I don't know

All seven blogs will remain for February. Not much live music action but enough for us to keep going and I am still studying the scene. The key to advancement remains the Commenters and the Two Centers. Sooner or later this additional ballroom dancing information will be furnished by people that know what the social dancers want to read. And the hits will go through the roof.

"To watch us dance is to hear our hearts speak." Hopi Indian Saying

This particular blog will specialize in Live Music and if there are not enough hits we will have no choice. "Delete" The ultimate outcome will be decided by the most natural people, the reader/dancers that are fans of Live Music. At present, Extrava Danza is in last place in the blog line up. But really not to worry, one steady Information Contributor and one Guest Author will be have the hits going through the ceiling. It is that I am not very good in the Patience department.

"Perfidia" by Artie Shaw

We have in our entire blogosphere Guest Authors, two men and no women. Another woman would be nice to balance out the gender viewpoint. And since all our blogs cater to the more experience dancers, the Two Center would stand better if they are over fifty. People that have contact with dance classes, dance clubs or dance studios are the best sources of information. And of course something in the Night Club scene. We may have to settle for someone from the "New Dance Club" coming up. In Kapolei?

"Amapola" by Jimmy Dorsey

And is it true, that Trump, now that he has bought the USA, is on his way to make America great again. The US will be the Master Race? No blacks, No Latinos and No Orientals. He bought it and he says that, if you don't like it you can get thee hell outta here. Yes, we know by now that he is a nut case. Hitler was piker compared to this crackpot. This is not the democracy that we use to have. Fortunately there are other better countries that we can go to.

"Maria Elena" by Benny Goodman

“Dancers know that to improve quality of life, to evolve into a better version of ourselves, to pause in recognition of blessings, to dance in gratitude, to give without receiving. are just a few of the things that make life worth living.” 

 

 

Platinum Horseshoe

Platinum Horseshoe now the leading blog with over 100 average hits per day. This is over 3000 hits per month. Night clubbing in West Oahu is going to increase this year for sure. Platinum Horseshoe blog needs at least two steady Guest Authors, to cover the million items developing in the dance scene. The Guest Authors have the most precious commodity in blogging - their own unique viewpoint. No one else has it and they could have the opportunity of sharing it with their fellow dancers.

"Dancers are well aware of the fact that there is no challenge more challenging

than the challenge to improve themselves."

With just a couple more Guest Authors, we can start the process of getting Platinum Horseshoe blog independent. Once independent, I can gradually withdraw and dedicate my time to the other blogs. Eventually I can resign and this blog can make its own rules and probably double their average hits per day in a very short time.

"Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho

It will reduce my time required for blogging. At this moment, I find myself limited in time to handle everything because of my physical disabilities. The added Guest Authors can help in getting more people to comment and also additional information contributors. That in turn will increase the hits. Salsa seems to be one to have more Night Clubs but some people tell me it is already too much.

"Morning Dew" by Melveen Leed

Cholos on the North Shore is doing just fine with Son Caribe, a live band. Just Tacos in Mililani is doing great every Saturday Night. Tacos And More has live music on Thursday evenings but I don't know about dancing. This has all been installed last year. Dot's In Wahiawa has had live bands and dancing for years and that leaves Kapolei wide open for new club.

"Dancers know that wine makes daily living easier, less hurried,

with fewer tensions and more tolerance."

Live Music or DJ

There is some great live music on Oahu but we don't find enough fans to make a few recommendations to our fellow dancers. Most are in general agreement that a great DJ playing the latest is better than a mediocre band any day. However a live band has wonderful energy playing the oldies but goodies that you can't get from recorded music. Especially for the more experienced dancers. More expensive? Of course.

"Social dancers have the principle of competing against themselves. It is about self improvement, about being better than they were the day before."

