Latin Dancing in Honolulu, HI
by Rick Holigrocki
posted August 18, 2004

I was fortunate this year to have my major professional organization choose Honolulu for our annual conference. A salsera employee of the hotel I was staying in provided me with a map showing the Latin dance clubs in and around Waikiki: Zanzibar on Tuesdays, Rumors on Thursdays, Café Sistinas on Saturdays, and the Esprit Lounge on Sundays. During my time in Honolulu, my goal was to give my presentations, attend as many other symposia as I could, catch up with friends, snorkel in Hanauma Bay, try surfing and scuba diving, and dance as frequently as possible. It was a very good 12-days.

Honolulu has an active Latin dance community; and there many opportunities for people to take salsa lessons. The turnout at the clubs is mostly ethnically diverse locals weighted toward Asians and Hispanics, and the attire is the same as Thursdays at the Jazz Kitchen during the summer months, with black as the primary color. Salsa in Honolulu is similar to how it is danced in Indy, the LA style of "dancing on the 1." Although the music in the clubs is mostly Salsa, equal rotation is given to Merengue and Cha Cha, and a few Bachatas are spun throughout the evening. Covers are between $5 and $10; and drink prices are the same as in Indy with a rarely enforced two-drink minimum.

The Zanzibar Night Club's "Latin Tuesdays" opens at 10 pm with a $10 cover. DJs are Frankie, Alberto, Rod, and Lady Margarita. One dance floor caters to a small hip-hop crowd and the second dance floor is all Latin music. Rumors Night Club's "Salsa After Dark" begins at 5:30 pm on Thursdays. DJs are Ray Cruz and DJ Rod. Cover is $7 with complimentary "pupus" (i.e., a small buffet). Dancers get started at about 6pm with a very good hour-long dance lesson starting at 6:30 pm by Roberto Vargas Jr. from Salsa 101 Productions. Dancing continues until 4am. Salsa at the Esprit Lounge starts at 8:30 pm on Sunday and runs until 12:30 am with a terrific live Latin band, Son Caribe, playing to a small, crowded dance floor. Cover is $5. There is an open air patio that faces the ocean. Although I didn't make it to Café Sistina, I learned from other dancers that it is a restaurant with a Sistine Chapel theme that is converted to a salsa space for their "Salsa Sabado en la Noche." Cover is $5 with music by a live band, El Conjunto Tropical, and DJ Carlos.

Addresses and Phone Numbers: Café Sistina, 1314 South King Street, 808-596-0061; Esprit Lounge, Sheraton Waikiki Resort, 808-922-4422; Rumors Night Club, Ala Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson Drive, 808-955-4811; Zanzibar, Waikiki Trade Center, 2255 Kuhio Avenue, 808-924-3939.