There were no less than 900 eyes at this Divino Ritmo event
last Saturday, but no more than two of them were seeing the same thing. Some were there to perform and showcase their
efforts and progress in dance over the last year; some were there as guests and
invited family members to cheer them on; some were curious supporters from
other dance clubs there to enjoy the event, and even some who were were unexpected or thought to be unlikely to attend.
If practice makes perfect, this event has benefited through practice
to perfection for this, its sixth iteration.
A thousand moving parts, the elaborate set, slide shows, music with a
fabulous sound system, coordinated spot lights and floor lights, the event program,
the integrated and tightly timed single and group performances, Lucas and
Yanna’s performance, Artem and Inna’s beautiful magical dancing, and the dozens
of helpers staffing every conceivable function to make this years event nearly
flawless.
Clearly this event has become the premier dance event of the
year, and by some people’s account including some hotel staff, usurping the
Hawaii Star Ball in that distinction.
Anyone interested in a spectacularly entertaining evening with a three
course meal, ample time for social dancing to some great DJ music, being
entertained by students and internationally renowned professional dancers and
overall a unique holiday treat that doesn’t happen often in Hawaii, would
thoroughly enjoy the this Divino Ritmo event.
This year the guests topped 450!
It’s not too early to put in your request for 2015. This event should not be missed!
Of course, as a student of Yanna, my opinion is biased and I
admit that. But I truly believe that
this showcase event takes more than hard work, it takes a true gift and innate
organizational capacity to jell this event together so well. But instead of just providing broad
platitudes, I will make the effort to provide a brief but critical account of
the event citing some positive and negative aspects.
First, the ballroom and outer area was amazingly decorated beautifully
for the event with the theme being “Gangsters and Dolls”. The Sheraton ballroom is arguably one of the
most beautiful in town and to add to this, there were Christmas trees and other
ornaments adorning the ballroom for the holiday season. However, the set was simply incredible! It was truly a labor of love done singlehandedly
by one of Honolulu’s well-known doctors and dance student, Paul Laderta. The time and effort that it required must
have been daunting. Always the gentlemen
and extremely gracious in his demeanor, Paul never wants to call attention to himself,
but he deserves the greatest of compliments, praise and appreciation. Indeed, while not finding time to take
pictures of much else, I focused my attention on trying to capture some good
images of the set.
There were 21 student performances, accounting for most but
not all of the serious Divino Ritmo student pool. It was fun watching students
who you see in the studio working on their routines, trying to perform to the
best of their ability on the big night.
It is always fun to watch performances from students representing the
extremes of life, from Uncle Wes (I am of course in this category but I lacked
the ability to observe my performance) to the wonderful keiki dancers. Little
skits flavored the routines done by Maria Handl, the formation team was entertaining
and student performances ended on a cute foursome performance by Yanna, Lucas,
Marie and Paul. My last comment is that
from all the applause that Tomo Sasakawa drew after he performed, it was clear
that he was the most improved performer and deserved such recognition with his
confident flawless “Listen to my Rhythm” solo.
I can’t say enough good about Yanna and Lucas’s professional
performance and I’m glad that they had the energy to perform their exciting,
flawless but nevertheless risky routine (the lifts were not for the faint of
heart) after so many student dances.
Indeed, even if I had not been required to dance one dance, the energy,
speed, coordination, and stress of changing into so many costumes to
accommodate all of the student dance routines would have exhausted me!
I won’t say anything more about the invited professionals,
Artem and Inna. They were everything we
expected they would be. They left us wanting to see more. Please see: http://easad.blogspot.com/2014/11/divino-ritmo-dance-6th-annual-grand.html.
Ok, a few criticisms.
Overall, I think the event was a little long for those early to bed
folks in Hawaii. There were 21 student
performances; this raises the question of whether to limit this number for the
sake of time, and or how to do it.
…Which further begs the question of whether the purpose of the event is
to showcase the progress of the students or not…..I won’t pretend to try to
answer this question or to offer any advice.
The awards ceremony could have been shorter, or limited or maybe even eliminated. I could see guests heading to the door
after Act 2 of the student performances, thereby missing the marvelous
professional show that was about to begin, which was truly the highlight of the
evening. This is just my opinion.
Hope to see you all next year!
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