The Latest

There may be over 35000 average social and formal partner dancers on Oahu. And most are at least average dancers in every dance of the clique. Waltz is still predominate and almost all are very proficient in the American Waltz. That means that perhaps only five thousand dance only something else exclusively such as Tango, Swing and Salsa.

"We are fortunate that musical compositions, are not constrained

to inhabit certain countries the way they used to. Da Reel

Latin music is attainable on CD and online very easily."

Since the Latin dances can be danced in much smaller social clubs, Latin dance clubs can eliminate, the Viennese Waltz, the Quickstep and the Peabody. The Paso Doble will be of no consequence, it is strictly a foreign affair. The Foxtrot can be superfluous if you have good Rumba music. The Swing dances will not be problem but a simple acceptance or non-acceptance will depend strictly on the dancers.

"Cuando Quieres, Dejame" por Pandora

The Waltz, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Samba, Tango and Swing will give us a pretty solid basis. In roads can be Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Mambo and West Coast Swing. And of course, the coming Latin clubs will do their own thing and none of this will be engraved on stone. It will be and should be up to the dancers.

"Come into the Latin dance world and you may see the phenomenon that others
have experienced. You will feel the cascading moves in Cha Cha Cha. You
will  dance to the Waltz in both styles and just dance. A day spent without
appreciating the beauty surrounding us is a waste."

You Don't Know?

This blog has been stalled for several months now and I still do not know where it going. The information contributors and guest authors will make those decisions. Some in the dance community have to be dragged, kicking and screaming into the 21st century. I cannot do that for I believe they should as they wish.  If they do not want it they shall not have it. But the sign on the door I leave open still says welcome.

"All of us dancers know that perfection is not attainable, but if
we chase perfection we just may catch excellence."

I am ninety years old and I don't have much time left, Whether or not I had even written anything, my silences would not have protected me. Your silences will not protect you. What are the words you have not yet written? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own, until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence? We have been socialized to respect fear more than our own need for language. Except for the gossip groups.

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Bruddah Iz

Constructive criticism is criticism kindly meant as a goal of improving some area of another person’s life or work. Often constructive criticism refers specifically to the critique of someone else’s written or artistic work, in perhaps a teacher/student setting, that would allow that person to further improve the work or to improve their approach to future endeavors. We just could be a little nicer about it.

if we love life enough that we want to enhance its beauty,

we want to bring a little more music to it, a little

more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” 

Latinos on Oahu

For Latinos in Hawaii, we must face the fact that being a Latino is not such a clear cut thing. Who are we? We must also face the fact that an increasing amount of "possible" Latinos are of various mixed nationalities with the world. We just have to take their word. And many black latinos do not wish to live in a black world, they want to live in a Latino world, and white meat is the goal.

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your

thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end

because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

In Hawaii and mainly on Oahu, our biggest group of Latinos are the Puerto Ricans, roughly about 30000. The next group should not be a surprise, at 20000, the Mexicans are taking a bigger foothold on these islands and we are going to get a lot more. Wetbacks? We will never know but they will become part of the Latino group with a big influence on the Latino music and dance on Oahu.

"Besame Mucho" por Lucho Gatica

Many Puerto Ricans have found they can live a lot better in Puerto Rico on their pensions or social security than in Hawaii, so they are leaving. The Mexican will become the dominant group for music and dance. Then there are about 40000 listed in the census as "other Hispanics" and they come from all over, from the Caribbean, Central and South America. So together they are a much bigger group than the Puerto Ricans.

"Adoro" por Armando Manzanero

So we must accept the predominance of Latin music and dance for a long time from other sources and let the overwhelming amount of other Latinos get their licks in. But the Mexican music and dance will eventually be the most predominant in the coming years. And in the beginning the most commonly accepted dances will be the predominate, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Samba, and Waltz that exist in dance organizations in the world today simply because they are social dances.

"The point is we can all do something but we must know our gifts, cultivate them and always, always be ourselves! Then working together becomes effortless. Copies aren't accepted everywhere - originals are eventually required!” 

