GCurry

Hi out there, is anyone on the Southbound Royal cruise out of Whittier on June 18th?

Roy Thomas gives an excellent tour, we'll book him again this Nov. 2020 if possible.

World Peace

Taking weekly dance lessons these days, a group at the Johnson Space Center; we're trying to remember what we knew a few short years ago. As is the nature of dance instructors, I get a verbal flogging on a regular basis.:p

Way back in the distant past - 1969 to be exact - I was returning home from South Africa on the Windsor Castle, Union Castle Line, it was my very first time on a ship and had absolutely no idea what to expect. One night I found myself in the ballroom which was full of passengers and crew. I remember enjoying several dances with a young officer resplendent in his white uniform - well I was only young myself!!!

AS the OP of this thread, I convey my apologies. I had no idea I would be the catalyst for a dust up of this caliber. Gosh, I just want to feel like a princess in my fancy dress, with a prince charming (or even a prince almost-charming) whisking me away for three minutes of make-believe.

Not a problem Lady jus get out there and dance with who brung ya, you'll have a wonderful time and so will he.

As one who grew up dancing and finally got into ballroom, you come to recognize that it can be a highly regimented art form, or not, depending on what you want to pursue. But, it is a unique form of human expression, so enjoy it every chance that you get!!

Now to the important question, what are whirled peas??

Oh my, I'm sure glad I don't have a dog in this fight!!:D

We dance American Smooth & Latin with a lot of open holds, and found it perfectly acceptable in the Queen's Ballroom on a crossing. Of course on Ball nights where everybody that can dance does, and so do a number of those that can't, you just adjust yer floor craft to the space available, and sometimes there wasn't any.

As far as ability goes, I always mention that you are dancing for yerselves and not other people, so enjoy it when you can.

I note that Foxy and the usual suspects are on this board, so I'll bookmark it for the entertainment value alone. I did find the concept of playing "Spite & Malice" with other dance dance couples to be interesting.

After taking about ten years of lessons we took a sabbatical, but have started dancing and lessons again in social ballroom as a tune up.

As we cruise a number of lines we found the Queen's to be the best venue we've yet encountered, although, the old Fox does mention P&O as an alternative. Next up Barcelona to Rome by way of Gibraltar on Princess, a line that doesn't put a lot of effort into providing dance opportunities much less "Dance Hosts"!!

Many thanks for your report. My wife and considering one of the QM2 crossings and want to be sure there are plenty of dance opportunities.

Sounds like not much Latin? Around here most places are now doing 60%, sometimes 75% Latin, things like bachatta, merengue, mambo/salsa, Argentine tango, are common. I also find Paso Doble (the music, not the ludicrous posturing) is popular in Europe.

Bolero fits well with the slow International Rumbas they play onboard.

You never see a Paso down here except for competition or exhibitions.

The orchestra was open to requests, as they did play a Merengue for us.

Yes, but ole JR wouldn't be there to dance the Slow Foxtrot, he'd be there to flatter some painted hussy, once she'd been cleared by Harry McSween.

Score another one for Cunard!

Couldn't agree more. The idea of dancing up-tempo quicksteps or rock 'n' roll between courses doesn't bear thinking about. And the ladies wouldn't be too keen on dropping the food all over their latest dancing ensemble! However, we would make an exception for the Savoy dinner-dance but that would be for the exclusive ambience and not for the dancing.

Probably to get that cooked carrot off yer foot.

Supper clubs with music I think must have been a Northern thing, as you didn't find them in Texas except for private clubs as far as I know. Foxy, yer ole friend JR Ewing would have enjoyed the dance/dinner music at the Dallas Petroleum Club, I know that I did.

Actually I've never had a problem with food or drink spills, I have dropped a lady or two due to an inability on someone's part, probably mine!!:rolleyes:

The problem that we found on the Getaway wasn't the floor or the music, both were good. It was my Father-in-Laws 80th celebration so we were a party of 16 for early dining. Leaving what you were eating for a quick Rumba wasn't a problem either, as after all, it was Norwegian so a short wait on yer plate wouldn't make a tad of difference in the quality!!

But, families would allow their young children to cavort on the dance floor while we were dancing.

Cavorting children aren't much for line of dance!!

Of course, the QM2 doesn't have the "Bunnies"

Especially on cruises, although on occasion, you do see a kindly old uncle taking his niece on a cruise.:rolleyes:

You might have seen a lot of that in a Playboy Club.