The bands on Oahu make a more dramatic presentation, with very good musicians, vocalists, and all those instruments. They have unique personalities which the regulars learn to be comfortable with. Their infectious energy can get people on the dance floor after they have taken a minute to reset. That precious break is terrific for everyone. The dancers have a little time to take that sip and exchange a few pleasantries with their friends.

Guests who are not that interested in dance will still enjoy the music and watching the show on the dance floor. Live music is more emotional, which is what the evening is all about. Of course, no matter how great the band, they can't have the repertoire of a DJ, who can keep a huge variety of music on hand and play guests' song requests.

 “Social dancers let the improvement of themselves keep them so busy

that they have no time to criticize others.” 

Clubs in 2017

Disco in Honolulu has its roots from the underground club scene on the Mainland. It brought together people from all walks of life and backgrounds in the late 70s. Some parts of disco became a genre for people to explore sexuality and push the envelope on the dance floor. Disco clubs also acted as an escape from depressing environments for many dancers.

"Dancers know that we cannot climb a mountain by simply jumping to the top.

We must climb a mountain one effort-filled step at a time."

By the late 1970s Honolulu had thriving disco club scenes centered on nightclubs where DJs would play the latest disco hits through powerful PA systems for the dancers. The DJs developed the playing of a smooth mix of long single records non stop to keep people dancing all night long. Some of the most prestigious clubs had elaborate lighting systems that throbbed to the beat of the music.

Disco could be seen as a reaction against both the domination of rock music and the stigmatization of dance music by the counterculture during this period. Also by the entry of a very dominant ballroom dance scene in Night Clubs.  It developed different factions and the young and old divisions surfaced, the under 30 became the norm. The young went for the latest and the Lambada lasted 15 years. More than ten billion dollars were made during this time.

The older more experienced dancers went for the waltz. It has been is a favorite throughout the world for over 300 years. In all of Latin America it is becoming stronger among the older dancers and having a big impact on the entire world. Rumba among the elders is also a standard throughout the world and naturally on Oahu too. Some places had disco dance instructors that taught people how to do popular disco dances such as "Salsa", the "Hustle" and the "Cha-Cha-Cha". There were also disco fashions that disco-goers wore for nights out at their local disco.

This is all changing in this century. In addition to the dance and fashion aspects of the disco club scene, there had been also a hidden drug subculture, particularly for recreational drugs that would enhance the experience of dancing to the loud music and the flashing lights. Whatever the reason it is disappearing. Though most clubs in Honolulu paid the rent from the sales of alcoholic beverages. We have a different developing scene in modern Oahu.

"Wine a little, it will make you feel better."

Nits and Nats

We have blog sites on this island and we have web sites. Everybody knows what a web site is but a blog is a late arriving thing. A blog (a truncation of the expression weblog) is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries ("posts"). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the blog page. Take a good look at the page you are looking at now. Most blog sites are typically much more current than web sites.

“In our dancing world, there’s always something to improve on.

We are never there.”

Most web sites are formed by private organizations and updated periodically by the Webmaster. A blog site is usually set up by one person and then may add many Guest Authors and each one will in effect, have a blog within the main blog. They can get in, write, save, publish and get out all by themselves. You can imagine what would happened if we had four or five Guest Authors each with their own unique viewpoints. The hits would go through the roof and I could resign and let them "inherit" the blog. I intend to have the best blogs go first. The junk blogs will remain mine.

"My Moloka'i Woman" by Willie K

The night clubbers are getting very knowledgeable about dancing. And the Nightclubs are getting bigger dance floors. Latin dances are mostly spot dances that do not travel much on any dance floor. Progressive dances travel around the dance floor according to the line of dance. Wot's Dat? It very simply means traveling in a counter clockwise direction around any dance floor, like in a Fox Trot. There is a slight variation in the spot dance called a "slot dance" such as the West Coast Swing.

"Kahalaopuna" by Amy Hanaialii

We have something similar in American Rumba. The man brings the lady in a cross body lead across him to his left and turns to face her. Then he can do the reverse cross body lead, bringing her across to his right and then turns and faces her. This is a slot. They are going to bring in another new dance this year and you can be sure it will have a slot - and they invented it all by themselves.

