Da Moosic

What's there to know about it? "I know what I like and I know what I don't like." There is some truth to it. But many people just don't go far enough.

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

I always like to divide everything into three parts. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." (Wasn't that was a nice movie) So we have the divisions graded from the usual zero to 10. In this case, 0 would be for music that is nothing, but there is always something there so we can skip that. And we know there is no ten because none of it perfect.

"Once In Awhile" by the Chimes

That leaves us with three divisions and each divided into three.

The bottom levels are the kind of the music we are most likely to hear. The billions of tapes that are produced daily. The music in the earphones of millions as they go about their business or that is heard on radios or in Malls. You hear it because it is there but is it really there? When they drop in sales, they are sold at Walmart for a dollar.

The middle levels are songs that have never been really much or have at one time may been consider very nice. They were pushed by the record companies and their advertising media to promote and sell the music and they made millions. When they drop in sales, they are sold in bins at the Kmart for a couple dollars.

"Near You" by the Andrews Sisters

The top levels, some may be worthy of the level. Some may have been there just because of intense promotion and they will eventually fall by the wayside like many of the others. Some (a very few) will emerge as classics. Fortunately many of these classics will be danceable simply because they were nice listening. They will be danced by the Cultural dancers over and over again in sheer joy.

From this top total, there may be only 10 to 20% that can be considered "danceable," and not everyone will automatically know which is which. Most of the time, there is only one way to find out, "dance it." Even then opinions may differ. This has been part of our dance culture for a very long time.

"Share Your Thoughts"

For most people music and dance are an equal partnership and with many it is the music first. In exhibition, theatrical, acrobatic and competition, music is much less important to the dance. The dancing is the important part of the whole. It has to be "heel, toe, toe heel" or maybe its the other way around. The Rootzi Tootzis can dance entire routines "without" any music at all. Simply amazing!

For the Cultural or Traditional dancer, the right music is almost the whole thing, and the movement is just to enhance the pleasure of the music. The dance is definitely of secondary importance. And we define these as the real dancers. The feeling can get to its highest plane with the right music. There is a reason for a "Playlist." It will be coming.

"Al Di La, the famous Italian rumba, that smashed through the Americas of the sixties. We will
be playing it twice during the evening. This is your chance to relive the music and the time."

 

Blues Dancing

Blues dancing is a family of historical dances that developed alongside and were danced to blues music, or the contemporary dances that are danced in that aesthetic. Amateur Dancer carried an article entitled "Blues and Rhythm and Blues Dancing" in a July/August 1991 issue.

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."

Mura Dehn used the term "The Blues" in The Spirit Moves, referencing different dance styles. African-American essayist and novelist Albert Murray used the term "blues-idiom dance" and "blues-idiom dance movement" in his book Stomping the Blues.

History of blues dancing

Early commentators on dance from sub-Saharan Africa consistently commented on the absence of close couple dancing, and such dancing was thought to be immoral in many traditional African societies.

In all the vast riches of sub-Saharan African dance heritage there seems to be no evidence for sustained one-on-one male-female partnering anywhere before the late colonial era, and even then, it was apparently considered in distinctly poor taste.

In the United States the dances of white Americans were being adapted and transformed over time from all over with the large groups of immigrants. As dance evolved, the Afro-American elements became more formal and diluted, the British-European elements more fluid and rhythmic. Dance moves passed down through generations were revised, recombined, and given new flourishes. The cyclical re-emergence of similar elements marks the African-American dance vocabulary.

"Blues In The Night" by Johnny Mercer

During the post Reconstruction period (1875–1900), as Jim Crow Laws were passed in the South, dance steps once linked to ritualistic or religious dancing also acquired a more secular identity. Where by and large, slavery had inhibited the retention of specific African tribal culture, the dances of working-class and lower-class blacks relinquished some of their Euro-American characteristics during this time.

