Category: social dancing

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Friday Night Dance Parties social dancing

Another great Sunday Night Dance Party!

Big thanks to everyone who came out for our second Sunday Night Dance Party last night at the Howard Community Center.  A good time was had by all, as they say.  Daniel’s dance contest was the highlight of the evening.  He lined up the men and women facing each other without telling them what they’d have to dance.  The competitors were definitely starting to sweat until the music came on and it was the Twist!  Congratulations to top twisters Tommy, Cindy, John, and Janet, who each won a free entry to next month’s dance.  Thanks also to Chester and Joanne for serving as judges.

If you’re in town over Memorial Day weekend, please join us for the next SNDP, May 24.  Since I never travel over holiday weekends, I’m so glad to have a chance to dance even though it’s a holiday.  Also, karaoke en français is likely to appear on the evening’s entertainment lineup thanks to Daniel’s combined computer skills and singing skills!

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social dancing USA Dance

Big dancing weekend

For a city of its size (about 100,000 people), Macon offers a lot more dance events than one would expect.  Various individuals and groups host dances every weekend of the month.  Sometimes, one dance will fall on a Friday and  one on a Saturday.  Then we all spend Sunday with big smiles on our faces, resting our tired feet!  This weekend has been one of those two-dance weekends.  I have my fuzzy slippers on as we speak.

This past Friday evening was Macon’s First Friday celebration.  On the first Friday of each month, downtown restaurants and entertainment venues throw open their doors with special events to encourage people to enjoy downtown nightlife.  We always attend Paula East’s First Friday dance at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.  Paula always kicks off the evening with a complimentary lesson, then we take over the center rotunda of the building to practice what we’ve just learned.  This month we learned some samba steps.  Someday, when our samba is all grown up, it will look like this one, but it’s not there yet.

Saturday night was our USA Dance chapter’s monthly social at the Howard Community Club.  Lately we have been mooching new steps from Paula’s assistant instructor Jim Riley at every chance we get; last night he taught us this crazy pretzel-y step in swing that is going to look very cool if we can get it clean and crisp enough.  Between ballroom CDs, John (chapter president) always plays a few line dances.  Daniel got up and learned the “Swamp Thing,” a complicated-looking line dance that I’d never seen before moving here.  It reminds me a little of the “South Side Shuffle,” which I used to dance back in Oklahoma.

The best part of going to these regular weekend dances is seeing the people who AREN’T regulars.  I’m always excited to see new dancers showing up and having a good time, because that means our dance “scene” is growing and gaining momentum.  Hooray!

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dance events social dancing

Inaugural Sunday Night Dance Party: Success!

Daniel’s first Sunday night dance (March 29) went even better than we hoped it would.  About 40 people turned out and everyone danced and had a good time:sdc10401sdc10398sdc10397sdc10396

Several people brought requests and Daniel enjoyed playing them all, in addition to the music he brought with him.  One of our main goals in hosting this dance was to branch out and diversify the music we dance to, and that goal was achieved!  We got a lot of positive feedback from the people who attended.  It was wonderful to see everyone come and dance in a casual and relaxed setting–perfect for squeezing in a last bit of enjoyment before heading back to work on Monday morning!

If you attended the dance on Sunday night, please leave a comment and give us your impressions.  What did you think?  In particular, we are considering moving to earlier start  & end times–possibly 6:30 to 9:30 instead of 7:30 to 10:30.  We’d appreciate your thoughts on that idea or anything else you’d like to comment on.  Also, please mark your calendars for the next Sunday Night Dance Party, April 26.  We’ll be sure to finalize and confirm the time beforehand.

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Thank you for attending and making our dance a success!

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dance events social dancing

Gearing up for tomorrow night’s dance

Daniel is excitedly preparing for his first Sunday Night Dance Party tomorrow night.  We have sodas and bottled water and ice and plenty of change and a guestbook for collecting people’s emails and about 1,000,000 MP3s.  This dance will be a great novelty compared to my usual Sunday night spent folding the laundry and watching 60 Minutes!  If you, too, would rather dance than fold laundry (or whatever your standard Sunday evening gig is), please come and join us at the Howard Community Club from 7:30 to 10:30.  Admission is $5 per person. Dress casually and get ready to dance to some great new music!

This dance will be a monthly event, typically the 4th Sunday of each month, so if you can’t make it tomorrow night, please mark your calendar for April 26.  Daniel has big plans for future dances, including contests, giveaways, and reacquainting us all with the Macarena.  (Hey, we can’t dance ballroom all the time, can we?)

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dance events social dancing

Cherry Blossom Gala Ball

In a “casual Friday” world, dressing up and attending an elegant ball is a rare treat.  Before I started ballroom dancing, I had never been to anything called a “ball!”  Now I attend at least one a year, usually more.  Even in a small city such as Macon, dance opportunities (with and without dress codes) are more plentiful than one might imagine. 

For dancers, the Gala Ball is the highlight of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival.  It is held in the beautiful Macon City Auditorium, with two live bands, a big dance floor, drinks, hors d’oeuvres, remarks by local dignitaries, and the presentation of the Cherry Blossom Festival royalty.  If you are not a dancer, it’s worth attending just to watch–my parents, who attended with Daniel and me this year, can attest to that.  If you are a dancers, then it’s an opportunity to look your best and dance your best in a really lovely atmosphere.  Here are a couple of pictures: