A Social Study

By Ralph Wilson, Tampa, Florida

The Tampa Dance News.

 

Looking over the dance clubs in this part of the State we can see the similarity of how they are run. Most people are reluctant to run for office so they sometimes get people that acquiesce to anything and they become the De Jure government.

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can do - start to do it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."

The De Facto government remains in the clique of gossipers in the club with a basis of a "goat social structure," because there are not enough men to go around. At any rate, these groups can be deadly for the clubs and the membership. Fortunately many clubs are shaping up for the better.

   "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones

The failure of our leadership, the smallness of our politics, the ease with which we are distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our preference for scoring cheap political points instead of rolling up our sleeves and building a working consensus to tackle our big problems have been all there.

We have the opportunity today to face the challenges of this millennium together as dancers and not to quibble about who belongs to what club or does what discipline. We must learn to disagree without being disagreeable and that it is possible to compromise without compromising your principles. We should be willing to listen to each other and learn to assume the best of people instead of the worst.

"Where Did Our Love Go?" by the Supremes

At a time when a world is dancing more, more new clubs will be coming in and many of our local clubs will be losing members. Some start off fast and then begin to get infiltrated with the cliques and taper off. In the attempt to seem democratic they defeat their own purposes and few will do anything for the club.

Everything is clear and the decision as to which part the member would like to be in, should be up to the member and we should respect it. The results should make everyone happy. There could be a maximum size which gives the greatest efficiency. The independent club at about 400 seems more like it but we don't know for sure. All volunteer officers, with only a few perks open and everything above board including any subsidies.

And with all the clubs being friends, the opportunity is there for these clubs to cooperate for any really big occasion. The location is not that important, and it does not have to be concentrated in the centers of big cities. ****

 

 

Da Latest

Well, I watch the stats like a hawk. Wherever I see an opportunity I take it. So it has been for this month. First I deleted The Eastside blog, the old blog rules, no hits, no use. The total hits dropped naturally but in a few days regained ground and more.

From the days when we did not have enough: "All deep things are song. It seems somehow
the very central essence of us is song; as if all the rest were but wrapping and hulls!
~Thomas Carlyle
 

Then Sea Country had to go, the reader/dancers rule, and it was deleted last week. The total hits dropped again, naturally but are coming back up, but slower. Now at the end of the month I will delete Central Valley blog. And I expect to get the totals back up in a week or so. I will publish the stats for the end of the month on Tuesday, the first, in the Blogging Hawaii blog.

That will leave us six blogs, with two looking good for independence, Town Dancer and Oahu West. I must get rid of the best ones. The junk blogs will remain mine. Now apparently I have to double my efforts to get a Guest Author in the any of the blogs. From experience, it will surely make a big difference in the hits. If I make the extra effort for a blog, you can be sure that Oahu West will be closing up to Town Dancer by Christmas.

"Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" by Rod Stewart

The Guest Author (that most important factor) can perhaps get us more information from other clubs. I am specifically looking for dance organizations that do not have a Web site. Those are the ones that really need us and we can be of some help. And it won't cost you a cent, this is a blog.

I am making some good contact with Dream To Dance Studio, (even if they have a Web site.) and that may turn out to be a dilly. I will try another studio in the West. Perhaps Woodson Dance Academy or Nix Dance Academy.

So who loses? This is a win-win situation. We are for the dancers and what club they belong to is immaterial, and if the club gets free Public Relations, we don't mind. The reader/dancers are having fun dancing and not harming anyone. We intend to write them up and post the photos of everyone having fun. That's it. Hopefully more people will understand the dance blogging principle that is evolving on this island for the good of all the dancers.

"Yesterday" by the Beatles

And the more people we get involved, the better it will be for all. The solution for Social Media is the different opinions and the different viewpoints. We must avoid S.O.S. So it is taking time but the reader/dancers will eventually know that they are the important ones.

 

Times They Are Changing

What an experience, to dance a Cha Cha Cha to the original, Moonglow, even if it was not Da Reel Latin, just because we loved the music. But of course this only for the ultimate Recreational dancers. Others are not able to understand this kind of dancing. We dance the way we want to dance and not the way others think we should dance. We would like to dance what we want to dance to the best music available and our way.

"Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies."

