children. Strict rules and terrific for Competition Dancing.
Filipino Tango on Oahu, started in the Philippines, American from a few American soldiers that liked it. Gradually moved over to the Argentine Milonga and on Oahu it may amalgamate and merge with the American again or it may not last.

"Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho

Downtown Honolulu: Exec's wife came over to visit and they left together for the day,  They get on the elevator and on the next floor down, the elevator stops and a gorgeous blonde gets on. She pokes her elbow in his ribs and says, "Hi, Cutie Pie." His wife is standing next to him, smiles nicely to the lady. "Hi, I am Mrs Pie."

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Scene

There is going to be new Night Club in Kona on the Big Island. Very important to us on this blog because it is closer than Makaha. Well, anyway we need more night club information for our readers. I cannot do the night club scene simply because I am now physically impaired. I use a Rollador to assist my walking and if I am invited I can blog'em. I can get there and back by Handi Van so that is fairly easy, I have fumbleites on my hands so I cannot take the photos. I take my camera and pass it around and get a few people that can hold the camera still and push the right button to get 6 or 7 pics. And two people in a photo are twice as good for a blog than one. Hopefully we could get four or five people in some photos.

"Social dancers soon learn that posture itself strengthens the core of the body and not only provides physical benefit, but improves the appearance and promotes a confident air."


I can get a few one sentence opinions from some of the attendees and I can write up a brief description of the smash hit. That is a blog and our readers can have a little more knowledge of what is going on in the Night Club circuit. There are many clubs that are not suitable for our kind of dancing. The readers could have the information to make better choices. This should include Live Music and also DJ music. Then we can flock there until the floor get too crowded, then move on to another. The thing is we should keep informed one way or another.

"The Music Of Hawaii" by Melveen Leed


Blogs are definitely one way and some may call it advertising. I call it communication to our fellow dancers. Then there must be something in the old music that coming into vogue in this century. The Oldies But Goodies that are so easy to accept because they have been enjoyable for a long, long time and are still good. Many DJs on Oahu know this but are forced to keep up with the latest hits and they do a terrific job with it. I have just been into it lately but it seems like they are getting more people attending. We would get their viewpoint of the action and there are many ways.

"The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money."


Sunday, September 22, 2019

American Style Of Dance

The American Style of dance refers to the Ballroom Dances developed in the USA that contrast with the International Style. They denote the group of nine dances that were danced in American Style Ballroom competitions. The group consists of two categories: American Smooth and American Rhythm. American Rhythm loosely corresponds to the Latin category of the International Style, just like American Smooth corresponds to Standard. The American established dance variations are not recognized internationally. They are rather used in dance and competition methods as attempts to meets perceived needs in the local market-place which immense in the US.

"Social dancers realize that regardless of where they live in the world,
they will participate in dances that reflect a lot or a little of the culture."


In American Smooth, - Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Viennese Waltz, - dancers wear costumes not greatly dissimilar to those worn by their counterparts in International Style Standard. Dresses often have prominent floats embellishing the arms and fuller skirts which are typically absent in Smooth, due to the open movement and changing arm positions requiring less restriction on the body. However, the dances themselves are significantly different as a result of influence by dancers like Fred Astaire and Arthur Murray in the years following World War II.

"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jimmy Borges


While elegance and flow remain the goal, as in International Standard, dancers in American do not remain in closed position exclusively, instead breaking away from each other periodically and experimenting with open footwork. The American Rhythm dances, - Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Bolero, Samba, East Coast Swing - and were also influenced by American dancers of the post-WWII era, but the differences between this style and International Latin are more subtle. Costumes are similar, and while step patterns are not identical, movements are as free and explicitly sensual as in Latin. Fortunately on Oahu we have had some of the best teachers of the American Style in the Pacific.

"Social dancers know that your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude."

American Style Of Dance

The American Style of dance refers to the Ballroom Dances developed in the USA that contrast with the International Style. They denote the group of nine dances that were danced in American Style Ballroom competitions. The group consists of two categories: American Smooth and American Rhythm. American Rhythm loosely corresponds to the Latin category of the International Style, just like American Smooth corresponds to Standard. The American established dance variations are not recognized internationally. They are rather used in dance and competition methods as attempts to meets perceived needs in the local market-place which immense in the US.

"Social dancers realize that regardless of where they live in the world,
they will participate in dances that reflect a lot or a little of the culture."


In American Smooth, - Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Viennese Waltz, - dancers wear costumes not greatly dissimilar to those worn by their counterparts in International Style Standard. Dresses often have prominent floats embellishing the arms and fuller skirts which are typically absent in Smooth, due to the open movement and changing arm positions requiring less restriction on the body. However, the dances themselves are significantly different as a result of influence by dancers like Fred Astaire and Arthur Murray in the years following World War II.

"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jimmy Borges


While elegance and flow remain the goal, as in International Standard, dancers in American do not remain in closed position exclusively, instead breaking away from each other periodically and experimenting with open footwork. The American Rhythm dances, - Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Bolero, Samba, East Coast Swing - and were also influenced by American dancers of the post-WWII era, but the differences between this style and International Latin are more subtle. Costumes are similar, and while step patterns are not identical, movements are as free and explicitly sensual as in Latin. Fortunately on Oahu we have had some of the best teachers of the American Style in the Pacific.

"Social dancers know that your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude."

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Tid Bits.

One version to learn any dance - Try Waltz in a line dance to learn making moves according the music. You won't need a partner and you will still have fun in the social atmosphere. From there you can make connections for taking partner lessons in what is still called Ballroom Dancing on Oahu. Take what ever advice you wish and make your decision. You are not likely to be wrong unless you suddenly get a desire to dance at Blackpool. Whatever you wish you will be dancing socially in less than a month, though nothing fancy of course.

