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.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
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.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
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. :-)
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. :-)
Saturday, January 15, 2011
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. :-)
Sunday, January 9, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
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.
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.
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