But at the turn of this century, we heard of the latest from the powers that be, coming to Waikiki. The ones that rule and you were required to listen. We were talking big bucks here. The goal was a definite "over $100" ticket. They were in control, you had nothing to say about it.

What you wanted was of no consequence, it is only what they wanted. Tough. A decade ago I even asked one of the experts and he would elevate his jaw just a little and tell me, "It's not like these people have no choice, they have two choices - they can take it or leave it." And his eyelids may have been at half mast.

So how do you like them potatoes?

"When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge

"You are just a mover to music." I have been accused of being that by a very good dancer that knows at least half of the 1000 or so documented moves in Salsa. Another told me a few years back, that he tried to learn a new move every week. That's 52 per year, Wow. Perhaps we are getting closer to the real definition of dancer. "Their definition."

We hope everyone understands the big divisions that have been occurring in ballroom dancing in Hawaii. And specially the "Spectator" division which had been growing rapidly. They are nice people, they just don't dance. And everyone seems to be opening their eyes whether they agree with me or not.

Street Dancing

By Marian Nguyen, Pearl City

The kids are dancing but it is a curious type and they say that everyone does their own thing. If they are enjoying the movement to music that should be it. However, everyone should try to expand their knowledge of the dancing field, just for fun.

 "Don’t wait. The time will never be just right."

The information should make it possible for a determined couple to teach themselves partner dancing without a teacher. But you must have the Music. Yes, it is the music, not so much the DJs music or the Band's music, but your favorite music. That makes a big difference that the music producers are not fully aware of except for the ones with the "Oldies but Goodies." They understand perfectly.

"Dancing In The Street" by Martha & the Vandellas

In Waikiki

It would also be possible for a group of interested people, without a teacher, to successfully form their own dance club, and teach themselves. Some groups already use DVD lessons just to get ideas for new material and they practice with each other.  This is real social street dancing and can evolve into Public Social dancing instead of the Private kind we have cultivated for so long. Da Reel Teeng!

Blogger's Law No 28C:

It is a simple task to make things complex.

It is a complex task to make things simple.

People know the alphabet before they try to become proficient keyboard typists. Practice, not learning, is what makes them typists. The information that is available would teach the alphabet of dancing; practice is needed to become proficient dancers.

Do not worry if you seem to have no rhythm or coordination in the beginning; these will come with practice. And practice is not some kind of routine that must be done a certain way. Just go out and dance your heart out. Do not worry about stepping on each other's feet; your will learn soon enough.

Sometimes you will find it possible to dance several kinds of ballroom dancing to a single piece of music. In the case of waltz, only one. With another kind of music only one or two kinds of ballroom dancing might work. But the leader, can interpret the music in his own way. Most ladies become very good and can follow just about anything. Better dancers than men? Of course. ****

Street Dancing

By Marian Nguyen, Pearl City

The kids are dancing but it is a curious type and they say that everyone does their own thing. If they are enjoying the movement to music that should be it. However, everyone should try to expand their knowledge of the dancing field, just for fun.

 "Don’t wait. The time will never be just right."

The information should make it possible for a determined couple to teach themselves partner dancing without a teacher. But you must have the Music. Yes, it is the music, not so much the DJs music or the Band's music, but your favorite music. That makes a big difference that the music producers are not fully aware of except for the ones with the "Oldies but Goodies." They understand perfectly.

"Dancing In The Street" by Martha & the Vandellas

In Waikiki

It would also be possible for a group of interested people, without a teacher, to successfully form their own dance club, and teach themselves. Some groups already use DVD lessons just to get ideas for new material and they practice with each other.  This is real social street dancing and can evolve into Public Social dancing instead of the Private kind we have cultivated for so long. Da Reel Teeng!

Blogger's Law No 28C:

It is a simple task to make things complex.

It is a complex task to make things simple.

People know the alphabet before they try to become proficient keyboard typists. Practice, not learning, is what makes them typists. The information that is available would teach the alphabet of dancing; practice is needed to become proficient dancers.

Do not worry if you seem to have no rhythm or coordination in the beginning; these will come with practice. And practice is not some kind of routine that must be done a certain way. Just go out and dance your heart out. Do not worry about stepping on each other's feet; your will learn soon enough.

