Ballroom Beginners

Music Monday - Another Unlikely but Fabulous Ballroom Selection

2009-02-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Another unlikely (but fabulous ) music selection for ballroom - Sway by the Pussycat Dolls is a nice stable tango with an easily recognizable beat.

The original was by Dean Martin, and was originally called Quien Sera. Advanced dancers, historical purists, or just plan Dean Martin fans might like the original better. There are some rhythm variations that make this one a bit tricky. (Or more interesting and fun, depending on your level of comfort with the Tango!)

Being new to the Tango and needing all the help I can get, I personally prefer the Pussycat Dolls version.

We actually used this in our wedding for a fun "second dance" after the serious waltz to get everyone on the floor and having fun. It's a nice song to show off to.

Note to self- next time I won't try to tango in a long wedding dress!

Last call for Ballroom Stories!

2009-02-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you're well aware that we close our submissions for the Ballroom Dance Story Contest tonight at midnight!

Be sure to get your great stories in!

Ballroom dancers have the best stories.

We'd love to hear yours!

Dancing with Steve

2009-02-05T13:36:00.001-08:00

by
Fred Miller

One hot, oppressive, August day in the New Orleans French Quarter, I was leisurely walking down Royal Street peering into the antique shop windows. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a dreamlike, sweeping ghostly movement from a second story window of the Monteleon Hotel. After a double take, I saw only an empty, wide-open window. Was I getting delirious from the notorious New Orleans summer heat and humidity and seeing things? Then out of nowhere appeared ballroom dancers in flowing long red gowns and tuxedo tails, floating, and gliding by the window with competition numbers on their backs. I felt pulled to go into the hotel lobby and up the stairs to the second floor large convention room where the dance competition was happening.

My first glance into the dance ballroom focused on three older women dancing together on top of the banquet tables dressed in their dance costumes, a long feathered black gown, a turquoise rhinestone laced gown, and a cherry red tango dress. The whole dance arena was vibrating from the stomping, clapping, and a chant of “Dance Dance Dance!” Everyone was dancing by herself, himself or with anyone nearby.

I walked in and sat down next to a teenager, and asked, “What’s going on here?”

She said, “That’s my grandma out there dancing and strutting. All of us grandkids, my mom and dad have come to see her dance competition.” She added, “she is having sooo much fun, I didn’t know grandma could dance like this. Doesn’t she look wild in her leopard skin dress?”

“Where does your grandmother take dance lessons?”

“From Steve at “Steve’s Dance Studio—Steve gives lessons and takes Grandma and her friends to these dance competitions all over the country.”

“Where are all the ladies husbands or boyfriends?”

“Mostly dead, gone or don’t like competition dancing. Dancing gives them something fun to do together.”

I looked around the dance area. The audience was filled with excited, cheering sons, daughters, and grandchildren. It appeared to be a reversal of roles with these not so young ladies—like parents coming to a school play or a little league ball game. The ladies were changing costumes after each performance—very colorful and sexy dresses. The dance gowns were a rainbow of colors, including bright purple, hot pink, flashy yellow and with feathers that shimmered. They were proudly showing off their stylish costumes. The atmosphere seemed like a mini Mardi Gras. Years seemed to be automatically erased from the women’s faces. They looked like they had temporarily recaptured their youth and were playing some type of dress up doll game—like when they were little girls. All the dancers were laughing, smiling, and having the time of their lives.

One of Steve’s fellow dance teaching buddies, Jimmy, sat down next to us. He was tall, suave, dressed in a black fitted dance pants, a black T-shirt, and had a rather wide silver-rhinestone belt buckle. He looks like he stepped out of GQ magazine.

I asked, “Are you having fun?”

“Oh yeah—this is a partttttttty. We do this about seven or eight times a year.”

