Daniel & Laura

I seem to be on an “advice for beginners” roll this week, maybe because I am always interested in sucking new people into the ballroom world.  Especially when those people are my friends. Extra-especially when they’ve been saying for years that they plan to start lessons, RIMA. (and also CRYSTAL.)
Our friend & instructor Paula East [...]

I love to talk about shoes!
Wearing ballroom shoes rather than street shoes really does make a difference.  Ballroom shoes are purpose-built for dancing, so they are easier to move around in.  They help you do the rise & fall in waltz or roll through your feet in rumba, for example.  The suede soles give the [...]

2010 has been so busy thus far that I’ve been guilty of tragic website neglect.  But luckily for our readers (both of you, ha ha), this coming week is Spring Break at Macon State.  I plan to catch up with lots of posts, including

video of Dianne Kent leading our USA Dance chapter in a new [...]

I have to update my WordPress version before I can upload any more photos or videos to the site.  Since photos and videos are clearly the best part, I’d better get on it!  Stay tuned.

Just realized that I have spent the weekend with two of my favorite sadists: Eddie Ares and Jillian Michaels.
Yesterday, Daniel and I attended Eddie’s “Creating Impact” workshop at Academy Ballroom. It was a fast & furious 90 minutes of rumba and cha-cha exercises focused on making our dancing stronger, sharper, and faster. Very [...]

I spent 2 hours yesterday at a workshop at Academy Ballroom in Atlanta learning tango technique from Eddie Ares & Nancy Senner and spins/turns technique for Latin & Rhythm from Jorge Morales.  It was lots of hard work for brain and body but so worth it.  Watching experts like Eddie, Nancy, and Jorge break down [...]

I am very excited to welcome Hello Gorgeous! Salon as a new sponsor.  Crissy Watts, stylist, has been cutting my hair for years, and now Teresa Atkinson, the owner of Hello Gorgeous!, has generously agreed to help support our dancing.  Thank you, Teresa!  If you need high quality, professional salon services in a relaxed atmosphere [...]

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 [...]

Getting ballroom dancing, under the name “DanceSport,” into the Olympics has been one of the goals of USA Dance since it was formed as the United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association in 1965.  In 1997 the IOC recognized the International DanceSport Federation as the worldwide governing body for DanceSport and in 1999 the USOC recognized [...]

Just finished knocking together this new design for the site.  The theme is Atahualpa; header image photos by Jerry Lucas, assembled by yours truly using SUMO Paint.  Special thanks to Brandon Thompson for the idea of customizing a “desk”-style layout and for encouraging me to make us a favicon.