"Wine can make any meal an occasion, every table more elegant

and every day more civilized."

Another Derail

Yes, accidents do happen and on the rails throughout the world everyday. It just fell off, and nobody knows why. But we shouldn't worry too much in Honolulu because there are quite a few people making big big buck$ in building our Rail Tragedy. You voted for it and guess who is going to pay for it.

Of course when it happens in Honolulu it is going to fall on a lot of people. Possibly over 100 killed and many more injured. According to the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety Analysis, there are approximately 14,000 train "accidents and incidents" resulting in over 9,000 injuries and over 800 deaths every year. The Law Offices in Honolulu are preparing for their opportunities and you cannot blame them.  The City and County of Honolulu will pay through the nose. And that means you, the lucky Taxpayer.

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Bruddah Iz

No Rail Station needed, "I coulda got the bus right

around the corner where I always got it."

The Federal Transit Authority in Washington is Pro Buses, not for rail. We could have gotten the money easier for the Bi-Articulated Buses than for the crazy Rail Disaster. However they got some arm twisting from a Senate committee and it was politics. Then the voters got conned along with everyone else and now the entire state will be in hock for Billions and Billions of dollars for decades to come. And the Fairy Tale is spreading throughout the Pacific Basin. Many are getting a good laugh about these dumbo dodos in Hawaii.

Live Music

There must be some Live Music somewhere on Oahu that is not a secret club, but so far, the results are that we don't know anything. Up to them, no hu hu. This blog has not hit bottom but it is on its way. It may not be all my fault, but the final decision will be made by the reader/dancers.

"Let us seek truth everywhere; let us cull it wherever we can find
its blossom or its seed. Having found the seed let us scatter it

to the winds of heaven. Whenever it may come, whither so

ever it may blow, it will be able to germinate."

Many places have their own Web sites and they feel they can "ignore" us as well as anyone else. of course they can. And it has been duly noted on our books and we must accept that we can do nothing for them. They think in terms of "instead of" whatever they have to promote their dance group. They have not conceived the idea that blogs are an "addition to" whatever they have. That is the name of the game and we are in the process of making the evolution so that every dancer on this island can partake of the many benefits.

Wasabi- oldies but goodies

West Oahu can be no other path for this blog for the immediate future and this includes the North Shore.  Lucky we are getting some good kokua from some in the West. There are people that realize it, blogging is ten times more effective than flyers and newsletters. Our readers will see, not only the poster with the coming attraction but also what happened at the function - notes and photos. The reader/dancers get to know that everyone attending was having a ball. The name of the game?

“Dancers know that if they let the improvement of themselves keep them busy,

they will have no time to criticize others.”

Drinking in Night Clubs

Dancers have, over the years, developed a "bad" reputation in Night Clubs on Oahu as non drinkers. The clubs make their money to pay the expenses on selling liquor. Of course, over time there are more dancers that are drinking but still not much which is better way of drinking than too much. Fortunately too, that the juice bars in night clubs are becoming prominent and the selling of chopstick snacks or pupus.

"Every time we dance we turn into a better version of ourselves."

On Oahu it all comes down to the fact that dancers are primarily there to hear good music and then move to it the way they wish. So while the dancer's first try of any alcohol should be slow, after they’ve gotten to know a few of the drinks available, they can play around a little and find out what they like best. Beer has the least amount of alcohol, with wine next and hard liquor with the highest. Just learn to pace yourself.

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Bruddah Iz

You’ll certainly hear a lot of things from a lot of people (“experts” or otherwise) about what is the best way to drink in a night club, and how much you need to spend. Don’t listen to any of those people. Ultimately, drink what you’d like and how you’d like to drink it. These are guidelines, not rules. So go to any place where you can have fun and order whatever you damn well please and enjoy yourself.