I like a supper club concept, but I recall one ship, I think Carnival that had a dance combo in the specialty dining room.

We'd have go there for drinks and dancing.

Philosophically, I do have a problem with paying extra for meals that I've already bought every evening just to dance.

I did them all at one time or another, although my symphonic experience was limited. Kansas City is known as a Jazz town, so I grew up playing jazz in clubs and in concerts. I worked in the showroom at the old KC Playboy Club for 11 years. That was great experience, backing "name" and "semi-name" singers & comedians with a brand new show to learn every week. It's sad that those kind of places no longer exist for the young players of today.

I do take yer point, a "Supper Club" is pretty rare these days where dining and dancing is what you came for.

Surprisingly enough, Norwegian offers that. We cruised last year on the Norwegian Getaway a very nice ship with 9 specialty restaurants, as the cuisine in the MDR wasn't all that special!!:rolleyes:

They did, however, have a large dance floor in the MDR with a live music combo nightly; they did take requests.

As far as electric bass is concerned, I have always hated the sound they produce and I only played Fender bass only when a particular show absolutely demanded it. I sold the Fender shortly after I left the Playboy Club and never touched one again. Bob

Actually, I was able to make a very good living playing full time for about 25 years. However, there reached a point where I could see that the music business was changing due to various life style, economics and technology factors, so I went back to college for a business/computer science degree.

For many years I worked in data processing/programming during the week days and played music on the weekends.

Even though I no long play, I make double basses (bass viol, upright bass) as a hobby. I married well :) to a former high schol English teacher (married 41 years). We started dancing just before our first QM2 TA in 2012 and usually go dancing, to live music, at least twice a week plus lessons. Since I was always playing when I was younger, I had never, ever, danced prior to that. Bob

It's a shame that being a musician is a tough way to make a living.

What venues, symphonic, big band, jazz combos?

Do you also play the "Thud Staff", bass guitar? I'll bet that you have some stories to tell.

Sorta like you, I have a Martin Guitar and a nylon classical sitting beside my desk in my home office, but nobody want's to hear me play and sing.

Being a retired professional musician, we try to support the places that hire live musicians for their dances. Bob

What did you play or still do, did you teach or have a 2nd career?

I think medals are a good money-spinner for dance schools. They start you on the medal route and and you keep going because you have to be ready for that next exam day in 6 months. I spoke to someone last night at a social dance who said she felt they'd lost focus because they were not doing any medals at the moment and were not learning new routines and new steps.

Medals are also great for someone like me who is single and does not have a dance partner. I can still dance.

As we always took group lessons as a couple, medal dancing never came up. That's not to say, that we weren't learning steps in the three, as we were.

Our first instructor was a National Dance Champion in the 50s, worst old curmudgeon you'd ever meet and had to walk with canes as dancing had destroyed his knees. But, he'd get bored and teach us very advanced steps.

Sorry about that. It must be a difference in terminology between countries. 'Medal dancing' is exams. I started in Australia when I was a teenager. We had a year of basic dancing and then started exams with our Bronze medal. It could take 6 months or a year to get from one level to the next. (We actually received a little medal that we could wear when we passed.) We could do the exams in ballroom, latin american or old time. You learnt a sequence of steps and in the exams you danced with your teacher. This meant I did not ever learn to just follow a partner and dance.

The first club we joined, Two Left Feet, was started in the 70s and you had to test out in bronze to join. The dance instructor who was the founder, would come out on the floor and berate any of his students that were getting it wrong. By the time that we joined around 2000 there were no such restrictions or dance Ogre!!:D

Bob,we have attended some senior dances that were subsidized by the community with 20 piece orchestras and Dance Weekends in the Texas Hill country(our Cotswolds:D) for a fair sum of money, to dance with the Glenn Miller rendition, and Sentimental Journey Orchestras. The latter all wore WWII Army Air Force uniforms, a nice touch.

As a single dancer, I have found it not very worthwhile to attend classes here in the UK. I have a private lesson once a week and dance with my teacher. (Unfortunately that spoils me for dancing with other men as their lead could never be as good as his. That's a bit ironic as I started the lessons in order to learn how to follow well after too many years of medal dancing with a set routine.) Couples dance together in classes here. If you build up good relationships with the couples at a dance school, then at a social night a single lady may be asked to dance once by a couple of the gentlemen if their partners want a rest but they want to continue practising.

