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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? ...
"Ok, let's get started with our first dance!."
Nope, it's just Yvonne Anderson making another splashy entrance for her workshop with friend Glen Pospieszny.
Doug & Jackie refuse to be out done at there own event!
"No pictures right now. Doug has to get something taken care of at the front desk first!"Sometimes the hotel pool chlorine does terrible things to Doug Miranda's hair. Fortunately, the front desk is able to give him a hair neutralizer for only $10.50 plus gratuity.
Hi, is this Mrs. Edna Plum? Hi Edna, this is Jackie Miranda. I just wanted to remind you that I will be teaching our new dance "Wham!" at 9am and I wanted to make sure you came out....... Yes, I know what time it is..... Hello? Hello?
Jackie called all the dancers to let them know about her wonderful workshops and they really appreciated the personal service.
All of the instructors were pretty terrified when Doug told them they'd have to dance and sing to whatever he picks.
Will the real Doug Miranda, please step forward.
"Aren't we supposed to be doing a workshop now?"
Barry Amato and Joanne Brady played hooky during one of the workshop days.
Arrhg ya sure there ain't no ackehol in this?I didn't find any amusement in seeing folks trying to get the instructor's drunk.
Many of the folks just came out for the great food!
After the dancers were finished eating, their wasn't much left for the instructors.
"And the he, he, bus driver ho, ho said, Is that your he, he, flying squirrel or is your ha, ha camel in heat?"
Yvonne Anderson watches in amazement as Mike Sliter
and Joanne Brady amuse themselves with jokes only they can understand.
"If I don't fall, we'll see you all next year!"
Pictures and Captions courtesy of Mark.
Aloha With Ohona
Honolulu, HI.
April 14 - 21, 2004
EVENT DIRECTORS:
Doug & Jackie Miranda
Event
Directors Doug & Jackie Miranda
Glen and I departed for Hawaii on the morning of April 14th at 8am. Although a long flight, we were thrilled to gain 5 hours and still arrive during the early afternoon hours with some of the day left. Having never gone to Hawaii before, there were so many things to do and so little time. Given the half day status, we settled on checking out the International Marketplace and found lots of interesting and unique items to throw in our suitcases. Although the event package had us all arriving on Wed, the event itself didn’t start until Sunday and ran through Tuesday. Yes, this was an odd choice for days, but considering so many of the attendees were on vacation, very few seemed to mind this. But for those who felt they may experience dance withdrawals, each day featuring an hour and a half of pool side teaches by many on the instructor staff which included:
| Doug & Jackie Miranda |
Joanne Brady |
Barry & Dari Ann Amato |
| Yvonne Anderson | Mark Cosenza | Mike Sliter |
The instructors & staff from
Aloha with Ohana
Peter & Yvonne Anderson, Barry & Dari Anne Amato, Roxanne Ashley, Mike Sliter,
Doug & Jackie Miranda, Mark Cosenza, Joanne Brady, Glen Pospieszny
Personally, I thought it was great that we had so much free time at the beginning. And while I wish I could have explored more, it was great just to relax, check out the sites and do stuff with some of my friends over there. Doug & Jackie hosted a “get to know you all” picnic during the day on Thursday. Free Pizza and other stuff was handed out to the dancers and of course, no picnic that Doug & Jackie hosted would be complete without it’s picnic games. So we had dance contests, water balloon and egg tosses to participate and watch. This was such a nice way to meet and greet the dancers and I know everyone left having a fun time.
That night, Glen and I also opted to check out the luau so we can sample some of the native food. Let me warn you – Poi is a condiment and should not be eaten alone. Put it on something like the pork or even the veggies. The luau show featured one hit wonder Glen Medeiros (singer of the hit song “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You) and answered my question as to whatever happens to one hit wonders. He was a talented guy (except for some of his impressions), and I enjoyed the culture references and dancing. But I was hoping more for a luau like the one I saw on The Brady Bunch. Darn! Then again, I didn’t find any Tiki caves with old hermits that look like Vincent Price either.
