Shaping Up Nicely

Most dancers find their confidence in dancing, just enjoying the movement to music regularly. Right may be a mere inches away from wrong. Failure sometimes seems louder than success. But there is an accumulation of all the things we don’t do wrong, and it becomes our confidence. We can even get to the point where confidence lasts longer than the dance. Seconds at first. Then minutes. Then maybe it’ll be there when we are walking into a party, a social dance or a night club. We can feel that we have something, that may not be great but it is good, and we know we can move to our favorite music.

"Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts

the sacred voice that calls us the Beloved. Being the Beloved

constitutes the core truth of our existence.”

We got Rhythm? Yes we do, all of us. There are Biorhythms, which start at birth, an emotional, a mental and a physical rhythm. Some swear by them, some say they have no impact. They are currently being documented. There are books on these rhythms. There should be many more cycles influencing all life on earth. All these cycles work together, influencing us physically, emotionally and spiritually. These cycles repeat as rhythms, some short, some lasting for ages.

"I've Got Rhythm" by Ella Fitzgerald.

In town, the Peripherals are doing just fine. Salsa is losing ground to Bachata but many venues have both which should be OK. Argentine Tango is keeping up with the growing partner dancing as are the Swing clubs. And Line dance is pretty persistent while waiting in the wings is the Latin club and nobody knows what that is.

“Dance and live your truth. Express your love - share your enthusiasm.

Take action towards your dreams and keep on dancing."

The Caribbean

Much of the Latin music and dance in the world comes from the Caribbean. The basics were there long before the first illegal aliens arrived. All the islands had some sort of walking dance, just step, step, step. But they also had something like the Rumba-Mambo, and it contained a rock step and a slow step and they broke wherever the accent was. And it was quick, quick, slow, which are really the same for all of the other dances too, except for the different names on the different islands. In Cuba it even had different names in the different sections.

"When you start dancing you will see many things that will startle you.

You will feel things you never felt before."

Sailors traveled all over the Caribbean, and they were the ones that spread and unified the dance. The sailors would see the different but similar dances and in describing them, they would say, "por ese rumbo" which means in that direction, that kind.

"Moliendo Cafe"

por Azucar Moreno

It became the name of the dance and the only thing that changed was the gender to La Rumba and it remained strictly an indigenous dance, better danced out in the sticks. But the name is Spanish not any of the mumbo jumbo that it comes from Africa. It acquired the name long before the African slaves arrived.

"Mi Son Maracaibo" por Rene Touzet

The influence of the Caribbean has been naturally great. First into Mexico, then into the US, and the rest of Latin America. However late in the 20th century the money makers manufactured new dances almost every day. Some made it for a while and some just never made it. Remember the Lambada? Ha! Live music at present predominates in Salsa and will also be into Bachata. It is shaping up into a more recognizable Latin music and dance for the younger dancers.

 "I was drinking at the bar last night so I took a bus home. May not sound like

a big deal to you, but I had never driven a bus before in my life."   

Basic, Basic

By Franklin Coiner, Enchanted Lake:
Dancing Nights is looking better all the time. The older dancers seem to be more aware of what they are doing. The slow, quick, quick or the quick, quick, slow. Either way is just fine and is the second most common movement in all dancing, starting from maybe 8 thousand years ago, so it is relatively new. At least humans were no longer walking on their knuckles.

"The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it,
but in the end, there it is."

Using the "rock step" for the quick, quick and then a slow. Breaking forward on the first quick, it is the Rumba - Mambo basic, and similar to 100 other dances in the Caribbean and environs.This includes the US., Mexico, Central and the northern part of South America, dances like the Calypso, the Beguine, the Son, Guaracha, Montuño, Guajiro etc. Probably another 3 or 4 hundred others throughout the world. Breaking backwards and you have American Swing.

"How High The Moon" by Les Paul and Mary Ford

If you do it just one forward pattern and back one backward pattern, you have a very distinctive movement and the basic of all these dances. You can of course go for three patterns forward and three patterns back which is very danceable, looks nice, feels nice, needs little room but it takes practice by the leader to do this. The ladies on Oahu are just wonderful and can usually follow easily and still look good.

"Til I Waltz Again With You" by Theresa Brewer

The slow step does not really mean anything unless it in conjunction with another movement. The rock step may be done in different ways. The left foot forward and the right back. Or the right foot forward and the left back. Side wise, the left foot left and the right foot right. or left foot right and the right foot left. Or backwards, the left foot back and right forward, or the right foot back and the left forward. There are others which are considered unnatural step patterns. And dance teachers can get quite complicated specially if they have LAGS.

“Dance for yourself. If someone understands, good. If not, no matter.

Keep right on doing it your way and learning all the time.”

Live On Oahu

We have on Oahu some of the best DJs in the Pacific. Not many dancers complain about the music except those the are not interested in LAGS. (the latest and greatest syndrome) which is part and parcel of being a good DJ. Keeping up with the latest. There are DJs in all in our neighbor islands.

