That Was Then

The roaring twenties is when dancing really got rolling among the under 30 in Hawaii. And many of the swing dances were carried on into the thirties. A getaway from the Great Depression, dance was a joyful activity that helped people of the 1930s get through everyday life. Dance in the 1930s for the more serious dancer included the Waltz, Foxtrot and was receptive to the Latin, Rumba, Tango and Samba. Also heavily influenced by other African American dances to jazz music.

"Social dancers believe that having hope, wearing their masks,
respecting social distance - they will come through."

During WWII the large movement of men in the armed forces spread the conformity of the dances and the style of each. This remained more or less in Hawaii until the mid 50s when the Aiea Ballroom Dance Club came into existence. This included a syllabi covered by the American Style of Dance and three divisions according to proficiency, Bronze, Silver and Gold. This set up Ballroom Dancing in Hawaii as deluxe and being sanctioned by the Leaders on the Mainland. As more Dance Clubs came into existence, the social dancers dropped down several levels in class.

"My Molokai" by Willie K

Within ten years, the International Style of Dance was very nicely introduced on Oahu. Besides the dress, the main difference between International Ballroom and American Ballroom is that American is typically a social style and International tends to be performed in competitions. Additionally, International style is all about the connection with your partner—dancers stick close together and lead and follow and move around one common center as they dance. The open position of American ballroom is not acceptable in the International style. They soon took first place, American second and social dancing became a distant third at the time the Palladium opened.

"Social dancers believe that how much you know is not as
important as what you do with what you do know."