An acquaintance recently told me of the dance school she attends for modern jive where people have to rotate partners in order to be sure they have learnt the step properly. As an educator, I approve of that. As a single lady, I heartily approve. :D

As part of competition dancing here in the states, there is the classification of Pro/Am where you would have danced with your instructor; did you ever try that?

Actually, most of the dancing venues in the US are not private clubs. Bob

Just shows how things vary in the dancing world vis-a-vis the USA and the UK. I would imagine that the nearest thing to a 'vintage dance community' is our Old Time Dancing. There are very few venues that feature this in the UK and even then I doubt if they are continually changing partners.

At our social dances we are certainly social inasmuch as we have some wonderful dance friends at many venues. Of course we all chat between dances and during the interval but it very rarely leads to an exchange of partners. Perhaps it's the traditional English reserve!

Our ballroom clubs are private, and accepte couples only for membership or as visitors for that matter. Rarely would a single person be brought as a guest.

There are certainly any number of other public venues where singles could dance and meet other singles. But our ballroom clubs are exactly as you describe yours.

The advice in the Ballroom Etiquette attachment indicates that at American social dances it is customary to frequently change partners. Is this still the norm? At the UK social dances it is quite rare for dancers to change partners. Generally, partners practise together and therefore dance much better as a couple and, in any case, our ladies are not keen on their menfolk getting too close for comfort with assorted partners, especially if they are very attractive! Perhaps American ladies are more understanding ???

Certainly not down here Foxy, as I touched on above, we would have one "mixer" a night at our club dances, and it was difficult to get the ladies to participate. I would think up ways and words to encourage them in my best radio announcer voice. The word cajole comes to mind.:rolleyes:

We did have an instructor that would have us change partners as part of learning a step, but not all that often in the course of a lesson.

With all due respect, my little wife would return from the mixer having been stepped on, and comment that some men were dance legends in their own mind!!:D

Holy Mackerel -this has scared the living hell out of me ! -all I want to do is dance with my husband to celebrate 55 years of marriage -may be we will waltz in the cabin and not offend any one.

You paid yer money, just like the rest of us so get out there and celebrate!!:)

I mentioned being a leader in two clubs, and one of the tough jobs was getting women to dance with someone other than their husband. We'd do at least one "mixer" a night and I'd work the mic to make it happen. One lady accused me of exploiting women by encouraging them to dance. I informed her that I had exploited women, and had been exploited by women, and getting them to dance wasn't even close.:D

We all grew up dancing to the same music you did and in the same way, and we still can. At some point in time, however, we started taking ballroom lessons as I wanted to Tango and found that it was great exercise and something that we could do together, like so many other things that you could name, Cruises anyone??

You can certainly choose your level of competence, as social ballroom & Latin or whether you want to compete at very different levels in Bronze, Silver, or Gold. You can choose International style or American Smooth as with many other art forms the variety is endless.

I would venture to say that none of us count, as muscle memory makes it automatic. we are looking forward to lessons and social ballroom clubs again as my mature wife graduates college in Dec..

Ballroom is something where you can pick and choose what you want to dance to, as we tend to avoid swing (jive) these days but love the Latin.

I still can't dance the Texas Two-step although I've tried to learn it; I must be wearing the wrong brand of boots!!:D

You would be very comfortable on the QM2 especially on Ball Nights as the floors so crowded there is no line of dance.

Just keep in mind that you are dancing for each other, not other people.

At least twice this week, Lenny gave a lower mark because of the lack of content, once for a cha Charles's cha cha, and then for a waltzless Viennese Waltz. It's interesting seeing the difference in how Lenny judges DWTS versus Strictly, I think DWTS needs Clive to give some hard nosed criticism, Len only partially fill that role.

Sadly, the American public knows about as much about ballroom dancing as a hog knows about Sunday!!:)

DWTS is a popularity contest. Len gets booed enough as it is, so any serious judge would be subjected to public flogging.

Note to self: start saving yer pesos to cruise on Crystal!!:D

Is the name of a Country song I recall, and is a reflection of our DWTS program. The show tries to pick music the younger folk can identify, which is why it is horrible music for ballroom dancers. I've mentioned before doing a tango to the German Chicken Dance.

I trust that you are joking Gene! I've no time for either of them. Our 'Strictly Come Dancing' programme is a travesty of ballroom dancing. Heaven knows who chooses the appalling music but, however dire and unsuitable it is, neither of the aforementioned judges has the courage to say so. Mustn't rock the hand that feeds you! As for Bruno Tonioli - I'm sure he knows more about watercress than ballroom dancing. Curious that after all these years none of the 'judges' appear to have demonstrated an elegant Slow Foxtrot. Still, the masses love the glitz and the glamour and that's all that matters to the BBC. On the plus side it has brought dancing to the public's attention and that can't be bad.

