Categories
Uncategorized

Summertime, and the dancing is easy

Yesterday was Memorial Day, which means it’s (un)officially summer in the USA. Looks like great weather for hot Latin dancing! We especially want to thank everyone who decided to skip the beach last weekend and attend our dance instead. We had a great, enthusiastic crowd!

Sunday night, Dolan brought some flyers with the Web address for Frank Hill’s CarePages site.  Frank has now started chemotherapy and he’s hanging in there with lots of support from family and friends, including fellow dancers.  Frank’s experience really demonstrates one of the benefits of ballroom dancing: it provides dancers with a kind of “second family.”  You always have something interesting to do (dance), something to talk about (dancing), and someone to lend support when you need it (other dancers).

If you are not yet part of the dancing family, now is a great time to get started.  Paula is starting a new set of classes at the Macon Health Club and at the Wellness Center this week.  Beginner classes are Sundays at the Wellness Center; intermediate classes are Tuesday at the Macon Health Club; and advanced (bronze & above) classes are Thursday at the Macon Health Club.  See Paula’s Web site for more details on registration and pricing.  We are very excited for the Thursday class since Paula has said we’ll be working on the tango–our favorite!

More news coming soon about our upcoming competitions and a new sponsor.  Meanwhile, please check the Local Dance Opportunities page to see where the action is in the month of June.

Categories
Friday Night Dance Parties social dancing

SNDP: Staycation Edition

If, like me, you avoid holiday travel, you are probably planning to celebrate Memorial Day–the traditional beginning of summer–by staying home.  For ourselves and everyone else who isn’t traveling, we are hosting this month’s Sunday Night Dance Party on May 24, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, at the Howard Community Club.  We’ll start at 6:30 and dance till 9:30.  As usual, admission is $5 and soft drinks are available for a donation.  Dress casually and bring your song requests–DJ Daniel is always happy to play them. Hope to see you there!

Categories
dance events

Dancing on the mean streets of downtown

For the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame’s 10th anniversary celebration on May 1, Paula and GSHF superstar Ben Sapp moved the usual monthly dance outside to the courtyard in front of the Hall.  Paula, Jim, and Dianne taught a lesson, Mark Brooker & the Soul Proprietors played, and several of us did exhibition performances.  For maximum technical correctness, I don’t recommend dancing on a brick-and-concrete courtyard, but luckily for us all, no judges were present.  Jorge took video of our cha-cha performance:

Also, Chester gave me permission to link to his pictures.  Take a look!

Categories
behind the curtain in other news

Sweet silver shoes for sale!

A friend of mine has asked me to help her find a buyer for these shoes. Click to embiggen:

She bought them several years ago but has never worn them; they are still in their original box with the receipt for their purchase from Dance Shoes of Atlanta.  The brand is Dance Lites; my friend says she normally wears an 8.5 in a street shoe but these are marked as a size 9.   They have a 2″ slim heel.  The strap can be worn around the ankle or crossed over the foot.  Dance Shoes of Atlanta now lists this shoe on their Web site at $125; my friend is asking $60 for this pair.

Please email me (laura at dldancers dot com) if you’re interested in these shoes.

Categories
friends & family

Our fellow dancer Frank Hill

We just got some bad news about Frank Hill, a friend and fellow dancer of great talent and dedication.  His friend and dance partner Jamie Wyatt sent the news that he has been diagnosed with metastatic esophageal cancer.  He has tumors in his esophagus, abdomen, and liver.  The cancer was discovered when he went to the doctor for what was thought to be a gall bladder problem.  Frank is now in the hospital recovering from pneumonia and undergoing further tests and scans to determine appropriate treatment.

I’ve known Frank for about as long as I’ve been dancing here in Macon.  He is unfailingly friendly, cheerful, and gentlemanly as well as being a true lover of ballroom dancing.  Nobody around here does a better silver foxtrot than Frank and Jamie.  I hope you’ll join us in sending prayers and good thoughts for his recovery.

cropeditimgp03941

You can see Frank’s CarePage and leave messages here: http://www.carepages.com/carepages/FrankHill or go to CarePages.com and search “FrankHill” (no spaces).  Registration (free) is required to view the page and leave messages.

Categories
competitions

Dancing through many decades

American society doesn’t give us many reasons to look forward to getting older, but continuing to dance for the next several decades is one aspect of aging that I look forward to.  The ballroom world is full of people who are still dancing in their 80s and beyond.  Locally, the Georgia Golden Olympics provides a competitive outlet specifically for “older” dancers (you have to be at least 50).  Our friends Elaine Smith and Jorge Buendia  danced at last year’s Golden Olympics and won gold medals in all 4 dances: waltz, tango, foxtrot, and swing.  They worked hard preparing in lessons with Fran and it totally paid off!  This year their picture is on the promotional flyer for the ballroom event:

ballroomHow cool is that?

Categories
dance events

GSHF 10th Anniversary

The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame was turned into an outdoor dance venue for its 10th anniversary celebration last night as part of Macon’s First Friday.  Dianne Kent kicked off the festivities by leading us in the Electric Slide and “New York, New York.”  Paula took over to teach everyone basic steps in the rumba and merengue.  Fascinated onlookers found themselves joining in the chant of “Quick quick slow! Quick quick slow!” as we all learned the rumba basic.  At 7:45, Mark Brooker and the Soul Proprietors took the stage to keep everyone’s newly trained feet moving.

Between sets, we put on a Dance Show Extravaganza (I’m thinking of Moulin Rouge: “We’ll call it…Spectacular Spectacular!”).  Charles and Leneta led off with an amazing and energetic samba; Daniel and I danced a cha-cha; Isabel put on her castanets for a solo paso doble, then Azmi joined her for a fiery tango; and Jim and JoyDawn got everyone clapping and cheering with their swing/lindy routine.  After the performances, Daniel lined everyone up for a surprise dance contest: The Twist!  The winners got t-shirts from the Sports Hall of Fame.

The dancing and music were great, but for me the highlight of the evening was having someone ask me about taking lessons.  Dancing is an addiction that’s actually good for you, and I’m always happy to be a “pusher!”

Jorge was on hand with his video camera and Chester kept straying from the DJ booth to take pictures, so stay tuned for photos and video.