Dancing in Hawaii Rerun #34

by John Hayashi, Kalihi:

Dancing throughout these islands has reflected our social needs same as anywhere else. These needs were displayed on these islands long before the arrival of the "strangers." And most primitive dances were performed by members of the same sex with little body contact, (line dancing?)  At times they may have been a little too rowdy for the newcomers.

"We must become the change we wish to see in the world."

Ballroom dancing referred to partner dances done in a ballroom to traditional ballroom music. The earliest 19th and 20th century forms of dance began with the subsequent interest of partner dancing. It became fashionable in Hawaii, even prior to WWI, for ladies and gentlemen of the high classes to dress well, dance and have polished manners. Additional partner dances done for pleasure and recreation for all classes were introduced early after the first  world war throughout all the islands.

Much of it became fads and went into history, the same as on the Mainland. The Swing Era had begun in the 1930s, when Americans were trying to forget the Great Depression. Dancing to upbeat music seemed to help. There was quite a bit of swing developed on all the islands and it became more popular as the decade went on, and after the repeal of prohibition, crowds began to outgrow the speakeasies where the dancing had started.

The Mainland led as the band performances moved into bigger halls to accommodate more and more dancers. The bands had to get bigger, too, to fill those halls with more sound. The result was the big band, a sizable orchestra built around saxophones, strident brass, and drums. And with the arrival of large military in Hawaii, there evolved a huge group of people dancing in a social ballroom style. It was a long time coming as it was essentially touch dancing and included all forms of partner dancing done primarily for recreation or pleasure to a variety of musical styles.

The entire syllabus may have had less than one hundred steps and most everyone could dance with anyone somewhat easily. But our dance world rapidly became more diverse and today, we may have over 600 documented steps in Salsa alone. The days of the Big Bands are over and the Big Ballrooms are obsolete. So we will make the effort to standardize a little and fuse more to make Social Dancing more effective to the lead and follow and probably more enjoyable.

"Til I Waltz Again With You" by Theresa Brewer

How about as dance floor of about 4000 square feet? Oh Boy, one third the size of the Palladium. But what a terrific crowd of dancers we could get.