Acceptance

By Lester Chung, Kalihi Valley:

The new year is starting very nice for the entire dance scene on Oahu. We don't know much yet about the neighbor islands but we will. We are gradually accepting the difference in our dancing practices and preferences. We will have less hu hu and more kokua.

"Our dancing is an amazing thing but we will not get to what we want by wishing for it.

We must plan and work for it."

The three big divisions on Oahu are the Social, the Exhibition and the Competition dancers. Some dancers phase very easily from one to another because the three forms can be considered siblings, Yes they are related by birth and yes, siblings are known to fight, but they can also be mutually supportive. This will be accepted also in the new dance groups forming in West Oahu.

"Hanalei Moon" by Melveen Leed

For most of us, social ballroom dance forms are important. It refers to traditional partnered dance forms which are done by a couple, often in the embrace of closed dance position. The earliest dance forms ever described in detail were partnered social dances. Many of today's performative dance forms, including ballet and jazz dance, evolved from social dance forms that came first.

All three forms are valid, each enjoyed by their adherents for good reasons. But it's helpful to know how and why they differ from each other. Especially that now Town Dancer blog seems to have it's reader/dancers leaning more towards the Exhibition and Competition divisions both as participants and as spectators.

"Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho

The three worlds of ballroom dance share the same historical roots, similar step vocabulary and music and it is sometimes essential to know the differences. In spite of the Rootzi Tootzis, ballroom dance has become an overall umbrella term, covering all three forms. Hopefully we will have less differentiation as to social class distinction. And not too many divisions in the "Social" group of dances.