Sometimes you will find it possible to dance several kinds of ballroom dancing to a single piece of music. In the case of waltz, only one. With another kind of music only one or two kinds of ballroom dancing might work. But the leader, can interpret the music in his own way. Most ladies become very good and can follow just about anything. Better dancers than men? Of course. ****

Review

Town Dancer blog still rolling along in front of all the blogs, just not that much in front anymore. Many hits are missing their news on Blackpool by Calvin Ota and Debra.

"The discovery of song and the creation of musical instruments both owed their

origin to a human impulse 'to move' which lies much deeper than conscious
intention: the need for rhythm in life … the need is a deep one,
transcending thought,  and disregarded at our peril."

This was just about the best and most complete information we have ever had on Blackpool. Be patient, next year may be in the works too.  Of course, they both have something to say, they are just too busy.

For anyone that gets around the Islands we highly recommend using Blogging Hawaii blog. Not much contact yet but we just need that Guest Author. It can be an enjoyable experience for all concerned.

"Spirit In the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum

Photo on the right from the Town Dancer blog sent by Calvin Ota a few years ago. The world's largest, most prestigious International Style Festival.

"You Really Got Me" by the Kinks

We are not club centric, we are reader/dancer centric. So our priorities are the reader/dancers. If it coincides with the club intent it is fine for all of us. Otherwise we got "trouble in Middle City and it doesn't rhyme with pool." Hopefully that Guest Author is right around the corner. I don't care who it is, but their opinion is very valuable.

The getting of photos is becoming easier with some help from our fellow dancers and getting their points of view. I am taking two extra cameras and hope I can get some of the "deluxe" pics with five or six people in, plus first names. Photos have value, and the law of supply and demand applies here too. "One photo is worth a thousand words." Three hundred million photos in Facebook are worth ?? You guessed it!

Q: Where do moths dance?   A: Why at the Moth Ball, of course!

Our total rearrangement is getting off to a slow start but should be rolling by October 15th. The hits on all the blogs are holding their total levels. A few regular contributors and a one Guest Author and the hits will go through the roof. If we are missing anyone, please let us know. We want to help all dance organizations but they must accept that we are not paparazzi, we are not taking anything from anybody.

Pub's Side Note: Sixty percent of my contemporaries are gone. Many more have profound mental or physical damage and are trapped in a tragic and minimal existence. I see it in my regular visits to the VA and the marks of decay are all too visible. I quit driving and saved money. I ride the bicycle less, because I get careless. My reactions are a little slower, names more frequently elude me, and my energies must be husbanded, but even so, at times, I may feel full of energy - and life is not at all “old.” Happy Dancing.

Bis and Bat

Social media by nature is useless if only one person uses it (because who are you being social with?). We are just beginning to understand it. Most of our readers are still readers of Newsletters and Web sites and even some Newspapers. This is much different and it will take awhile.

"Nothing ever built arose to touch the skies unless some person dreamed that it should, some person believed that it could and some person willed that it must."

Not many in town have understood it but there seems to be an under current of belief in the West. Though there are many that still believe we are paparazzi, and we drop those like a hot potato. We will concentrate on those that we can help.

There are alternative ways of displaying your e-mail address while making it hard for spambots to harvest it. Most robot searches are made to spot @ and of course the .com - 99% of the time they have a valid email address. If you must provide contact information, try writing it out in creative ways such as mine, nikaawa at outlook dot com. An even better method is using an image picture of your e-mail address.

"Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin

What does the average reader want?

First, of course is any information that may help in our understanding of dancing. And there is no way that one person can do that. Two? of course not. There are too many different view points out there and we can be lucky if we get a few to share in our publications.

Second, as social media, they would like to know what is happening in our dance world. It is very diverse. Your viewpoint on the same function from one corner of the ballroom is much different than the view point from the opposite corner of the dance floor.

Blog covering Ewa -Ewa Beach and all the way to Makaha.

Third, of course is the photos. And by that we mean "few" not thousands. And a photo taken by one person is his/her viewpoint. Three cameras out there and three different sets of pictures and every occasion is a different thing. The entire enchilada is social media, and blogging, though moving in that direction, is not there yet.

Bis and Bat

Social media by nature is useless if only one person uses it (because who are you being social with?). We are just beginning to understand it. Most of our readers are still readers of Newsletters and Web sites and even some Newspapers. This is much different and it will take awhile.

