Ballroom Dance Lessons

[tropicalsunset]

Merry Christmas!!! We are having friends in for Christmas Eve... I do have to put more ice melt on our driveway... there is still a good solid inch of ice out there !!! unfortunately, we are on the shady side of the street...

 

Our dance studio has painted its logo on the walls as the filming is still going on for DWTS!!

 

Dave's dancing shoes finally came in and all is well for the holidays!!

 

Off to the grocery store and last minute preparations...turns out we are having friends here for New Years Eve and then out dancing....

 

Someday we will spend the holidays in a warmer climate... as it is I have got to remember to get those "Lincoln Logs" for the fireplace.... :D :D

[tropicalsunset]

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday...

anyone going dancing for New years???

[GCurry]

Not this year Tropical, usually we do the "March of the Penguins" dinner dance, formal. We went to the NASA party last year; just a buy in on the Space Center grounds, this year I'll cook for us and another couple who have duty for Rita and Katrina insurance problems on the 1st. They are cruising with us in Hawaii, so we should get some good conversation, and probably, an early evening. But, we have three dances coming up this month, and start another year with "Ole Lance" and his tough love dance lessons.

Saw more weather headed your way; close to record highs down here, running the air conditioning every day, so I was out pruning bananas and other "cooL" weather projects. The Crotons were getting sunburned so I've rearranged things again.

 

Happy New Year to you and yours, and to all who read this thread, and enjoy dancing.

 

Gene & Susan

[smoothdancer]

Happy New Years, All!!

 

This year is a new and great type of experience for me... I must have told you all before that I am a CPA, VP of Finance, and come this time of the year my life revolves around SEC reporting followed by tax season.....

 

In October I took a new postion with United Technologies....(big here in CT!) Man oh Man was I surprised when came the week before X-mas and I was told the offices close from X-mas to New Years.. What??? unheard of in my field.... Well true come Jan 3rd we will start to work 10 hour days to report to the SEC, but this has been great.... I have so much enjoyed having time with Nick and just doing a bunch of nothing..... (does shopping mall sales qualify as nothing ???)

 

No dancing for us for a while.... Our new instuctor is Russian and has gone home for the holidays for a few weeks. I have enjoyed the time away to tell you all the truth, no work, no snow, and no instructor yelling at us...ahhh life is good!!

 

I always book off our lessons in Jan-Feb due to work committments and then we have to learn it all over again!! Who knows maybe this year will be a new beginning and we can keep on dancing...

 

Our next cruise is in July... Hey tropical this is also a first for us.... We are going to try NCL which sails out of NYC.... No flight----Ya-hoo!!

 

I wish all of you would also post and tell us about your New Year goals..... Champagne glasses up "clink".... here comes a New Years toast from your dancin' friend here in New England.....

 

Smooth

[GCurry]

The shrimp are out, the Cranberry stuffed Game Hens and Umbrian Pork Loin are in, so it's time to raise a glass to all of you from the coast of Southeast Texas. The A/C and the ceiling fans are on which takes a lot out of a New Years atmosphere.

But, it is what it is for all of us; there are prairie grass fires in North TX, and we are suffering the worst drought in 50 years. It's time however to count our blessings, dodging Rita being one, and ring in the New Year with family and good friends.

Tropical, Smooth, and Mummsie and all you others who have made this thread a joy, Happy New Year, and may 2006 be a good one for all of us.

[secretcastle]

Hello everyone,

What a great thread, I just came across it and I look forward to reading all the posts. DH and I are going on the Coral Princess through the Panama Canal in 2007, and before that our son is getting married. They are planning to feature swing dancing at the reception so I might just sign us up for some dance lessons, and maybe that might come in handy for the cruise as well. I am in jazz dance performance classes and poor DH will be starting from scratch.

Mummsie, I noticed you were also on the Arcadia in 1974, that was my first cruise!'Happy New year to everyone,

Julia

[tropicalsunset]

Julia: welcome to the group!!! we signed up several years ago and just wanted to learn the dances we'd dance in local clubs.. but we are still learning and love to dance not just swing and Hustle and Cha cha.. but the foxtrot and waltz... our basement is now "Ballroom Central"!!!!

