Guitar Noir

One of my favorite gifts this year from Gary was a CD by my favorite surf band, the Aqua Velvets. Their new CD, Guitar Noir, is...the best ever. As I sank down into a post-holiday bath, wine glass in hand, the music took me to some far away shore, dancing under the moonlight and swaying palms.

They never leave the west coast. I don't blame them. It would be a dream someday to dance to their gorgeous sounds. It's hard to describe...surf, with a dash of Latin and middle eastern flavor, mysterious, yet tongue in cheek. I don't know how they mix all of that in there, but it works.

Listen to some of the liner notes...as I stared across the water I saw a school of mermaids dancing and singing in the moonlight....I closed my eyes and danced a slow dance with a fast girl...I sat in the dark corner of a smoky basement subterranean dive while a couple dressed in black broke into a mysterious mambo slicing the thick, sultry air with steps of passion...

Yeah. Someday.

Here they are doing the first track off the CD.

Holiday Dances

There's something warm and fuzzy about dancing to holiday tunes like Jingle Bell Rock or the Christmas Waltz while Karen Carpenter sings fro-STED window panes. I grew up with most of the songs played at the annual Brickyard Boogie and Indy Dancers holiday dances, yet I never thought about dancing to any of them. So...these songs are both nostalgic and new all at the same time.

Here we are at the Indy Dancers...a little sweaty, but very very happy.



Happy holidays to all. We're looking forward to an old-fashioned New Year's dance at Raleigh, Indiana.

The cutest ever...

Nightmare

Gary and I watch this move Yuletide instead of Halloween, hence this post. I believe our vintage foxtrot would work! The clave would too. Maybe a tango. Who knew this song was so versatile? :-)

I couldn't agree more...

I love Danny Kaye, and Vera Ellen is one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the screen. And yeah, she can dance. :-) Here they are from the movie White Christmas.

Christmas and Buckets

December is filled with traditions, mistletoe and sleigh rides, jingle bells and Yule logs, dancing and buckets. You’re not familiar with the bucket tradition? Well, it comes around every year with the first snow. Less than an inch of snow and the buckets come out at one of our usual dance venues. They catch the drips that come through the ceiling, creating what I affectionately call a “water feature”. In actuality I think water trap is more like it.

There’s a strange thing that happens whenever there’s any kind of obstruction on the dance floor. The skill of the dancers on a floor is directly proportional to the size of the floor. So, with each inch you lose, people dance worse. That’s amazing, since there are always fewer dancers on the floor when the weather’s bad. Dance physics, I guess.

The Christmas Waltz

Used to be there were many different varieties of the waltz...in this video of Karen Carpenter you can see a few bits of the Skater's Waltz.

Ahhhhh. What lovely way to start the holiday dancing season. I still miss new songs by Karen, but at least we have her marvelous classics.

Time Warp 1960s Concert and Dance

The Time Warp Dance given by The Pride of Indy Jazz Ensemble at the Athenaeum was indeed transportive; I really felt like I was in a 1960’s lounge. The band was fabulous. The song list was varied which I like; they played everything from jazz greats to holiday music. My favorites were Caravan and Santa Baby. And not only were the musicians great, the singers were too, from a couple of band members that did double duty to their guest singer, Brenda Williams. OMG, could that woman belt out a tune! My favorite of hers was At Last, which I think is the hardest song to sing ever.

Gary I enjoy dancing at benefits; for us it combines something we love with being able to help a cause we believe in. I don’t ever want this dance blog to be our own personal soapbox because part of dancing for us is to escape individual and world problems, but let’s just say Gary and I are on the side of groups we believe haven’t always been given a fair shake.

When you think that the band members are all volunteers and so probably all have day jobs as it were, the level of professionalism was pretty amazing. They play for the love and joy of music, the same reason we dance…we clapped for the singers and musicians and they clapped for us.

If you have a chance to catch this band do so. The music is mostly danceable, the people friendly, and they welcome dancers. We will be seeing them again.

Here they are from last year’s event…enjoy.

Thanksgiving Dance at Indy Dancers

I don’t think I’ve ever been in a situation where food wasn’t within an arm’s reach…at home, at friends and family’s homes, at work, at events, everywhere I go there’s food. I’ve never been hungry or without in my life, and although I’m rather embarrassed to say it, never given that much thought.

What hit me at the annual Thanksgiving Day dinner/dance with Indy Dancers was the abundance; there was every kind of dish imaginable. All of it was fabulous, and you could have as much as you wanted. After I finished I sat there watching everyone else enjoy their dinner and felt very blessed to live where I live, to be able to spend time with other dance fanatics, and most of all, to be with Gary.

We’ve had a hard year, but through it all we’ve had each other, good health, plenty to eat, a place to live, and dancing.

I feel very thankful.

Rockaboogie!

I’ve said this before, so I hope you’ll indulge me. I’m always amazed when I see Terry Lee in concert. Terry and his band never seem to have an off night. I’ve had the good fortune to see a number of long-touring big bands and in some great venues and many of them have come across flat. That doesn’t happen with Terry Lee. The band is fantastic, driven; they move you from your seats and onto the dance floor. If you love the music of Jerry Lee Lewis, rockabilly music, our just going out for a good time, go see Terry Lee and his Rockaboogie Band

Halloween Dance at the Atrium

The annual costume dance sponsored by Indy Singles was fab!! It was a packed house, but they opened up another section of the floor so everyone had plenty of room. The costumes were wonderful…my favorite was a Christmas Tree. I’m not sure how she saw outta that thing, but she did manage to dance. And…she won the contest, which Gary and I helped judge. Here she is with a neck-braced Payton Manning. NOT funny, BTW. Kidding. But still. Anyway, here's the tree:



Gary and I were cats this year; in honor of our Ocicat, we went spotty. I made Gary a mouse watch fob which was pretty funny because he kept twirling it like a gangster.



We really did have a great time. It’s nice to know we have so many dancing options even when we don’t leave town. On to Christmas. I’m still dreaming of that perfect winter wonderland to dance in….

Dance!!!

OK, I'm thinking a little west coast cha cha cha in the driveway...

Boo But No Boohoo

When Gary and I first realized our budget would not allow for an away trip this Halloween I was sad. I love trying new places, especially on Halloween because that’s out anniversary. And it’s Halloween, the night where you can be and see anything.

But I didn’t stay down long. First, my anniversary is my anniversary no matter what, and I’m married to the best guy on earth. Second, Halloween is spooky and magical wherever you are. And third, Indy is a rockin’ place if you dance; you could go every night of the week if you wanted to.

