Pan Pacific 37th Inaugural Ball

This past Friday, October 28, 2011, the Pan Pacific Ballroom Dance Society had its 37th Inaugural Ball at the Pacific Beach Hotel, Grand Ballroom. There were some formalities early in the evening, with the Installation of Officers for 2012 by Gary Cabato who currently heads the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation. This was followed by the President’s Message, provided by Pan Pacific President, Rudy Luat. I didn’t have my camera out and clicking during this part of the program so I apologize to the Officers, Directors, and Rudy for not having pictures to post.

I did eventually get my camera out and got lots of shots of the dancers on the floor and the special dance performances. The event, which was organized by Ed & Matilda Felix, ran smoothly under the direction of M.C., Michael Goya. Music for the evening was provided by Henry Lee.

There was lots of general dancing and people really seemed to be enjoying themselves. If you enlarge the general dancing collages, you can see some pretty candid shots of everyone who came to support the event.




At around 9:15, after dinner, the formalities, and some general dancing, the performers came on to entertain the guests. First up were Ed and Matilda Felix performing the International Tango. As you know, Ed & Matilda are seasoned performers and they lit up the floor with Matilda’s fiery red gown and a solid Tango performance.

Next to perform were Rolly and Gloria Padasdao. They performed a Bolero choreographed by Yanna Samkova. Gloria acted and talked as if she were nervous before the performance, but once she was on the floor, she performed wonderfully. And, with Rolly’s confidence, they did a great job. Very nice performance by Rolly and Gloria.

Following the Bolero was an International Waltz performed by Ed and Candace Matsuda. Before the performance, Candy looked a bit nervous. Maybe a little more than a “bit” nervous - she could hardly sit still. Ed was more “matter-of-fact”, but I think he felt some pressure too. But, as the pictures tell, they did a great job and should feel very good about their performance.

They had a little general dancing here and there between the performances and I took the opportunity to just click away, trying to capture the mood of the evening. All the general dancing pictures were taken throughout the evening and just thrown together in a hodgepodge collage.

Getting back to the performances, after Ed and Candy Matsuda were Edwin and Charlotte Bugarin performing a lively Cha-cha. Almost everyone in the local ballroom dance community are familiar with Ed and Char. They’ve been dancing and entertaining local audiences for years. They just started amateur competition (about time) and they’re doing great. They competed in Amateur International Latin at the Hawaii Star Ball and took First Place in all dances.

Next to take the stage were Ayami and Angel performing a Salsa influenced contemporary ? type dance entitled Beauty in Motion. Angel has also been dancing for many years and teaching Salsa and women’s styling. Debra and I took our very first dance lessons together (in Salsa) from Angel and Greg Henry.

Last, but not least, was an International Standard Medly performed by the Pan Pacific Formation Team comprised of Eric & Luby Brienzo, Robert & Amy Lau, Ray & Audrey Dang, Ed & Matilda Felix, and Jim & April McConnell. Debra & I haven’t done any formation dancing, but I’m sure getting multiple couples to dance synchronously can be a challenge. The Team did a great job with both the choreography and expressing the character of each dance.

Following the performances, there was lots more general dancing. As the evening wore on, as did our feet, I started feeling a little tired. June and David, and Amy and Neal, who were at our table left before us. Mike and Lori, who were also at our table, changed their shoes and looked like they were ready to go. I nudged Debra and hinted that maybe we should call it a night. Ha! Getting Debra to leave a ballroom before the last song is played is like . . . . . never mind. Veronica and Ed, who were also at our table seem to be hard-core dancers too because they stayed on the floor till the end. Fortunately, by this time, there were only three songs left for the evening. Mike and Lori stuck around and we all left together. It was another fun evening.

With Aloha,
Calvin & Debra