 

Janet: You sound soooo Happy... it's wonderful what some

R & R time can do for you!!! :) :) Hope 2006 is absolutely wonderous for you and hubby!!!

 

We had a snowstorm New Years Eve and our housegeusts were coming up from the CT Shore .... of course it was the worst as they neared our NW HILLS>.. they called and wanted to know a route to avoid the hill ....... but they made it just fine and we had a fabulous time!! dancing downtown and ended at 2am in my hot tub with sparklers and champagne!!! water on the side of course!!! :D :D

 

Hope everyone Dances their way through 2006 -- I look forward to continuing our dance note and friendship... Gcurry.... I couldn't have said it better myself...!!!

 

Lorraine

[mummsie]

Hi Julia, Welcome. Yes although our cruise on the Arcadia was around the south pacific. :)

To all, I hope 2006 brings you all much happiness and good health.

Here in Australia we are trying to keep cool. Been living in our swimming pool which is even too hot to be refreshing. The heat this Holiday season has been bad. Xmas day was 39C in Brisbane so it was cold cuts and salad for lunch. We did however play the traditional game of backyard cricket in the afternoon for about an hour until it got too much with the heat.

Back to work today after a week off - the university shuts down for the week between xmas and new year. Was nice to hit the sales. It was my birthday New Years Eve so I always go shopping and get some bargains.

Our cruise on the Pacific Sky for July was cancelled because P&O sold the ship so we have managed to book a 7day out of Singapore on the Superstar Gemini. Should be good. Was a little more expensive but hey its only money. So we have a big year. Cruise in July, my daughter's wedding in September and another cruise in January 2007. :)

Gayle

[seadancer]

Hello Julia

 

Welcome. We went on Grandeur of the seas a few weeks ago and I tried to Rumba (I've only had 2 lessons) in front of the 3piece that was playing in the centrum.They seemed to enjoy the fact that someone was dancing to there music:D .This has oly encouraged me further to learn the rumba ,cha-cha/ waltz or tango buy next years cruise.

We go saturday to see our first Dancesport comp in Daytona.I'm looking so forward to it.

Its going to be in the low 30's with windchill into the 20's on saturday, and they say it doesn't get cold in Fla.

 

Seeeuuuu

Jeff

[GCurry]

!Bienvenido seadancer!

 

Dancing With The Stars is back, as you probably well know. We caught the first show last night. I think they have polished it up a lot based on their first experiences, same judges and Tom, however. We enjoyed it, and for the most part, there might be some real competition this time. Although, I don't think George Hamilton or the Gangsta Cha Cha guy will be with us long. As Ole Lance, our own dance instructor from hell, would say; "Sir, sir, you've got to move your feet, as you are not dancing!"

Any thoughts?

 

We are having the couples who are going to Hawaii with us over for a cruise planning and pig picking party tonight. They are also members of our dance Clubs. 60s today, back up to 80 by Sunday in Southeast TX with no rain in forever.

We are hosting our Mainland Club dance tomorrow with a Vegas theme, it should be fun.

[seadancer]

Hey Gcurry

 

we didn't catch the first year of dwts but watched it last night.I almost died at some of the male dancers:eek: .@ in particular the espn guy and MasterP. They looked way out of water.Even with my little knowledge it just didn't look right.

We are hooked on ballroom bootcamp.I haven't heard if it has been picked up for a second season but i hope they do.I like the premise of taking people like me and showing what can be done.

What is a pig picking?:p I love to bbq and it sounds like thats what it might be. Otherwuse i might not wanna know:eek: .

We also have a busy weekend with the dancesport comp tommorrow and then our USDBA chapter is having there monthly get together Sunday.It s gonna be a great weekend there predicting low 30's tonight and mid 20's Sunday morning.

 

Seeeuuuuu

Jeff

[tropicalsunset]

Good Going, Seadancer!!!... I found those "stages" in Centrum very intimidating... hope you had a great cruise!

