Pursuits: Margaret Okimoto Waltzes Through Life
Now in her mid-70s, Margaret Okimoto discovered her true self on the dance floor.
When she steps on to Aloha Ballroom Co.’s dance floor in her strappy heels, 74-year-old Margaret Okimoto feels a fire. She transforms into the passionate dancer she’s long dreamed about being, at last unleashed.
Ballroom dancing is a fairly recent endeavor for Okimoto—she took it up about nine years ago—but it’s become her ticket to an exciting new life filled with glimmering costumes and travel across the country. “I love everything about it,” she says. She particularly favors the waltz, captivated by its old-world grandeur and the music. “Oh, the music …” she says, flashing a smile.
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In February, Okimoto and fellow dancers from the Aloha Ballroom Co. traveled to New York City to compete at the prestigious New York Dance Festival. They killed it. Okimoto was a finalist in the cha-cha, while other students from the studio, all 50 and older, swept multiple categories. Beyond the thrill of faring well in competition, Okimoto describes her first visit to New York City as “magical.” Being there as a dancer and performing before judges was “just like the movies,” she says.
In her other life, Okimoto still works at Wai‘anae Store, her family’s beloved market that celebrated its 75th anniversary last year. Twice a week, she makes the long drive to town for private lessons with Aloha Ballroom instructor Keith Michael Denlinger, whom she credited multiple times during our short interview for not just elevating her skills, but for believing in her. “He makes me feel like a little girl,” she says.
In response, Denlinger says he can’t think of anything more gratifying than coaching someone like Okimoto, who took up ballroom dancing at an age when many people slow down. “When older people come here and start dancing, everything else disappears for them,” he says. “They become dancers.”