Our first Halloween party this year was with Indy Dancers. We always attend this event even when we do travel. As usual, it was really fun. Great costumes and a wonderful zombie inspired exhibition. Here’s a picture of my favorite costumes:



And then this weekend we are attending a Halloween dance at the Indy Singles that we’ve never been to, so home still has venues to discover. Can’t wait!!!!

The Other Brother

As A kid I remember a story about the biblical Prodigal Son. Essentially, there were two brothers. One was “good” and did what the parents said, the other was “bad” and ran off. When the Prodigal Son returns the family rejoices and they have a big dinner. The good son is like hey, you never did that for me and I was always good, and the dad says you are being selfish so shut up and be happy over your brother’s return.

I always felt sorry for the good brother.

You may think I'm veering off in another direction but wait for it...I love the Grateful Dead. But seeing them in concert was a roll of the dice. You always wondered if a concert would be good; Jerry Garcia was known for forgetting lyrics, and sometimes the band was just not as stellar as they could be.

So what do you say when a band is always, consistently, good every time you see them? A band that thinks about their crowd and adjusts for who is there and what sort of venue it is? Whose selections of songs is vast and varied? Whose members are all talented and skilled? Who are friendly and talks to everyone?

What you say is wow. These days when gas is expensive and ten bucks a pop to get in hurts more than it used to, it’s wonderful to know that your experience is always going to be good. Like the rest of us, sometimes band members may not feel it some nights and I’m sure they have problems just like the rest of us. But dang, Terry Lee and the Rockaboogie Band delivers every time.

Thanks guys, for a fabulous evening. Just like last time. And next time.

Crossing and Stepping

Gary and I have really been getting into our cross step waltz. We had a breakthrough ourselves a few weeks ago on the dance floor, and our beloved Melissa is now helping us integrate ballroom waltz moves into the CSW.

At some point we want to take a few lessons with Richard Powers, world renowned CSW (and many many other dances) instructor. He believes in creativity and individual style, as demonstrated from the excerpt below on teaching.

Wow.

Teaching experienced dancers

I'm sometimes surprised to see a professional dance teacher who apparently hasn't thought through the difference between teaching beginning versus experienced dancers. Where do I see this most clearly? In the strictness of detail demanded when it comes to personal style. Beginning and advanced dancers have very different needs and wishes in this area.

When teaching beginners, who are a clean slate, of course you'll teach them the version you think is best, with all of the stylistic details for your preferred form.

But when your students have been dancing for years or decades, they've already developed their personal style. First, they're probably happy with the dancer they've become, and they're taking your class to learn more useful variations and partnering tips from you, not dismantle the dancer they've become. Secondly, they probably couldn't change their personal style if they tried.

The aware teacher will work from this platform (their personal style), giving their experienced students useful new material for them to integrate into their dancing. The unaware teacher will dismiss their students' accumulated style as "incorrect" and attempt to tear it down, hoping to rebuild their student back up in the teacher's preferred style. That's not going to happen! If you attempt to do that, they'll think, "I can't learn from this teacher!" and not come back. And they'll justifiably resent the disrespect of a teacher dismissing their personal style.

You may find it difficult to be patient with experienced dancers who appear to be "doing it wrong," which often means they're merely dancing in styles different from your preferred style. So how should you respond? (A) Dismiss their dancing style, making them wary, defensive or resentful? Or (B), see the class from their point of view. Why are they taking your class? Probably to learn new figures and become better dancers, based on the dancer they are. I recommend approach B.

I'm Going!

Brickyard Boogie Dancers

Happy 9th birthday! It was a year ago last Saturday that our beloved Boogie club closed due to lack of funds. I'm happy to report they are now thriving. We had a fab pitch in dinner and of course, out-of-this-world dancing.

Thanks, Ron, for not giving up.

Halloween Tango

The tango's kinda spooky anyway, don't you think? :-)

Wecome Autumn

Ah, fall's back again. Summer is great with the warm weather and vacation at the beach and all of that stuff, but fall is a dancing season. The cool air fills the body with energy and wearing a jacket and tie isn't a punishment designed to be especially hard on those who dance with a little energy. And that doesn't count the coming holidays, masquerade parties, Christmas, and New Year's Eve are all wonderful times to dance.

I especially like Halloween and New Year's because they're associated with costume balls. An opportunity to become someone else for a few hours should never be passed up, especially when mixed with good music and good company. It's a transformative time and with all that's passed throughout the 2011 I'm looking forward to some change. So, here's to fall. Here's to change, here's to transformation, and here's to the coming dance season. Hopefully, I'll get to spend a little more time writing for the blog and thinking about dance.

Second Time Around

Gary I returned to The Atrium Sunday Night Singles Dance (Indianapolis) last…Sunday, of course. We visited the venue about two years and were both decidedly “meh”…it wasn’t bad, but the floor was linoleum, aka, slick as glass, and they played a lot of disco-y WCS music. It’s hard to imagine a time when Gary and I didn’t do WCS, but the last time we went we didn’t.

So we decided to give it a go again. The floor is still slick, even dancing in a pair of rubber sole dance sneaks. The next time I’ll be wearing shoes with treads. I know it sounds crazy, but trust me. You know how it is walking across the kitchen floor in sock feet? Yeah, it’s like that. But I do think more tread will work.

They played a nice variety of club music, so we worked in all of our respective swings, a rumba or two, and some cha chas. No waltz. Or foxtrot. Lots of line dances. Which was sometimes interesting to maneuver around a whole floor full of folks doing that. But mostly people were polite dancers. And as far as being a singles dance, I didn’t think it was any more “single” than the other clubs we attend…there were lots of singles, but couples too.

Just proves most dance venues are worth at least a couple of shots. I’m glad we tried the Atrium again. It was fun. We’ll be back. With treads.

And they have a Halloween dance!

x

X is my favorite punk band, and there were lots of good ones coming out of the late 70s to early 80s. I've seen more than a few including the Clash. But I have to say for me X tops them all. The two lead singers harmonize just inside of sync, which makes their music haunting, beautiful, and in my opinion, never duplicated. Probably no surprise I love this music...Gary and I dance in much the same way, at least the playing around with timing part. :-)

Our lovely dance teacher Melissa has been doing her hair kinda like the female lead, Exene, did back then. Melissa's is way better. :-) But anyway, that conversation got me thinking about X, and so I found this song, Because I Do, starring Exene as a ghost. It's campy, but cool at the same time. Perfect for this time of year.

Afterlife Dance

I'm in. Just hope I can still manage a cute dress and maybe some sparkly eye socket shadow. :-)

It's coming....

It's never too early!!!!!!!!! Mohahahahahahahah!!!

