The Last?

We have come a long ways. From just jiggling to a beat. 8000 years ago, to the dancing we do today. Somewhere along the line all over the earth, these savages learn to accent one count and the other was less. The Two Count measure. Then some dummies went more and developed the three count, accenting the one. Some may have gone to six counts but that is hazy. And they could go forward, walking, or backward or sideways. They could even turn to the left or right. So when music began they could have a little more fun moving to the music in many ways. 

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Bruddah Iz

At any rate, this blog will be the last for a while and wait for the Trump Pandemic to be over. There is possibility of January the first and we can start the year of right. I am now 95 and as I approach the ending chapter of life I have met two kinds of people. The ones that have built me up, (bless their souls) and the ones who tried to tear me down. But in the end, I want to thank them both.

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God,

which is why we call it the present.”

 

Moving Very Slowly

The Blogs are staying pretty stable with few average hits per day. There are bunches of hits a couple times per month from the search engines which keep these blogs a float. I have cut down to a blog every other day. And it may go to a blog every two days, depending on the feedback. Just one or two information contributors would do wonders. Photos at this moment are the most important part of our feedback. Oahu Dancer blog will have it's last posting for a while on this coming Sunday. Hopefully we can start the new year with it again.

 

Blogs are whatever we make them. Exact definitions of a "blog" is a fool's errand.

 

Dancing on the Internet for us, seems to be mostly in Facebook, in two groups. Dance Blogs and Dancers. And many of the reader/dancers read in both group posts. Most comes in the "to whom it may concern" category but it does get quite friendly because most of the readers know each other. And then, lucky for us, we are beginning to get some photos of our fellow dancers. Old pictures but remembrances of the "Good Times." So we have a lot reader/dancers on Oahu and we can sure share photos and dance information to keep us going until we can dance again.

 

"Maui Waltz" by Loyal Garner

The announcement of a coming function is waiting but it may not be until Thanksgiving. Some thing will be planned. It will be restricted to a few people if we have to permit 50 square feet per person. But some already recognize that two people that live together can count as one. Masks, of course and temperatures taken not to exceed 104 degrees and a tube of hand sanitizer for each person. Getting complicated yes, we wont be out of it for awhile. But the real meat and potatoes for blogging is the description of what happened, after the fact, at the function together with photos and we spread the word.

"Blogging Writers: We dream. We write. We believe, therefore We are."

The Trump Pandemic

We were going pretty good in Hawaii until about a month ago and we had few deaths only on Oahu and Maui. Then the Trumpanzees began to invade the neighbor islands and set us back some. Then on Oahu and Maui they forced many establishments to open too soon and too much. As of today, in the US,  Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York are the top states. Hawaii was among them but not anymore. We seem to be holding on and there are less Trumpanzees with "rights," like not wearing masks and no respect for social distance. Keep away from those people. And the schools are still pending.

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style." ~ Maya Angelou:

Most of us are following the government recommendations. We do stay home and leave our residences within the City when traveling for Essential Activities, or to operate or patronize an Essential Businesses. We do not attend public or private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a single household/living unit. Most places keep them under five, unless specifically allowed as an Essential Businesses. Guests or social gatherings are not planned at this time. We can have hopes of a Thanksgiving Dance. Maybe?

"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jimmy Borges

 

Most of us in our dance world is running around with not much information to go on. We can all share a little with Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook. Then of course we have the dance blogs. Average hits per day are way down, We need ordinary photos of "our people" and a few opinions. Just email them in and I will post on the first blog coming up. I am suspending Oahu Dancers at the end of this month. Maybe back, in January to jump start the New Year. Stay Safe and we will dance again.

 "The best quotes of all time are the ones that resonate with people in a way that the world will never forget them. They’re the kind of wisdom that smacks you in the face and encourages you to be all you can be."

Sunday, One More?

We are learning on Oahu to live with the Trump Pandemic. We are all aware that Trumpanzees do not believe in testing, wearing masks or respecting social distance. If they want to disrespect each other, they have "rights." The stats are there and they are more likely to be contaminated than ordinary humans. Don't argue with them, it is useless. Keep away from them. Ten feet, mo bettah. Don't allow any of them on your property.

 An oldie but goodie: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

In dancing we are making some progress. We believe that two people that live together can sit together and dance together with safety. If they wear masks and respect social dance it is not so bad. They protect themselves and respect their fellow dancers. Temperature taking on entrance is accepted and hand sanitizer is furnished by the dance group. Now the problem of how many people can be permitted in a room? Recommended no less than thirty six square feet of room space per person. Bathrooms are still a problem.

