Keep On Dancing!!

At Christopher Bayot’s invitation, we attended his first “Keep On Dancing” social dance for 2012, this past Friday. Most of you are familiar with Christopher. Owner and Instructor at Keep On Dancing Studios on Ward Avenue, Christopher’s been on the local dancing scene for a long time. He teaches all forms of ballroom dancing, both American and International. In fact, Christopher was our first ballroom instructor and we competed in our first Hawaii Star Ball in 2005, under his coaching.

We got to his studio around 8:00 and the party was in full swing. There was a nice crowd there and we saw quite a few familiar faces. Live music was being provided by Jesse Gonzales. There was punch on the table, along with mochiko chicken, cocktail sausages, poke, cheese, and other snacks to help keep your energy up.

We hadn’t gone to one of Christopher’s socials in a long time. I believe he stopped having them for a while. Anyway, Christopher announced that he will be having a studio social dance on the First and Third Friday of the month. He has a new format that he is trying and hopes that you will drop in from time to time to dance and have fun socializing.

Christopher is providing another dance venue for you ballroom dancers, other than the Palladium and Warrior’s Lounge. He does charge a cover of $13 at the door. However, you can get tickets for $10 if you buy them in advance - the tickets are good for any Friday social for as long as he is having them. There is no expiration date on the tickets. Because this is a private studio, unlike the Palladium, you are welcome to bring in your own snacks and beverages of your choice, including alcohol. Bring your favorite cocktail mix or your favorite bottle of wine - no corkage fee. The cover charge helps pay for the studio overhead and music. Christopher provides cups, plates, napkins and plastic utensils. Not a bad deal.

At most of his socials, Christopher will also give a mini group lesson or lead the group in a fun line dance - the ladies love that, as you can see from the pictures. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

If you’re familiar with Jesse Gonzales, from the Warrior’s lounge, you know he plays all the standard ballroom music as well as West Coast Swing and other dance music. When Jesse’s taking a break, Christopher or his assistants keep the music going with great recorded music.

And, for you fans of Bruno Mars, did you know that Christopher is Bruno’s uncle? Yup, Bruno Mars is Christopher’s nephew, through his sister. Hey, maybe Bruno will pop into Christopher’s studio during one of these Friday night socials - you never know. If you think you might like this type of studio social dance, drop on by. The Keep On Dancing Studio is on the corner of Ward Avenue and Halekauwila Street, directly above the Kanpai Bar & Grill. There’s plenty of parking. If the parking lot behind the building is full, you can park in the parking lot across the street in front of Ross and Sports Authority.

Christopher is in the phone book and has a website: http://keepondancing.net/

That’s it for now.
Aloha,
Calvin & Debra