July 2011 Palladium Schedule of Events

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More Dance Venues For July

FYI: Big happenings coming in August and October at the Pacific Beach Hotel.

Friday, Aug. 5: Bantay Bata Dance For Orphans
Friday, Aug. 19: IBDI 50th Anniversary Ball
Friday, Oct. 28: Pan Pacific 37th Anniversary Ball

For more info and tickets to all events listed, please see Lynn or ph. 372-2256. Mahalo!

More Fun With Samba and Hustle Variations

Maybe you've been warming the seat while jealously sparking the dancers on the floor, the cool easy way in which they move their bodies, the way they melt into the sound becoming one with the music. Well, you gotta stop putting the brakes on and let yourself go like setting your spirit go on the loose. That's what Lani and I did last night at Renna's Samba Variation dance class. Boy! That energetic duo of Renna and Sergio can sure whip up some vigorous moves that can burn up our storeroom of collected energy. We were into our fourth lesson and it appeared like everyone was on the same page for this fast moving dance. We got a few more lessons to lick before the end of this wonderful session with IBDI. No time to put the brakes on; just gotta let the spirit soar to the tempo of the music.

Tonight, no time to hit the skids at Hale Ikena with the Swing Hustle. Last week Joshua and Stephanie revealed a fast syncopatate step that boggled the mind at first try. Learning this 70's craze wasn't as easy as I thought but the Hustle has been revived and if we don't want to be seat warmers while jealously watching others have fun, we gotta let the spirit soar.
One popular dance teacher said about Disco or Hustle Dancing and I quote: "Stamina is what you need, first and foremost. Walk briskly for at least a half hour each day. Or if you're more ambitious, jump rope for five minutes every day, or jog for twenty minutes three time a week. The idea is to condition your body by getting moving...and keeping moving. If you begin regular walking, jumping, or running, almost immediately you will notice an improvement in your stamina and well-being. Start jogging today, and you might not make it around the block. But after a week or so, you should be able to do at least a half mile." So it was non-stop Hustle tonight as Joshua and Stephanie continued the fast moving syncopated steps but first we started with some isolation exercise for warm up. Then the fun began learning some more flashy variations that can be used for dance exhibition showcase. Come to think of it, Renna's and Sergio's Samba variations have showcase quality movements, too.

Buddy Schwimmer Workshop This Weekend

Just a reminder. Previously posted on May 17, 2011

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Aloha Students of Dance,
If you're longing to learn the HUSTLE, or NIGHTCLUB 2 STEP, or WEST COAST SWING from the "King of Swing", here's an early tip. Buddy Schwimmer, better known as the "King of Swing" is headed our way for a two-day workshop at the Palladium in June. For the younger generation, he's better known as the papa of Benji (So You Think You Can Dance), and Lacey (Dancing With The Stars). Carolyn Noah is spearheading this event. So if you got the hots for these Club Dances, bettah give her a jingle for more info before they close the registration for the workshop. Left click on accompanying poster to zoom in. You can also get a Registration Form by contacting Carolyn via e-mail. One more important thing; you gotta have the recommended level of dance experience before you enroll.

Divino Ritmo Celebrates Summer In Paradise

Hello Frank & Lani:
So good to see you both at the Matsuri dance. It's been a while.
Yes, Suddenly it's summer and suddenly's it's the next Cupola dance for Divino Ritmo! So once again, we impose on you to help us post our announcement and get the word out! Mahalo my friends and good summer dancing!
Best regards,
Marie


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We BLINKED, and suddenly it's summer - from Memorial Day celebration to summer fun at the Cupola!

Coming up next Tuesday, June 28th, 7-10pm is once again Divino Ritmo's social dance, AND celebration of SUMMER IN PARADISE at the Cupola! Cupola is on the 2nd floor of the Honolulu Design Center, corner of Piikoi & Kapiolani, at 1250 Kapiolani Blvd.
Admission is FREE and it's open to the public, with pupus and drinks available for purchase all evening!
Where did the time go? It seems like just last week we were packing up our Spring and Mardi Gras decorations. Now suddenly it's Summer in Paradise! Ah summer, what does summer in Hawaii hold for us? We cannot believe how fast this year went by. It was so much fun dancing, learning new steps, meeting new friends, attending showcases, & for some, competing and strutting their stuff, whatever it was, we had a blast every single day.

Lucas once said, his vision is to have lights strung across the beach, with people in their sundresses and dancing barefoot. He wanted a place where he & Yanna, his students, & the whole community could come out and dance under the stars. Thus began the tradition of last Tuesday dancing at the Cupola!

All we want to do is invite our students & friends to dance with us. "We want our social dance to be a place people like coming to, and we love them, and we try to provide music people would continuously dance to, from the first song to the last, and where we have the hardest time getting them to leave..." - this is Lucas' & Yanna's "summer dream," and they invite you to come and make their dream come true at Cupola's Summer dance next Tuesday!

