ABOVE: After an illustrious career around the world, Tony Meredith has a full dance card here in Hawaii. He returned to his hometown of Honolulu and opened Aloha Ballroom Studio, where he teaches classes for all ages and skill levels.
His cousin wanted to impress her ballroom dance instructor, so she asked Meredith to help her practice a new dance: the Hustle (Google it if you were born after 1970). Little did he know these were the first steps to a remarkable career in dance and, eventually, his own studio in Hawaii.
Growing up in San Diego, American Samoa and Hawaii, Meredith often emulated the freestyle choreography he saw on American Bandstand and Soul Train. He'd never tried partner dancing, but he fell in love with its collaborative style. Ballroom dance is like a conversation, Meredith says. "We exchange energies to communicate. I love the mind-body-spirit connection that it brings."
From there Meredith answered an ad in a San Diego newspaper for ballroom dance instructors—"Will train. No partner necessary"—then parlayed his talent and drive into a successful career. Along with his dance partner, Melanie LaPatin, he won the United States Latin Professional Championship and the World Professional Ballroom Championship. He donned the glitzy, sequined costumes of the industry, rubbed elbows with Hollywood types and high-fashion figures and brought his choreography expertise to movies, Broadway, a Celine Dion tour and So You Think You Can Dance.
Eventually, the once captivating lifestyle became repetitive and exhausting. He opened a studio in Ohio and settled there for a few years until island life called him home. The Aloha Ballroom Company studio in downtown Honolulu has wood floors and a black pressed metal ceiling from which hangs a hodgepodge of chandeliers. Meredith and his instructors teach individuals, couples and groups. Last fall he held a ten-week "Thriller" choreography class based on the 1983 Michael Jackson video, culminating in a flash-mob performance in Chinatown just before Halloween.
For students, ballroom dance is an escape from the stress of everyday life, says Meredith. They revel in the music and movement, even if they think they have two left feet. "I think life is kind of a dance," Meredith says. "It's rhythm. It's energy, which is the same as music. It's like how they say, 'Change your words, change your mind.' You could put on one of your favorite songs right now and suddenly you're in a whole different world. And your life starts happening differently."
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