Happy Halloween - Cha Cha Cha!

Happy Halloween!

Kim Lenz - Zombie for Your Love

Great Rockabilly tune for the season!

My Rockabilly Martian Gal

Invaders from the trailer park!

Halloween 2012

We didn't do anything special this year for Halloween, but then, every Halloween is special, especially when you're dancing. :-) Here we are at our two local dances, the first at Indy Singles ( we went as space people),

the second is at Indy Dancers of our favorite costume.

On to more holiday dances!!!!!!

'Cause It's Never Too Early...

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….

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!!!!

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.

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!!!

Catch Up

They say that as you get older time gets away from you. Summer blends into fall and winter runs into spring and the year gets away from you before you've got the hang of it. I'd like to blame my lack of activity on the whirling calendar but that'd be disingenuous. There are tons of excuses for why I'm only just getting to writing about Halloween with November ripening into December, but I won't bore you with them. Instead, I'll focus on rectifying the situation.

As you know, we did the traditional Halloween Ball at St. Louis' Casa Loma Ballroom and it lived up to the raucous reputation it earned with us the first year we attended. There was rock and roll, there was drink, there were transvestites, and a good time was had by all including my in-laws. You've got to give it to a pair of octogenarians who are willing to brave East St. Louis on All Hallows Eve in a neighborhood like the one that the Casa Loma has matured into. They got out on the dance floor and shanked out a few WCS's before getting beaten back by the drunken revelers. I hope I'm doing the same at eighty but my inner crotchety old man tells me I'm more likely to be sitting with the wallflowers shaking my cane at the 'young hooligans' on the dance floor.

In spite of having a good time I believe we've decided to sample the Halloween revels at another venue in 2011. The Loma is a fantastic venue and it has an unparalleled pedigree but two years of ear-splittingly loud bands and beer-baptisms have taken their toll on our desire to dance there. This year the crowd was decidedly bawdier (one partier showed up dressed as a penis) and though it might be in my head there also seemed to be a lot more drunken foolery. I'm all for getting tight on occasion but when those getting wasted are also trying to dance, well…

So, in 2011 we're weighing our options. Maybe we'll decide on the Wilmington Ballroom outside Chicago with its haunted highway - remember all those stories about the lady in white hitching a ride by Resurrection Cemetery? Well, they originate from the Wilmington area, perfect for Halloween don't you think?

Halloween at the Casa Loma

Here we are, Major Nelson and Jeanie sans the blonde wig. I knew it would fly off when dancing, so I opted for her dark evil twin. With short hair. :-)

Happy sigh. The happy because I love Halloween so much, the sigh because it’s over. Gary and I, along with my mom and dad, had a wonderful time at the Halloween Ball at the historic Casa Loma Ballroom in St. Louis.

The floor was crammed with the usual gambit of costumes from the sublime (a beautiful mermaid), to the funny (Tiger and several, um, blonde ladies), to the downright risqué (a giant male atomically correct part), to the creative (a group of bloody cooks from hell’s kitchen.)

The Band, Smash, was good, but waaaaaaaay too loud. I like loud. But when you shout and STILL can’t make yourself heard or hear anyone else, that’s too much volume. I don’t get it. The piped in music played during breaks was plenty loud enough to cover the partying, but as soon as the band started to play, the dial, as Nigel would say, was cranked to 11.

It was more crowded this year. And while I am perfectly OK with sharing the floor with non-dancers and various examples of individual expression, I am NOT OK with being slammed, stepped on, or shoved. People didn’t do this on purpose (many had been drinking…a lot), but still. Gary and I come to dance, so perhaps it’s time to sample something else.

Right now we have our eye on the Willowbrook ballroom near Chicago. We’ve heard tell they put on quite a Halloween bash….

Halloween Party Number One

And exactly when we needed a pick me up, The Indy Dancers hosted their annual Halloween Bash. There's just something about seeing a grown man dressed like Zorro that forbids any sort of sad feeling. :-)

And Halloween is this weekend, woooHOO!

Vintage Halloween Dance

I love Halloween. My husband and I were married on this magical day. Halloween, in my opinion, has gotten a bad rap recently in some quarters as being evil. Sad. This day, or should I say night, is enchanted, but evil? Never.