 "Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho

Financially, the hardest hit are the Dance Studios and on Oahu we have been lucky that most of our studios have existed to help create good dancers and not just bleed you for whatever they can get. So all of us are willing to help. And some of the local dance clubs are making plans for next month. No hand shakes or fist touching necessary,  Maybe a Halloween Dance?

   "Some people may not go where the path may lead, - they go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

Pandemic in California

So here are we at the middle of September and nobody knows where we are, but most of us still have our hopes up. We don't know what everyone is doing. The people into food, making or just enjoying it in good company seems to be in our Social Media. Not much of anything else. In California, the dance halls have stopped all action with the times: But no one wants the halls to become frozen in time. They have insisted that they don’t need to be declared a "cultural legacy monument" because they already are one.

"The Wine of Life keeps oozing drop by drop,

The Leaves of Life keep falling one by one."

from the Rubaiyat.

 

It's impossible to copy the dance hall scene in California because it’s impossible to revive all the people who have come through here. If the traditions of the California dance scene were to be lost, it would be very serious, It would be something very sad for all. For many of the steady customers, it has been like a second home, and the people who come here to dance have been like a family. It is still a friendly crowd of dancers.

 

"Mi Buenos Aires Querido" por Carlos Gardel

 

 

Now there is nothing to soak up the atmosphere, not even music. For years, the halls have been unique and there may not be many places in the world like these, they have so much magic, so much charisma, it has what social dancers need to make them dance, However, there is the reality of today You feel nostalgic, when you look around and there is no life, Surveying the dance floor as if seeing the ghosts of those who danced here for a century.

“Social dancers believe that life may be hell, solely

because sometimes it can be beautiful."

 

Around the sun.

Yesterday I completed my 95th trip around the sun on this Space Ship Earth. I have been very lucky. The Tragedy is for those have died so young and did not have the joy of a few more years of life. Then the loss to their loved one too. When we get to my age, we can understand that we have had our time in the sun and we do not have any complaints. Successful aging is to be useful, responsible and productive. Let's get on with the business at hand.

Death is a part of life for many of the older people who often say they are taking each day as it comes and not worrying too much about tomorrow. It is only day-from-day when you get into your nineties. Some older people are more desperate in their desire to reach the end. I signed the paper not to keep me alive if there is little hope. Let me go. In my life, I have fallen and I have risen and it happens to many, I have made mistakes but I live and learn. I've been hurt, but I'm alive, I'm human and I'm not perfect, but I'm thankful.

I want to thank everyone who wished me Happy Birthday on Twitter and Facebook.

Happy Dancing Everyone.

Swing Dance in Hawaii

Obviously, there’s been a swing craze in this century. How does this compare, or does it compare to the original swing craze? At this time the enthusiasm is still there in spite of the Trump Pandemic. It’s not quite the same as the enthusiasm for the dance as when I was coming up because it was something new at the time. And now, at this period, it’s something new to many of these youngsters. It’s just that it’s a different environment altogether. When we were coming up, we danced to live music all the time.

“Social dancers know that every dawn is born

with its own unique hopes!

There weren’t many tapes and CD’s and all that stuff. We didn’t even know what a disc jockey was. If we went to somebody’s house, there was someone playing a piano, or some kind of instrument for the rhythm for us to dance to. If we went to a ballroom… it was unheard of if they just had tapes. So it was always live music, a live band. And by us being able to dance to live music, to musicians, we were able to feed off the music that they gave out and they were able to feed off our energy. This may be a different century.

"Hukilau Song" by Amy Gilliom

So it was an interchange between the dancers and the music and that’s the difference that we cannot see now. Most of the time today, it’s DJs. You can only identify with the music that’s coming over the loudspeaker. Back then we could listen to a record, and we could say, "Oh, that’s Harry James, that’s Gene Krupa, that’s Benny Goodman!" We knew who was playing what, because we listened to these guys impressions so much, we knew how they sounded; we knew what they did. Now you listen to music coming from the CDs and the tapes and somebody has to tell you who the person is that’s playing. We will adjust.

"Social dancers know that hope is not a strategy.
we have to do something."

Rumba

We have time to think about our dancing of the future. How about Rumba on Oahu? The most common is based on the American Style, specially in the Arthur Murray fashion which is slightly different than the Fred Astaire version. The basic move in American Style Rumba is known as a Box Step. It is similar in basic structure to Waltz and other box-step dances in step position, but uses a 4/4 timing versus the 3/4 timing found in Waltz. Arthur Murray did not think the Americans would accept the Rock Step and Slow step used in the Caribbean so he designed this one.

