Hilo Days: Tripping the Light Fantastic

When did you learn to dance? Was it at a school dance? Was it at someone’s house on a weekend? Or was it during formal dance classes in school or during the summer?

I wrote about my first dance classes in my Hilo Days website, and I’m re-running it here in the hopes that it evokes some memories of your own experience.

It was Fascination

There comes a time in one's life when it's necessary to start paying attention to girls, and to learn how to dance.

Harry Kaneda's dance studio came to Hilo regularly, and transformed awkward, stumbling young boys into sophisticated young men about town.  He taught us to dance.

The classes were held in Waiakea Uka gym on Saturdays, and we'd pass an hour or so stepping off the box step as we learned the waltz, or stepping off the box step as we learned the fox trot.

I got a little tired of the song "Fascination."  Mr. Kaneda played it over and over again during class.  I have to admit that it was a good record for learning how to waltz – slow, even-tempoed, melodic, (monotonous).

We also learned how to do the Lindy hop, the bop and the jitterbug.  That's actually what I was in there for.  I wanted to be able to dance to the rock and roll songs that were hitting the Top 40.

The class eventually ended, and we all re-upped for the next class where we got into more exotic dances like the tango, and widened our repertoire by learning advanced steps for the waltz, tango.

We'd practice our steps at the YWCA dances, leaving the other dances gasping in awe at our terpsichorean mastery.

Ah, we were magnificent.