Meanwhile, "dances became more upright and less flat-footed. As dance became more associated with sexuality and the free consumption of pleasure, which in the black community still had some communal ties to group dancing, the partnering relationship became more isolated and individualized. The "sport" and the "good-time gal" were people of the moment. Hip shaking and pelvic innuendo were now more of a statement to one's partner than to one's community.

W. C. Handy, who wrote some of the first published blues songs, documented his earliest experience with what may have been blues, and dancers reaction to it, at a dance c. 1905 in Cleveland, Mississippi. At one point Handy was asked to "play some of our native music". Although "baffled" he had his band played "an old-time Southern melody", after which he was asked if a local band could play a few numbers.

That group consisted of "just three pieces, a battered guitar, a mandolin and a worn-out bass" (Handy described the group as "a Mississippi string band") and played "one of those over-and-over again strains that seem to have no very clear beginning and certainly no ending at all .... Actually Indian type music. It was not really annoying or unpleasant. Perhaps "haunting" is a better word for it ... The dancers went wild. Little did they know that their dancing would eventually splinter into dozens of different dances.

Oahu - West Blog

This blog now breaking out of the lower pack where it has been in the 20s. The Christmas season was one reason, and the bus situation that did not allow me more access to the dance functions too. With reorganization to include Aliamanu dancing, it is pretty definite, it will go up in hits.

 

"We haven’t failed. We’ve just found 1000 ways that won’t work."

Then with a couple of good steady Information and Photo contributors it will solidify in the sixties. One Guest Author and it would go over 100 average hits per day. A couple more and for sure it could go independent. That is my aim for all of them except my personal blog which seems to be shaping up as Dancing in the Dark, helping all the other blogs.

I was also waiting for the next social club to arise. But some have already told me there will be none as less people will be moving east because of the rail. We have already lost one lady in our Senior Apartments, she moved to Kaneohe. So few buses, packed to the gills, some have two wheelchairs already in the bus, they cannot take another. "Wait for the next bus, in one hour." Auwe ! The people in the Ivory Towers, "What problem? We don't see a problem." They have 97 articulated buses. Wow, the case solved. Ha Ha! Old ladies riding standing up Waianae to downtown. Hey, Hey, Hey! That's Criminal! Ivory Towers couldn't care less, they have their own stats.

 

 With the articulated bus in 60% of the fleet, five times the efficiency and at one tenth the

cost of the rail. So who needs the rail? Yeah, right. But it's the bread, Fred.

The Caldwell administration couldn't care less. He is already screwing up some things at Honolulu Hale. And the rest of us are stuck with him and Boylan too. Our west coast representatives are already in the pockets of the Rail, so we are losing there too. But there is some hope. "Honolulu Traffic" the organization is leading the way. Let us all wish them luck. They may be able to stop the rail yet.

For the Waianae Coast one of the best buses scheduled is the #93 bus. I can get it 3:00 pm at the Alapai Transit Center and be home in Nanakuli before 4:00 pm. The rail ain't gonna beat that in a million years. And I get off right around the corner from where I live. I don't need a rail station even if the parking fees will be less than $200 per month. But the Caldwell rail hatchmen will kill that route too. Maybe I will have to move to the East too.

Pub's Side Note: Check out Richie's blog on the Gonzales new gig, in the Oahu And Beyond blog. Good news for the Gonzales fans.

 



Oahu - West Blog

This blog now breaking out of the lower pack where it has been in the 20s. The Christmas season was one reason, and the bus situation that did not allow me more access to the dance functions too. With reorganization to include Aliamanu dancing, it is pretty definite, it will go up in hits.

 

"We haven’t failed. We’ve just found 1000 ways that won’t work."

Then with a couple of good steady Information and Photo contributors it will solidify in the sixties. One Guest Author and it would go over 100 average hits per day. A couple more and for sure it could go independent. That is my aim for all of them except my personal blog which seems to be shaping up as Dancing in the Dark, helping all the other blogs.