The Hit Counter

If there is a currency in the internet, then it should be Web Traffic. Traffic is the blood of any web or blog site, without Traffic, there is no use of having a dead page on the internet. Not all traffic is good, there is also bad traffic, and fake traffic. Perhaps I can enlighten some people.

"We are all slowly accepting that we know with surpassing certainty that

only one thing is more frightening than speaking our truth.

And that is not speaking.”

Fake Traffic can be the worst mistake you can make in blogging. What is it and how can it hurt your blog? I mean, imagine if you could increase your page views and get more people interested in your blogs, you fake it all by doing the little trick that is called fake traffic. Fake traffic is simply a simulation, it’s a black hat technique that allow you to generate traffic to your blog, but this traffic isn’t real! This means it’s generated by a bot or a software, no humans are involved, thus no conversion. The reason is to gain the statistics, and show that you are getting a lot of traffic. And you may be just beating your gums.

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Bruddah Iz

And of course there are sites that don't realize the importance of traffic and don't wish to know. They should do as they wish. Some are aware of the lack of traffic and simply don't want anyone else to know about it - their prerogative. But we strive to make all of ours "legit hits" and we allow everyone to see them. And we do get unwanted scam, spam, robot hits too.

How many square dancers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Eight. Square dancers do everything in groups of eight!

Cha Cha Cha

By Frank Martinelli, Turtle Bay

The Mambo was actually the old fast Rumba that had been relegated back to the sticks when the new slower Rumba had emerged and exported world wide. The new fast Rumba with a new name of Mambo took hold very nicely in Cuba in the 40s and gradually emerged in Mexico City when Perez Prado was there. It always was nice happy music and a nice fun dance and the Mambo was faster than the Rumba. You could use most of the same patterns and step movements as the Rumba.

“The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we

can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and

the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.”

It went to New York and the Puerto Ricans got a hold of it and they developed the famous Palladium where the Mambo Kings ruled. However sometime in the fifties, the musicians, as always, like to get out of a groove and play it differently. They would stick an extra swish or count in a slow step of the Mambo, which the dancer would chassé. A new dance with a rock step and chassé to go with the new music evolved and the Cha Cha Cha was born and spread throughout the Caribbean.

"Que Rico Mi Cha Cha Cha" por Perez Prado 

The Cha Cha Cha also spread throughout the US, Mexico and all the way down to Argentina to compete with the Tango. It is still danced in the Orient and all of Europe. The music maybe losing some of its sparks as musicians try to change their music but on Oahu, we usually dance to pretty good music.

"Dancing is breaking into seemingly meaningless gyrations, while partners
disappear only to reappear again, once more giving pattern to the spectacle - 
unable to control the melody, unable, perhaps, to control the steps of the dance"

From Hawaii Free Press

Message to Supporters    July 19, 2016

Today the mayor's political campaign launched the first direct negative attack ad of this campaign season with a misleading radio commercial.  The reason the mayor feels he needs to desperately attack is pretty simple - he's scared that we can't win this election in the Primary on August 13th.

We always knew the mayor would reach for negative campaigning because, as the media reported, that's "the way he rolls."

We are ready to fight back, but we need your help.  Your contribution of $50, $100, $250 or any amount up to $4,000 per person will help us immediately put up a response ad to the negative campaigning engaged by the Caldwell machine.

Our campaign team is assembling a radio ad that will go up on air tomorrow morning if we can get your help right now.  Our campaign is leading in the polls with a strong message to fix the mess with rail and restore trust at Honolulu Hale.  But we need help.  It is only with your generous contribution right now that we can take on the mayor's office and restore trust to City Hall.

The polls show we are ahead and we can really win in the primary 25 days from now.  But a polling lead will only become an election day victory with the support and help of volunteers and donors like you.  Please consider donating today to help us counter Caldwell's negative campaigning.  Mahalo.

Aloha,
Team Djou

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The coming driverless bus but not to Hawaii.

