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teaching

How NOT to succeed on the dancefloor

Facebook message from the female half of our wedding couple, whose marriage–and dance début–will take place a week from tomorrow:

“Just want you to know, [Groom] has not been practicing this week because he can’t stop playing Angry Birds!!!!”

If you don’t know what Angry Birds is, you may be better off not knowing.  But if you have a smartphone and a lot of free time, click here at your own risk.  Groom did not know about Angry Birds till we mentioned it (for reasons that must have made sense at the time) during the couple’s lesson this past Monday.  So now it is really our fault if he makes any mistakes next Saturday.  Bad Teachers! Bad Teachers!

Categories
dance events lessons social dancing

Upcoming Good Stuff

Coming soon to a dance venue near you:

  • USA Dance Greater Macon Chapter #6059 monthly dance, November 13. 7:30-10:30 p.m. including a complimentary dance lesson from 7:30 to 8:00 followed by general dancing.  Dressy casual; light refreshments; $7 for members/$10 non-members.
  • Our Sunday Night Dance Party is moving to the 3rd Sunday–November 21–for this month.  This will be the last SNDP of 2010!  7 p.m.; $5 admission; casual dress; bring CDs and song requests.  Stay tuned for dance dates in 2011 coming soon!
  • By popular demand (no, really!), we are doing one more session of group classes at Madison Studio this year: Monday evenings at 7 p.m., November 15 through December 20.  Each class is one hour; the total cost for the 6-week session is $78 per person which breaks down to $13 per class.  Private lessons are also available.  Contact us or Madison Studio for more information.

See you on the dancefloor!

Categories
dancing in the media

This makes me happy

First Lady Michelle Obama dancing at a Diwali celebration:

(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

If one of the most photographed, observed, and scrutinized women in the world is willing to get up in front of cameras and try out some dance steps that she’s never done before, what’s holding back the rest of us?  I heard another famous woman, Nora Ephron, on the radio yesterday promoting her new book I Remember Nothing.  She described talking with friends about what they wanted to eat for their last meals before they died.  Unfortunately, one friend died of throat cancer and, while she was dying, remarked to the rest of the group that she couldn’t even have her last meal.  The moral, of course, is that if you want to do something, you should do it NOW.

It makes me a little sad when someone tells me “Oh, I’ve always wanted to learn to dance!”  Dance has brought so much enjoyment, friendship, love, and contentment into my life that when I hear that sentence, I think “What are you waiting for?”  Michelle Obama can do it and so can you.

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in other news Uncategorized

Save the Halls!

The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and Music Hall of Fame, both mainstays of tourism and history in downtown Macon for over 10 years, are in danger of closing and moving to other cities. The state of Georgia plans to phase out funding for the halls over the next few years, requiring them to become self-sufficient or to receive funding from other sources.  The Georgia General Assembly is requesting bids from cities on both halls, opening the possibility that one or both will leave Macon and move to another city.  Meanwhile, a group called Halls of Fame, Inc. is bidding to keep both halls in Macon and a petition drive has started at SavetheHalls.com.

As ballroom dancers in Macon, Daniel and I are most familiar with the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, where USA Dance Greater Macon Chapter #6059 has hosted dances on First Fridays for the last several years.  The first dance event I ever attended in Macon was at the Sports Hall of Fame.  The connection between our chapter and that venue seems to me like an obvious choice for promoting dancesport toward its eventual recognition as an Olympic event, which is one of the goals of USA Dance.  The Sports Hall of Fame has been extremely generous toward our chapter and I hope we can repay that generosity by joining in the effort to keep it and the Music Hall of Fame here in Macon.

We want to keep the Halls of Fame in Macon as part of the city’s overall effort toward growth and renewal.  The presence of the Halls of Fame here gives visitors to Georgia another reason to explore beyond Atlanta, Savannah, or other typical tourist destinations.  It also provides an anchor for the expansion of downtown commerce into tourism and after-hours nightlife.  AND it gives dancers a place to dance.  So…

Save the Halls!

Categories
dance events dancing in the media

“A Halloween Highlight”

The Macon Telegraph reports on last weekend’s downtown “Thriller” show here.  I was particularly glad that Pilar Wilder (director of Hayiya Dance Theatre and organizer of the event) said this: “Most are not professional dancers; they’re doctors, teachers, lawyers, stay-at-home moms, everyday people,” she said. “This is not a new idea and we try to add something new each year, but the fun will always remain the same.”

As glad as I am that we can do as much dancing as we do, we are FAR from being able to dance for a living.  But one of the great things about dancing–especially ballroom, in my opinion–is that people can do it without being professionals or having even remotely professional ambitions.  Even beginners can compete or perform if they want to.  It’s also possible to have fun just being a social dancer, and you really don’t need to know much to get started.  What could be better?