“We're going to find time for happiness. Because how can we stand
against tyranny if we ourselves are filled with hate?”.

Assuming an eight count step (two measures of 4/4), steps occur on one, three, four, five, seven, and eight. This leaves a "slow--quick-quick-slow--quick-quick" pattern to the dance to complete the box in its most basic form. However, when Fred Astaire started his studios he used the same box step, which is very basic. And Arthur Murray took him to court. What do the judges know about dancing? This was applied to Rumba in Arthur Murray style and the court ruled in his favor. Fred Astaire knew a little about dancing. He instructed his teachers to change the box step to quick, quick, slow. And that is the way it is taught and danced in Fred Astaire studios to this day.

"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jimmy Borges

However good rumba dancers do not believe that any box step is better than the real thing. The Internationals got it when they copied the Caribbean dancers. But to start on the two count, Caribbean style, the one count was with the man's right foot in place and the two count started the series, left foot, forward, Rock Step 2 & 3, and the Slow step, 4 & 1. Then, his left foot back, Rock Step and the slow. This has been now accepted as an alternative basic in American style for rumba. You can do all the other movements with this.

"No person has a good enough memory to make a successful liar." ~ Abraham Lincoln

We have hopes

Reasons and the New Year which starts in November? and the Objective will be? Some will be looking for a new hobby since they didn't much dancing before but, they liked playing in gym now a then. They could enhance their personal relationships getting fit & healthy just meeting new people. They can get in Social Dancing just for the socializing. And if they are young enough they maybe thinking going into the International Style of Competitive Dancing The interest is there for many of us.

"Social dancers believe that every day may be a new chance

to change and make it better for a brighter future.”

On Oahu we have another lock down extended to Wednesday September 23rd. It seems to be coming under control with testing, use of masks and respect for social distance. Social distance is still considered the best at about 99% effective. Masks are about 97% effective and if you use both methods you have a very good chance of surviving. Just keep at least ten feet away from Trumpanzees. They believe in Trump, you have seen his crowds, they got rights and they are very likely to be contagious.

"I Will Dance For You" by Willie K

The Line dancers and others for young people such hip hop can be danced without a partner. They seem to be leading the way to the social dance scene for the end of the year. From what I have been able to gather, they are very aware of the music. All the dancers have their favorite tunes, and are the ones that have more fun dancing in the proper perspective, to the right dance. You may not need a partner to dance and there are so many dance elements to worry about like timing, technique, leg and foot work to the music

"There is no characteristic of human nature that is exchangeable as courtesy."

Street Dancers?

"What do we do to this dance?"
By Kay Gilley, Turtle Bay
A piece of music will occasionally come on and even the most experienced dancers look at each other and say, "What do we do to this.?" When that happens, one of my favorite partners and I look for each other because I know that he will be innovative interpreting the music. He knows that I am OK just following what he does. If the music is more flowing and romantic in nature, he may incorporate steps from bolero, waltz and nightclub two step ... and even make up a few. If it is faster and jazzy, we have done cha-cha-cha, hustle, East and West Coast swing and even merengue in a single dance, switching back and forth as he interprets the music.

“Social dancers may believe that hope is the power of being cheerful

in circumstances that we think may be desperate.”

I think it is a great sport, and it definitely invites me to use my best following skills. Yes, this is extremely difficult for the Rootzi-Tootzis to comprehend. It may even be considered blasphemy. We may eventually have separate dance floors. We have many variations of dance on our cultural dance floors. And fortunately all these people are coming forward with a little pride. They are dancing just for fun, and you can judge them if you will, but the judging doesn't count for much in this group. For they were good street dancers that have become good social dancers.

"Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho

As a result of fewer Pandemic tests counted over the Labor Day holiday, the Hawaii Department of Health today reported double digits in new cases — the first time in more than a month after triple digit increases for most of August and early September. The state reported 45 cases on Aug. 2 and a record high of 355 cases on Aug. 13. Health officials today recorded two new coronavirus - related deaths and 66 new infections, bringing the statewide totals since the beginning of the pandemic to 88 fatalities and 10,025 cases. We may be coming out of again. The schools in question.

"The insight and experience of others is a valuable source of
inspiration and motivation. And learning from successful
leaders and entrepreneurs is a fantastic way to grow."

