A Showcase For All Seasons

Doug Kesler’s Fall showcase - “A Showcase For All Seasons” was held at the Pacific Beach Hotel, Grand Ballroom on Friday, October 21, 2011. The event was full of fun, color, and excitement, that you would expect from one of Doug’s showcases.

Helping Doug, as Mistress of Ceremonies, was Shari Berinobis who everyone in the Hawaii ballroom community knows or has heard about. Her always happy personality kept the spirits high and the program moving at a lively pace.

The food was tasty, the music was good, and there was lots of general dancing to be enjoyed by all the dancers in the audience. Music was provided by Star Pointe Mobile Disco. If you click on the collages and further enlarge them, especially the ones of the general dancing, you’ll be able to see lots of little details and maybe an interesting shot or two of yourself.

For this showcase, Doug had 17 performances, divided into three groups. Some of the students did more than one performance (rather than having two sets of pictures for each performance, for those who did more than one, I’ve combined them into one collage). Adding to the number of performances was Joe Shorba, Owner and Instructor at Koko Head Dance Studio in Hawaii Kai, dancing with some of his students.

I think I got some pretty good shots of the performers. I’m sure they all practiced hard and did their best to show their technique and the character of their dances. I’m not a dance critic, but I think they all did a wonderful job. I think the pictures speak for themselves. I hope you enjoy them.

First up on the evening’s program was Ellen Oster with Mr. Shorba (actually, they were the third performance to take to the floor). Ellen danced a fun and cheeky Cha-cha-cha. She would come on again, later in the evening during Act III, dancing the Swing - again with Mr. Shorba.


Second on the program, (but first on the floor) in Act I, was Ms. Marti Barham dancing the Rumba with David Iwamoto.








Third on the program was Robert Timosko dancing the Fox Trot with Mr. Kesler. Robert came back in Act II, dancing the Waltz with Mr. Kesler.







Fourth were Kenji and Kai Iwasa dancing the Swing to “Let’s Fall In Love”. I don’t know, but they look like they’re already in love. :-)








Fifth was Priscilla Dang dancing a Tango with Mr. Kesler. I’ve never seen her perform before. It was announced that she has been dancing ballroom for only 5 months. She took to the floor like a seasoned dancer. She would return in Act III, dancing the Cha-cha-cha with Mr. Kesler

Closing Act I were Mike Agor and Marcia Sorbo dancing the Paso Doble to “You’re A Grand Old Flag” - a rather patriotic theme - apparent in their costume. But, unmistakably Paso Doble.





More General Dancing











Act II opened with Ms. Colleen Monaghan dancing a Swing with Mr. Shorba. It was danced to the tune of “Cooler Than Me”, and had a lot of “attitude”.







Also in Act II were Mark and Patty Dela Cruz dancing the soft, flowing, and graceful American Waltz.









Mark and Patty were followed by Ms. Debbie Nobler, dancing an elegant and lively Viennese Waltz with Mr. Kesler.








Next in Act II was Ms. Lyla Berg dancing a lovely and graceful Fox Trot with Mr. Kesler.










Closing Act II was April Patricio dancing an American Waltz with Mr. Kesler to the tune of “Silent Night”. April is no newcomer to ballroom dance performances and each year, she gets more graceful.



Act III was opened by Ivan John and Nancy Luckie performing a Waltz to “Sunrise Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof. Ivan, sporting a yarmulke, looked very proper and proud. Together with Nancy’s grace, it was an enjoyable performance.



Unfortunately, just as I was taking the last shots of Ivan and Nancy’s performance, I ran into technical difficulties. My camera stopped taking pictures. I fiddled with it for a while, taking out the memory card, and battery and replacing them -all during Amy Weber’s performance of a really fun looking Samba with Mr. Kessler, danced to the tune of “In The Summertime”. So, I’m really sorry that I can’t share any images of Amy’s performance. When I got everything back together, Amy’s performance was over and Ellen Ostler had started her 2nd performance. I was able to get three shots of Ellen’s performance and the camera stopped again. I later determined that my battery had not been fully charged. My fault. Anyway, I did get a shot of Amy Weber, earlier in the evening during the Performers’ Lineup. She’s out in front in this shot - with the colorful leggings.

So, in the Final Act, Ivan and Nancy were followed by Amy Weber & Mr. Kesler’s Samba, Ellen Ostler & Mr. Shorba’s Swing, Priscilla Dang & Mr. Kesler’s Cha-cha, and April Patricio’s Bolero with Mr. Kesler.

After a Presentation of Awards, the evening continued with lots more General Dancing. AND, the Bar stayed open until 11:00!!

It was a fun evening.

With Aloha,
Calvin & Debra