Ouch

Injuries are a part of any sport. And dancing, while beautiful, is very much a sport.

About five months ago I hurt my shoulder. I ignored it, thinking it would get better. It didn't. So I finally went to the doc. I had rotator cuff issues plus a dash of frozen shoulder. I didn't know I had a rotator cuff, and who knew body parts could freeze??

But after many months of therapy and a big ol' cortisone shot, it's almost completely well.

Learnings? One. If you hurt yourself go sooner rather than later. My shoulder would not have gotten as inflamed had I done that. Two. Don't get discouraged. It took a long time for me to get better. There were some moves I couldn't do for awhile. Three. Be careful. I haven't stopped doing jumps, leaps, and drops, but I approach them like an athlete now, which means I learn them slowly and don't do them when I"m tired. Or Gary is tired. :-)

There will be injuries. There will probably be more the older I get. But I intend on doing the lindy hop way past when people think I ought to. I'm just like that.

Here's a pic of us doing a drop. It feels so good to be able to do them again. Thanks Dr. Sallay (Methodist Sports in Indy), and Scott (the PT). I may not be a professional dancer, but dancing is one of the most important things in my life

Just Right

Since none of our close friends dance, Gary and I either sit by ourselves at dances or with family members. We’ve met some really really nice people, but our priority is dancing, not socializing, which I would say is generally true of most folks who come. Also, most venues we attend the dances are a couple of hours. Gary and I get in, dance, and come home exhausted. It’s a good thing.

The Indianapolis Roof is a little different. Those dances are four hours. And you sit at big round tables. It can feel…lonely. It wouldn’t if Gary and I got a small, two person table, but those are on the balcony, far away from the dance floor. When family members come it’s fabulous, but that doesn’t always happen.

We tried different tables. Some were filled with terrified people. Others were occupied with folks who helped make those people feel terrified; critical of every move and outfit that passed by them. Where, we wondered, were the fun people? The ones who dance for the pure joy of it?

We found them. We first met Jack and Bev, the couple whose wedding we attended a few weeks ago. Then Jack brought his brother. Last night they took a man celebrating his 91st birthday…still dancing I might add…and a charming woman. Other couples who sit at this table have either joined in the revelry, or they don’t return.

And we do have fun. Last night was no exception. Jack and Bev did a samba with new steps they’d been working on and we cheered. Gary and I did a west coast swing and they clapped for us. We women pick out the prettiest dresses. Lou told us all about the last time he’d been to the Roof…70 years ago!!! We laugh at Jack’s jokes. But when the music starts and someone wants to dance, we dance.

What no one at the table does? Criticize others. And that, as Goldilocks would say, makes our table just right. Ahhhhhh.

Happy Birthday Lou

We had the good fortune of sitting with Lou tonight when we went to the Indiana Roof. Today was Lou’s birthday – his 91st birthday. In fact, the last time he visited the Roof was back in January of 1941 on New Year’s Eve. Pause to imagine that for a moment. 11 months from the day he first visited the Roof, the Japanese would bomb Pearl Harbor. Shortly after, he’d be off to the war, risking his life for his country and traveling to a lot of places he’d never seen before. It’d be seventy years before he’d return to the Roof, I just feel lucky to have had the chance to sit at the same table as he did.

Every time I meet someone like Lou I’m left sincerely hoping that, at the age of 91, I’ve got the wherewithal and health to keep dancing. I hope that, no matter what life throws at me, I’ll keep going. I hope that I’ll remember what it means to dance, how to let the weight of life drop long enough to enjoy a good band and an afternoon with the one I love.

Irony Instead of Dance

I guess the thing about irony is its unexpectedness. I mean, you can’t really be prepared for irony, there can’t be planned irony. It’s the sort of thing you have to stumble into, that you have to find stuck to the bottom of your shoe. Consider the case of last night’s visit to the Indiana State Fair as an example. With the tragedy of Saturday’s stage collapse fresh in my mind, I expected the crowd to be subdued and the mood to be somewhat somber. No surprises on those points. The irony came with seeing the makeshift memorial to the five persons who lost their lives sandwiched between one of Indy’s swing clubs on the east and Terry Lee and his Rockaboogie Band on the west.

Maybe this is the nature of life. Maybe life recognizes relief has to be contained inside sorrow. I’m not sure and, if I were, this dance blog wouldn’t be the place to expound my views on philosophy. All I can say is that, sitting on a bench in the shade, watching people come to the memorial in ones and twos to leave their tokens behind it felt right to see expressions of joy on both sides. It seemed to say that out of peace and happiness, sorry arises but it ultimately will be replaced by new (if altered) peace and happiness. Things never will be ‘the same’ but then they shouldn’t be. If we shrugged everything off and returned to what had always been normal we’d be a lot like wildebeest – a lion might have taken one of our heard but given time we return to stupidly grazing on the savannah.

Amalgamation

A friend sent this to me and I watched it in awe. Talk about dance blending! Are they acrobats? Ballet dancers? Both yes, but together something more than the sum. Wow.

Swango

Our dance teacher Melissa has learned yet another dance for us…Swango! Gary and I have wanted this dance for awhile now. First we ordered a CD and tried to teach ourselves. Swango is a combination of west coast swing and Argentina tango. We know WCS but not tango. We taught ourselves a move. It was OK, but something was missing.

Then we gave the CD to Melissa. We hate doing this because Melissa has enough on her plate without us trotting out yet another dance…and she’s already learned and taught us rockabilly and numerous moves we’ve sent her via youtube. But in the end we did ask, because we knew she would make us look beautiful and she graciously agreed.

The way we learned the move was clumsy and awkward compared to her delicate yet powerful interpretation. Now I’m seriously wrapping one leg around Gary’s and then flicking the other through his feet. Wow. We can’t wait to learn more!

It’s a fun respite to all the jumps and dips we’ve been learning. Swango has reminded us that dance progression is not all about leaps.

Some WC swingers think Swango is dumb. Some tango folks say its sacrilege. But I think Swango is a lovely amalgamation of two dances.

Slipping Away

Sometimes I feel like I’m fighting an irresistible tide. I’m promoting wall-mounted telephones with curly cords; coming out in favor of quill pens in the era of the word processor. The world moves by, time grinds the slow under its wheels, and things slowly become extinct just when I’ve realized their value.

Dancing has acquainted me with the pangs of seeing dear things rudely pushed aside. It started with realizing how many great venues have been replaced by parking garages or dull modernist boxes of concrete and glass. Houses of joy replaced by storehouses for machines we were told would deliver the American dream; prisons for people slaving away to earn the cash they’re told measures their success. The simple things, the pleasures that could be taken for granted, slowly get mowed down.

The latest possible example of this is the Raleigh Community Center. On Saturday we had an opportunity to make the hour-and-fifteen minute drive out into the cornfields east of Indianapolis to the tiny town of Raleigh. The Community Center isn’t grand, just a concrete block building with a great dance floor and a small stage for the house band. It also has been the center of the small farming community since 1944 (at least they’ve been having a Saturday night dance for that long). Just think how many first encounters have taken place during those sixty seven years. How many relationships have started with a waltz across that floor? How many last dances? How many ships have passed on that hardwood? So, I felt good going there on Saturday. I felt we were doing what I like best, honoring the past while keeping up with the present. So you can imagine now I felt when I heard the place might be closing down.

The reasons are the same as the reasons companies close down – money. Guests feel the pressure of the bad economy as much as businesses and that means fewer show up. Also there’s the seasonal sag in attendance – during the summer fewer people dance, they go camping and do things that don’t involve sweating. The thing is, when you don’t support a thing it doesn’t stay around. Think of the hundreds of small dance halls that have been bulldozed and paved under. Think of the drive-in theatres that used to be the setting for cinematic and romantic tension. Think of all those places and things that only exist in nostalgic memories now.

I guess I’m writing this as a kind of open letter to people out there who love dancing like we do. This is about priorities. You save what you love and if you love the classic dance venues in your community, support them. It isn’t all about money. You can volunteer. You can spread the word. You can think of your favorite venue when you have an event. You can introduce new people to dance and take them to the venues that mean a lot to you. There’s no guarantee that any of this will save a venue like the Raleigh Community Center – but if it doesn’t, at least you’ll be able to say you tried.

White Space

French composer Claude Debussy said, “Music is the space between the notes.” And if you listen to his music you know exactly what this means. Debussy is the master, in my humble opinion, of this concept. The “unused space” within his music is deliberate without seeming so, beautiful, and haunting. He leaves notes hanging, drifting away like a cloud into nothingness. It leaves me wanting, aching, for that next phrase, balanced on the edge of a cliff, and then…there it is.

I like to think about this concept in dance. When I first started I was concerned about steps, technique, “getting” the leads, and not falling on my butt. As Gary and I have expanded and grown into our own personal style, we've experimented with the concept of white space.

White space isn’t exactly timing differences…although I believe these are interesting too…white space is what Debussy said, the space between. In dance, that would be between steps. It’s hard to explain. For me it could be holding a step until the very last moment, and then making a snap turn. It’s sinking down into a drop…holding it…and oozing back up slowly, again just in time for that next step. Sometimes it’s a full stop with a finger snap. Or a slow sway that ends at my fingertips. Sometimes I do it all by myself. Other times I match what Gary’s doing.

But we don’t often mimic each other, and that’s OK. Feeling those musical spaces is individual. Even Debussy, while creating a stop within a major theme might carry on with a background melody. When Gary and I do stop at the exact same place it’s powerful, but it can’t be forced.

But then, dancing should never be forced.

I know I’m a worn out record on these two, but watch Tess and Miles in this clip. It’s easy to get lost in their fabulous moves, exquisite stylings , and innovative chorography, so watch it twice…or more. Note their white spaces. It’s a beautiful thing.

Dance of Love

About six months ago we met a charming couple at the Indianapolis Roof, Bev and Jack. Over the months we all sat at the same table and in between dances got to know each other. From the way they danced and spoke with one another we assumed they’d been married for years…the fondness for each other was evident in every word, gesture, and dance move.

So we were quite surprised to find their love was fairly recent. After a number of personal and physical hardships, they found one another on the dance floor. We were honored when they asked us to come to their wedding reception.

It was held in a renovated old building in Terre Haute, Indiana, the Ohio Building. Lovely spot. We had a fabulous time. Seeing Jack and Bev dance together was wonderful. Seeing two people in love…even better.

Here they are. This is Bev’s salsa dress. She had a waltz dress too. Exactly what I would have done for my wedding had I danced back then. :-)




"Please send me your last pair of shoes, worn out with dancing as you mentioned in your letter, so that I might have something to press against my heart."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Spice

Gary and I dance in lots of different venues; we like variety in all things: music, dance styles, environment, people, you name it. Some venues we attend specialize in a particular kind of dance and music, such as Latin, swing, or blues.

We experienced this at a new venue we tried this week, Smee’s in Indianapolis. Smee’s is a local restaurant with great food and atmosphere. They have an adjoining room with a nice wood dance floor that they allow one of the west coast swing clubs in town to use for free, hoping dancers will eat and drink at their establishment, which we did.

The music started promptly at 7 o’clock. The selection was good… slow and funky. Perfect for a slower version of WCS. We danced a rumba or two, a cha-cha, and ECS, but really, the music was better suited for bluesy WCS. All of it.

We love WCS and it’s one of our fave dances, but after an hour or so we were jonesing for some real Latin, a snappy ECS number, or faster WCS music. Even our beloved Terry Lee mixes up the ‘billy with different rhythms and tempos.

I’m not saying the Smee group should change…the dancers seemed perfectly happy doing WCS all night and that’s cool. What Gary and I realized is that we will always want variety in our dancing…no matter how much we love a dance we don’t want to do it all night, even if we know a million moves.

The great thing about watching specialty dancers is they know tons of moves in that dance. We picked up a few. There were some really good dancers there, albeit the styles didn't vary that much.

And that is a downside to being free birds; since our dancing doesn't conform to any set of dancing rules or style we tend to stick out. I heard one man say after we did a rumba that ballroom dancing is for old people. Which I found hilarious. Us? Ballroom dancers?

But that's OK. For us, dancing lots of different dances really is the spice that keeps us trying new things and new venues.

And I'm still giggling over the ballroom comment. Too funny.

Just Dance

Gary and I like to keep our dancing blog light and happy, because that’s how we think about dance. We are both happy people and we choose to live our life doing things that that bring us joy.

Saying that, no one lives a pain-free life, no matter how hard you try. Gary has been going through some hard times with his job lately…fortunately he's not there anymore and we can now start to put the unhappy past behind us.

Through it all, we had our dancing. Dancing brings you so close. You are literally in each other’s arms. Dancing together is a safe and loving place to be. We always enjoy that, but during this crisis we needed it.

Also, as Gary has said, when you are doing rapid spins, jumps, and dips, your mind had better be on what you are doing or someone’s going to get hurt. Dancing forces you to be in the moment. You can’t think about anything else. Not won’t…can’t.

Our troubles may have been there as we got ready for the dance. The situation leaked into our brains afterwards. But during…ahhh. Sweet peace and relief.