Just Rolling Along

We continue to see some cases associated with bars that are still open. It is difficult to wear a mask while drinking and as people become impaired, they naturally stop physically distancing and begin to congregate together. This can happen in any party or dance function. The effectiveness of mask wearing while the mask is wet with sweat or vapor is unclear at this time. We continue to see COVID-19 clusters involving parties or gatherings in private homes (birthday party, funeral, religious gather etc.) These gatherings may have little masking and no distancing, mostly involving families and friends. Be careful, stay safe.

“Social dancers believe that it is not as much about who they used to be,

as it is about who they choose to be.”

"Night And Day" by Jimmy Borges

In our type of dance blogging in this century, creativity may have gotten a bad name because some went astray when they are not in tune with the dance plans and objectives of the members in many dance groups. In our blogs the reader/dancers are of prime importance not the organizations. Support and loyalty cannot be demanded, it is earned. We accept our "Benevolent Oligarchies," we could just change them a little more in favor of the dancers.

“Social dancers may like the night, for without the dark, we'd never see the stars.” 

Sunday Two

This is the second edition of the Sunday Dance Blog and it is moving slowly.

Looking over the dance Web sites on the Mainland and in Hawaii, I find them all at a stand still. Many have removed their counters simply because there is not much to count. I have all my five blogs plus two others with counters on my daily stats and it is very plain, "Feedback" to share with our readers equals hits. We are able to spread the available knowledge around. So there it is and when we get to do some dancing they will make all the difference. You got something share with our readers email it in and I will post it to the blog of your choice.

"Remember this Billionaires: We be many and you are few.

You need us more than we need you." 

First most needed, Feedback, - info contributors and foto contributors. Your name or you may use a pen name if you wish - no anonymous. Anything pertaining to dance, of course..Anything to advise with the Pandemic, fine. And you can feel free to feedback anything else that may be of interest to the Social Dancers. At least two lines but a nice paragraph of five or six lines would be perfect. Photos, - 2 people is mo bettah than one. Three is mo bettah than two. But 19 is not mo bettah than 18. use your head red. Yes we are somewhat limited, with Facebook, you may be read in Pakistan. Our readers are mostly on this little island Oahu out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

"Take Me Home, Country Roads" by Bruddah Iz

Latest on the Trump Pandemic: Lt. Gov. Josh Green believes a “stay-at-home” order for Oahu, which was originally set to be lifted Sept. 10, will likely be extended by two more weeks. “I can tell you that we have to get to a point where we have no more than 150 cases a day, That’s about the sustaining threshold where our hospitals don’t get overrun.” Perhaps we can breath easier by the end of September. Halloween Dance? Not likely?

"Social dancers do not try to dance better than anyone else.

They only try to dance better than themselves."

Coming Through

Blogs can help bring humanity back onto the dance floor even now when we have no dance floor. In spite of Twitter, Facebook,Tumblr and the like. blogs have been very good all over the country. But you must be on Twitter to see anything on Twitter. Same on Facebook and all the others. In Blogging anyone can tune into whichever blog they wish and read whatever the bloggers are willing to share with the readers. And 99% of our readers are from this Island of Oahu.

“Social dancers believe we can do this… we can start over and soon.. We can

save our own lives, have stars to wish on and people to still love.”

Some groups have kept in touch with each other by Micros and they do know that they may be seen in many other countries. Before the lock down we had become so concerned with communicating support and processes that dancers had somewhat forgotten how to build relationships. How can dance clubs ask dancers to provide superior friendships and innovative thinking when everything they had seen and heard flew in the face of that? Blogs help create a culture with feedback that reinforces the good behaviors. Hopefully we will get many good honest independent opinions.

"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jimmy Borges

Meanwhile the Trump Pandemic is slowing down again in Hawaii and we may beat it again. The Trumpanzee territory on Oahu remains in the Ewa Beach to Mililani area. The Clusters are due there. In Asia and Europe, testing, masks and social distance are working very well. None of this Maleria medicine, Voodoo medicine, Clorox, Lysol, or the latest Trump push, snake oil made from Pillows. We just may have a few Christmas parties yet. Keep away from Trumpanzees. Six feet is not enough.

“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”

― Mother Teresa

Basic, Social Distance

The most basic movements to music are in disco free styling in night clubs, and not partner connected, mainly for the young. From there, some proceed to line dancing, again without a partner. But the movements are programmed in sequence or a routine for each dance. The routine must be followed because everyone will be doing the same thing. The main thing, of course, is to listen to the music and then allow your body to move to it. The music first and then you go with it.