Looking closer at all the dancers, I noted that each male dance teacher had a table of about six lady dance partners. The men teachers were cordial, and I was totally amazed at how, considerate, and even passionate while dancing with their lady partners. The men had no problem simulating a romantic gaze during the bolero and rumba. It seemed like they were using some type of “virtual realty visualization method”, perhaps pretending that they were dancing with their wife, girlfriend, boyfriend or the love of their life. The men dancers had plenty of camaraderie and they were all clapping, whistling, and cheering for each other. Everyone was encouraged to get excited and give it her all. A $100 cash prize was given out the most enthusiastic dancer.

Steve was a baby faced, nice looking man, and was dressed in a perfectly tailored, elegant navy tuxedo with a purple cummerbund. He looked cavalier in his dance costume. His blond hair was perfectly styled, his teeth sparkled white, and he wears light make-up. By far the smoothest and best male dancer, Steve was very friendly with everyone. He smiled constantly and had a way with all his “dance ladies”---they really seemed to just love him.

The awards ceremony was long and drawn out. Ribbons and trophies were given out for practically everything imaginable—most improved, best costume, best tango dancer, most exotic bolero dancer, and on and on.

After the award presentations, I was talking to Irene, one of Steve’s dance partners. She was very excited and had won a trophy for being the “Overall Best Dancer”. Irene said, “I’m so proud of this trophy—I just can’t believe that I won.”

I asked, “Where is your next competition?”

“West Palm Beach in a month—can’t wait. It’s the biggest dance event of the year. I’ve got a new yellow silk Latin gown that is being custom tailored for the event. It’s going to be beautiful.”

After the dance competition was over and I walked down the hotel steps back to Royal Street and began processing what all I had just experienced. These dancing ladies with their love for dance had refused to quit dancing even if they had to pay an instructor dance host to be their partner. They had not given up on life, but had discovered a way to embrace it. Their dancing had given them joy, aliveness, optimism and something to live for.

Without thinking about it, I found myself skipping and dancing my way down Royal Street.

Top Visitors in January

2009-02-01T16:12:00.001-08:00

Give these fine blogs a visit. They're all great, and they support Ballroom Beginners!

Parental Instincts
Bingo Sites Online for Women
Diet Recipes Blog
Basketball Daily
iWalk,U2?
Australian Women Online
nuke it dot org
The Matthias Chronicles
Crotchety Old Man
Chica & Pumuckl - 2 Egyptian Cats in Germany

StoryTelling Contest - Earning Opportunity for EC Members!

2009-01-29T07:27:00.000-08:00

EC Members get Two Bonuses for Participating in Our Valentine's Day Ballroom StoryTelling Contest

First: If you blog about the contest between now and February 14, I'll send you 100 EC Credits!

(Just send an email with a link to your blog entry to paula@ravenwerks.com or comment this entry to collect.)

Second: If you ENTER the contest (you don't have to win, just send in the story of how you got started with ballroom dancing (or would like to!) following these rules, I'll send you another 100 credits. And of course, we'll publish your story (with link) on this blog and you'll get lots of sophisticated, elegant readers.

Do either or both, but do it TODAY before you forget.
I know how busy you are!

Click here for complete guidelines.

How I Got Started with Ballroom - Doris Halleman

2009-01-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

When I was in high school in the early 1970’s, two movies came out which I loved. One was The Great Gatsby and the other was American Graffiti. Both had dancing. In The Great Gatsby they danced The Charleston and the Tango and in American Graffiti they danced Swing. I asked my mother if I could take dance lessons to learn these dances. She said okay. Unfortunately, we lived in a small town in Idaho and ballroom dancing was out of fashion at the time. We called the few studios in town but no one could teach these dances.

One studio suggested I take Jazz dancing classes. I was not sure what Jazz dancing was but it sounded like something from the Roaring 20’s so I agreed. A friend and I enrolled in the class. What a mistake! It was nothing like the dancing I wanted to do and I was in a class with people who had been dancing since they were very young! I stayed a few weeks before dropping out. I still wanted to learn to dance but didn’t do anything about it.

Over the years I gained a lot of weight. Occasionally we would get invited to weddings or parties where there was dancing. I would always think “I am going to lose weight and take dance lessons”. Finally I did join Weight Watchers and lost about 80 pounds. About this time I saw that our local Recreation Center was offering beginning Ballroom Dance lessons. My husband and I signed up.

