 Hey, kabayan,
this page is especially yours. As if, the rest of this whole site isn't meant to invite
you back to the motherland. But here we pay special attention to your
special and memorable (good or
bad) experiences in the local ballrooms.
Only a handful of my
balikbayan friends actually go dancing in the US or Europe, but the few dancing
balikbayans have all gone through a hodgepodge of exhilarating experiences with local
dance guests, and DIs. Here are a few initial samples:
MARINA,
an amateur dance champion from San Francisco, fairly regularly dances with friends here
for the past year. On her first few visits to the ballroom, Marina couldn't keep up with
the variations of the local D.I.s. "I don't understand their steps. And their leads
are heavy". I asked her to relax and lent her my partner. They adjusted for a while
using the schooled patterns. Before long, they were dancing with ease. It seemed Marina
was expecting the patterns she learned abroad, only to realize that these are only used as
variations by local D.I.s, who tend to stylize their dances.
DANNY,
teaches Club Swing in Jersey City both Filipinos and Americans, learned dancing at the
Fred Astaire Studio in New Jersey. At this ballroom club, which has since closed down, A
lady DI constantly entertained him with small talk, only to find out that she actually
wanted him to teach her some American style Salsa. He did in fact try, but she had a hard
time getting characteristic leg movements.
(The Dance Addict comments: Salsa is known locally
as the Mambo, and is danced using the style of the popular local dance quartet of
the 60s, The Big Four. Salsa on the other hand is locally associated only with the
Lambada and El Bimbo of the 80s.)
RIZA
is a social dancer from Honolulu, and was ecstatic to learn that she didn't have to
walk far from her hotel in Makati City to get to a number of ballroom clubs. "Dancing
here is very similar to the Filipino style we use in Hawaii. It's so easy to adjust
to."
NICK
recently stayed over for a month's vacation and would only dance with another balikbayan
friend who was known in the major ballrooms since she visited the country more often. On
Nick's last night in the country, they decided to dance at this 5-star hotel. In the
elevator, a lady guest asked his lady friend for permission to dance with her D.I.
(referring to Nick). "He's not a D.I., but a balikbayan friend". Nick took this
as a compliment since he noticed that most D.I.s were very attractive. By the end of the
night, at least 5 'matronas' had asked Nick to dance. Word had spread fast that he was
from L.A. and was an amateur champion.
VALENTINA
KOSTENKO, the Russian ballet dancer who now resides and teaches in San Francisco, had
to forego a good night's dancing at one of the hotels which had a marble floor. A few
minutes on the floor and she realized she would only strain her leg muscles on the hard
non-spring flooring. (relayed by another balikbayan)
If you're a
balikbayan or a foreign visitor to our ballrooms, we'd love to know how you coped with
dancing in the Philippines. Do share your thoughts,
reactions, comments and suggestions with the Dance Addict. At least, we can have more
solid bases to recommend improvements from the ballroom clubs.
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