 

Mummsie: I need to get a map of your area... those cruises sound so exotic to me!!!

 

We watched DWTS last night... I pretty much agreed with the judges and especially Bruno...and it was great fun to see our Dance Studio featured on the practice sessions for Kenny Mayne... don't think I want to go down there to "meet" him though.... It is fun to see the various professionals too!!

Don't think ol' George will be around too long...he is no John O'Hurley!!! but I was surprised with Tatem O'Neill and the woman Journalist.....!!

 

We do not have a lesson until Jan 16th .... Dave will get a chance to break in his new dance shoes!!!:D

 

 

Jeff, isn;t that pretty cold for FL... we are heading down to Miami on Feb 1st for our cruise.. sure hope it is warmer than that!!!!! :eek:

 

We got another 18inches of snow last Tuesday and took a day off from work..tho' with all the 4 wheel drives up here..not too much shuts down..I was out twice with the snowblower! Its a heavy wet snow great for snowballs and snowmen...but after shoveling I just wanted to clear the deck and spa for a good soak!!

 

This is Hibernation season here in the Northeast... don't see our neighbors and snuggle at home by the fire.. could certainly go for a good pig roast right about now!! ENJOY!!

 

Lorraine

[seadancer]

Hi Lorraine

 

Yes it is really cold down here.This is not normal for us. Is it just me or does it seem lke the weather is getting worse on this old blue marble? I think this old earth is going to shake us off like a bad case of the fleas and start over one of these days:eek: .We're off to the dance comp I'lllet you know how it goes. i'm hoping to pick up a nice pair of formal dance shoes right now i'm using capezio sneakers. In central Fla male dance shoes are next to impossible to find and theres no selection when you do find them.I'm scared to go mail order because my capezios are a different size than my street shoes.

 

seeeuuu

Jeff

[tropicalsunset]

WE went out to dinner... a new place for us...they have a duo on piano and sax playing background music ... some old Foxtrots, waltz and a couple rhumbas... only place to dance was the foyer in front of the door... Dave wouldn't go for it... but it was hard for me to sit still... I definitely had "Happy feet"!!!!! dinner was nice a welcome change from all the holiday happenings..

 

Looks like Kenny Mayne is out so we won't be seeing our studio anymore.... :( I'm sure the owner, Eddie, was happy for the publicity...

 

 

Jeff: let me know how you enjoy the comp... we've been dancing 2 1/2 years and have never been...

[seadancer]

Hi lorraine

 

The comp was interesting to watch but i feel that going on the last day may have hurt it from the viewing standpoint. There was about 10 college teams there and a few youth organizations. Overall i would say around 100-150 people .It was fun and people were hollering for there favorite couples,including me. There was a couple from NYU that was amazing. I actually got a tear in my eye when they did the waltz. I also made it a point to go down after the comp and let them know how much i enjoyed watching them. I don;tknow if this was out of place but they seemed to be very happy that a spectator would pay them a compliment. They came in second place overall in the couple comp.I will go again and the wife and I are talking about going to the state champs in sarasota this year.

 

The cold weather has actually turned my yard white with frost and its 9am right now.

 

 

Seeeuuu

Jeff

[GCurry]

We had our Mainland Club dance last night, about 100 people. New taped music, I had to put the sound together as the music director was cruising, and MC'd of which I've done a lot. Great evening, although warm, we had the A/C turned down twice. No heat on here at home, and it will hit 80 today.

 

Pig Picken = Pulled Pork http://chef2chef.net/search/menuc.php?search=Pulled+Pork more of a Alabama, Georgia thing, and served it with a Carolina double mustard sauce. In this case, I smoked a pork shoulder four hours, then baked it for two, let it cool and shredded (or picked) the tender meat, removing the fat. Buns smoked sausage and BBQ sides for the rest, but French Fancies for dessert; vanilla ice cream, black berries and Chamborg.

Texans are beef BBQ people so this was a little different for our friends.

We are putting our Hawaii Cruise plans together, and will meet often in the coming weeks.