It was a lot more work than I imagined it would be. We didn’t have anywhere to practice since our house was all carpeted except the kitchen and bathrooms and they were too small. So we practiced on the deck to the neighbors’ amusement. After the class at the Recreation Center ended, we signed up for private lessons at a local studio and have been dancing ever since (approximately 3 ½ years total now). We are now Silver level in most dances. About a year after starting dancing, we ripped up the carpet in our living room, refinished the hardwood floor, got rid of all the furniture, and turned it into a practice area.

I continued to lose weight and have lost and kept off 130 pounds for over 2 ½ years. My husband lost and has kept off 65 pounds. I believe this is partly due to ballroom dancing. My husband and I take private lessons twice a week and go out dancing several nights each week. He started a blog about our ballroom dancing. This is the link:

Doris Halleman
Woodbridge, VA

Doris's Link

http://rhumbadervish.blogspot.com/

This President can Dance!

2009-01-22T07:07:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle dance
© AFP Timothy A. Clary

WASHINGTON, (AFP) - "First of all, how good looking is my wife?" Obama cooed to wild applause from the crowd gathered for the very first ball which began a long night of 10 special dances ushering in the Obama era .

Clearly enjoying their moment, the couple kicked off their first dance of the night to Beyonce singing "At Last," the signature song of blues singer Etta James, at what was dubbed "the neighborhood ball."

Billed as the ball for ordinary Americans, community activists and grass-roots organizers had come from far and wide to take part in history.

"You can tell that's a black president, by the way he was moving," joked actor Jamie Foxx as the couple finished after twirling and waltzing, while Beyonce serenaded them from one side of the stage.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill dance at the Neighborhood Ball
© AFP Stan Honda

First Lady Michelle Obama also showed off her white, one-shouldered flowing gown, studded with applique embroidery and accessorized with thin diamond bracelets, a huge ring and dangling earrings, with peep-toe white shoes.

The dress was designed by young Taiwanese-born designer Jason Wu, who has been in the fashion business for just three years.

"We got the idea of the neighborhood ball, because we are neighborhood people. And I cut my teeth doing neighborhood work," Obama, looking dapper in a black tuxedo and white bow tie, told the crowd.

"If you think about the word, neighborhood starts with neighbor because it indicates a sense that Americans are bound together by what we have in common, much more than what drives us apart."

Some 2,000 people gathered in the ballroom were treated to a rare line-up of stars, including will.i.am, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige and Maroon 5.

Ballroom Story- "Come Dance!"

2009-01-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

Barb Kaitz

A wise teacher of mine once explained, that the desire or reason you are drawn to something often is not what keeps you with it.

Not long ago, I realized I wanted to learn to dance and had wanted to for a long time, yet never acted on my desire! I admitted (to myself) that if I didn’t do something about my interest in dance soon, it would simply never happen. It was a deep desire…I wanted to move to the music effortlessly and I realized that it took great effort, instruction and discipline to accomplish that! I listened to my heart and I began studying ballroom dance. The nuances, techniques, styles and dances were hypnotizing me and I was addicted. As I committed more time and brain power to my dancing, I finally had the epiphany that I was stepping out of my box, out of my safe-haven, out of my comfort zone and into a new world and a different box. A box that moved and had its own rhythm. Music held new meaning and new messages, as did “partnership” and many other familiar words like: “step”, “feel”, “listen”, “lift”…and of course – even “box!”

Every Child Has known God,
Not the God of names,
Not the God of don’ts,
Not the God who ever does
Anything weird,
But the God who only knows four words
And keeps repeating them, saying:
‘Come dance with me.’
Come Dance.

I accepted the invitation. I went and I danced…. I danced 12 different dances. I had newcomer entries, beginner entries and intermediate entries. All I could think of was that I was insane for any and all entries! And then I was escorted onto the dance floor for my first official dance! All doubt evaporated! I knew all along that I was blessed with a magnificent teacher. I was well prepared. I was ready! I was in a way, Liza Doolittle!