"Dancers believe that why push your way through life when you can dance through it."

Question Mark?

There seems to be several very good blogs on Live Music on Oahu. So perhaps, ours is just diluting the readership too much. They are easy to find and though they don't have counters I believe they are not out of the single digit average per day hits. With ten average hits per day you have about 300 readers per month, not bad.

"Excellent blogs don't believe in excellence -

only in constant improvement and constant change."

What is a dance blog? At its heart, our blogging is about sharing our knowledge and our reader's knowledge with our dance world. Choosing a topic that we are passionate about makes the process of having a successful blog so much easier. We will develop Commenters (at end of each blog), Information Contributors (emailed dance info to share) and the Guest Authors (their own blog within the blog.) The problem is that no one knows about this.

The correct URL for Dancing in the Dark is
http://ewaplain.blogspot.com/

I will pull the levers back on this blog and move some of information into the Dancing Night blog which covers night clubbing, Live or DJ. I can only test, what do I know? And neither does anyone else. By the end of February we should know something. Perhaps it is better to have only six blogs. I personally believe in Dancing Nights as solid, specially when we get Richie Fun back in doing his good thing.

"Nobody is perfect, but we can try to make our memories, good ones." 

Live Music in the Outskirts

Gradually it is coming to be. Tacos and More in Waianae had dancing at one time but not enough dancers interested. But of course they were limited in their advertising and they had no knowledge of our blogs. Now it is live music but only for listeners which is still good. Then more residents in West Oahu are realizing that Rapid Transit was not a misnomer, it was a deliberate lie. They are realizing it may be better attending closer by. Most people attending these new places will be residents of West Oahu. They just don't have go to town, too much humbug.

"The journey between what we once were and what we are now

becoming is where the dance of life really takes place."

Tacos and More in Waianae

I suppose it will be listener music first with perhaps more singles with a guitar. Tough, pianos are hard to carry. This is already starting on the Waianae Coast and the North Shore. Many will not be well known in the beginning but they will rapidly attain celebrity status.

"Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho

Then somewhere along the line, there may be the introduction of the first Mariachi group in some Latin restaurant on the Waianae Coast or the North Shore. Start with two guitars and a back up computer sound. Later they could add a violin and the Mariachi sound would definitely be there. Then add a trumpet and that would clinch it, you would have dance music. Little known is the fact that Mariachis can play some of the best Rumba Boleros in existence. Not to mention some of the best Latin Waltzes that have ever been danced to in the entire World.

"El Reloj" por Luis Miguel

Once they have a good size dance floor the local bars can get small bands and there are plenty of dancers now and they would get more. Cholos Homestyle Mexican on the North Shore had Salsa dancing but we don't know if they still have it. Anyone can let us know and we will print it.

"Señor Bolero" by José Feliciano

Of course, the Central Valley is developing very nicely. Wahiawa Ballroom Dance Club has done a terrific job in teaching the basics of social dancing to the residents. They have many good dancers at present and they make more every day. There has to be overflow to the rest of Central Valley. There is Dot's in Wahiawa, with a nice mix of good dance music with a live band. And Just Tacos in Mililani with Salsa dancing and a DJ. More coming? You'd better believe it.

"Dancers know that they could give up wine drinking, but they are not quitters."

The Pause that refreshes

by Maile Nakamura, Nanakuli.
Mozart a long time ago proclaimed that the silence or absence of a note was just as important as the note itself. In the course of time we have come to the conclusion that the pause between tunes is one of the most appreciated pauses in dancing to Live Music. And it has come very natural to the scene from its very beginning. Most dancers are social dancers and that does not mean dancing, dancing and more dancing with no time to socialize.

"Dancers may think that music is not to hear but to feel."

After the band plays their good piece, the dancers go to their respective seating places. They have time for a nip or two on their drinks, have a few social comments with their friends and they are ready when the next piece starts. A Classic smooth sexy Rumba with a smooth sexy rhythm, wow. Now they want to enjoy moving to this great classic.  When it ends they have time to mull it over when they go back to their seats. This does not happen always. Why?