I was also waiting for the next social club to arise. But some have already told me there will be none as less people will be moving east because of the rail. We have already lost one lady in our Senior Apartments, she moved to Kaneohe. So few buses, packed to the gills, some have two wheelchairs already in the bus, they cannot take another. "Wait for the next bus, in one hour." Auwe ! The people in the Ivory Towers, "What problem? We don't see a problem." They have 97 articulated buses. Wow, the case solved. Ha Ha! Old ladies riding standing up Waianae to downtown. Hey, Hey, Hey! That's Criminal! Ivory Towers couldn't care less, they have their own stats.

 

 With the articulated bus in 60% of the fleet, five times the efficiency and at one tenth the

cost of the rail. So who needs the rail? Yeah, right. But it's the bread, Fred.

The Caldwell administration couldn't care less. He is already screwing up some things at Honolulu Hale. And the rest of us are stuck with him and Boylan too. Our west coast representatives are already in the pockets of the Rail, so we are losing there too. But there is some hope. "Honolulu Traffic" the organization is leading the way. Let us all wish them luck. They may be able to stop the rail yet.

For the Waianae Coast one of the best buses scheduled is the #93 bus. I can get it 3:00 pm at the Alapai Transit Center and be home in Nanakuli before 4:00 pm. The rail ain't gonna beat that in a million years. And I get off right around the corner from where I live. I don't need a rail station even if the parking fees will be less than $200 per month. But the Caldwell rail hatchmen will kill that route too. Maybe I will have to move to the East too.

Pub's Side Note: Check out Richie's blog on the Gonzales new gig, in the Oahu And Beyond blog. Good news for the Gonzales fans.

 



It's Beginning to Roll

Bernardo Cadiran, Waipahu

Dancing in West Oahu is traditional social, cultural dancing and it means handed down. It means that it has evolved naturally from earlier forms, rather than having been created, established or defined artificially or arbitrarily by professionals.

"The error of youth is to believe that intelligence is a substitute for experience. While the

error of age is to believe that experience is a substitute for intelligence."

We have had an awful lot of amateur teachers in the West, and many teach by movements and not by rote, knowing full well that the same movement may be used in other dances. It means that there is a respect for the roots and for the cultural integrity of the form.

It means live traditional music with intervals between dances. Our dancers cherish the music, and cultural dancing in the West has the regular accepted forms that allow the musicians and dancers to inspire each other. We are in no hurry and accept the slow learning process while learning and we realize that we are enjoying the process tremendously.

"On The Atchison, Topeka And Santa Fe"  - Johnny Mercer

It means dancing at private home parties as an integral part of life, rather than an activity that is separate from life, restricted to professionals and performers, and consumed passively by spectators. As it has been pointed out so often by the Rootzi Tootzis, these can be different people and we must respect the Rootzi Tootzis. The new "public" dance clubs that will be forming will not be with static dance environments.

Social means community, co-operative, rather than competitive. It means respect for those whom we dance with, whether they be partners or others with whom we share the dance floor. No seat controlling for personal gain. It means taking care that everyone has a good time, rather than being selfish and self-centered. It means being sociable, rather than a show-off. It means dancing with a variety of dancers, not just favorite partners, and usually it means changing partners for every dance.

It means being civil in partnering, waiting until the music starts, before asking someone to dance. It means inclusive, rather than exclusive. The term "dance community" is open, in the sense that it includes all those with an interest in dancing, rather than only those who belong to something, or have taken "deluxe" training. Too much private is not so good.

"And if things are going bad, don't worry. That can't last forever either."

Cultural dancing means an activity to participate in, rather than a performance to watch. The distinction between these two groups is becoming clearer and all the dancers are becoming aware. It has always been through "innuendo" from the Rootzi Tootzis but we are now bringing it to the forefront. And we must accept the fact that many of those that are at the "top" can still enjoy the dance along with the rest of us. We don't really want to exclude anyone, we must let them make those decisions.