"Fortunately in our dance world, there is no time limit to make changes. We can start whenever we want. We can change or stay the same - there are no rules."

For the artists in our midst, live music is the way of the future and they have many fans on Oahu. Just that most of the fans keep it a secret and will not tell us. The music industry, as a whole, continues its slow implosion, revenues from live music festivals continue to break records. That’s in part because many listeners and dancers just like live music.

"I'll Remember You" by Don Ho

Many musicians give splendid performances when they perform in front of an audience, And specially when they know many of the customers personally. This idea contradicts some research in music performance studies, in which the presence of the audience has often treated as a distractor or noise. Not on Oahu.

"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jimmy Borges

Psychological theories suggest that people prefer average faces, voices, and melodies because they’re easier to process. While some studies show that listeners like mundane music, others demonstrate that both listeners and dancers value individuality when it comes to our musicians. And the oldies but goodies are still coming out ahead.

"Morning Dew" by Melveen Leed

Just Keeping Up

The Rail Disaster should be stopped but they cannot because there are millions and millions of dollars in profits more to be made and the Fat Cats want it. The prices of goods and services — whether they are essential such as housing, food, and medical care or luxury items such as tobacco and sports equipment — vary widely across the nation and within states. Yes, night clubs in town will dwindle.

"The personal nature of our blogging on Oahu is what
the reader/dancers find most appealing."

Based on recently released price level data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Wall St. reviewed the most expensive metropolitan areas in each state. Across all metro areas, Urban Honolulu, Hawaii has the highest cost of living, and it is due to get much worse because of the Rail Catastrophe. Charles Djou seemed to be the only one that could see the mess Caldwell was going to make in Honolulu with the Rail Disaster, Meanwhile Danville, Illinois is the least expensive place to live in the country.

"Flying Home" by Lionel Hampton

Our two bottom dance blogs, Extrava Danza and Ritmo Mestizo. will just keep on struggling and all they need is a couple good information contributors. The blogs will be keep on a slow but steady upswing. The totals for all the blogs will still keep comfortably even  and our communication with the reader/dancers will remain strong.

"Molokai Waltz" by Loyal Garner

From Actual Court Records:
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

The Latest

Live Music and Dance is really coming into its own lately and without our help. But some are sooner or later going to realize what a blog can do. But first they have to know what counters do. Then we can find more people willing to share their music and dance experiences with their fellow dancers. And fortunately, most musicians on Oahu are some of the best.

"Dancers may discover for themselves that all they have read and all they

have been told are lies, lies, lies; and each discovery may be another

nail driven into the body on the cross of life.”

Most Live Music groups have Web sites and for sure, none of them having been leading the way in Public Relations. Most have Web sites simply because it the thing to have. There are groups that one never hears of because they would rather remain private, or something. So blogs offer free Public Relations and fortunately we have plenty of blogs on Oahu. And many people are beginning to understand "Blogging," and "Social Media." No, our blogs do not have Advertising.

"Stranger In Paradise, by Jimmy Borges.

We use Blogger which is owned by Google, and they are not going to be pushed around by Microsoft. Of course, Apple is getting to be that way too. Tough. With the forcing of Windows 10 on the hapless computer users, Linux is the only alternative and they have got a whole slew of choices. They are open source which means free and you are not forced into anything like in Windows.

"Maui Waltz" by Loyal Garner

Hooray, it is a beginning for our two way street. Live Music will be featured in this blog in the very near future. Our readers will find it easier to send in opinions which are worth their weight in Gold. That will in turn send the hits even higher. We don't need contributions of money. We need contributions of social dance information and photos to share with our recreational reader/dancers. That is our raison d'etre.

"Laissez Le Bon Temps Rollez"

Night Clubbing

Many people just drop in when they feel like it and that is quite alright. But most of us do not go night clubbing every night. It is usually an occasion and we get dressed up. OK? The better we feel about ourselves, the more fun we will have on the dance floor. Let us put on our favorite outfit, and be sure to wear something that we can actually move in. Stay away from clothes that are too tight or short, and wear comfortable shoes. We could also take into account the dress code at the nightclub; some clubs are more strict than others.

“When we despair, we should remember that all through history

the way of truth and love have always won."

We could go with a group of friends. The more people we are with, the less self-conscious we will feel on the dance floor. In addition, having friends around to talk to will serve as a distraction so that we are not constantly focusing on being watched by strangers. We could hit the club with an upbeat group of friends who we enjoy having fun with and we can actually have our own party within the outer group.

"Young At Heart" by Frank Sinatra

Scope out the scene. Before heading to the dance floor, do a lap around the club to check out what's going on. Take in your surroundings, watch other people dancing, and get a feel for the kind of music that is playing. Getting comfortable with your surroundings will cut some of the nervousness you may feel upon entering the club. If you need to head to the bathroom to touch up your makeup or check your hair, do it before hitting the dance floor so that you're not distracted while dancing.

'This island dancers listen to this music, played with loving fingertips, reflected

in our moving to their music and finding it more enjoyable than ever”