ACADEMY DANCE NEWS - Latin and Ballroom Dancing on Maui

DID YOU KNOW…?
<strong>Dancing</strong> began with the
advantage of little cards on the tables
detailing the order of the dances. So if
you wanted to ask that “special someone”
to dance the one <strong>and</strong> only dance you were
confident in, you knew well in advance
when it was going to happen, <strong>and</strong> could
prepare.
Aloha <strong>Ballroom</strong> Dance Academy is the
State of Hawaii’s Largest Dance Class!
NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA <strong>DANCE</strong>
By Eric Roberts
Academy Officers & Corporate Board Members
organize the New Year’s Eve Gala (back row:
left to right): Les Grimes, Cheri Ridings, S<strong>and</strong>y
Hook, Rita & Brian O’Connor; (front row, left to
right): Marty-Jean Bender, Julie Katz, Shelley
Ting, Julie Claire Holmes.
Photo by Ron Rinaldi
Dashing & Dapper Dancer Extraordaniare, Eric
Roberts.
Photo by Dan Cunningham
New Year’s Eve dawned warm
<strong>and</strong> bright on Maui. Because it was a
Saturday, there was no problem getting
volunteers to come to the Kihei
Community Center at noon to set up for
the evening’s festivities. About 20 people
swarmed in for two hours to clean <strong>and</strong>
organize the room for the party to come.
We hung icicle lights all around
the room, <strong>and</strong> a gold sparkly curtain at
the back of the stage with the year
‘2005’ prominently displayed. Twin disco
balls above the stage would add swirling
lights throughout the evening.
The tables looked like the
banquet planners from one of the major
hotels had prepared them. Black starry
tablecloths were laden with hats,
noisemakers, streamers, <strong>and</strong> little
bottles of bubbles in anticipation of that
magic moment to come. In between were
groups of champagne glasses <strong>and</strong>
battery-operated c<strong>and</strong>les (I do like the
ambience of c<strong>and</strong>les, but can do without
the wax drippings <strong>and</strong> the hazards of
open flames.)
Sparkling cider was placed in
the refrigerators to chill, <strong>and</strong> the room
was ready for the caterers to bring in
the food. Oh yes! No potluck dinner this
year. The Academy chipped in, <strong>and</strong> New
Year’s Eve guests paid a little extra for
tickets, but we didn’t have to worry
about preparing food while we were
frantically dressing <strong>and</strong> primping.
As we all left the set-up
operations, concentrating on err<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong>
plans for later that evening, no one
thought that there could be a problem
with something as basic as the facility. It
was a Saturday night, on a holiday
weekend, <strong>and</strong> everyone wanted to party!
Including, it appeared, the KCC staffer
who was supposed to supervise that
night.
When early arrivals tried to get
into the parking lot that evening, the
gate was closed <strong>and</strong> locked. With her cell
phone in h<strong>and</strong>, Rita started calling her
Parks & Recreation contacts, <strong>and</strong> only
after reaching one of the managers, who
happened to be in Arizona at the time of
the her phone call, was Rita able to get to
a Maui-based person with a key to let us
in!
Then, after getting inside the
main hall, the closet where the sound
system is stored was locked, too! Can you
imagine a dance party without music?
As searchers scoured the
grounds of the facility looking for anyone
working who might have a key to the
closet, Frank Hook went home to grab
the equipment that he <strong>and</strong> S<strong>and</strong>y use at
the MACC on Saturday night practices.
It wouldn’t be as impressive as
the Academy sound system, but at least
we would have music. Fortunately, as
Frank arrived with his equipment in tow,
the key was located <strong>and</strong> the closet was
opened.
2
Shel Braidman wishes Andrea & Cliff a “Happy
New Year” while Jack Condy dances a foxtrot
with a guest!
Photo by Ron Rinaldi, Academy Student
We did a Foxtrot mixer again,
which drew predictably mixed reviews. I
overheard comments ranging from “Do we
have to do this again???” to “Thank
goodness – I finally got to dance with
some of the better dancers!”
I guess it depends on your
situation. My opinion is that, like some of
the forced mingling at a high school
dance, it helps to get everyone in the
dancing spirit early in the evening.
Speaking as a male, I remember high
school dances where it took me 2 hours
of indecision to get up the nerve to ask
the first girl onto the floor, <strong>and</strong> then,
when I had finally conquered my fears,
the dance ended 30 minutes later. What
a disappointment!
The Academy’s caterer, Café
O’lei provided a marvelous spread. It was
all that more marvelous because I didn’t
have to bring anything. Pupus like chicken
satay skewers <strong>and</strong> pot stickers were
accompanied by incredible desserts. They
were so tempting that I was glad that
any resolutions to start losing weight in
the New Year didn’t take effect until
after midnight. My personal favorite was
the chocolate cake……drool.
About 10:00 it began to get
noticeably warm inside the room, <strong>and</strong> I
remembered that the A/C at the Center
is on a timer. All the doors were opened,
<strong>and</strong> cool breezes began to blow through –
but not before one elderly dancer had
fainted. Medics were called, but
fortunately the guest revived <strong>and</strong> walked
out to greet them under his own power.