Dancing. It’s more than fun. It’s therapy.

Get Up Offa That Thing...

I'm not sure how long it's been since I last wrote. Too long, that's certain. I've just walked out on the worst boss I've ever had in my life, bar none. This is a dance blog, so I'm not going into any gory details, I'll just say that it came down to a sanity call - keep my sanity or not.

So, at T+1 days after severing my ties and even with the beginnings of worrying about finding another job, I can say I'm already feeling better than I have in months. Sure, I'm still shell-shocked. If that wasn't true, then the whole thing wouldn't have been a problem because I wouldn't have cared. There have been moments of clarity during the storm, especially in the final weeks. Times when I suddenly found myself saying, "Wait, this is craziness…", but the only times I've felt free were the times I spent on the dance floor. I stand by my mantra, dance takes you somewhere else - somewhere things aren't so bad.

So, in honor of putting the horror behind me, here's a little sentiment from Mr. James Brown.

Waltzing it Up

Gary and I have been moving along with our cross step waltz which we both really love. It is a beautiful dance, and much more delicate than the ballroom variety, if a dance can be delicate.

But sometimes we've found we need to whirl around quickly like the ballroomers do. This need became apparent to get out of the way of said whirlers, but we quickly realized that we also do, in fact, like the ballroom variety of the waltz when we do it our way, e.g. no reverse poise and no mathematical positioning ...that happens naturally believe it or not. So...we now like it.

But could it mix in with our cross step? Why yes it can. We've found it isn't hard to come in and out of each, as long as the follower knows when that is. Gary signals me by squeezing on my right palm. Works perfect.

So now our waltz can be delicate AND whirly. :-)

Blues Dancing

Sometimes I wonder if our dance posts seem like Toady from Wind in the Willows; if you are not familiar with this book by Kenneth Grahame (wonderful), the character of Mr. Toad was known for flitting from one hobby to the next. We do explore many dances and some of them we end up not liking, but most we’ve kept and expanded. So I think we’re more like the adventurous Ratty (in the book). Just so you know.

Yesterday we had our first blues lesson with Mike Legett and Dan Rosenthal. Wow. First, they are a very cute couple…the connection they have is electric and they are fabulous dancers. We’ve experienced teachers who, although good dancers, were not the best instructors. This was not the case with Mike and Dan; they explained blues dancing very clearly and were able to teach something that is organic and mostly improvisational. Quite a trick, teaching something like that. But they did it.

Blues dancing covers a big territory…I had thought it was only a slot dance. I only found the stationary kind in my research. It can be that, but it’s a whole lot more. Mike and Dan demonstrated the slot variety, but also a traveling sort of blues dance.

They did show us some unique steps to the blues which was very cool, but the best part was their understanding of the fierce connection it takes to dance this dance. Gary and I came away with techniques that will help us with every dance. For example, the special blues hold we learned could work with the vintage foxtrot and perhaps the cross step waltz.

As far as the blue steps go, most anything can go into blues dancing, it’s the way it’s done that matters…stuff from the lindy, WCS, and even some Latin moves will work perfectly…as long as it’s done blues-ily.

This dance is hard to explain, but for me dancing the blues means you are connected by your soul to the music which is expressed through your body which is then shared back and forth with your partner if that makes sense. I think that’s true of all dances, but especially this one.

We’ve come a long way as far as how we are able to learn…from the ballroom one, two three put your foot exactly here, to Shayne’s Latin bop bop bop, to Rosie’s demonstrational technique, to Mike and Dan’s body kinetics.

We like knowing we can learn from anyone, but it is especially nice to find instructors like Mike and Dan who truly understand teaching is a different skill from dancing. I have a feeling they can adapt to anyone…if we’d wanted numbers and more structure I believe they would have given us that. Whatever your dance style I think these two would be helpful just for the connection advice. Even, dare I say, for ballroomers.

BTW, blues dancing is SO romantic. Sigh. Oh, and here’s their website:

www.livinghistorydance.com

Good Manners

On the heels of my jabby-jab post and a counter-balance to a post Gary wrote about the pressure to change dance partners, I have a nice addition.

Recently three people have commented about how lovely it is to see us dance together, and/or what a sweet couple we are. I’m ambivalent with compliments in general; not that I don’t recognize admiration for our dancing as a gift, it is, but compliments make me a little uncomfortable.

But compliments about Gary and my relationship seems different. I like that people can see how much in love we are. And I also was happy that perhaps people, at least three anyway, understand that choosing one dancing partner is just as valid as dancing with many.

At the very heart of our dancing is our relationship. We dance because it’s a fun way to spend time with one another…our dance evenings are our date nights. We support people who want to change partners. So it was very nice that we are supported for our choice.

I knew dancers were cool. :-)

Arms and Kicks and Lunges OH MY

This post is about manners. Gary usually covers this topic, but I’ve been bounced, butted, and run over more often than usual so I felt the need.

I’m like to begin with a statement about how Gary and I dance. We are energetic dancers. We often dance to very fast music. We know quite a few “tricks”, e.g. jumps, spins, dips, patterns that take up a lot of room. BUT…we never, ever do any of these when it’s crowded, and we tone down our exuberance when we need to. We also get out of the way, even when the reason we have to get out of the way is because someone is being rude.

Some of the worst offenders are ballroom dancers. Part of this is not their fault. They are taught that “correct” form means arms akimbo and steps that sometimes take a pair across the floor. And I even heard a ballroom instructor say about big flourishes “if there’s an empty space go and claim it!”. Really? Even if that empty space is part of the slot someone else is dancing in???? Apparently yes, to both the space and the wild arms. Shane, our Latin teacher, once said that arms can go up, arms can go down, arms NEVER go out. Latin clubs are crowded. And they detest what they call ballroom jabs. Me too.

I almost got run over a couple of weeks ago by a couple cha chaing right into the very small space Gary and I were dancing in. I turned and there they were, arms raised like two predatory birds, and heels ready to come down on my toes if Gary hadn’t pulled me away in time. Seesh. And no apology, either.

And if you think I’m just ranting about ballroom dancers, there are also a contingent of club dancers that do different, but no less rude, things. WCS dancers in particular. Dips over the head are lovely, but not at the edge of the dance floor and over our table…no joke. I could have put a swizzle stick down the woman’s front.

I know some of you ballroomers believe you must stick that arm out to be silvery level perfect. Clubbers...I know if you’ve just learned a fancy WCS move you wanna do it. We’ve felt the same way. But if there isn’t room there just isn’t. That’s what social dancing is.

