Category: behind the curtain

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 USA Dance as the governing body for DanceSport in America.  The next step would be for the IOC to grant “program status” to DanceSport.

As a former (really bad) figure skater I recognize the pitfalls of making ballroom dancing a sport.  It could easily run into the same kinds of judging and scoring problems that have plagued the skating world in recent memory.  And some people simply would not take it seriously as a sport compared to purely physical pursuits with no aesthetic component and an objective standard for evaluating competitors.

But as a dancer I see and agree with the arguments for ballroom dancing as a sport.  Dancers are highly trained athletes with incredible physical prowess and talent.  Inclusion in the Olympics could cement the popularity and prominence of ballroom, which has already been growing thanks to Dancing with the Stars, America’s Ballroom Challenge, and So You Think You Can Dance.   Dancers with no hope of ever competing at the Olympic level would still benefit from the increased participation that Olympic recognition would provide, and from the inspiration of seeing top dancers competing at the highest international level.  As for potential judging problems, the example of figure skating shows that when those problems exist, those dedicated to the sport will work to overcome them.

I’m even willing to try to embrace the word “DanceSport,” which I think is corny–but at least it’s accurately descriptive.  We just happen do laps of cha-cha locks around the studio instead of running laps around the track.

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.

At Saturday’s USA Dance monthly social, I complimented Joyce Newman (top local tanguera) on her amazing shoes.  They were open-toed sandals with skyscraping stiletto heels, unbelievably flattering on the foot.  The fabric was the real attention-getter: brown silk with white polka dots.  “Joyce,” I said, “I just love your shoes.”

“Thank you,” she replied.  “They’re Comme il Faut.”

It took me a second to work out that Comme il Faut is a brand name–clearly, among tango dancers, it needs no explanation or clarification.  Googling reveals that Comme il Faut tango shoes are made in Buenos Aires (home of the Argentine tango) and are quite exclusive: only a limited number of each style is made, so one is unlikely to see the same pair twice.  And the company is so guarded about its styles that online retailers aren’t allowed to display pictures of an entire shoe on their Web sites–just a close-up of a detail like a toe decoration or heel cage.  As a dancer and a shoe nut, that kind of mystique makes my mouth water a little!

The real reason I paused when Joyce said “They’re Comme il Faut” is that my brain immediately translated the phrase: “as they must be.”  My first instinct was to reply “Yes, they certainly are.”  Our friend Misty quipped that I should have added “Mine are Comme ci, comme ça“–which means “so-so.”

2 weeks after starting to build it, I am finally making our Web site public.  Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Welcome to our new Web site, chronicling and commenting on our pursuit of ballroom dancing in performance and competition.  Stay tuned as we add more content!