Some of the instructors and
staff having a great time at the luau
The highlight for me was seeing Doug Miranda having the tables turned on him to have to participate in a game. And Doug didn’t disappoint as he had to wiggle his butt in a contest against several other men and took first prize. (Partly because we were the loudest group, but mostly because he really knew how to ham it up on stage – those who know Doug certainly won’t be shocked!)
The dance was held at a separate location called the Pavilion. Because nobody had transportation (except for me and Glen who couldn’t resist upgrading to convertible while we were exploring the island), Doug and Yvonne Anderson’s husband Peter spent a lot of time shuttling folks between the hotel and the dance Pavilion. This, in addition to having to set up tables, chairs, music equipment etc…. made for a lot of work and all of the staff had to help out at times. The dancers weren’t too thrilled about always having to be a captive audience all day and night, but Peter continued to do his best to shuttle folks on the hour during the first open dance and at times during the day. I’m pretty sure that next year, the package will be more of a hotel and dance together type of thing just for the sake of sanity. While the dancers all were promptly accommodated, I’m pretty sure that Doug & Jackie will be much happier not having to worry about this extra effort.
The Open Dancing & workshops were held at the Dance Pavilion
The dance schedule included about all new dances for the Hawaii dancers. (Heck, not a lot of events are there and it is very expensive for the locals to travel around like many of us do for a lot of events.) The schedule itself can be found here. Sunday, all of the instructors took a turn introducing one dance to the crowd before dinner and open dance. Monday and Tuesday, the rooms were divided into two and everyone had a choice of two workshops. Since each was repeated once, everyone had a chance to learn every dance if they wanted to. (And believe it or not, some did!)
My top favorites outside of my own included:
Last Call – Mike Sliter: OK, I must admit, it’s very rare I consider doing country waltzes, especially slower ones, but the music was great and Mike is exceptional at making sure the steps flow with the music. Many of you probably aren’t familiar with Mike, but he is a West Coast favorite and has been doing this for many years without the benefit of much publicity outside of the area. I strongly hope you’ll consider checking this dance out. Glen has already committed to making this his first teach on Thursday night.
Funkyfied – Yvonne Anderson: The music is great and this one is a bit trickier to get down than her last huge hit, Choc-o-latte (hope I got the hyphens right). But, once you get it down (and we’re not talking major difficult here), you’ll feel good about this one.
Wham! – Doug & Jackie Miranda: Done to Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, this one is a keeper. Although it’s one wall and phrased, it’s not terribly difficult. I plan to give this one a shot with my class.
High Class Broads – Joanne Brady (& someone else): One of the most popular dances done at the event. The floor was filled during open dance.
Funkytown – Barry & Dari Ann Amato: I already mentioned this one in other reports but since it’s the only dance taught that I knew, I figured it would be silly to feature it in a separate report.
Yvonne Anderson & Mark Cosenza
doing gorilla impressions for the camera.
But check out the entire schedule and many more of the dances taught for yourself, there wasn’t a real lemon in the bunch. My teaches include the newly revamped Bugle Bop 2004, Sway and No More Excuses. As with about all of the dances taught, all of these had a terrific presence during open dance and I hope you’ll check them out as well.
The workshops on Monday and Tuesday featured lunches prepared and served by all of the instructors. It basically was like a soup kitchen line as the dancers held out their plates to receive their meals. This was just more extra effort that was put out to make sure the dancers were taken care of.
The instructors joyfully served the dancers
Monday night featured a dinner show at a separate hotel. The dinner was out of this world wonderful! And the show was even better – thanks to a cool format that Doug & Jackie opted for by spacing out the acts between open dances. The crowd LOVED this mostly because no one had to sit around for long periods of time. During some of Yvonne’s numbers, we also got to get up and dance. I can’t recall all of the acts so I’m not going to mention any so that no one thinks I left them out.
Doug Miranda and Mike Sliter did
double duty as DJ for open dancing.
All in all, this was a great time and I recommend that everyone check this trip out next year. It’s a great way to see a beautiful place with lots of activities and get in some dancing as well (great for those of you with spouses who don’t dance!).
