Introduction - Kelly

"Dance isn't a form, it's a way of life." ~anonymous

I've never written a blog. Never wanted to. I don't have anything against them, but I'm a private person and I have other things that seemed pressing. I'm a writer. An artist. And oh yeah, I do a little consulting. I like to take walks. Attend exercise classes. Garden. Be a fun Aunt. And of course, dance, which includes lessons, practicing, and going out to dance. A lot. And then all the other things that go along with a dancing lifestyle. Like researching where to go. What to wear. Eating out before or after. And so on.

When I analyzed why I wanted to write a blog (as is my wont, my MBTI type is INTJ, part of that consulting thing) I decided there were two reasons. One is selfish, one is for others. Pretty balanced, right? The selfish reason is to record my husband (Gary) and my progress and to keep a running journal together. Awwww, aren't we sweet? The second, philanthropic reason for the blog is I want others to try dancing and maybe get a few tips from our site. We did a bunch of work and spend much in figuring out what worked best on a number of things, so maybe we can save you time and cash.

All this coming from someone who never thought she'd like it. A woman who was called "Grace" Kelly in her youth, and not because she was. A woman who thought her husband would try it and not like it (my husband was the one who started this adventure – or, rather, my sister did, and then my husband, but that's for another entry).

But...I did enjoy it, I do enjoy it, and I know my husband and I will continue to enjoy it. And, as the quote above illustrates, it has changed our lives.

So. That why. Now the what. Since I've just said dancing is all encompassing, that is what I intend this blog to be from my end. Where we go. How we liked the venue. How nice (or not) were the people and the funny names we sometimes give them. Where we take lessons and our wonderful teacher, Melissa. The clothes. Oh the clothes. Jewelry. What kinds will fly off and what kinds will injure your partner. Why you should not wear hand lotion before a dance (bad, very bad). Shoes. How many, what kind, how make your own dance
shoes...OK, stop already. You get the idea.

My hope is to inspire others to try dancing. And for us to finally start using our cameras.

Until next time.

Introduction - Gary

Every time I caught an old movie the feeling would be there. You’ve saw them – some picture where the leading man and woman are out at a dinner club. The MC announces the singer and the band gently lights on a slow tune. He looks at her across the table and smiles slightly and asks her if she’d like to dance. Soon they’re out among the smartly dressed folks, turning around the dance floor and staring deep into each other’s eyes. I’d be right there with them on that floor – probably stepping on my date’s toes or counting measures while trying to remember if it’s slow-slow-quick or slow-quick-slow. When the credits rolled I always felt like I should have come of age during the twenties or thirties – back when people went dancing.

About a year ago I decided to finally take this sepia-tone fantasy of learning to dance from the screen to reality. I’d never really tried to dance before…I’d rocked around the floor at a high school prom but never really danced...so, the prospect was a little scary. Luckily I had access to a sister-in-law and brother-in-law who’d been taking dance lessons for a year. They talked me down from the ‘I’d never be able to do that…’ stage and today I take weekly lessons in Swing and Latin dance styles.

After a year of abusing my dear wife’s feet and various dance venues around the Midwest, I decided it might be interesting to write about the experience. I’m a writer by trade and hobby and where my feet fail my pen usually doesn’t – I figure writing about the trials and triumphs of my journey from want-to-be-Astaire to guy-who-knows-a-thing-or-two will at least be a catharsis. In the blogosphere I might prove a little more nimble than in the ballroom and, who knows; maybe it’ll help me sort out where the left and right foot ought to go.

I’ll be sharing this blog space with the other half of my dance team – my lovely wife, Kelly. Our tastes for dance run in different directions: she loves Latin and has brought us to learning the Salsa and I love the dances of the 20’s and 30’s which has brought us to learning the Foxtrot. Luckily we both love swing and it’s our mutual decision to learn the East Coast Swing and Lindy Hop. I hope you enjoy reading our stories – I know we’ll enjoy presenting them.