Folks from yesteryear understood that ghosts and goblins should be given a healthy respect, but if well treated they could be interesting party guests. Much like living humans. :-)

Here is an old invite caption:

"At Hallowe'en a dance I'm giving, Come mingle with the dead and living; For I'm inviting spooks as well, Who will impart a magic spell."

And the accompanying graphic:



Now that doesn't look scary, does it?

Finally...

Finally the Halloween pictures re uploaded and ready for your viewing pleasure (though I have to say, it seems like if they're Halloween pictures they ought to be there for your viewing horror…). One week, two parties, and about 400 miles later Kelly and I have attended both the Indy Dancers costume party at the East Side Moose Club and the Casa Loma Halloween Masquerade party. Both were great and now it's kind of good to settle back and relax into a pre-tryptophan stupor while we rest up for the big three: Thanksgiving, Yule, and New Years.

St. Louis' Casa Loma Ballroom is a fantastic place to dance. The floor's in great condition, the bands are good (if a bit loud), and the crowd is diverse. This year, though, that crowd was a little thinner than in 2008. I don't know if it's due to the economy or the fact that the party fell on Halloween night and parents had to tour their kids around - whatever the case, the balconies stayed empty all night long and the dance floor was noticeably emptier. Most of the time I'm all for a bit of elbow room on the dance floor but not when It makes me worry over a storied ballroom's future. Maybe I'm being alarmist - I hope I am - but only time will tell. I guess I shouldn't bust the post-Halloween sugar high with my concerns. Better to savor the moment for none of us have control over the future.

I always knew that the Electric Slide was the devil's dance. There's something satanic about it - okay, maybe not satanic but you know. I've never been good at following rules so I guess I'll never be any good at doing line dances.



This is either the Macarena or a group of NFL referees practicing the signal for a good fieldgoal attempt. Isn't the Macarena the perfect dance for a mime? All those hand motions? Well, maybe not since this mime doesn't seem to be keeping up with the crowd.


Perpetual motion - if you could bottle this kind of energy we won't need coal gasification, wind turbines, or solar power. The nation could be powered by DANCE POWER! Oh, notice the shiny, oil slick looking to the right? It isn't a party until a guy dressed as a sheik slings MGD all over the dance floor and then has to be led off by his rather embarrassed looking spouse.


My favorite costumes of the night. They didn't take home first place in the costume contest - they lost to the entire cast of Carrie - people just go for a psychotic, psychic chick drenched in pig blood, I guess.

Casa Loma Ballroom Halloween 2009

On the way to St. Louis Gary and I discussed looking to another venue for Halloween 2010. We loved dancing at Casa Loma last year, but St. Louis is a long drive, and, it’s expensive to stay near the ballroom, at least, if you want a neighborhood that’s safe.

But it’s hard to imagine having a better time. Gary and I had a fabulous, magical evening at the fabled ballroom; we danced until I almost collapsed. Literally. My legs stopped working. We had to quit in the middle of a fast medley, but that was OK. To say that I couldn’t possibly do one more dance was the best feeling ever.

The band, That 80’s Band, was, if a bit too loud, very good. They played 80’s music. Naturally. So we got Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, Cher, Joan Jett…all the icons of the 80’s. Good dance music for swing and a few rumbas. It was fun, being Halloween and all, dancing to Thriller, Ghost Busters, and Werewolves of London.

The costumes were wonderful, from the sublime (a jellyfish), to the hilarious (the ENTIRE cast of Carrie…they won), to the er, questionable. You know the expression “her headlights were on?” Well, first imagine a woman in a tight top. Her headlights were ON, shining brightly through the thin material. Funny. We were garbed in Star Trek attire; Gary in a red shirt and me in a red dress. We had regulation pins and bags that looked like tricorders. I even found a pair of black stage boots (Sansha brand) that although were not as comfortable as my dance sneakers were fine for one evening after I put a couple of shoe inserts into them.

The crowd was its weird normal self. We saw some truly expert club dancers (hoping to steal some of their moves), free form expression (aka hopping up and down and having a blast), and of course, the annual beer baptism which luckily occurred when we were sitting down.

I feel freer there than anyplace else. I think it’s a combination of Halloween magic, the historic venue, and the costumes. Is that 20’s era flapper woman sitting next to me in reality a ghost from times past? Or is she even a she at all? We sat next to a table of cross dressers. :-)

You just never know on Halloween. And that’s the beauty of the holiday. Sigh. I wish it wasn’t over.