PS: HART knows the cost may go the ten billion for the Rail Disaster. But there are millions and millions of dollars in profits for the Present Rail Party and they have backed Caldwell all the way, it is easy money, Sonny.

"Keep Calm And Dance On."

Latin dance?

In this modern world on Oahu, our young people have evolve the newer dances and many become fanatic about them. But in our modern era, fads come and go. The young merely go crazy about any new dance then get burned out. A few dances stay a long time and then become too burdened down with rules. Salsa is getting to be just about there now. But Bachata is stepping in very nicely.

"Liberty is the only thing you cannot have unless
you are willing to give it to someone else."

However, in tradition music, Waltz, for instance, remains a beacon for all dancing. The music remains basically the same, with 99% of waltz being danceable. It may not be the same with other music. Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Samba, Tango remain on the danceable list as long as they play the corresponding music, which is not always the case. Energy is the essence of a great dance song, and any list of the best dance tunes in the world simply must include a lot of Latin tunes.

"Guantanamera" by Celia Cruz 

Latin music has a depth and soul that adds real zest to any mixture of dance. So many dancers now are getting somewhat disappointed with the low energy levels that we are hearing in some of the newest Latin hits on today's dance floors. When you think of all the major high-energy, soil pressing tracks that have appeared in the last century, its obvious that the dancing quality is not what it should be.

"Aquellos Ojos Verdes" - written by Nilo Menendez and Adolfo Utrera, in Mexico,

1929, lyrics in Spanish -- "Green Eyes" by Jimmy Dorsey in the US,

Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell on vocals, 1939

Strangly enough the small bands that play on the these Islands play the oldies but goodies and they play them in the "oldie" fashion which makes for a very pleasant dance experience. That Latin beat seems to be missing in a lot of the new stuff. When is the last time you heard a cowbell in any Cha Cha Cha played at the famous Palladium.

It's great that Latin dancing is being recognized in its old form. For many
years Latin dancers were misunderstood and other dance forms
didn't want anything to do with us."

Da Neighbor Islands

Da Big Island is the largest and the southeastern-most of the Hawaiian islands. With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,430 km2), it is larger than all of the other islands in Hawaii combined and is the largest island in the United States. The population of the island was at last count, 185,079 The county seat and largest city is Hilo. With the Rail Disaster for Oahu, the Big Island is the future of Hawaii.

“I have survived. I am here. Confused, screwed up, but here. So,
how can I find my way? Is there a chain saw of the soul,
an ax I can take to my memories or fears?”

There are no incorporated cities in Hawaiʻi County. However Kailua-Kona is definitely slated for second city and it really rolling in prominence throughout the Islands. Since the Island is so big there is bound to be a third City on the North Shore. Their bus service is so good, they will never have to worry about a Rail Catastrophe as on Oahu. They will have many beautiful articulated buses and people will ride in comfort. On Oahu, they do not know, that comfort is the name of the game.

The sparks of dance are all over Hawaii, just waiting for the right fans to ignite them. There will be new social dance clubs and a new places to dance in Hawaii.  Community Centers? Not likely. Perhaps even a Pau Hana dance in one of the Hotels in the Airport areas. The contribution of photos in these blogs is still prime. With three photos and a little commentary, they can be fleshed out into a nice blog, Social Media.

The Competitions at the Aloha Ball,

"In victory, the dancers deserve Champagne.

In defeat the dancers need it.”

Truth Squad

From Hilary Clinton Truth Squad email

Donald Trump just announced Mike Pence will be his running mate.

If there was any doubt about Trump's intentions -- if you ever thought maybe he was just grandstanding about his anti-equality, anti-woman, anti-immigrant policies and his commitment to an economy that favors millionaires and corporations over working families -- well, with Pence as his vice president, we know exactly what to expect.

"The only people that may be mad at you for speaking the truth

are the ones that are living a lie."

This choice shows us just how Trump would govern and what kind of America he would shape. Going up against Trump and Pence reinforces that this election is bigger than just a decision between two political parties.

"Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho

It's about who we are as a nation. Are we the kind of country that denigrates women, immigrants, or anyone that looks, loves, or believes differently than us? Do we close our doors to people whose diverse viewpoints will only better us? Do we let nativism, bigotry, and intolerance become inscribed in our nation's character? Will we let "me-first" economics determine our families' paths to success?

This is a critical moment in this race -- and a chance to show exactly which side you're on. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to make your first donation, this is it. Chip in right now to take a stand and we’ll send you a sticker to say thanks:

Good Thursday

Started the day very nicely with little depression. My helper comes in on Thursdays and was here about nine and we mostly cleaned  up the Laptop. Also found out that I made a mistake in buying a new computer with windows 10 in it. I thought I could install window 7 into it but no can do. Microsoft is going to do their best to make everyone use windows 10, as screwed up as it is. I don't want anything to do with Window 10 and I resent their daily intrusions.

“Equality is not a concept. It's not something we, as dancers, should

be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need

it to stand on this earth as men and women."

Then got ready for my evening excursion. The Handi Van picked me up a late, but I am not complaining, they do a terrific job for us. Got to Makua Alii about 6:15 and only Tad and Herbie were there. I cannot sit for too long so I walked around and even got a chance to get my eye drops working. Only one blot in the scene and that was that I forgot to take the memory card for the camera, No photos, but this a good beginning.

"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jimmy Borges

The dancers started coming before seven and the dance classes began. International Tango and it is free. At about 7:30 the class ended and they had a line dance, the Electric Slide and everyone seem to be having fun. It's a simple fun dance just moving to the music. Then the social dancing began with a Waltz, naturally and most everyone was on the dance floor. Quite a variety of dances. Even Paso Doble, wow. Naturally I had said hello to most everyone and I kept walking back and forth to the water fountain without my walker, just holding on to what ever was in the way.

"Molokai Waltz" by Melveen Leed

I sat with Rose, a long time friend and she told me her husband was now in a care home. Something I am trying to avoid. With just a little time left for my leaving, they played, the Tennessee Waltz and I asked Rose, She also ninety and she asked me, you sure? We had a nice simple waltz and I enjoyed moving to this music, which I had danced to, so long ago. I left and waited about ten minutes for the Handi Van and was home by nine PM. Not a bad evening.

"I'll Remember You" by Don Ho

Travel by bus: To get to Makua Alii from here I must go down the hill to Kam Hwy. Take the A bus to the Kalihi Transit Center. and then wait for the #2 bus to get me to Makua Alii. Not too hard. Coming back is more difficult. It is dark and I am tired, and I must walk farther to get the #2  bus back to the Kalihi Transit Center and if I am late the next A bus will be 40 minutes later. And when I get off the bus stop in Pearl City, I have to climb the hill to get home. Next time, I will try to take the bus to Makua Alii and then have the Handi Van pick me up and bring me home. They are such terrific people.

"It may not be our business to determine how good we are or how

valuable or how our dancing compares with other expressions.

It may be our business to keep it ours clearly and directly

in mind and to keep all views open" 

 

Update

This blog is moving nicely even in its downward trend. We just have to keep working at it. So the news of our kind of dancing and our people in all the blogs remains static for the moment. These blogs have in the main been for the Social or Cultural dancer. Of course as per usual, the town blogs specially have included the Night Club, the Peripherals, the Line dancers and the Ballroom "to be seen" groups too. As long as they are willing to be included. And we will respect those that do not wish to be involved.

"Laugh in the face of adversity, and go ahead and leap before you look.

Dance as though EVERYBODY is watching. March to the beat of

your own drummer. And stubbornly refuse to fit in.”

Platinum Horseshoe is doing fine with Kapolei Chapter HBDA and Wahiawa Ballroom Dance Club covering the territory in West Oahu. They have contributed photos, posters and articles which are Social Media and of interest to the readers. They are getting to be well known in the neighbor islands and they have been recognized as far as the Philippines. However we have not heard from them in a while so we must seek dance news from the Waianae Coast and the North Shore. "Seek, and you shall find."

