Does it feel like you're not getting out as much these days? Well, you're not, according to Robert Putnam, whose 2000 book "Bowling Alone" is a fascinating investigation into the decline of social participation in America that began suddenly in the 1960s and continues to sag.
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jennifer and Matthew Wong in May.
The politics of dancing
By Scott Vogel
svogel@starbulletin.comEverything, from PTA involvement to membership in local clubs to the number of times we entertain friends in our home, has shrunk dramatically, with consequences that typically befall communities with poor social networks -- higher crime rates, more teen pregnancy, even lower birth weight babies. And seemingly insignificant turns of habit, like the rise in numbers of people who bowl alone rather than in leagues, are no small contributors to the overall problem.
Putnam put into words what many of us have felt intuitively for years, which is why the author has turned up in some surprising places, Camp David and the celebrity pages of "People" magazine among them.
As far as we know, Putnam has not been seen at the Kapiolani Bandstand of late, and that's too bad, because the Wong family and their posse of swing dancing cronies are mounting a rather convincing counterargument to the sociologist's claims. Upward of 70 swing faithful converge on the bandstand each week, a number that has grown steadily throughout the summer, flying in the face of both Putnam's thesis and those gloomy guses who see swing dancing as a fad that's on its way out.
"I think it's started to become cool for the young people," said Matthew Wong, 31, who left New York and a successful stint as a personal trainer a few years back for an uncertain future in the islands. Like his sister, 35-year-old Jennifer, Matthew moved back in with mom Gayook, who relocated to Hawaii after a bout with colon cancer forced a reevaluation of priorities. It's safe to say that none of the Wongs expected to carry the banner for swing when they arrived, but that's only part of their mission."It's something that brings us together," said Jennifer. "It's a fun venue, it's clean. It's a family venue, it's not a bar. Any age can come."
"That's the other thing. It's all about drinking water and no smoking," interrupted Matthew, prompting his sister to add:
"That's why swing isn't in the bars anymore. We don't give them enough business alcohol-wise. We can't do it."
Well, the bars' loss is the public's gain, because for a modest fee of $4, any Lindy lover can swing to their heart's content in one of the most attractive venues in town, the Kapiolani Bandstand, which incidentally is celebrating its one-year anniversary tomorrow with festivities that somehow unite the talents of 'Ale'a, the Royal Hawaiian Band and Mayor Jeremy Harris.
Maybe it's the bandstand's design, with its Victorian gazebo funkiness, but nothing seems to work quite as well there as these impromptu swing evenings. On various Tuesday or Wednesday nights throughout the summer, the Wongs have been hosting an event that defies description even as it amounts to a sociologist's paradise. Punk kids ride the "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" alongside grandmas reconnecting with their pre-teen grandsons. Baby boomers looking for a new thrill are in evidence, as are Hawaii's swing hybrids: young people in shorts and saddle oxfords. Passersby who happen to wander near the bandstand are often puzzled at first. After all, they're conditioned to be startled by any kind of intergenerational commingling. For his part, Matthew seems a bit surprised, if pleased, by the crowd these nights have attracted."It kind of reminds you of where you've been and allows you to connect with your ancestry," he opined. "And that's so important here in Hawaii. No one thinks of swing and Hawaii together, but there's a strong swing dance movement here. On swing nights, the generations can be together and communicate on a different level with each other, and it's fun. And they learn to work together and how to trust each other."
One of the interesting byproducts of strangers dancing in close proximity is the very thing Matthew mentioned -- trust -- and it's something every society loses when its social capital declines. As "Bowling Alone" reveals, America may be a more tolerant place than it used to be, but our essential trust in each other nevertheless continues to erode. That's why there's been an explosion in job opportunities for police officers and lawyers, and why private security firms are booming. Employment remained flat in these occupations during most of the 20th century; only since 1970 have they experienced a surge.
Putnam offers a familiar explanation for how we arrived at this predicament. Television, with its tendency toward the privatization of entertainment, is a big problem, as is the changing American family where both parents work and there are ever fewer hours of leisure time. Even more significantly, the civic-minded Americans born during the '20s and '30s -- the people who belonged to unions, joined Lion's Clubs and bridge clubs, voted with regularity and played music with friends -- are beginning to die off, leaving a younger generation without the tools to reconnect.
Swing dancing and its Honolulu ambassadors, the Wong family, may not reverse the trend toward antisocial behavior, but theirs is certainly an intriguing first step. "We have grandmothers telling their grandchildren how they used to do all the flips and stuff 'back in the day,'" said Jennifer. "So they have something to contribute to their children and grandchildren."
Matthew starts each evening off with a free lesson for novice swingers and the Wongs also give private tutoring to couples who want to learn more.
"I think it opens up their awareness of their world," said Jennifer, "that there's something else out there that they can relate to. And we even teach them a dance that everybody who dances swing knows. It's a line dance that -- if you go to New York, they dance it, if you go to California, they dance it, they dance it here. And you can go to any swing club and everybody will know the same step."
"It's a commonality," said Matthew, finishing his sister's thought. This happens often when one is in conversation with the Wongs, the kind of thing you see, for better or worse, when social bonds are strong. Robert Putnam might call it the happy result of a "dense network of civic interaction." The Wong family matriarch isn't sure what to call it, but she knows they're lucky.
"We live together and just the fact that we haven't killed each other, I think, is a great testament," said Gayook. "We got into some sort of groove."
"We got into the swing of things," joked Matthew.
"Ba-Dum-Bump," added Jennifer.
Bandstand anniversary
The city has two days of events planned in honor of the first anniversary of the Kapiolani Park Bandstand, which coincides with the Fourth of July.
Tonight -- Aston Resorts Full Moon Concert, with Na Leo Pilimehana, Reign, Aaron Sala and Tihati Serenaders and the Halau of New Hope, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.There will be food booths and games for keiki. And from noon to 2 p.m. there will be free cotton candy, popcorn, shave ice and watermelon.Tomorrow -- Fourth of July Picnic in the Park, with Amy Hanaial'i Gilliom, Sistah Robi, Colon and 'Ale'a. The Royal Hawaiian Band will join guests Keali'ika'apunihonua Ke'ena A'o Hula to premiere an original mele and hula with Maunalua as a tribute to the bandstand, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
What: Swingtime in Honolulu Swingin' time
When: 6:45 to 9 p.m. Thursday. Also July 9, 18, 25, Aug. 1, 7, 13 and 22.
Where: Kapiolani Park Bandstand (between Kalakaua Ave. and Montsarrat)
Cost: $4
Call: 236-4082
Click for online
calendars and events.