"Many social dancers have been super comfortable in their bodies
all their lives. In which case, good for them!"


Most everybody already enjoys moving to music. And you may meet some people that deny being dancers, they are "Movers to music" which may be a future definition of Social Dancer. Then you can certainly make your own decision on any new course to take and with different dance teachers. Social dancers use the KISS method. Keep It Simple Stupid. Appreciate the music and the rest of what you pick up is gingerbread. Learn your basic moves good. How? Easy as pie, just keep on dancing.You will eventually be just a little better than average and that is good enough.

"Morning Dew" by Melveen Leed


Whereas 20 years ago at the height of the famous Palladium with many deluxe dancers, there was a touch of the confessional with the words, "I'm just a social dancer." Now, there definitely is a touch of pride in the words, "I am a social dancer." That pride developed first among the Night Club dancers and has been infiltrating into the social dance clubs too. As in all social groupings, we become more certain that there are a hellavah lot more of us than the "Rootzi Tootzis."

"Maui Waltz" by Loyal Garner

Two elderly dance ladies were taking their morning stroll in the Mililani Town Center. Gladys: "The whole time that Bill was alive, did you have mutual climax?" Ethel thought a while; "No, I think we always had State Farm."


Wots Doin'?

Throughout the years, I have heard or read little items of the Hula being danced in Japan. But I am beginning to believe they like it over there. I came across some posters on the Internet of Japanese ladies dancing the Hula in Japan. Probably to Hawaiian music played on a Steel Guitar. Hula is the soul of Hawaii expressed in motion. No one knows its exact origins but Hawaiians have many tales that agree that the first hula was performed by a god or goddess which makes the dance a sacred ritual. I believe you can find it just about anywhere on this world.

"All social dancers know that there are other ways of partner dancing,
such as competitive dancing and exhibition dancing. No hu hu."


We need to share all kinds of dance information for our readers. I just don't do night club enough nowadays. But our readers should have a little more knowledge of what is going on in the Night Club circuit too. You might eventually have some info to share.There are so many clubs that are not suitable for our kind of dancing. The readers should have more recommended choices. Then we can flock there until the floor get too crowded, then move on to another. "Basic" is the most fundamental or essential movements in each dance using its natural step rhythms and its styling movements in their simplest forms.

"Night And Day" by Jimmy Borges


Just a little reminder that I have some difficulty getting around. But I certainly will make the effort to go to a dance function if I am invited. I cannot dance or eat, so I would be there to blog'em. I do not want to interfere. I can usually get a brief description of the happenings. And I try to get an opinion from a few participants. And I do require help in getting the photos for the blog. I take my point and shoot camera and I pass it around. Those willing may get five or six pics each of their closer friends and I get a very good assortment of attendees. Needless to say two people in the photo are better than one. More people per photo.

"Blogger Law #68C: Anything worth doing is worth overdoing."

Friday, September 20, 2019

New York? Where Dat?


Cruising in New York by James Wilson

All of the light wood walls are awash in a red glow. The funky house and techno, oftentimes played on vinyl, is orchestrated by Eli Goldstein of Soul Clap, Philipp Jung of M.A.N.D.Y., and Gadi Mizrahi (Wolf & Lamb), who prefer to keep it casual, so you’ll often see multiple friends messing around at once behind the decks. The mostly over-25 and always unstuffy crowd doesn’t give a damn, because they’re there to let loose, not be seen. So who cares, we are all having a ball. OK with you?

"Social dancers believe that a partner dance should be done for fun." Really?


Smaller than Output but more spacious than Black Flamingo, the Good Room brings club life to an area where it was rarely found before: Greenpoint. Designed by nightlife bigwig Steve Lewis, who outfitted the two-room space with stained glass and a chandelier made of ram’s horns, Good Room is best known for its more unknown but cult-favorite DJs — the ones who might get looked over at Output but still find hard-core fans in Brooklyn. That includes Irish electronic musician Shit Robot, Brooklyn-based rapper Mykki Blanco, and dance-music pioneers who might no longer be recognized like Nicky Siano, the former resident DJ of Studio 54.

"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jimmy Borges


For Bushwick’s techno crowd who congregate here, the drink of choice is not a bubbly Prosecco, but the natural energy elixir Club-Mate. After a brief closure in early 2015, the tropical-themed Bossa Nova reopened with a ramp to meet the regulations of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and a totally revamped DJ booth to the delight of the mostly local but well-known DJs. The vibe is like a local bar that just happens to be the best techno club in the city. The best part, though, is that it’s located right beneath the Central Ave. M stop, deep enough into Brooklyn to avoid curious riffraff and cater to the real heads only. Plus, it’s one of the only places to host a Monday night party in the neighborhood, recently throwing a World Star Techno event starting at happy hour.

"Molokai Waltz" by Amy Hanaialii




We’ll admit it: Dancing still happens in Manhattan. The newest and biggest addition to the scene is Chelsea’s 10,000-square-foot Flash Factory, with stained glass and design accents reclaimed from churches, created with the specific goal of making Manhattan dancing relevant again. What that means, basically, is an Output-inspired music-focused vibe, but with VIPseating. It’s built for the festival-lover who wants big-room names and will still shell out for a private, roped-off table. So far, it’s working: Owners Michael Satsky and Brian Gefter, better known for the exclusive Provocateur, are attracting big names to play across the water. Later this summer, they’ll host the funk duo Chromeo and the co-founder of Glasgow’s most tastemaking label, Jackmaster.

"Social dancers believe that at first some dreams seem impossible,
then they become improbable, finally they are inevitable."