For more information, contact:
Lucas: divinoritmo@aol.com, ph: (917) 568-3173;
Yanna: Yannajs@gmail.com, ph: (732) 499-0407

Tango - The Dance of Love and Hate

I picture a ferocious tiger; a predator with its silent but definite stride roaming the jungle in hunt for a prey when dancing the Tango. Other times its two gauchos circling each other in a desperate fight for the woman they love. That's drama in dancing the Tango! If you're thinking Tempestuous Tango, here's the spill for partner dancing.

When the Tango was introduced from Buenos Aires at the end of the nineteenth century, it was considered exotic and suggestive. It didn't become a rage until it was modified and standardized so that it could be "respectably" danced in the casino ballrooms of the early 1900. By 1915, "Tango Clubs" had proliferated. Restaurants with dance floors had small Argentine Tango orchestras providing live accompaniment for the tea dancers in the "clubs". The original Tango underwent numerous changes over the years, and was finally standardized in its present form in the twenties.

Of all ballroom dances, this one is probably the most stylized, and dramatic. (It has love, hate, anger, dismay, strength, and passion). There's no bouncing around in the Tango; the steps are long, smooth, and sleek. with the feet kept close to the floor. Each dance phrase is punctuated by a pregnant, poised pause, and begins with a quick head jerk that adds to the dramatic style. You can't carry off the Tango with stooped posture, so straighten up, lift your head high, point your nose into the future, and think sleek.

Like the Foxy Trot, the rhythm patterns of the slows and quicks in the Tango may be varied, as long as the dance phrase ends on the eighth count.

As the saying goes..."It takes Two To Tango". Dat's why a partner is highly recommended for this dance of love and hate.

USA Dance Mock Competition

Aloha Students of Dance,
If by chance you did not get this e-mail from my friends Richard and Lynn who are wonderful people and dancers, here's an event to plan for an evening of a colorful and an exciting showcase of some of Hawaii's top mock competition dancers.
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Hi All,

Please save Sat., July 23 for us. USA Dance will be having their mock competition and we will be participating in the mock competiton.
If you are free that evening, please come out and support us and USA Dance and invite your friends. It'll be a very enjoyable evening. There will be a lot of beautiful gowns and latin outfits that'll make watching the mock competiton exciting.

Place: Ala Wai Palladium
Cost: $8.00 in advance / $10.00 at the door
Time: 6:00pm - 9:45pm

General dancing, light refreshment, and the mock competition.

See me (Lynn) for tickets.
Mahalo,
Richard & Lynn
cell 372-2256 (Lynn)

The Jitterbug

Okay, kids! (I say that without sounding like an Oldy but Goody). I've seen a lot of groovy dancing but Swing Dancing has gotta be da COOLEST! And so is Salsa Merengue! But everyone loves to dance the Swing be it Jitterbug, EastCoast Swing, Jive, or even WestCoast Swing. If you are the product of the 50's and Bee Bopping and Rock 'n' Rolling with your main squeeze was your favorite hottee pasttime, then check out what started the whole craze. So we gotta go way back before I was born or maybe you guys and ladies, too....Hmmmm!

When Charles Lindbergh flew solo over the Atlantic in 1927, people commemorated the event by naming all sorts of things after him, including a wild novelty and popular dance that was christened the "Lindy Hop". In the 30's, the steps were revised slighty to synchronize with Swing music played by the big bands. By the late 1930's, the Lindy became known as the "Swing", and everyone was struck with Swing fever. Across the country, each neighborhood had its own style of swinging. Teens particularly went Swing crazy, and some wilder spinoffs such as the Crazy Shag and the Jitterbug began to develop. (The Jitterbug is reported to have come out of Harlem in the 30's and embraces a wilder and more exhibitionlike style with some improvised steps). The "closed" and "break" positions with aerial lifts and jumps, and the furious footwork made the dancers resemble a bunch of "jittery bugs"; hence the name "Jitterbug". ......(excerpts from partner dances). Pau fo' now....

WASABI Goin' Hot In July

Great Balls Of Fire! Doreen and the talented WASABI 50's & 60's Oldies Band bringing live music to the Cupola Theater. Just got this e-mail from the leader of the band, Doreen Nakamoto, and I couldn't help busting out laughing at her humor. Go ahead and read it and see if it tickles your funny bone, too.
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For our new venture at Honolulu Design Center's Cupola Theatre beginning & happening on Thursday, July 7, 2011, from 6:30-10:00 p.m., we were very fortunate to have been asked to do this weekly Thursday night event, thanks to our friend, Mary Beth who recommended us, and we want to do all possible to make this a success because this is a wonderful venue! If you've never been to the Honolulu Design Center, you're really gonna love this place! It is very nice!!! There's going to be valet parking, so pull up into the parking garage from the Piikoi side of the building. Enter the building thru the glass sliding doors from the garage and take either the escalator to your immediate right, or the elevator to your left, to the 2nd floor. The A'muse Bar & Cupola Theatre is on the Piikoi side of the building. There will be a $5 cover charge at the door to the Cupola with drink specials & $5 pupu specials.

