Let's Dance

By Benjamin Murakami, Palolo Valley

If you are young enough (preschool) you can dance without music, or if you are in one of the disciplines for dancing where the music is not required. Many of the young, teens and early twenties, need a drum beat to give the dance some rhythm and they do very well with it.

"The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.

Fads come and go with the drum beats. But for the ordinary everyday social dancers, their entire dance world needs the music first. And it so happens that it is some of the most beautiful music the world has ever created. Then they can dance to it and move to the music. Waltz, Rumba, Samba, Cha Cha Cha, Salsa, Tango etc.

And it is done in the way they feel it and that is all that is needed. It is not according to any of the million or so advisors on dancing out there will point out the "correct" way. That is where the first great separation has come in dance. The "correct" styling - once anyone crosses over into that line, it is something else. But if they are in that game then they are playing by different rules and it could be appropriate to admire those that are good at it.

"The Wonderful World Of The Young" by Andy Williams

Most people can tell the good dancers in any dance in the Night clubs or social dances, simply because the dancers are able to allow the body to move to the music the way it wants to. They can hold their hands out at a 46 degree angle or 47 degree angle, and not necessarily 45 degree angle and look just fine with it because the rhythm is fundamental. Cloning was never a goal.

The freedom to dance in the accepted social style is most evident in the small night club dances and the small dance groups throughout the islands. Advice? Copying? Naturally and West Oahu seems to be in the forefront of this action in spite of the Rail Catastrophe. At this moment we just need the new night clubs that are coming and the New Dance Clubs that will be forming. And away we go.

"This Nearly Was Mine." by Victor Silvester

No one knows this better than the older dance teachers in American style of dance. They have seen the changes in the last years. And most of the social dancers have been with their fellow dance teachers, good and bad, mostly with very good results.

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

But those changes have been nothing like the arrival of the International style about 40 years ago. At one time there was a social dance club in Hawaii with close to three thousand members. International has insisted that the distinction should be made and I think we should agree with them on that. We are different.

Ben