Here’s a video of Ella Fitzgerald performing one of her favorites. The band she’s singing with, Chick Webb and his Orchestra, gave Ella her start…at the Casa Loma Ballroom. Enjoy.

Indy Dancer's Halloween Bash

Last night we attended the Indy Dancer's annual Halloween Costume Party. It's a small affair - maybe fifty people at the East Side Moose Club for a Tuesday night dance. The atmosphere was an excellent warm up for this weekend's big trip to St. Louis. I'll have pictures up later in the day.

I'm sure Kelly's touched on this before, but even though we didn't go in 'full costume' I was struck by how much the act of dancing dictates what you wear. Last night I wore a Misfits tee shirt, long sleeve with a glow-in-the-dark skeleton torso printed on it. In spite of the fact we didn't dance as often as we usually do, I nearly sweated to death! Mental note, plastic tee shirt graphics and dancing don't go together! Kelly and I already are debating what we're going to wear as costumes next year and we're making sure they're dance-capable. Nobody needs to have a stroke and wind up taking an ambulance ride while dressed as the Riddler!

A Pretty Vintage Poatcard

When Halloween was thought of as beautiful and magical.

Glad some of us still think so. :-)

Tickets...Finally

Judging from our grim blog banner, it's that time of year again. Bleak, slate skies and chilly winds bear the tidings of All Hallows Eve and soon we'll be carving pumpkins and looking forward to snow. For Kelly and I, Halloween means the big costume ball at St. Louis' Casa Loma Ballroom. Nothing like shagging the night away with a few hundred kindred freaks of the night. This year it's Trek gear – or at least a good approximation. Thing is, you can't dance in anything too elaborate. Well, at least you can't swing or rockabilly dance.

Over the past month we've been trying to reserve our tickets. We dance early and often so we like to be near the floor where we can catch the best tunes and that means getting a seat as early as possible. Well, I have a tip for all those of you who are interested in getting early tickets to the Casa Loma's Halloween party: don't bother calling the box office, go straight to email. I left three messages with the automated reservation system and got no response (at lest I hope there aren't six tickets waiting for me at will-call on the 31st). We sent one email and got a reply the same day with information on what to do to get tickets. I strongly recommend all my ghost friends stick to electronic communications – at least this year.

From an email we received Monday, October 5 the Casa Loma tickets have come back from the printer. Not a moment too soon! We've nearly reached the witching hour!

BOO!!!

I love Halloween. I love the weather, the spookiness, and the permission to wear anything I want. I feel sorry for people who have linked this enchanted holiday to bad stuff. It wasn't always like that. Take a look at some of the pictures from Halloween parties and dances in the '20's. Or the sweet decorations from the '50s. Maybe those who have such a vendetta against Halloween should take a good look at themselves instead. Especially after the election results, woohoo.

OK. I'm done now.

Gary and I decided this year to spend our anniversary dancing. Yes, we married on October 31st. We took a quick trip to St. Louis and the Casa Loma ballroom. As usual, my husband described the event so perfectly I won't rehash, just a few words on how wonderful it is to be with what I think of as "my people", individuals of all ages, ethnicity, and orientation blending and having a blast.

My favorite moments? Giggling with a cross dresser over my corset (he liked it), seeing a dead ringer Sarah Palin get booed and watching her slapping her butt in response, and a middle aged man winning the costume contest with a Mr. Bubbles look...it is something to see check out the website.

So was thinking about Halloween and dancing, and realized for me there was a connection. When you are dressed as a pirate you simply cannot think about any worries you may have. When you are dancing, you MUST be right there or you will mess up. This is especially good for me, because I am usually not an in the moment person, I am a planner, an oh-no-what-about-that, or an oh-dear-this-is-coming-up kind of gal.

Dressing up in a silly costume keeps me grounded, helps me enjoy the here and now. The past is the past. The future may not be at all what you are planning for or worrying about. I'm trying to be more present oriented, because really, that is all you can be sure of. Might as well enjoy it!

Now if you will excuse me, I have to finish painting the bathroom, because we are having a party in the next few weeks and I have SO MUCH TO DO.