I had been groomed on everything…really, everything. I knew how to walk on to the dance floor and I knew how to exit the floor. I knew how to dress and “coif”. On the outside, well, it was a pleasant picture….but my dancing came from some where inside.

My teacher, a many time Ballroom Champion had drilled me with technique. I was even beginning to feel less mechanical and more expressive as a dancer. The greatest achievement for me was in trusting my teacher and myself. Forrest Vance and I were a dance team when we stepped on the floor together. Forrest had been patient and diligent, exact and repetitive with me. He was funny and kind and precise and patient. Forrest taught me the rules, and the do’s and the don’ts, the how to’s, and he was PATIENT!

Forrest is my CHAMPION. He teaches magically. Forrest Vance was there to showcase me and I was there to “listen” to and follow him! He always told me that he would be my music. Grace and partnership were sure to envelop us on the floor. And it was a royal experience.

I cherish the excellence, dedication, wisdom, spirit, energy and talent of my teacher….the way he teaches and his great patience. It is my courage and his example that keep me dancing, not just the fun of it! His gentle yet strong and clear “lead” has power and panache. It’s no ordinary “box” with Forrest! It’s an honor to study with Forrest and it is that great honor and my respect for Forrest Vance that keep me on the “wood”! Perhaps

it’s no surprise that a quote by Jane Austen expresses my feeling about what could lie ahead for me… “Fine dancing, I believe like virtue, must be its own reward."

My teacher recognized my fascination and commitment. He led me out of my gentle predictable world to a dream of excitement, glitter and greater passion for dance when he combined the words goals and competition in the same sentence. We were talking about dancesport….not simple or simply dance now. The passion for excellence, the willingness for a firm foundation and the community of dance were all appealing so I was OK with setting goals. The concept of competition was uncomfortable and unpleasant!

It was unfamiliar; it didn’t sit or dance well within me! Competition is not thrilling or inviting to me. What a spin when I found myself in Tampa, at the Florida Superstars Competition with my teacher and 5 other of his students. I was amazed! Before arriving in Florida I pondered and panicked thinking of the rites of passage to this brave new world. Would the “wood” feel more like quicksand devouring me, or could I actually slide and skim and float across the “wood”, smoothly and seamlessly, with composure and elegance…….like a dancer!

Barbara's Links

http://www.forrestvance.com

Getting Started with Ballroom Dance

2009-01-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

You really don't need much to get started with Ballroom Dance. Whether you've decided to become a professional, been inspired by a movie, want to meet people or get in shape, are gearing up for a wedding, reunion or party, or just think it might be a fun thing to explore, here are the basics to get started. You need:

A partner
A place to dance
Music
Shoes
Some sort of instruction

You can get into ballroom dancing for no money - literally! If you have a partner, have space to dance in your garage or basement, can use some old shoes, and get a video at the library or take a free class, you're dancing for free!

Most of us will decide to spend a little (or a lot) of money on one or more of these things.

A Partner

For me, this was obvious. I wanted to learn to dance with my finacee since we wanted to have dancing at our wedding. But if a partner doesn't come to mind, or if you want to learn to dance to meet people, you can join a class that accepts singles.

There are even classified ads for dance partners - On this site you can search by state or ZIP code - http://www.ballroomdancers.com/Classifieds/Partners/

A Place to Dance

We'd all love to have a great club that's open 24 hours a day, with food and drinks, great music, fabulous dancing couples to watch and scintillating table conversation between dances. If you find such a place (especially in my hometown of Tooele, Utah!) let me know.

In the meantime, anyplace with enough space to move around quite a bit is a good place to start. A concrete floor will do, a smooth floor (like epoxy or linoleum) is better, a wood floor is the best, and the easiest on knees, backs and ankles because it has some "give."

Music

Again, the library is a good place to start, or the Internet. Make sure you listen to music before you buy it. Share recordings with other couples in your class to get started inexpensively. Or start with a mixed CD that will let you explore a style before you move on.