"Nothing ever built arose to touch the skies unless some person dreamed that it should, some person believed that it could and some person willed that it must."

Not many in town have understood it but there seems to be an under current of belief in the West. Though there are many that still believe we are paparazzi, and we drop those like a hot potato. We will concentrate on those that we can help.

There are alternative ways of displaying your e-mail address while making it hard for spambots to harvest it. Most robot searches are made to spot @ and of course the .com - 99% of the time they have a valid email address. If you must provide contact information, try writing it out in creative ways such as mine, nikaawa at outlook dot com. An even better method is using an image picture of your e-mail address.

"Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin

What does the average reader want?

First, of course is any information that may help in our understanding of dancing. And there is no way that one person can do that. Two? of course not. There are too many different view points out there and we can be lucky if we get a few to share in our publications.

Second, as social media, they would like to know what is happening in our dance world. It is very diverse. Your viewpoint on the same function from one corner of the ballroom is much different than the view point from the opposite corner of the dance floor.

Blog covering Ewa -Ewa Beach and all the way to Makaha.

Third, of course is the photos. And by that we mean "few" not thousands. And a photo taken by one person is his/her viewpoint. Three cameras out there and three different sets of pictures and every occasion is a different thing. The entire enchilada is social media, and blogging, though moving in that direction, is not there yet.

From Pearlridge Chapter

Can you include these two items in the next blog.
Thank you Pepe!      Karen
I changed the registration flyer for Pearlridge's next class to a jpg file.

Looks like we have the beginning of a good Two-Center

Pub's Side Note: Check out Frank's blogs for those oldies but goodies photos at the HBDA functions. You can get nostalgic even if you weren't there, "for the good times."

From Pearlridge Chapter

Can you include these two items in the next blog.
Thank you Pepe!      Karen
I changed the registration flyer for Pearlridge's next class to a jpg file.

Looks like we have the beginning of a good Two-Center

Pub's Side Note: Check out Frank's blogs for those oldies but goodies photos at the HBDA functions. You can get nostalgic even if you weren't there, "for the good times."

El Paso, Texas Modernizes

A new chapter in the history of El Paso's public transportation system was written this year. After seven years of planning and looking for funding, city officials broke ground on El Paso's new $141.6 million Bus Rapid Transit System. A hellava lot less than the projected new estimates on the Rail Disaster in Honolulu of Eight Billion dollars. El Paso is just a little smaller than Honolulu.

 "Those who lie for you, will also lie against you."

Eighty percent of the funding for the rapid-transit system, also known as Sun Metro Brio, was from the federal government (the Federal Transit Authority is pro-buses) and the rest from the city. Construction of the system began and the first Sun Metro Director, Jay Banasiak said the new bus system would be very similar to a light-rail transit system. "Except that it's not on rail, it's on wheels."

Articulated buses. All those cars missing from right in front of the buses.
Drivers are "sitting" comfortable inside the bus.

The rapid-transit system is faster and more comfortable than a regular fixed route; people are able to board quicker and the articulated buses are able to get through traffic faster than regular buses. The buses have three doors, and people buy their tickets at small boarding stations. You get on and sit down, you don't worry about trying to pay the bus fare at the front to the bus.

Everything is made to go quicker The boarding stations are located less than a mile apart. All buses and stations will be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Another feature will be the controlled traffic signals. As the bus is approaching an intersection, the new system is able to hold the green light longer so the bus does not get stuck in traffic.

Later on as passenger traffic increases, there will be bi-articulated buses (two tandems.) The idea is to encourage more people to use the public transportation system. They hope to get people out of their cars and onto the rapid-transit system but it cannot be done running cattle cars as the Present Rail Party runs it in Honolulu.

They also hope that some of the stations will spur economic development along the main corridors, Because the system will operate similar to a rail system and the stations will be permanent, business owners are encouraged to establish or expand their businesses along the corridor. None of that would have to be done in Honolulu, and we "couda been a contendah" among the best again.

Dancing in West Oahu

By Franciso De La Torre, Aiea
As an old and decrepit Latino that I am, I can still enjoy a good Cha Cha Cha. I am also very happy to see the new interest in music and dancing in the Kapolei area and up the Waianae Coast.

