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behind the curtain

Please note the new tagline

Longtime readers of my LiveJournal* will recognize “What have you done for your dancing today?” as an adaptation of “What have you done for your dissertation today?,” the mantra that got me through writing my doctoral dissertation five years ago.  In the interest of refining our focus and the site’s focus, I’ve decided to use “What have you done for your dancing today?” as a reminder to myself to do something for my dancing every day and to post something on the site at least 3 times a week.  I plan to continue recording our experiences on the dancefloor and promoting local events, but I’d like to add more reflective and informative posts as well: how to get started, how to train your body, how to prepare for competition, and whatever else I think of.  I also have an overambitious plan to do a “competition diary” at the end of October when we travel to North Carolina for the Carolina Classic: either a series of short posts as we go through the competition weekend, or one long round-up afterwards.  Hopefully the competition diary will be illustrated with photos.

Stay tuned…

*It’s friends-locked, but if you have an LJ account, comment (here or on LJ) and I’ll add you.

Categories
competitions dance events Friday Night Dance Parties lessons

Dance famine yielding to dance feast

After a few weeks of not much dancing, we turn over a new leaf tomorrow and head into a week–actually, more like a month–of TONS of dancing.  Hooray!  Here we go:

Tomorrow: private lesson with Eddie and then workshop with Eddie right here in Macon at the Howard Community Club, with our 4th Sunday dance to follow at 7 p.m. as usual.  We have had 30 RSVPs so far and could probably squeeze in a few more.  Email me (laura at dldancers dot com), comment on the “Workshop with Eddie” post here on DLDancers.com, or RSVP to “Dance Workshop with Eddie Ares” on Facebook.

Monday & Wednesday: Jane Madison of Madison Studio is out of town visiting her daughter (the lovely & talented Faith Madison, recently promoted to the corps de ballet of Colorado Ballet) and has asked Daniel and me to substitute-teach the ballet class that I usually take.  We’re going to start them off with the waltz on Monday.  Who knows what could happen on Wednesday?  Also on Monday, we are teaching our first private lesson to an engaged couple getting married in December.  Soooooper excited about that.

Next Saturday (Oct. 2) we have another lesson with Eddie up at Academy Ballroom.  They had to re-do the floor again (2nd time in less than a year, I think) at Academy after an unfortunate plumbing incident but it has all worked out for the best considering that they were able to add another 400 square feet to the studio when they did it.

October 4 begins our next series of ballroom classes.  Click here and scroll down for details.

October 7-9 we’ll be in Missouri visiting my family.  If we get a long enough break from eating (huge family dinner Friday; huge family dinner Saturday; buy new pants Sunday before leaving for airport), we are thinking about trying to catch a dance here.  One of my favorite things about ballroom dancing is that you can almost always find a place to do it!

October 14-16 is the Hotlanta Dance Challenge.  We are not dancing (er, that I know of) but might try to get up there to watch.

October 22-24 is the weekend we’d really like to clone ourselves.  We had to choose between the Atlanta Dance Classic, Stars over Macon, and the Carolina Fall Classic.  We’re going to North Carolina, but it was a tough call.  Those of you that are local, please consider attending Stars over Macon if you’re not already going.  I hear that nearly all the tables are already sold but individual tickets should still be available.  It’s a fantastic event for a great cause.  We just couldn’t pass up what looks to be one of the biggest amateur comps we’ve been to.    The question is: can we learn enough Viennese waltz and Bolero steps tomorrow in our lesson with Eddie to get through a 1:30 competition round, thereby enabling us to enter Gold level events?  Stay tuned!

While you’re busy staying tuned, please go back to this post and vote on the dress choices!

Categories
behind the curtain dancing in the media

Assorted entertainments, or “Pick My Dress”

Our friend and role model Jim Riley recently appeared on Fox 5’s “Good Day Atlanta” in the “Road Warrior” segment promoting National Ballroom Dance Week.  Watch the video below or check it out here!

Another friend and role model, the lovely JoyDawn, keeps reminding me that I’m supposed to be on the hunt for a new Smooth gown.  Anybody want to help me pick out a dress?  Comments welcome on these potential choices:

#1: Creamsicle! (but I would get a different color)

#2: Me Lucky Charms! (with godets in a different color and no floats)

#3: Red! (would get this one as written, but probably never wear the gauntlets)

#4: Ballerina Colors! (no gauntlets/no floats)

Getting a Chinese dress is a bit risky in terms of quality control, but Rainbowshiu is the best-known Chinese maker with the most extensive inventory & experience (as far as I know).  The feedback I’ve read says that she’s good and reliable as long as the customer is particular about what’s needed.  “Particular” is my specialty!  I would rather have a made-to-measure gown, already stoned, and this is about the only way to do it for under $1000.

So…thoughts?

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Uncategorized

This just in from the Greek desk at DLDancers HQ

After a few weeks’ delay (they were busy; we understand 100%) we received via email a photo of me and some fellow competitors with the excellent women of Kappa Delta Sorority, Epsilon Tau Chapter at Clemson University. These young ladies were at the Hyatt Regency in Greenville, SC for a Kappa Delta event while we were there for the Greenville Newcomers’ Challenge. Late in the evening, just when we needed some support and enthusiasm, they came into the ballroom to watch us dance and struck up a conversation with Daniel and me. After a little coaching they proved to be an excellent cheering section, not to mention enviably photogenic:

Kappa Deltas, meet ballroom dancers. Dancers, meet KD!

Thanks, Hannah and her sisters!