“Social dancers believe there are some days that the
bravest thing we can do,is to hold on, have hope,
dance a little, even if just for another day.”

Line dancing can be very crucial in these times because it is relatively easy to social distance. You can relax and learn the timing and the rhythm of each type of dance with some freedom. Second, it is the easiest way to learn to move routinely to the music simply because you do not have a partner. Not the hardest, but the easiest, most relaxing way to move to music, which is the best way. And it is entirely up to you how much you exaggerate each move. You can really enjoy moving to the music by yourself.

"The Music Of Hawaii" by Melveen Leed

And that movement to music is what the body seeks when it hears music, that is dancing! From there it may be easy all the way, but it can get quite complicated. You would naturally be ready to learn to lead and partner dance. If you don't get in a hurry and just enjoy each stage of the game, you will eventually be a very good dancer. There are Social Dancers that have been dancing for forty years without ever being in a competition or done an exhibition. They must have been having fun and that is the name of our game.

"The searching out and thorough investigation of truth

ought to be the primary study of man." ~ Cicero

Small Change

I have had enough time on my blogs to have trimmed them down from eleven to five. However it is time for another small change. Most blogs have a distinguishing feature from Web sites by being much more current. Web sites have valuable pertinent information that does not change too much except for their dance schedules. For us the lock down from the Trump Pandemic has given us time to reflect on the entire dance scene on Oahu. So Oahu Dancers will go into a Sunday semi Web site and not be as current as the other regular blogs. Not much action right now but enough to perhaps see something by the end of this month.

"Social dancers know that reality is for those who can't handle drugs." 

I use my counter daily, it can get quite erratic at the beginning of each month, but by the 10th it settles down and tells me a lot. Of course, I have been periodically redesigning this entire blogosphere and that always shakes things up.  The most common factor that most successful blog sites have in common is that it is some form of social media. Twitter and Facebook are "minis" and that fact alone gives them much advantage to get users. With only one set back you must be a member to see anything. In a blog anyone can tune in and read what is on it. I am convinced that the Information Contributors to our blog is what will make it.
 

"Take Me Home, Country Roads" by Bruddah Iz

While there are many sites devoted solely to social media, any site that expects to be successful provides some way for their visitors to engage in the social experience of having printed contact in the blog with the rest of the reader/dancers. By creating a sense of community and combining it with usability, sticky customers almost become a certainty. In the end, the term web 2.0 simply represents a different way of doing business on the Internet. However, while the concept is simple, its execution can be quite difficult.Yet if someone is serious about being prominent in our blogosphere, the principles of web 2.0 must be learned and used effectively. Fortunately, they are very simple. There is interest, but there has been hesitation simply because it has never been done before.

"Dancing in all its forms cannot be excluded from the curriculum of all noble education; dancing with the feet, with ideas, with words, and, need I add that one must also

be able to dance with the pen?"  ~ Friedrich Nietzsche 

Confusing

Now at the beginning of the last quarter, it is still looking dismal for the dance scene on Oahu. Just a month ago, Testing, masks and social distance and we were doing good and then we let it go. The Trumpanzees got in, Oahu opened up too much and the cases and the deaths went up and up. Dancing slowed down and the hits on my blogs went down. I have decided not to push any of the blogs into any direction that I would like. I will let the information contributors and new guest authors make their own decisions and each blog will go into it's own direction and eventual independence. So I will just ask around and first get some Information Contributors willing to share our meager dance pearls with our fellow dancers.

"Social dancers believe that the problem with hope, is that it gets your hopes up.

But, of course, hopelessness is worse.”

And I will no longer solicit to make any of the blogs independent either. I will let each evolve naturally and the Information Contributors will help make the decisions. At the moment Town Dancer seem to be most solid of the blogs. They will  know when they are ready. The main thing I have concluded from my own Stats is that synergism is very evident with each new Feedback I get. Feedback generates hits simply because it is not SOS. (same old shit.) So right now would be a nice time to get the viewpoints of a few of our amateur teachers.

"Molokai Waltz" by Amy Gillion.

My preference is for American Style teachers but whatever we can get will be fine. Internationals fits in very nicely for those wishing to compete and be good exhibition dancers. This also includes the Peripherals. Then there are plenty of women in Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr so they could be a natural but not many in Web or Blog sites. A few in the non commitment style of one contribution only, which we are still lucky to get. And furthermore, many men are aware that the women may be a bit more knowledgeable of the whole enchilada. Ladies we welcome you.

"Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made."