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

Forty some years ago when ballroom dancing began to lose some fans, the English style of dancing gave the studios a badly needed lift, throughout the nation. Ten new styles of dances and a vast network of prestigious competition possibilities. At first the American Style was not abandoned or discredited in any way.

"Vaya Con Dios" By Les Paul and Mary Ford

Most studios insisted on two full years of American style and the passing of at least the first half Silver American before students considered crossing over to the International (the new name for the English). In this fashion they inadvertently placed the International style at a higher level than American style.

Even the early televised competitions featured both styles including some Pro-Am finalists. Up until the late '80s, most studios had a place for both styles and used them hand in hand to their great mutual benefit. Duriing the nineties it phased into a completely different scenario.

"Kiss of Fire" by Georgia Gibbs

Many teachers found they could make a name for themselves via the international competitions without having to rely on the backing from big chain studios. New clubs and studios sprouted up that only featured one style. On Oahu, the term "Junk Dancer" emerged out of nowhere.

The competitions only televised one style and students want to study that one style they see on TV. Even today many people really believe there is only one valid style and those "other styles," - barely mentionable - akin to silly folk dancing ready for extinction. Or are they?

"Maria Elena" by Placido Domingo

The Internationals try to recognize the difference in ordinary ballroom from the Latin, in the environment, time space between both divisions and the costumed differences. However, the music producers are not that aware and making the music less Latin and more European, and it has been losing its unique quality as "Latin."

Our first Micro that is going good. Just need a few

willing to share four lines of their own.

Amid all the competition hype, and as hard of hearing as I am, I can clearly hear the sound of distant congas drumming louder and louder, the comparsas, the conjuntos and the spirit of the Hispanic people rising up and getting ready to reclaim their beloved national music and dance. There is a lot more to Latin music and dance than the Caribbean. ****

"Siboney" By Placido Domingo

One of the most important figures in Cuban popular music was Ernesto Lecuona, the composer of the classic 'Siboney'. Although lots of artists have recorded this tune, it really needs a big voice for full effect, so the version by tenor Placido Domingo is a terrific change of pace.

Dancing in West Oahu

By Franciso De La Torre, Aiea
As an old and decrepit Latino that I am, I can still enjoy a good Cha Cha Cha. I am also very happy to see the new interest in music and dancing in the Kapolei area and up the Waianae Coast.

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

Forty some years ago when ballroom dancing began to lose some fans, the English style of dancing gave the studios a badly needed lift, throughout the nation. Ten new styles of dances and a vast network of prestigious competition possibilities. At first the American Style was not abandoned or discredited in any way.

"Vaya Con Dios" By Les Paul and Mary Ford

Most studios insisted on two full years of American style and the passing of at least the first half Silver American before students considered crossing over to the International (the new name for the English). In this fashion they inadvertently placed the International style at a higher level than American style.

Even the early televised competitions featured both styles including some Pro-Am finalists. Up until the late '80s, most studios had a place for both styles and used them hand in hand to their great mutual benefit. Duriing the nineties it phased into a completely different scenario.

"Kiss of Fire" by Georgia Gibbs

Many teachers found they could make a name for themselves via the international competitions without having to rely on the backing from big chain studios. New clubs and studios sprouted up that only featured one style. On Oahu, the term "Junk Dancer" emerged out of nowhere.

The competitions only televised one style and students want to study that one style they see on TV. Even today many people really believe there is only one valid style and those "other styles," - barely mentionable - akin to silly folk dancing ready for extinction. Or are they?

"Maria Elena" by Placido Domingo

The Internationals try to recognize the difference in ordinary ballroom from the Latin, in the environment, time space between both divisions and the costumed differences. However, the music producers are not that aware and making the music less Latin and more European, and it has been losing its unique quality as "Latin."

Our first Micro that is going good. Just need a few

willing to share four lines of their own.

Amid all the competition hype, and as hard of hearing as I am, I can clearly hear the sound of distant congas drumming louder and louder, the comparsas, the conjuntos and the spirit of the Hispanic people rising up and getting ready to reclaim their beloved national music and dance. There is a lot more to Latin music and dance than the Caribbean. ****

"Siboney" By Placido Domingo

One of the most important figures in Cuban popular music was Ernesto Lecuona, the composer of the classic 'Siboney'. Although lots of artists have recorded this tune, it really needs a big voice for full effect, so the version by tenor Placido Domingo is a terrific change of pace.