***We will be there every Thursday with the exception of Thurs. 7/21 & Thurs. 8/04 because the Cupola was already booked on those 2 dates for private parties.***

Please share and invite all your family, friends, neighbors, workmates...We are going to PARTY! Here's our WASABI public gig schedule for JULY:

- Thursday, 07 July: "The Cellar" @ Honolulu Design Center's Cupola Theatre. A dance event from 6:30-10:00 p.m.

- Friday, 08 July: Ige's Restaurant & 19th Puka. 8:30-11:30 p.m.

- Thursday, 14 July: "The Cellar" @ Honolulu Design Center's Cupola Theatre. 6:30-10:00 p.m.

- Thursday, 21 July: St. Louis Alumni. 7:00-10:00 p.m.

- Thursday, 28 July: "The Cellar" @ Honolulu Design Center's Cupola Theatre. 6:30-10:00 p.m.

We cannot thank you enough for all your love & support of our music! Without you, we would not have been able to enjoy our passion for good music, good friends, & good times! (Plus, Rodney wouldn't have had the honor & privilege of being the brunt of all my jokes! Don't you think he was given the right name? RODNEY, as in RODNEY DANGERFIELD, the guy who got NO RESPECT!!!!!!
We are still looking for something useful for Rodney to do...hmmmmmm...I know! I know! He can be our mascot!
Wait a minute ...................andagi (Okinawan donut) and wasabi don't match, and can't be eaten together...YUCK! Oh well, back to the drawing board. Maybe we can put a paper sack over his head and pretend he's NOT there! he he he) Until we meet again...a hui hou!

Love from me & da boyz,
Doreen

Nifty 50's & 60's Oldies Bash 2011

A bit early announcement but please take heed. Last year's event drew 700 oldies lovers and it was a sellout crowd. So if you want to relive those "Happy Days" of the 50's and 60's, you gotta make plans before the deadline of September 14. Bettah yet surf over to Website: Niftyoldiesbash.net for more info and the registration form. Or give Wendell Kwan or Diane Yoshida a jingle at the phone numbers listed. Lani and I really enjoyed last years roaring event and I think you will, too. And no forget to dress up like the 50's and 60's.

Keep On Dancing This Week

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Gonna be a busy week for Lani and me. International Samba with Sergio and Renna on Monday, new Swing Hustle by Joshua and Stephanie, and Social Waltz by Robert and Vanelle opening at the Hale Ikena this Tuesday. Lani and I will be assisting Robert and Vanelle. Also ongoing at the Hale Ikena on Thursday is Richard and Lynn's International Tango and Quickstep. Our CSA dance classes starts this Wednesday at Kaiser CSA, and at Ali'iolani CSA this Thursday. Then there's the Matsuri Goodwill Dance at the Pacific Beach Hotel this Friday, and IBDI Monthly Dance at the Palladium this Saturday. Surf down to the June Palladium Schedule for more afternoon week day, and evening weekend dancing.

Line Dancing With Salome

Aloha Students of Dance,
A long time friend (we go way back when she choreographed "Flash Dance" for the Hawaii Kai Chapter of HBDA which Lani and I were in many many moons ago). It was the first time a Chapter had broken the tradition of ballroom formation dancing and introduced Jazz Dancing as our Chapter's group formation.


Our choreographer was Jazz dancer Salome who wears a number of hats. She is a performing member of the Step*Taculars, a former Ballroom Dance Teacher, and have for many years stretched her talents into Line Dancing. She is opening a morning class in East Honolulu at Kahala Mall. You can contact Salome for more info. (Left click on poster to zoom in)

Hale Ikena Ballroom Dance Classes

Just knocked ourselves out at the first Hale Ikena "Fun Dance, Dance, Dance Social", Richard and Lynn Nakamura are continuing another 6 rounds of dance classes. This time with the addition of a Wednesday night dance class and new qualified to teach dance instructors. Joshua Manzano and Stephanie Shimizu are bringing the SWING HUSTLE to Tuesdays, and Robert and Vanelle Hirayasu will follow with the next class in the American Social Waltz. On Wednesdays, Joshua and Elsie McGrew will start off with the LINE DANCING, followed by Joshua and Stephanie with the NIGHTCLUB 2 STEP. This Thursday (June 9), Richard and Lynn Nakamura continues the session with Part II in the International Tango and International Quickstep. (Left click on poster for more info)

WASABI Hot @The St. Louis Alumni Clubhouse

For you dance lovers who want to start the weekend a bit earlier, checkout Doreen's e-mail announcement of what's happening on Thursday the 9th of June.
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Hi!

Looking forward to another great night at St. Louis Alumni next week Thursday, June 9, from 7:00-11:00 p.m. Hope you guys can make it!

FYI, St. Louis Alumni will start the $5.00 cover charge from next month. I think that's a good thing bcz they must be taking a loss...not too many drinkers in our crowd...I think only da Kitchen might be making a little money, but the St. Louis bar is not, so let's support this excellent venue. This is such a nice, clean, and convenient place, plus it's air-conditioned, so it's also very comfortable for dancing.

See you all soon!

Love from me & da boyz,
Doreen