HBDA ANNIVERSARY BALL

At the invitation of our good friends Paul & Marie Laderta, we attended the Hawaii Ballroom Dance Association’s 50th Golden Anniversary Ball at the Sheraton Waikiki Resort Hotel. What an event! There were over 600 attendees! We had a great time.

There was a brief period of awards presentations conducted by Benny & Faith Agbayani, recognition of each chapter represented, as well as recognition of various notables such as the Ichinose family.

Lt. Governor, Duke Aiona attended (not just an appearance, but enjoyed the dinner and dancing as well), and gave a nice recognition speech.

The dinner buffet was quite good - the chicken was soft and moist, the beef was tender, the vegetables were not overdone - all-in-all a very nice meal.

There was also a 50th Anniversary cake ceremony, with candles being blown out by this 92 year-young member. We really must apologize for not remembering her name (Sally Sato) - we’re still new to this community. Most of you probably recognize her and know who she is. She looked radiant and decades younger than her chronological age.

A big part of the program was, of course, the formation dances presented by each of the HBDA Chapters. There were 15 formations altogether and, we must say, this part of the program was orchestrated quite well. It can’t be easy presenting 15 formations made up of 8 to 12 couples in each formation, and have everything go smoothly. But, it did. It went like clockwork. As one group was exiting the floor, the next group was ready to come on. The presentation was done in two segments with general dancing in-between.

All of the performers did a great job and the entire formation dance program was entertaining and enjoyable. Sure, there were some missed steps, an occasional directional or timing slip, and a few technical challenges.

But, if you keep in mind that these performers are moms, pops, cousins, uncles, gramps, aunties, grandmas and even great grandparents from your neighborhood, you’ve got to give them all a great round of applause. They were there strictly to entertain and entertain they did. Bravo to all of them!


Each formation team had colorful and well thought out costumes which matched their music and choreography. Each team had interesting and fun choreography. Some may have been a little more elaborate than others, depending on the choreographer. But, they all did an equally great job.

We enjoyed watching each and every one of them and thank them for their wonderfully entertaining performances. And, we can’t forget about the general dancing. There was a nice spacious floor and it was packed with hundreds of dancers during the general dancing sessions.

The Last Waltz at 11:00 P.M.

The music was great with a nice mix of tunes and played by an obviously well experienced veteran DJ who kept the rhythm and mood going all night long.

We were amazed to see that the large dance floor was still packed for the Last Waltz played at 11:00 p.m. It was obvious that people were having a great time at this event, as did we. This is what the floor looked like when the last song was played. Amazing.

AND, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, in attendance was our one and only PEPE! (Joe Martel). The man behind the camera and the founder of the much appreciated dance publications - DnD and DWO, and, without whom, we would not be enjoying these blogs. Here he is with his favorite rum and coke. Aloha Pepe!

Calvin & Debra Ota