"Stranger In Paradise" by Tony Bennett

Dancing in the Dark remains as  a periodic review of all the blogs and anyone else that wishes to get in with their information on the dance front, for now only Oahu, but the neighbor islands will be included in the future We just have to be careful to include only those that wish to be included. I will attempt to go to Makua Alii on Thursday evening and post on Friday. I may get some help from the Handi Van who are the absolute greatest.

"Dancing can reveal everything mysterious that is hidden in music,

and it has the additional merit of being human and enjoyable.

More Terminology

"All of this is the most basic and even the musicians are not all that sure of anything,

but all of it is just passing clouds. All good things must come to an end.

And bad things don't stay bad all the time."

Latin pop refers to pop music that contains sound or influence from Latin America but it can also mean pop music from anywhere, Latin pop usually combines upbeat Latin music with American pop music, and first reached a global audience through the work of bandleader Sergio Mendes in the mid-1960s. In later decades, it was defined by the romantic ballads that legendary artists such as Julio Iglesias, Roberto Carlos or Lucho Gatica produced back in the 1970s.

Norteño: Spanish for "northern." This music originated in northern Mexico and uses accordion and bajo sexto (12-string guitar) instrumentation. Not much is played in Hawaii.

"Siboney" by Rene Touzet 

Ranchera: A sentimental Mexican song form with romanticized lyrics about love or pastoral life. Most popular when played by Mariachis. It is very much accepted in all of Latin America and considered country music. Coming in slowly to Oahu.

Q. What's the monster's favorite desert?
A. I-Scream!!

Regional Mexican music: An umbrella term used for a number of styles of music that originated in Mexico and share some characteristics. Used extensively in Central America.

"No Te Olvidare" by Gloria Estefan

Rumba: The basic of most of the Caribbean dances. Three hundred years ago, all these dances, on different islands with a rock step and a slow step had many names, calypso, beguine, son etc. They were "por ese rumbo." (Da kine, In a like fashion) The terminology merely changed gender to La Rumba because the word dansa is feminine and the name became centered in Cuba.  It has since evolved into the sexiest (no grope) dance in existence and a favorite throughout Hawaii and even in the Philippines.

"Moliendo Cafe" por Azucar Moreno

Salsa: The term is used to describe different styles of dance music with Mambo - Rumba roots. Also refers to the dance style. Has been in for a long time but this year it has hit the "burn out" in New York as Bachata stepped in. They are doing very well in Hawaii but It may hit by the end of this year.

Spanish rock is the term used for the variety of rock music produced in Spain. Most bands formed in Spain have sung in Spanish, but many others have sung in English, French and Italian. It has also been combined with Latin Pop to romantic Bolero - Rumba music in all of Latin America.with a distinct flavor using traditional sounds from their respective countries.

"Beautiful Maria, Of My Soul" by Antonio Banderas

Tejano: Spanish for "Texan." This genre is a roots-based hybrid of traditional Mexican rancheras, polkas and cumbias updated with blues, pop and country strains. Some Mexican Americans from Texas refer to themselves as Tejanos. And the music is sometimes referred to as "Tex Mex Music."

"If you are not a thinking person,

for what purpose are you a person at all?"

The Waltz on Oahu

Amazing how many good Waltz dancers there are on Oahu. The Viennese Waltz is danced quite often at the famous Palladium simply because of the big dance floor.  If the tempo is near 200 beats per minute (BPM’s) then the best waltz style is a Viennese waltz, which is much faster than the other forms of waltz. While the preferred music is an authentic Strauss waltz, other composers and types of music may exhibit the three count fast tempo that works well for Viennese waltz. The Latin fast Waltzes have a definite Latin flavor with a chassé. and you can dance your Samba patterns perfectly to the music.  There is less rise and fall, as well as, less sway in the Viennese style of waltz since it moves so rapidly.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence,
therefore, is not an act but a habit."