There's a couple who come to the Indy Roof sometimes...they are definitely ballroom dancers, and really, really good ones. They do lots of fancy steps and even little routines within their social dancing. They are very flashy. But I’ve never seen them get in anyone's way. If they have room for their bling they do it, otherwise, they don't. A class act.

I'm not saying Gary and I never accidentally get in someone's way. We aren't always practitioners of perfect manners. But we try our best to be polite. And we always say we're sorry if we goof.

Ok. I’m done now.

Da Blues

I love blues music…those sweetly sad melodies slicked over a sexy, slow beat…whew. Gets me every time. Gary and I usually do a slinky style of west coast swing to that kind of music, but it never quite fit. Not…bluesy enough.

If you’ve read our recent posts, you will know we fell in love with Zydeco dancing. We’ve incorporated a few of the moves into our other dances, but to learn any new dance Gary and I have found we do need someone to get us started. After that we’re cool, but those first few steps having an instructor around really makes the difference. Sadly, the nearest Zydeco lessons would be way south of Indiana and with gas prices and budget to adhere to this summer that just wasn’t in our plans.

But we were feeling itchy for something new. Something different. And we found it. Yep, there’s a specific dance that has arisen to do to slow bluesy tunes, called simply enough, blues dancing. Some people call it American tango; of course, purists in the tango community call this sacrilege.

Oooooooooh. Rebels. We like them even more.

Blues dancing does, in fact, incorporate lots of Argentina tango moves. And some batacha. And some lindy. WCS. It is very inventive and improvisational. And very VERY smooth and sexy. Best of all, the Midwest is a veritable cauldron of the blues scene, so we found a place close to us (Cincinnati) that will teach us.

So we’re off to learn this new dance style at the end of the month from one of the best blues dancers around, Mike Legett. Here she is. Yes, Mike is a girl. And there’s no doubt of that when you watch this video. We can’t wait!!!!

Indy Dancers Anniversary Dance

24 years. That’s a long time for any club to survive, let alone considering most folks these days think long and hard about what to spend money on. Gary and I really like this club. They don’t have, in our humble opinion, the same funkiness as the Brickyard Boogie club, but they are extremely well run, they play a good variety of music, and the people are friendly.

We attended their anniversary dance last Saturday at a beautiful old Indianapolis venue, the Murat Shrine Temple. Here we are, a pretty good pic, except that I look like gigantor woman.



This building has many wonderful spaces; the room we were in has a sixty-ish lounge feeling, complete with a fabulous twinkling star ceiling. You can actually get these installed in your house. The lights themselves cost around 500 bucks, and no telling how much to install so not for us. Maybe someday.

I can just imagine them over our dance floor….

Curtains

No, not curtains to our dancing. Or anything else bad. Curtains as in the ones I had in my bedroom growing up.

I remember a lot about them: they were colorful, silly, and were filled with animals. My mom gave them to me a few years before we started dancing. I figured I’d make something out of them someday.

So I was thinking about them the other day and dug them out. Everything was exactly how I remembered except one thing: the animals are dancing! Highly recognizable and specific dancing, like the cha cha and the swing. And just in case observers can’t recognize the steps, the names of each dance are clearly labeled. I looked at the images and got chills.

I decided to frame one panel. But plenty of material remained. I cut some of the animals out and sewed them onto a skirt.

Once again I’m reminded what a wonderful childhood I had and how grateful I am to a mother that, perhaps even without her knowing, keeps inspiring me.

Ain't Got No Home

March is the time for all things green...so here's the Frogman!

Terry Lee, Single Swing, and Zydeco

Sounds like a stew, huh? It is. Dance stew.

Gary and I saw our fave band Terry Lee and the Rockaboogie Band Friday at Mike’s Dance Barn in Nashville, IN. As always, they did their usual great show. This time they added in some waltzes, 50’s rock and roll, and even some surf music. Very cool. Especially the surf music. Maybe next time some Dick Dale. But anyway, a good time. We even did our cross step waltz.

We’ve realized…again…that for the lightening fast numbers there really isn’t any substitute for single time swing. Unfortunately, I’ve never liked STS…to me the basic is bonky, and for the really quick tunes lindy timing becomes, well, too fast for me. But…if you take out lindy timing, double turns, and intricate triple step moves, what have you got? Not much, in our case.

So. I’ve been doing some trolling around on Youtube and found Zydeco dances. As with most dance genres, Zydeco dancing covers a whole lot of territory…there’s even a Zydeco waltz. These dances, like the Cajun culture, reflect French and Afro-Latin influences. We found two styles we really like. The first is fast…very fast. See the video below. What we’re going to do with this variety is take some of the moves and put them into single swing. This Zydeco dance is meant to be fast, and so depends more on fancy footwork, free spins, and non-led bling.



But…we also found another Zydeco style we liked. This one is slower and groovier…you can really see the French courtly dance influence in this one. We’re taking the bows and the beautiful arm stylings and putting some of that into our WCS. Take a look…really pretty.



And maybe at some point we can make it down to Louisiana for some true gator stomping. The Zydeco community seems free, spirited, and a whole lot of fun.

Scratchin' Circles

Ah, February and March wear on a fellow here in the gray Midwest. The first quarter of the year is all about the cold wind, snow, and skies that might as well be made of concrete. Couple that with doing seven days worth of work in the span of five and you got a recipe for misery. By the time the weekend arrives a fellow needs a little time - time to blow of some steam, time to shake the blues, time to pick himself up.

Tonight we're heading south to Mike's Dance Barn again. We're going to spend some time with Terry Lee and his Rockaboogie Band. It's a much needed pick-me-up. There are too few things in the world that can make you forget your troubles and listening to Terry happens to be one for me. There's something about Rockabilly music, some kind of magic booze for the soul. Like a good stiff drink, a good rockabilly band can make your troubles fuzzy and forgettable. All the woes of the workplace still exist, they'll be there in the morning (along with a few extra aches and pains), but for the moment they sink to the bottom of your priority list.

Music can do a lot of things but one of the most important seems to be to act as a salve, to ease the weariness the soul. We're not talking Land of the Lotus Eaters here - trouble informs good music so listening to good music means taking in the troubles of the world. The thing is good music transforms the trouble of the world, metamorphoses it into rhythm and harmony which the dancer turns into motion. Like a voodoo ceremony, the music inhabits your body and you're moved to a transcendent state. So when JD McPherson sings about Scratching Circles, he might just be talking about magic circles.

I Won't Dance

The thirties were a time of musicals. Maybe the Great Depression drove people to escape from reality and there's nothing more unreal than the musical genre. While the guys who used to put up skyscrapers are standing on breadlines, for a nickle you could watch chorus lines, extravagant costumes, and thinly defined plots reel out in black and white.