Shoes

Shoes should be comfortable, but should definitely NOT be sneakers or trainers, which grip the floor. For most styles of dance, you will want to have a little bit of "slip" on the floor while still having good control. Choose shoes that are comfortable and have good arch support. It's good to practice in shoes you're going to "perform" in, or as close as you can get. I practiced for weeks in the shoes I was going to wear for the wedding, and was really happy that I did.

You might eventually want to look for costumes, since that's part of the fun, but I'll leave that to your instructor.

Some sort of Instruction

You may choose private lessons, a regular class, or just start with videos. I would recommend getting a video or two, or at least looking at some instructional materials on the Web. There are some really great visuals and definitions of concepts (Line of Dance, Foot Positions, Dance Positions, etc.) on the site below.

http://www.ballroomdancers.com/Learning_Center/Default.asp

Many studios offer an introductory lesson. This is a great opportunity to see if the course is a good fit for you - to see if the starting place, pace of instruction, style of dance, and personality of the people involved are a good "fit" for your goals and objectives.

There are even vacation "dance camps" for those who have the time and want to combine learning to dance with a vacation.

Once you've located a partner, a place to dance, music, shoes and some sort of instruction; you're on your way! Some of these things will change as you advance with dancing, others might stay the same. You might graduate to a different class or instructor, splurge on some great dance shoes, or take off on a professional career! In any case, you're on your way.

Best wishes to you, and let us know how it works out!

Ballroom Stories

2009-01-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

To "get the ball rolling" for the ballroom story contest, I'm going to share my own story of how I got involved with ballroom dance. Of course, since I'm the judge for the story contest, my own story is not eligible. :-)

My first experience with Ballroom Dance was as a required PE credit in college. Ballroom Dance 101 on the schedule at 7:15 in the morning, at the furthest east (and furthest uphill!) building at the University of Utah during Winter Quarter. Someone who put the schedule together really had a sense of humor.

We all showed up to class in waffle-stomper boots and parkas, rubbing the sleep out of our eyes and the snow off of ourselves. There were far more women than men, and most of the people taking the class were taking it for the same reason I was - they needed the PE credit and 7:15 was the only open slot on their schedule.

So it was not a terribly spellbinding experience, in spite of the instructor's best efforts at being cheerful and helpful.

I've always loved watching ballroom dancing - movies like Dirty Dancing, Shall We Dance, and even old movies like A White Christmas with Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney have always held a special attraction for me. But my actual experience left a lot to be desired, for at least another ten years.

John suggested we have dancing at our wedding, and I loved the idea. There was just one problem. I remembered very little except the basic box step for waltz. (And as it turned out in later instruction, I'd been doing that wrong as well.)

I was engaged to John for nearly two years. For 18 months of that, he was in on active duty at Fort Hood in Texas. I was very lucky, I got to see him every other weekend. (Many military fiancees didn't get to see each other for years!)

In any case, we had a limited amount of time to spend together. During that time, we took private lessons from Margene Anderson in Bountiful, Utah. Margene was great about scheduling around John's leave and was able to fit in a 2-hour lesson whenever John could get leave to come to Utah and we could manage the time.

John and I practiced in his tiny apartment in Texas whenever we could, and the rest of the time just practiced on our own at "home." (We probably would have looked silly to any bystanders, but that's not a problem in your own living room!) We learned a simple waltz and a tango for the wedding.

John was discharged in March, the wedding was in May, so we had a few more "crash" lessons.

One big obstacle was my dress, which needed to be shortened for the tango we were planning to do. Margene also helped us modify the steps to fit the dress and the concrete dance floor.

We had a great time, and really enjoyed the wedding. Our two dances are in the wedding video. We danced with each other a lot of the night, in between seeing family and friends who we were very fortunate to have attend. Margene also attended the reception and offered informal dance lessons to anyone who wanted them. Several people took her up on it, and the dance floor was full all night.

We wanted to get back into ballroom dancing but didn't see another opportunity until October of 2006, when we met Lois and Pat in Tooele. We had a ballroom class each Wednesday night with a few other couples. This gave us the perfect mid-week break to have a "date" with each other, get out, forget about work, and have a good time.

