The marvelous Dolan Maples (He’s a Ladies’ Man) just called and reminded me I hadn’t yet put a post on our site about this weekend’s Sunday Night Dance Party. Come join us Sunday, July 25 at 7 p.m. at the Howard Community Club for an evening of casual dancing. Admission is $5 and song requests are welcome.

While we’re on the subject, don’t forget Dance Houston County’s second annual “Dancing for our Heroes” charity ball, Saturday, July 31 at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Aviation’s Century of Flight hangar in Warner Robins. The Georgia Big Band is playing this year and there are some great dance demonstrations planned as well. Tickets are $30; visit www.dancehoustonco.org or call Carl Candiano at 478-919-0624.

See you on the dance floor soon!

So it turns out that this month, the 4th Sunday is the same day we will return from the Gumbo Championships in Baton Rouge.  We’ll get off the plane at 1:20 p.m. and head back to Macon just in time to set up for our dance. Since we will have tales to tell and, hopefully, ribbons to show off, we hope everyone can come and help us celebrate a great competition experience.

Join us at the Howard Community Club at 7 p.m. as usual on Sunday, June 27.  Daniel would like me to particularly remind everyone that song requests are welcome, so please bring any CDs with songs you’d like him to play.

See you soon!

Not that each month’s SNDP isn’t awesome, but this past Sunday’s was particularly good.  We had a better-than-usual turnout including some new people (yay!), everyone danced nonstop throughout the evening (yay!), and Daniel fired up his karaoke program to serenade us with Charles Aznavour’s “For Me Formidable.” Maybe the new paint job at the Howard Community Club got everyone motivated–I know I feel more like dancing now that the former wall color (I’d call it Mismatched Makeup Base Pink) has been replaced with nice creamy neutrals.  It’s much more elegant.

Wielding the trusty Handycam, Daniel took a little video last night.  This is later in the evening, so the crowd had thinned a bit.

We really appreciate everyone’s ongoing support and the energy you bring to our dances every month.  And if you haven’t come to a Sunday Night Dance Party yet, try it out!  It’s a very casual, unintimidating atmosphere.  Practicing, going over steps with your friends, and stopping mid-dance to debate points of technique with your partner are all encouraged.  You might even get to hear Daniel sing a song!

Daniel and I will be at the High Point Classic Dancesport Championships this weekend, so we are leaving the Sunday Night Dance Party in the capable hands of Joyce Newman (local tanguera and owner of many a fabulous shoe) and John Herren (USA Dance Greater Macon Chapter 6059 president).  The dance will proceed as usual; you just won’t be seeing our smiling faces.  So come on out Sunday, Oct. 25, from 6:30 to 9:00.  Dress casually; bring $5 and your song requests.  Behave nicely while we’re gone.  Don’t make me come over there!

Clint Rauscher of Tango Evolution, assisted by our own Joyce Newman, will be teaching two Argentine Tango workshops in Macon on September 20 and October 18, with plans for a regular third Sunday workshop if turnout is good for those two dates. Each workshop will be 2 hours followed by a one-hour “practica” (practice time). Click here for details and online registration.

On Sunday, September 27 in conjunction with our Sunday Night Dance Party, Jim Riley, assisted by JoyDawn Perry, will teach a 90-minute workshop on technique and styling in Waltz. Last week, Jim, JoyDawn, and I got together and he demonstrated for me some of the material he plans to teach. Having seen what Jim has planned, I can safely say that this workshop will be great for those who already know some waltz steps but want to add more movement, flow, and grace to their dancing. Jim will also teach a short routine you can use for practice or social dancing. Click over to our Fall Dance Workshop page for information.

At last night’s dance we floated the idea of offering a workshop in conjunction with one of our upcoming dances, probably in early fall.  We want to get some feedback about what people are interested in.  We are considering offering 2 or 3 one-hour workshop sessions in the afternoon, followed by a dinner break, and then our dance in the evening. Everyone could sign up for the session(s) they want to attend.

To give us some specific feedback, could you please take a minute to answer the following poll?  The link will take you to the poll Web site. Thank you!
Click Here to take survey

Thanks to everyone who braved the heat in order to attend, last night was another successful Sunday Night Dance Party.  We heard and appreciated some very kind compliments about our musical selections and discussed some great ideas for future Sunday night events.  Here are some pictures from last night:

Summer has begun and it’s already turning out to be a hot one.  We can’t promise that you’ll feel cooler if you come to this month’s Sunday Night Dance Party–except in the sense that dancing is a very cool thing to do.  Join us from 6:30 to 9:30 this Sunday, June 28 at the Howard Community Club.  Dress casually (wear shorts! Really!); bring $5 for admission and your song requests.  Daniel has been downloading some great new music that he thinks everyone will really enjoy.

See you there!

If, like me, you avoid holiday travel, you are probably planning to celebrate Memorial Day–the traditional beginning of summer–by staying home.  For ourselves and everyone else who isn’t traveling, we are hosting this month’s Sunday Night Dance Party on May 24, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, at the Howard Community Club.  We’ll start at 6:30 and dance till 9:30.  As usual, admission is $5 and soft drinks are available for a donation.  Dress casually and bring your song requests–DJ Daniel is always happy to play them. Hope to see you there!

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!