Just Rolling Along

The new year looking good and I am still learning. What is a Snowflake in politics? Adults being viewed as being less resilient and more prone to taking offense than previous generations. A derogatory term for someone deemed too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own and noting that the insult has been aimed at an entire group.

“Social dancers believe that they must dance to the music

of their soul and everyday may uplift the soul.”

In our kuleana, we have Wahiawa Ballroom Dance Club introducing the social for the year. Maile emailed a poster of the dance and a schedule which I may post in the Dance And Live blog of Tuesday. Actually dancing has been going on since the first of January but I don't get the information. With WBDC I get the invitation. I can blog'em and hope not to interfere.

"London Calling" by The Clash   (1982)

Received from Maile Yagi. Mahalo

The DJs in our Dance Scene are very good. Most of us will agree and we have our DJs playing our music. A big difference in Live and DJ music on Oahu is that Live bands play more of the Classics much loved by the more experienced dancers. Whereas the DJs will play a more  up to date presentation of the good music. In our dance scene, most of our DJs recognize the classics and play them for the benefit of the dancers in the dancing clubs. When was the last time you danced "From Here To Eternity" by Englebert Humperdinck? A Rumba? 

Not a recommend book: "The Yellow Stream" by I.P. Daily

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Wow, this has been surprising, the hits have not only held up but are ahead of what I had hoped. Much of it has been search engines and scam spam robot hits and those are not legit readers but they help keep up the count. I am settling nicely in Mililani and trying to plan something easy to get to and back home again. Get some local information and photos in my blogs. Feedback? Yes, we need.

“And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the moon.”

~ The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear

Here on Oahu if you are a social dancer you do not have to compete with anyone. You can take part in team dances, where you can dance in unison with your team and have fun doing it. It is done so well in the line dancing. Social dancers enjoy listening to their favorite music like most people that enjoy a good concert by any one of so many good entertainers on Oahu. Social dancers must go further that that, they must move the body to their favorite music. If you can count to four, you can learn to dance! For dancing purposes, we can assume that all types of music are built in multiples of two beats except for the Waltz which is built in multiples of three.

"Nostalgias" por Placido Domingo

Essentially, all dances revolve around two rhythms. Once you learn these, and can put them in combination, you can perform just about any dance there is. The first rhythm is known as "a slow." A slow is equivalent to two beats. A slow is danced by stepping on the first beat and killing time for the second beat. When you are dancing, count it as "slow, slow", or "one-two, one-two". The second rhythm is called a quick. A quick is equivalent to one beat. A quick is danced as one step for each beat. When you are dancing, count it as quick, quick, quick, quick, or ~ walk, two, three, four. Quicks are generally done in sets of two.

Book not recommended: "The Numbers Game" by Cal Q. Later

Rolling

Just the beginning but the hits are coming in. However less than 40% are legit hits from our readers. More than 60% are from search engines, Twitter and Facebook and scam, spam robot hits. Anyway they keep the blog rolling. The entire blogosphere is starting off very well. It will come down because the outsiders are not interested in daily contact.

“Social dancing is a feeling, less like chemical intoxication than being drunk on life. Moving

to the music, they experienced absolute bliss - unadulterated and unconfined.”

There is quite a bit of activity on the neighbor islands, the Big Island, Maui and Kauai. Don't hear much about Lanai and Molokai and of course Honolulu is jumping. Yes, the rumors are there, a new dance club, a new dance studio and/or a new dance night club. Fred Astaire? If there is one let me know and I can go and blog'em. Unless they want to charge me, for then they are just looking for another customer.

The Salsa scene in Hawaii going strong in night clubs. On Oahu they are doing very well with Bachata and perhaps even surpassing the interest in Salsa. Being a Latin group, they also have Cha Cha Cha and Merengue. Like all the others once the music stops, it can be a pick up bar just like any other. Once the music starts a lot of men are looking to give lessons on both dance and lessons in something else. Most dancers pick up on the action, know what they want to do and have a terrific evening doing it.

 “Social dancers don't lie to themselves. The social dancers who lie to themselves come

to a point that they cannot distinguish the truth within them, or around them,

and so lose all respect for themselves and for others.” 

The Granada

The talk has been there for sometime, but no one has ever done anything on Oahu even remotely resembling the Granada in Alhambra, California. The builders of the Granada did not want anything in downtown Los Angeles. The original Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. The city of Alhambra in California is about the same distance from downtown LA as Nanakuli is from downtown Honolulu. The Granada is and was built as a deluxe Latin Dance Nightclub, Restaurant and Dance Studio, all in the same place and three stories high.

“Social dancers dance because dance can change things. One move to
music can bring people together. One move can make you
believe like there's something more in the dance.”

The basics of Latin Dance Music are already here on Oahu and our musicians and DJs know the preferred Latin music. The syllabi of the disciplines is the basic. Cha Cha Cha. Mambo, Merengue, Rumba, Samba, and Tango and every one learns those. The additional would be Bachata. Salsa. Perhaps later on the Latin Waltz. Nothing for the very young, hip hop, slat, rig or whatever. Don't knock it, they have the right to their preferences. The Granada in Nanakuli would be packed to the gills and not only by Latinos. In Hawaii we have some of the best Latin dancers in the Pacific  irregardless of ethnicity. With a healthy cover charge there will be no need to make the overhead with the alcoholic bar tab.

Afternoon dance classes

Very possibly an added Juice Bar and plenty of Latin snacks that can be eaten with chopsticks you got a smash hit, guaranteed. Then to complete the picture, my favorite, the modern Rumba - Bolero music in my opinion the most beautiful music in the world. And the dance that moves to that music is the most pleasant moving to music in existence. It is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that evolved in the Caribbean. The movements and the music had existed for a millennium before the first illegals arrived. It was not brought over by the slaves and it had more influence by the Europeans in their dance and music than the slaves.

"Charity, good behavior, amiable speech, unselfishness — these have been

accepted by all and declared the elements of popularity."

\

The Granada

The talk has been there for sometime, but no one has ever done anything on Oahu even remotely resembling the Granada in Alhambra, California. The builders of the Granada did not want anything in downtown Los Angeles. The original Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. The city of Alhambra in California is about the same distance from downtown LA as Nanakuli is from downtown Honolulu. The Granada is and was built as a deluxe Latin Dance Nightclub, Restaurant and Dance Studio, all in the same place and three stories high.

“Social dancers dance because dance can change things. One move to
music can bring people together. One move can make you
believe like there's something more in the dance.”

The basics of Latin Dance Music are already here on Oahu and our musicians and DJs know the preferred Latin music. The syllabi of the disciplines is the basic. Cha Cha Cha. Mambo, Merengue, Rumba, Samba, and Tango and every one learns those. The additional would be Bachata. Salsa. Perhaps later on the Latin Waltz. Nothing for the very young, hip hop, slat, rig or whatever. Don't knock it, they have the right to their preferences. The Granada in Nanakuli would be packed to the gills and not only by Latinos. In Hawaii we have some of the best Latin dancers in the Pacific  irregardless of ethnicity. With a healthy cover charge there will be no need to make the overhead with the alcoholic bar tab.

Afternoon dance classes

Very possibly an added Juice Bar and plenty of Latin snacks that can be eaten with chopsticks you got a smash hit, guaranteed. Then to complete the picture, my favorite, the modern Rumba - Bolero music in my opinion the most beautiful music in the world. And the dance that moves to that music is the most pleasant moving to music in existence. It is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that evolved in the Caribbean. The movements and the music had existed for a millennium before the first illegals arrived. It was not brought over by the slaves and it had more influence by the Europeans in their dance and music than the slaves.

"Charity, good behavior, amiable speech, unselfishness — these have been

accepted by all and declared the elements of popularity."

\

First Working Day of the Year.

I hope everyone is recovering in good order from all the celebrating. Especially now that we can be certain that Trump is on his way - out. And Good Riddance. Perhaps we can eventually get this country back to what it was two years ago. Not perfect? I know that, but is was not the disaster it is today. We had a democracy then. Now, dictator, "gimme the money or I shut the government down." Yeah, GOP version of Democracy. Voter Suppression is not enough.

"Some social dancers become more religious because of dance. It may have changed their lives in many ways and they can cherish every moment because of dance.”

Meanwhile the scene is looking good and there is dancing on all the Islands. Everyone had a good time with their friends, neighbors, fellow dancers and relatives. There are the normal rumors of a new dance club, dance studio and even a new dance night club. A Dance Night Club? A fancy Bar that installs a 10 x 10 dance floor can be called a Night Club just because it has a dance floor. However, social dancers have different opinions and a night club can be considered a dance night club with a bigger dance floor. The size of a two car garage would be nice, 20 x 20 which is 400 square feet. Of course this still not a floor to dance Quick Step or Viennese Waltz.

"Fight For Your Right" by Beastie Boys (1986)

“I have drunk the night and swallowed the stars. I was dancing with abandon and singing with rapture. There is not a thing I do not love. There is not a person I have not forgiven. I feel a universe of love, a universe of light. Tonight, I am with old friends and we are returning home. The moon is our witness. Happy New Year.” Author Unknown.

The Year 2019 begins.

The view of Oahu from Mililani is looking better all the time. Except for the view of the Mainland under Trump. The Trump Wall Disaster plus the Government Shutdown were the last straws for Trump. Now we are seeing how his disorganization deteriorates as more of his "loyal" staff leave. For sure his White Supremacy and his "Fake News" are null and void now.

“Social dancers may dance to inspire or to dance to freedom, - life is about

experiences so they dance and let themselves become free.”

In Hawaii, our biggest problem is our "Rapid Transit" the Rail Catastrophe. People are making millions and millions of dollars daily. No one knows what happened to the first billion dollars. And they have been doing a good job of keeping it secret. The neighbor islands now know that they have to pay too, Original total cost estimate by Caldwell was was five billion dollars. Then went to 10, then 12 and now at about 15 Billion dollars. Called the "Gravy Train" in Honolulu Hale. And no longer referred to as "Rapid Transit." Gonna take longer.

"We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister (1984)

The dance scene is looking better and less stink and more kokua between most factions. The strongest emerging is the Social Dancer with a more thorough definition. The term "Junk Dancer" from the last century seems to be disappearing. And in Social Dancing, there is no "correct" way to move to music. The acceptance of dances not on the Syllabi of the disciplines of American or International. And I hope to see the Latin waltz introduced to Hawaii.

"Social dancers listen to music and notice the silence the way you would

notice the landscape in the background of a painting."