We will eventually emerge as the core of Cultural Dance in Hawaii, everything else will be the peripherals and everyone will make their own choices. Happy Dancing. * * * *

It's Beginning to Roll

Bernardo Cadiran, Waipahu

Dancing in West Oahu is traditional social, cultural dancing and it means handed down. It means that it has evolved naturally from earlier forms, rather than having been created, established or defined artificially or arbitrarily by professionals.

"The error of youth is to believe that intelligence is a substitute for experience. While the

error of age is to believe that experience is a substitute for intelligence."

We have had an awful lot of amateur teachers in the West, and many teach by movements and not by rote, knowing full well that the same movement may be used in other dances. It means that there is a respect for the roots and for the cultural integrity of the form.

It means live traditional music with intervals between dances. Our dancers cherish the music, and cultural dancing in the West has the regular accepted forms that allow the musicians and dancers to inspire each other. We are in no hurry and accept the slow learning process while learning and we realize that we are enjoying the process tremendously.

"On The Atchison, Topeka And Santa Fe"  - Johnny Mercer

It means dancing at private home parties as an integral part of life, rather than an activity that is separate from life, restricted to professionals and performers, and consumed passively by spectators. As it has been pointed out so often by the Rootzi Tootzis, these can be different people and we must respect the Rootzi Tootzis. The new "public" dance clubs that will be forming will not be with static dance environments.

Social means community, co-operative, rather than competitive. It means respect for those whom we dance with, whether they be partners or others with whom we share the dance floor. No seat controlling for personal gain. It means taking care that everyone has a good time, rather than being selfish and self-centered. It means being sociable, rather than a show-off. It means dancing with a variety of dancers, not just favorite partners, and usually it means changing partners for every dance.

It means being civil in partnering, waiting until the music starts, before asking someone to dance. It means inclusive, rather than exclusive. The term "dance community" is open, in the sense that it includes all those with an interest in dancing, rather than only those who belong to something, or have taken "deluxe" training. Too much private is not so good.

"And if things are going bad, don't worry. That can't last forever either."

Cultural dancing means an activity to participate in, rather than a performance to watch. The distinction between these two groups is becoming clearer and all the dancers are becoming aware. It has always been through "innuendo" from the Rootzi Tootzis but we are now bringing it to the forefront. And we must accept the fact that many of those that are at the "top" can still enjoy the dance along with the rest of us. We don't really want to exclude anyone, we must let them make those decisions.

We will eventually emerge as the core of Cultural Dance in Hawaii, everything else will be the peripherals and everyone will make their own choices. Happy Dancing. * * * *

Different Strokes for Different Folks.

Our Social Club Dancing has been mostly in schools, but the Palladium led to a big following. Now being taken  over by professionals. Don't blame them, the rent is lower than some schools, community centers and district parks.

"The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running
up and down the field and never score."

Public Dancing, where the locations are provided by the State or County are potentially the greatest area of expansion simply because as of now it is not allowable by an awful lot of locations specially the Community Centers. Breaking into the Community Centers and District Parks would be a big advance for the dance environment.

"For the First Time" by Kenny Loggins

Studio Dancing has always been there, because it includes people that can afford higher prices in taking classes. The intent of the studios is commendable, the dancers wish to be better dancers and the studios wish to help and produce better dancers. And as in competition thinking some studios are better than others and we cannot decide for you. The dancers have been making those decisions all along.

"When I Fall In Love" by Celine Dion
 

Nightclub Dancing because it is a fun thing but they differentiate between the "dancers" and those that move to the music. We are all in process of defining where we are at. For in nightclubs we must pay. On Oahu it is still in progress of being resolved. The promoters must be able to afford to run it, but it can no longer be covered by the Bar Tab, It must be paid for in the cover and the drinks, including non-alcoholic drinks and it must be worth it to the dancers.

"Morality is the theory that every human act is either right or wrong,
and that 99% of them are wrong."

Pub's Side Note: The entire enchilada is gradually taking form. All the blogs are having an influence on this development. With everybody pushing a little here and there, it will evolve all by itself.