International style waltz is similar to American style waltz with the main difference being that the dance partners maintain a closed position throughout the dance. It is not customary to open up in the International waltz. Also, it was heavily standardized in the early twentieth century in England to make it easier for judging panels to score the dance during dance competitions. This process of standardization made the International waltz the perfect form for Dancesport. It is still danced in Europe socially but less so in America but it is the most common form of waltz for competitions. The music is similar to waltz music commonly used for Amerian style waltz but some of the competition music is slightly slower.

"The Maui Waltz" by Loyal Garner

The American Waltz is the dance's most common name today, but it was also known as American Slow Waltz, American Box Step and sometimes the Boston Waltz or simply the Boston. The Boston Waltz is the dance's original name because it was introduced in Boston during the 1830s. The dance was much slower than the prevailing standard waltz of the 19th century, the rotary or circular waltz and the Viennese Waltz, being danced at merely 28-30 measures per minute, rather than the Viennese or Quick Waltz's 54-58 measures per minute.

  "Cuando Escuchez Este Valse" por Vicente Fernandez

This has allowed dancers not only the ease of a slower tempo, but afforded them more time during the music's measures to introduce elements like rise and fall which we have come to distinguish waltz by in the modern mind. In Hawaii it is the preferred dance style and some people are offended by Live Music that when a Waltz is requested they play a Viennese Waltz. The American style of the music is very much appreciated in Hawaii.

Blogger's Law #13D:

To err is human -- to blame it on someone else is even more human.

Latin Dances

There are over 1000 dances that could be included as Latin Dances and that are danced today. This covers a territory from Tierra Del Fuego at the lower end of South America all the way up to include California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and including the Caribbean. How about some Terminology to get us educated, including me, in alphabetical order.

"It would be nice to have taxation without misrepresentation."

Banda: "Band," in Spanish, it often refers to a group of musicians that play a specific kind of music. Banda music is especially popular in northwestern Mexico and California; a traditional banda utilizes core instruments such as trumpets, trombones, tubas and drums. Tijuana Brass by Herb Alpert.

"No Se Tu" by Luis Miguel 

Cumbia: A simple dance rhythm that originated in Colombia and danced in Merengue style. Also a song performed in this rhythm. Cumbia is one of the most popular rhythms in norteño music. The Mexican style uses sax, keyboards, syncopated percussion and often humorous lyrics. Cumbias are fast songs.

Latin music: As used in the U.S. music industry, the term refers to Spanish-language music including, but not limited to, Latin, or Spanish-language, pop; Spanish rock; salsa, and all genres under the regional Mexican and Caribbean field.

"Perfidia"  por Placido Domingo

Merengue: This upbeat dance music originally from the Dominican Republic uses the tambora (a double-headed drum played with a bare hand or stick), accordion and guiro (metal scraper).

Is there more? Of course!

whatsup?

I have even slowed down on my blogging. I will wake up next week, I think. I have to plan on going out more, now the swelling has gone down on my foot and I can wear my shoes comfortably. Then I have the Handi Van which makes thing much easier.

"The true test of intelligence is not how much you know how to do

but how you behave when you don't know what to do."

So far the best advance I have seen for dancing on this island is the new HBDA studio in Aiea, I have always stated and carried the photo in my Platinum Horseshoe blog of what was the best dance floor in the West and that was at the Waianae District Park. Not only that but I could find no record of it ever being used for dancing. The new dance club that will be created in the Waianae Coast will be there.

"I Will Remember You" by Jimmy Borges

HBDA has the floor and hopefully they will find a way to have the dancers in the area make full use of it. The only bad news is the Rail Disaster and that is gonna cost the ones in the way the most. Adding to the bad news is that the estimates of the actual cost of constructing the Rail Tragedy keeps going up and there are already at least ten new millionaires created among the Fat Cats of Honolulu. It was always the bread, Fred. It was the money, Honey!

"Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room."