In 1934 one such musical came out in London. The Three Sisters, written by Jerome Kern and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, had only 72 performances. However, one of the songs featured in the play, I Won't Dance, was reused in the highly successful 1935 film Roberta. That version of the song, the one commonly sung thereafter, featured heavily revised lyrics by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh. Otto Harbach had had a hand in writing the lyrics for the original version with Hammerstein. Kern's music remained the same for the film rendition.

I Won't Dance originally was intended as a duet, portraying a dialogue between a woman and man, the former telling him what he is missing by not dancing with her, while the reluctant man gradually caves into her charms. The version of I Won't Dance I first encountered had been rewritten for solo vocalist and possibly the best known version is by Frank Sinatra. Regardless, I get swept away by the music and lyrics and find myself singing along (with various degrees of lyrical accuracy and little or no ability to carry a tune) every time I hear it.

I won't dance, don't ask me

I won't dance, don't ask me
I won't dance, Madame, with you

Say, you know what? You're lovely
You know what? You're lovely, but oh, what you do to me
I'm like an ocean wave that's bumped on the shore
I feel so absolutely stumped on the floor

When you dance you're charming and you're gentle
'Specially when you do the Continental
But this feeling isn't purely mental
For heaven rest us, I'm not asbestos

And that's why I won't dance, why should I?
I won't dance, how could I? I won't dance
Merci beau coup, I know that music leads the way to romance
So if I hold you in my arms I won't dance

National Geographic Article

In July 2006, National Geographic did an article on dance titled Shall we Dance? It's a quick read, I think four paragraphs, but most of us pick up National Geographic for the pictures anyway. Take a look. It's inspirational to see other people dancing their way through life. Makes me glad that Kelly and I started our trip around the dance floor and ready to strike up the band again.

The Adagio

In our quest for vintage dance moves I found this video. Yeah, it's slowed way down, but still very wow.

Belated Happy Valentine's Day

I'm way behind in my writing. That's my way of saying sorry for being MIA from the blog. It's a good thing I've got Kelly to take up the slack or people would figure I'd dropped off the face of the planet! So, that said, I'd planned on writing something for Valentine's Day. I mean it's a dance holiday what with all the romance and making googly eyes at one another. With dance being the social lubricant and introducer of couples it is, there's no better excuse to pen a few words on the subject of getting out on the floor with your significant-whatever! Unfortunately, work (the woe that it is) has been preoccupying me of late and I let the day slip by without writing anything (mind you I didn't forget it, that would just be foolishness!).

Anyway, here is something I found on Shorpy. A creepy little cupid roundup.

Clave and Surf

Nope, not a new seafood dish. :-) Gary and I finally found something to dance the clave to that we both really love...surf music! We've been having some trouble with this dance...we know the clave pretty good, but not good enough to dance it to the rocket fast salsa songs played at Latin clubs. And besides, we like to dance the clave to a more romantic, dreamy Latin sound...which we found in surf music.

You might be thinking surf? And Latin dances? Really? It does seem weird at first. But I've always heard a whiff of the Latin in surf tunes; even the Beach Boys have it if you listen closely. Then I discovered the king of surf, Dick Dale, had an Uncle who introduced him to Latin and middle eastern music.

So there you are. Latin infuences. Even in the Beach Boys. However, although I do love the Boys (you can't be sad listening to their music), I prefer my surf with a bit more of that exotic flavor. There are many good surf bands out there, my favorite one is the Aqua Velvets. The clave (along with the rumba and tango and I'm sure many others) fit this music perfectly.

Listen to the video below. You can almost hear the palms swaying on some distant shore. I imagine myself dancing with Gary in a Moroccan nightclub at the edge of the sea bathed in moonlight...

Valentine’s Day

Gary and I attended two dances over the weekend, the Brickyard Boogies and the Continental's weekly Sunday dance. Of the two, the Continentals put on the one specifically labeled as a Valentine’s Day dance, although many people were dressed in red on Saturday, too.

There’s something very sweet about seeing most folks in red for this holiday, and dancing to valentine-inspired music just makes you want to stare into your partner’s eyes even more, sigh. We had a wonderful time. The Continentals can be counted on for giving a dance for every holiday, which we like. It’s fun to dress for the occasion; it's special and old-fashioned.

Here’s a picture of people doing a Greek number at the Continetal dance. It’s not exactly valentine-ish, but the flaming outfits are.



Have a happy, happy day.

Raleigh Community Dance Club

We're in the news! The Knightstown Banner did a story on the Raleigh Community Dance Club. They interviewed us, filmed us dancing, and took some pics (we are in the little one the left and in the middle in the bigger one). The video is below, a couple of photos, as well as the link to the paper. Wow!

http://www.thebanneronline.com/

Triple Two and Foxtrot, Too

I was thinking of Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too for this post. :-)

Gary and I have been moving along nicely with our 1920’s foxtrot. It's very adaptable. You can use many timing combination for the basic step...the ballroom slow slow quick quick, or slow slow quick quick quick, or slow quick quick, anything you would like that fits the music. In 1920’s foxtrot there is no side step in the basic, which sounds easier but we’ve found it harder, because you don’t have that “square up” step at the end.

So anyway, we’ve been going along when I realized that the slow slow quick quick timing is exactly the same as the Texas two step. We’ve always known these two dances looked very similar, and now that we are playing around with foxtrot the same way we play around with other dances, it’s been fun to put Texas moves in the foxtrot, and vice versa. Who knew we were getting two dances for the price of one when we switched to 1920’s foxtrot?

In my quest to find Texas two step moves on You Tube I discovered a variety called triple two step. The basic is exactly like triple EC swing only it moves…triple step, triple step, one two. Here’s a video of it. We both think it’s fun and really beautiful, and will further spice up that foxtrot. Yee HA!

The Crystal Ball

I wanted to start off this post with an apology for being so lax about my contributions of late. The usual suspects are to blame: work, work, and work. I've also been musing over exactly what to write about Crystal Ball 2011. I wanted to say something different than what Kell already has covered and I didn't want to be kitsch or predictable…resisting phrases like 'it was wand-erful' in spite of the fact it kept coming to mind.


It's really hard to describe an event like the Crystal Ball from the point of view of a pair of dancers who went to a Harry Potter festival. Obviously it'd be unfair to complain about the dance floor or the dancers on that floor because…it's a Harry Potter event, not a dance. Yet, at the same time, the organizers did a pretty darn good job throwing a dance! In fact they did a lot better than a few dance clubs we've visited! The floor at Landoll's Mohican Castle's event center was adequate, linoleum over concrete is rough on the feet but resists the eventual baptism with beer (or in this case butter beer) well but it's very unforgiving. Still the atmosphere was literally magic.