The entire song was appreciated from every memory from way back. The tune may even remain in the dancer's mind for the next day. And it may not matter if it was danced in a Fox Trot by somebody else. The dancers were enjoying the movement to this particular music and that is what counts. Now may I say something about that great piece they just played? It was terrific.

"Music is a world within itself, with a language that we all learn to understand."

Night Club Dancing.

By John Duarte, Pearlridge.

We all have seen him, that guy that stands out in a good night club. he moves across the dance floor - forward, backwards, side to side, circling to the left, circling to the right - with an energy that impresses the whole room. All simple basic moves that have been done for ages, the Even Step, the Rock Step and the Chassé. Moves that are made in thousands of dances and now he is doing them to this/his music - that only he can hear. It is da moosic!
 

"A lot of people have for too long insisted on that thin wall between
dance studio and night club dancing. It is crumbling."

He can move his head any way he wishes, his shoulders moving too. His arms can move like a hula dancer if he wants and when he wants. Hips can move only a fraction of an inch but he allows them to carry his waist and upper legs with the movement. The feet are ordinary feet moves in the particular dance. This may also be referred to as "street dance."

"Paniolo Country" by Melveen Leed

A street dance is a dance style that evolves outside dance studios in any available open space such as streets, dance parties, block parties, parks, school yards, raves, and nightclubs. The term is used to describe vernacular dances, mostly for the young in urban context as much plainer and basic than American or International styles taught in formal studios. They may be improvisational and social in nature, encouraging interaction and contact with spectators and other dancers.

"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jimmy Borges

There are fewer street dancers nowadays and most are now in the process of melding into the American style of partner dance. They are keeping it more basic and easier for a wider group of possible dancers and being preferred by the older more experienced dancers. Together they represent over 30.000 social dancers on the Island of Oahu. Yes, we are going to get more Night Clubs specially in the Waianae Coast, Kapolei, the Central Valley and the North Shore. And with a good size dance floor. More social dance clubs? You'd better believe it. The only negative is the prices are going to go up to pay for the Rail Disaster.

"Good Dancers don't speak evil of someone if they don't know for certain,

and if they do know, they ask themselves, why am I telling it?"

Live Music? Where?

By Jonathan Sugimoto, Waikele

Whether you prefer the quiet, laid back sound of waves crashing and guitar picking – or the thrill of a crowded, blaring concert environment – when it comes to the local nightlife and music scenes, Honolulu Downtown and Waikiki still has got you covered. By venturing from the beach to the downtown area you can indulge in a variety of atmospheres.

"Dancers know that one of the most destructive forces in our dance
world is gossip and those who spread it."

Live music clubs in Honolulu vary in size and style, some maintaining the basement or garage feel that has birthed so many of rock & roll's most famed bands, while others revel in the posh and sophisticated décor of piano lounges. Many of the newer clubs have good sized dance floors. And the Bachata - Salsa clubs have a little Cha Cha Cha and a Merengue now and then. We can expect a full fledged Latin Club in West Oahu.

"E Ku'u Morning Dew" by Willie K

There are always special appearances and weekly entertainment at local bars, restaurants, theaters, and clubs. Then there are seasonal concert series offered throughout the year. Finding something special in Honolulu has never been easier. From sultry jazz dens to head-banging metal clubs, Honolulu has no shortage of havens for live music lovers. When the sun goes down in Honolulu, the fun has just begun.

"Dancing in the Street" by Nohelani Cypriano

Thanks to this lively nightlife, many new places are in the planning stages in West Oahu for more enjoyment after dark. The Waianae Coast, the Central Valley for sure and the Latin Club would be perfect in Kapolei. The fans on Oahu find the live music scene as unpredictable as ever. If we can get the news we will print it right here.

"Social dancing is not just a dance, it is magical.

It is something that sets you free."