[tropicalsunset]

Wow, no dancing for us this weekend... hubby was glued to the NE vs JAX football game ... I fell asleep watching Patrick Swayze in "the Last DAnce" woke up in time to tear up for the finish...:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

Jeff: I was plannning on leaving my woolie sox and scarf home in a few weeks... hope your area warms up real quick.

Glad you enjoyed the comp... I will have to devise a plan to get my husband to one soon..

 

GCurry: do tell us more of your Hawaii cruise... this is a local group and people you have cruised with before... I'm assuming you have been to Hawaii before... Please be sure to do HULA dance or two for us... !! do they give lessons on the ship?????

 

I could surely go for an extended trip to someplace warm and sunny here right about now.... Oh, yeah... I'm cruising in less than a month!!! :) Around here we definitely need sunglasses from the sunglare off the white snow!! Don't know what they did with the snow in Foxboro for the game...maybe great deals on snowcones!! ;)

 

We lost power in our neighborhood for about 3 hours late yesterday afternoon... just as we were building a roaring fire in the fireplace and about to send out for pizza... the power came back on... Didn't really want to think of going all night without heat, water or TV (game night) we saw alot of people driving OUT of the neighborhood around 6pm!!! :D

 

I am wondering how many seasons I should pack for-- spending a day in Miami precruise and then on to Western Caribbean and Key WEst... this should be interesting!!

 

Lorraine

[Texas]

Hello All Ballroom Dancers

 

I've just found your thread. Unfortunately, I am not a ballroom dancer, but would like to learn. My husband loves to do the Texas Twostep and jitterbug and just may surprise me and agree to take lessons.

 

I read that several of you like the "Dancing with the Stars" TV show. I really enjoyed last season -- particuarly John O'Hurly. I have a question. Do you dance like, or see others dancing like the couples who pick up the ladies and twirl in the air? They look like the dancers in the Olympic ice skating competion.

 

When I think of my DH and I ballroom dancing, I see us like John O'Hurly and his partner.

[Ms. gcurry]

Oops, logged in a MSgcurry

[GCurry]

Welcome Texas, and believe me when I say the greatest dancer in Texas is named Vince Young!! Hookem

The last time I picked up a lady, I was single and in a bar!! These days my primary care physician and MSGCurry would advise against it. What you are watching on DWTS is extreme. Ballroom is as much social as anything else, at least in my opinion. It's good exercise, and a great hobby, and a social skill most people don't have these days.

 

Your husband should be able to quickly learn Foxtrot as a Two-stepper, and East Coast Swing has the same moves as Jitterbug. You might already do a country waltz as well? I know there are ballroom lessons in San Antone, and places like the Blue Bubble Ballroom have dances frequently. We take lessons through a Community College which is reasonable, and belong to two inexpensive clubs. So, it can be whatever you want it to be. I'll leave it to Smooth and Mummsie to tell you about competition.

[mummsie]

Hello all. Good to see some action on this page again. Its been quiet for a few weeks :) DWTS series 4 is just being auditioned here in OZ now. Each series just gets better and better. One of the dancers in your series 2 is an ex Aussie - Nick Kosovich. I saw him and his partner dance live for their last performance before they retired last year. They were fantastic. I am glad that he hasn't given up totally. He has changed though - he used to have really long hair worn in a pony tail - it was his trademark. Middle age is catching up with him :)

We haven't danced for over a month - way too hot here in OZ at the moment - in the grip of one of the hottest summers on record. The last few days have been cooler after a couple of very severe thunder storms. Can't say I am sorry though - I am still recovering from my sprained ankle from August. I now have some achilles tendon problems on the same foot so I think the damage was much worse than first thought. I have been in a lot of pain the last few days so I guess its back to the doctor to see if they can do anything.