I also wanted to dwell for a moment on the attendees. In the past I've used this forum to vent about 'floor manners'. Many people, and I'm talking about people who have taken dance lessons, don't have an inkling of how to dance socially. They overreach, they take up too much room, they are overly aggressive, and they ignore the people dancing around them with the end result being a lot of mashed toes and bruised feelings. However, at the Crystal Ball, pretty much everyone had wonderful floor manners. They made room, danced small, and were respectful to those around them. This got me thinking about manners - maybe having good floor manners depends on avoiding arrogance. Maybe having some small portion of yourself know that you're not 'all that' makes you more humble and respectful. Maybe the sin of mashed toes and the sin of hubris are one and the same? I don't know, I'm probably reaching as I'm want to do but it's worth thinking about! All I can say is I wish more people who dance were like the folks at the Crystal Ball. It'd make maneuvering the floor a lot less stressful!

As for the venue, Landoll's Mohican Castle in northern Ohio is an amazing place. I searched without luck for history on the crenellated oddity just outside Loudonville, OH but without any luck. Even the hotel website doesn't provide background information on why Mr. Landoll decided to build his castle in the American hinterland. Maybe the idea stemmed from a European trip or a trip to the local cinema to see Sleeping Beauty, your guess is as good as mine. What I can say is that the collection of towers and cottages amid the rolling, wooded countryside formed the perfect backdrop to the fantasy of Harry Potter. As we strolled to the evening's event a sparkling snow filled the frigid air, dusting everything with a magic glitter.

Whomping Willows

Had a request for some WWW...Whomping Willows Wrock!!!!

Aww Spinach!

I promise I'll be writing a Crystal Ball post shortly but this afternoon I've been having a time with network connections and this song happened to play on Live365 and it lifted my spirits. I thought I'd share, it's a lovely little foxtrot from a band I love.

The Crystal Ball Aftermath

Sigh. The Crystal Ball, hosted by the Ohio Harry Potter Group was fabulous. The people were very friendly, the costumes right out of the movies, the decorations to DIE for, the food great, and the castle setting…oh my. Not sure how they arranged it, but snow was gently falling as we wound our way down the enchanted path to the dance. Maybe they used Harry’s wand. But anyway, a perfectly magical evening. Here's a pic of the castle:



We both love Harry Potter, well, me probably more than Gary. But I wouldn’t say Harry Potter is part of my daily life. This group feels about the Harry Potter books and movies the way Gary and I feel about dancing, so the event was less dance and more Potter-esque activities, but we knew that going into it. It was fun to dance with such a group of fascinating people. Our favorite was dancing to the Deatheater’s Tango. Wickedly delicious. :-) We even saw a waltz demonstration that was different from the waltzes we know; essentially it was the cross step waltz without the cross in front. Very pretty, with a bow after each basic. Here it is:



One of the many cool things about dancing is that it causes us to venture to new places. We would never in a million years have found Landoll’s Mohican Castle if we hadn't of found the Crystal Ball. And we would never know about Wizard Wrock, either. (Music based on all things Potter…really fun.)

Essentially, we stepped into another world for an evening; an evening of enchantment and magic, but also another social world with its own language, culture, and dress. Some people do this kind of exploration by other means: world travel, reading, movies, etc. And though we do some of those too, dancing is the usual way we stick our toes into foreign waters.

Wrock on, Whomping Willows. The Luna song was my favorite. :-)

Gary and my birthdays are in January, rather nice, because we usually decide to do something together along with our separate celebrations. Now that we dance, that something usually is a dance, hopefully a destination dance.

We both search the web often for unusual or historic venues; as much as we love the tried and true, venturing out to new places hold a shivery excitement. If you’ve read our blog long you’ve realized we’ve managed to find quite a few interesting venues, even within the confines of the Midwest. However, you’ve also probably seen how I’ve longed for a fairy ball, coming to understand that most of those were on either coast, or in the UK.

Well. I was scouring around for something unique, and low and behold, I found the Crystal Ball, modeled after the dance of the same name in the Harry Potter books. I read on rather morosely, thinking how cool, if only there’d be something like this in our neck of the woods when lo, I saw where it was... Ohio!!! And in a castle!! Who knew? Here it is, Landoll’s Mohican Castle:



So next weekend we are off to the Ball. I’m so excited. The dress code is either Muggle formal or Wizard-ish. We decided on Wizard. :-)

Cross Step Waltz

Gary and I had our first real lesson in the Cross Step Waltz last Saturday with Rosie Lempkin of The Flying Cloud Vintage Dance Troupe in Cincinnati. We are both officially in love with this dance.

We tried the waltz when we first started dancing, but neither one of us liked it. The ballroom version is beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but we didn’t care for the reverse poise, the calculated positioning, or the formalness.

The cross step waltz is nothing like the ballroom variety and is infinite in its application. In fact, its very nature lends itself to experimentation. Want to put tango moves in? Go ahead. How about a swing move? Works perfect. The basic timing is indeed one two three, but at any time you can put a cha cha cha in there or stop completely for drama. It’s all up to …I was about to say the lead, but in this dance the lead is often “given” to the follower. How cool is that?

The basic step is deceptively simple…the feet cross in front, the woman’s as well, even when she is going backwards. It is simply breathtaking. And something else happened with that dance too, something that has never happened to me before. At one point Rosie asked us to separate while doing the basic step. It was so romantic and beautiful that I started to cry!

I am not a crier in general, and certainly not (gasp) in public. But something happened when I danced that dance, something magical. I now understand why the waltz is called the Mother of All Dances.

Rosie just laughed. Yeah, she said, it’ll do that.

The Mother of All Dances. I get it. For me, at least the Cross Step Waltz is.

New Year’s Eve

Well, another wonderful New Year’s Eve dance at the Greenwood Moose: the food was great, the people friendly, and the band fabulous (The Marlinaires). Gary and I danced our respective you-know-whats off and today I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, but last night was well worth today’s pain. We danced and danced until we couldn’t dance anymore.

We missed my sister and her family being there this year…I had no one to twist with, as my niece Ruthie was my twistin’ partner last year. Here’s a pic of the crowd doing it, though.



After the balloons dropped at midnight the floor degenerated into a littering of shredded balloons, noise makers, (human and mechanical), and a huge bunny hop. I like a good conga line as well as the next, but we were beat. Gary and I gathered up our stuff, wished my parents a happy new year, and made the long journey home.

Sigh. I love New Year’s. It’s almost as good as Halloween.