We're learning a two-step and another waltz, and are making a lot of progress. Given that we've had less than a year of practice, I think we're doing pretty well. Or at least really enjoying ourselves.

Announcing Our Valentine's Day Story Contest!

2008-12-31T08:17:00.000-08:00

Dancing is Not Just for the “Stars”

Tell Us Your Story!

Ballroom Dancers are the most fascinating people, and they have the greatest stories!

Even people just starting out with ballroom are a different sort of people. Ballroom Dancers have made a decision to become the “star” of their own lives, instead of just watching other people on TV.

My husband and I got started with ballroom a couple of years ago – we had both taken classes in college and decided to find a teacher for a little brush-up so that we wouldn’t embarrass ourselves with the traditional waltz at our wedding. And the most amazing thing happened. We had such a great time that we continued with ballroom lessons, in spite of our insanely busy lives. Dance classes are like a date where we put aside our individual stressful endeavors, focus on one another and really work together on something we both enjoy.

And we met amazing people of all backgrounds and ages that we really “clicked” with. We instantly connected with other couples when we were visiting other cities. We spent hours talking politics over coffee or tea with people we just met in class. We have been invited to some amazing parties. We’ve even been invited to Europe and South America. All starting from a single ballroom class in a small town in Utah.

Now we’re collecting stories of ballroom dancers - professionals, competitors, teachers, novices - everyone is welcome. Whether you're world-class competitors or have just enjoyed watching ballroom, we'd love to hear your story!

Email us your story and we’ll include it on our web site. You’ll join an amazing group of people who share a passion for ballroom!

Click here for complete guidelines.

An unconventional (but great!) choice for a waltz

2008-12-29T10:04:00.000-08:00

I love ballroom dancing. But sometimes I find that the music is a little, well, OLD.

So, when listening to my old Journey CDs in my car (way too loud, of course) I realized that Open Arms is a waltz. Amazing.

It's kind of a fast waltz, but it's nice stable, easy music. You'll find that you need to take slightly smaller steps and you'll have to really hustle in turns or fancy moves, but that makes a for an interesting change of pace. (Literally!)

Sean Connery and Kim Basinger do the Tango

2008-12-26T10:07:00.001-08:00

Watched lots of James Bond movies over the holiday weekend - (My husband loves James Bond) I noticed one ballroom scene in Never Say Never Again that I'd not noticed before - it was not technically a very good execution of ballroom dance, but it was dramatic.

James Bond (Sean Connery) was challenged to a video game where he pitted his skills against the Maximillion Largo, a Spectre Agent. (of course.) Bond won an obscene amount of money, but then told Largo that he would accept, in lieu of the money, "one dance with Domino."

Domin0 (Kim Basinger) and Bond then dance a tango, during which Bond informs Domino that her boyfriend as a bad dude and has in fact killed her brother. Of course they have to keep dancing so that they don't alert Largo to the content of their conversation.

Although Bond movies are usually more about explosions, car chases and cool toys, I thought it was interesting that the suave, debonair spy also knows how to use a tango in a dramatic moment.

Ballroom Beginners Blog Debut, and Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T08:38:00.000-08:00

It's become a tradition for John and I to watch Irving Berlin's White Christmas every year on a snowy winter night while eating Christmas cookies and drinking cocoa. We've seen it a dozen times and never get tired of it.

There's a lot of great dancing in it! Rosemary Clooney and Danny Kaye are absolutely amazing. Danny Kaye is such a slapstick comedian that it is absolutely astonishing when goes from Bing Crosby's skinny, goofy, awkward sidekick to being the graceful master of the dance floor. Rosemary Clooney is absolutely amazing on her own or as Kaye's partner.

Only one scene is true ballroom - the amazing scene with Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney at the Florida Club when they first meet and and discover that there is some magic between the two couples that leads them off to adventures in Vermont . . .

Watching this movie has become a great tradition for us.

Merry Christmas from Ballroom Beginners!