Smooth, I still haven't received that video you sent. Hopefully it should arrive in the next little while now that the xmas post has died down. We now have a decent DVD player so next time you should just be able to burn me a DVD. We have been putting all our old videos onto DVD before they get too old to be useful. We have just got them in time - they are almost unreadable on the VCR now. Was watching all my old ballroom medals from 1987 last night. Boy times have changed. Steps have changed and it was a real eye opener. Was fun to see my kids do their first medals when they were 5 and 7 years old. They were so cute :) If anybody wants any copies of Australian stuff let me know - I should be able to copy it to DVD for you now. Hopefully your DVD players play region 4 stuff. happy dancing to you GCurry - have fun in Hawaii.

Texas welcome - lifts most drops are illegal in real competitions as it could injure other competitors. My daughter has done a few in medals but I never have. Gayle

[seadancer]

Hey Everyone

 

My local pbs station just aired a spot for American championship ballroom dancing on feb 1st & 8th at 8pm for 2hrs each night. I hope you can get it in your area.

 

Enjoy

Jeff

[smoothdancer]

WOW... What has happened here??? We have new freinds here... Welcome everybody..

 

New job, and all these new SEC requirements has had me working 15+ hour days for the last two weeks... This is my first day back to working just 8 hours and so happy to be back to a normal life again.... Anyway, thanks Enron for all these new requirements!!

 

First.... Welcome Aboard SeaDancer,

Absolutely you were not out of line in speaking with the the comp dancers... I can tell you first hand that when we compete it means the world to us to have someone from the audience tell us they enjoyed our dancing, more so than a first place score..... The judges look at you for a second!!, but if we can somehow relate and make contact through our dance with someone in the audience it is wonderful... Keep on encourgaing us.. It means so much.... We compete in Sarasota at least once a year, maybe we will meet...

 

Mumsie.... What do you mean??? I sent that out over a month ago.... I will look back at the Email for your address. Shoud have received it by now.... Maybe I will send it out again... Sorry it is taking so long... Last month we bought a DVD/Video recorder and put all our old tapes on a DVD.... Man 'o Man what fun or pain I guess.... I looked at tapes from 10 years ago... We looked so bad!!!, Not to mention what 10 yrs of age does to a persons ego!!

 

Hey tropical, now you know how to do New Years Eve!!... Sparklers in the hot tub... Wish I was you!! ( I was at work!...down side of being an accountant) Cruisn in a month, where are you going??? Got the formal duds ready???

 

Welcome aboard Texas..someday I will learn the two-step.... Don't think I can dance in boots, though....

 

GCurry.... Good post on the NCL board... We are sailing NCL over the 4th of July to Bermuda and been peeking in there..... Keep up your ballroom recruitement efforts!!

 

Glad our little community is growing.... Smooth

[GCurry]

Yes I'm reaching out to our brothers and sisters, trying to save the sinner and restore the lost lamb to the fold, through the Gospel of Ballroom dance.

 

You rang some chimes Smooth; when I met my wife, she was doing electronic SEC filings, I used to do business with ENRON, and have met with Ken Lay. Everything is bigger in Texas including our crooks!

When I was first learning two-step, my wife made me wear boaters rather then boots, I think I had the only pair in the Panhandle.

You surprise me, I've thought you'd be a Raddison or Celebrity cruiser, and here you are booking NCL & Carnival?

 

What's your thoughts, group, about the best cruise line for dancing? So far, it's Holland America for us.

[smoothdancer]

Well Celebrity is my favorite line to sail on. The dancing was good on Celebrity, but we found that Princess had the best dancing overall. I think too a lot has to due with the length. We sailed on Princess thru the Panama Canal and the cruise was 11 days. The crowd was a bit older and I think the dancing and music was geered towards the groups age.

 

I booked NCL because it sails out of NY. We always have to fly to Fla, and so we picked NCL for the port location. (we are about an hour or so away from NY) Actually, I had not sailed Carnival in a good 10 years prior to our short cruise.... I just wanted a short 3 day cruise, and not many lines do them. We were really suprised with Carnvial. We ended up really liking the cruise and even the older ship.

 

In April we are sailing on The Seven Seas from Barcalona to Rome... This is our first time on a luxury line and cant wait! I will let you all know how the dancing goes.