are the words of welcome when you step into the VJCC gym at 9:25 a.m. on any Friday morning. I found smiling dancers – many who beckoned me to come join them – arranged six or seven to a line, six or seven lines deep and I was told that the day’s attendance was low because of the holiday season! The happy, lilting melody and lyrics of “Come Dance With Me” are just one of the musical backdrops to the fancy footwork practiced by the Line Dance Classes. Line dancing at the VJCC involves country and other varieties of music, soft-soled dancing shoes and a willingness to have fun with movement. Observing the class, I heard a few familiar dance terms – rumba box step, for one – but not in the usual context. Everyone dances, as the name suggests, in a line. There are no dance partners; therefore, there is no need to worry about stepping on toes! Leading the beginner class, looking like a pop singer with her microphone headset, is Tosh Aiboshi. From atop the gym stage, Tosh walks and talks everyone through old dances as well as new. With the number of line dances available to learn, a brief refresher is, in my opinion, absolutely necessary! With words of cajoling and encouragement such as: “Line dancing is exercise for your body and for your mind” and “Now that you have come this far, don’t think it’s time to stop to pat yourself on the back,” Tosh has everyone nodding |
Tosh Aiboshi |
their heads as the order of the steps – side together forward, side together back, step turn step touch, step turn step touch – begins to fall into place.
Once the one-hour beginner class is over, Tosh turns the pop star microphone headset over to Noel Castle, an award winning line dance choreographer also recognized as a top notch instructor in the Southland, who teaches the advanced beginner class from 10:30 a.m. I notice that, while a few beginning dancers leave and a few advanced beginners step anew onto the floor, most of the 30-40 dancers do not budge. The enthusiasm for line dancing is very apparent with this crowd. With a lovely English accent, Noel leads her class through dances incorporating steps that are a bit more complex than in beginners...and faster. Noel, like Tosh, walks and talks you through the steps before turning on the music. After dancing the routine through one or two times with the music speed set at slow, Noel tells everyone she's going to bump it up a couple of notches. This is when I see all the line dancers throw back their heads and laugh. Definitely a fun crowd that is up for the challenge!
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The Tuesday afternoon intermediate line dance class is also taught by Noel. The class is made up of many of the original beginner class members from 1994, when Tosh and Louie Shiroma came up with the idea to bring line dance to the VJCC. When the original beginners advanced to more difficult routines, Friday classes were started up for new beginners. Noel has been a constant with the class since its inauguration, except for a short sabbatical when Tosh volunteered to take on the beginner class and substitute dance instructors were employed for the advanced classes. |
There are about 100 line dance class members who range in age from newly retired to as-long-as-my-legs-will-carry-me. I am told that the average age of the class is 72 but, thanks to the invigorating qualities of line dance, everyone looks a lot younger! From my observations, I have to say line dancers have even more bounce to their step at the end of class!
A new session for the beginner class will start on Friday, February 11 at 9:25 a.m. There will also be another beginner class starting up on Tuesday, February 15 at 12:30 p.m. If you are interested in joining, please contact Tosh Aiboshi at (310) 397-3008 for details or just show up!
Visions for the VJCC
By Gail Sharp
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The Lakers 4 is a VYC Midget B basketball team. The team members are eight-years old and most have been playing together since they were five-years old. When asked what they envision for the VJCC in coming years, they eagerly shouted out: "More hoops." "More basketballs." "More players." "Another gym." "More bathrooms and lights." At eight-years of age, even some of our youngest members want to see expansion of the facilities and increase in participation at the VJCC. A new year tends to fill one with hope for what the future can bring. For the Lakers 4 and all the young participants of the VYC, the Gakuen, Boy Scouts, etc., it would be wonderful to see more clubs and activities that hold |
onto their interest even after high school. Too many of us miss out on the years of fun at the VJCC until we come back to sign up our kids for VYC Sure Shots!