Just tweaking the British Lion's tail Foxy, as I know that you have a "special" whip you would pull out of the stable for those two.:D

You will be happy to know that Len get's booed on a regular basis as he is an actual card carrying ballroom judge as opposed to whomever else they trot out there.:rolleyes:

On my last cruise I reflected on the different attitudes to ballroom dancing between Cunard and Celebrity. On Cunard the dancing is a major evening event. It is a form of entertainment for dancers and other passengers alike. There are many people in the ballroom who never dance but love watching it and love the feeling of being at a ball. There are people who pause on the balcony above to enjoy the spectacle. It feels like an event for everyone. (It is also so important that they employ a couple of dancers to demonstrate and to teach.)

Sadly, it is a cultural difference, as ballroom dancing has become a curiosity in the US. There is little to no interest in this art form among the young and also reflects the attitude of their parents. America's dancing peaked during WWII and has been in decline ever since.:mad:

Of course the advent of Rock & Roll helped promote it's demise as our youth found that even Swing (Jive) was too structured and reverted to simple individual steps reflecting the mating dances of primitive tribes in New Guinea!!:D

I've been the president of two Ballroom Clubs in our area where the bylaws limited the number of couples to 125.

We were never handicapped for membership by that number!!:rolleyes:

As a crossing on Cunard was on my "bucket list" we enjoyed the QM2 this year, and yes dancing was wonderful when you could, as ball nights it was standing room only and that was on the dance floor.

On Celebrity, dancing is just another event for a minority of passengers - and so it becomes an ever smaller minority who can participate. Passengers still line the balconies to watch the dancers, so there must be scope for enjoyment among them. However, dancing is not seen as part of the entertainment. Without it, we did not know what to do. The shows were not as good as those on Cunard and the only thing to do in an evening was sit at a bar. I guess Celebrity makes money that way!

You can include the other American lines in that practice, some, Princess & HAL, make a little more of an effort as they market to older demographics. Carnival and RCCL not so much.

I note that "Dancing With The Stars" has kicked off it's fall season with two of Foxy's favorite judges, Len Goodman, and Bruno Cannolis in attendance. If you can recognize a dance on that show, than they weren't doing it right!!

Our former governor and presidential candidate is competing if you can call it that.

After viewing his potential, sadly, he should have stuck to politics.:eek:

Fantasy 51, and sad to hear about the lack of effort on Celebrity.

They were obviously playing American ballroom rhythm as you describe the fast Rumbas. We've encountered some of the show people trying to instruct on other lines as well. Part of why we don't go to the ship lessons anymore, the other is that they are pretty basic.

Celebrity & HAL used to have some of the best cuisines of any of the large lines, sadly since they are now owned by RCCL & Carnival corps. the quality has dropped on many things.

Never been on a Princess cruise Gene but if their dance-trios are 'pretty spotty' as you describe then of course they deserve a good whipping. It's the only language they understand!

 

Nice to agree that Cunard bands now pay more attention to correct dance tempos. We were on Queen Victoria yet again this year and the Queens Room orchestras were all okay. All Cunard needs to do now is make the dance-floor twice the size and it should then be suitable for around 2500 passengers! Bigger floors may then even catch on with other cruise lines!

At least on the QM2, it was enough to promote a "Line Of Dance" that is until they declared a ball at which time every dancer that could did, and so did a number of those who couldn't!!:rolleyes: This totally cancelled the aforementioned line, as there was no room to do anything. I guess as long as we aren't dancing with a number on our backs, we should just settle for what we get??

The problem with Princess and HAL, is the shape of the floor in the lounges they pick for dancers. Floor Craft helps, but off-times, you find yerself out on the carpet.

We'll be on the Ruby Princess next Jan., Sea Of Cortez, and the Royal next June, Barcelona to Rome.

Were they featuring ballroom in the Fusion, as we've always found it in the Wheelhouse lounge? The trios they had playing were pretty spotty, Ole Foxy might be advised to bring his horse whip!!:D

Hopefully, when my wife gets out of college in Dec., we can get back to lessons, as there is a lot that we have lost.

That is interesting as to your comments about Costa VS Cunard, as they seemed to care on Cunard about proper tempo; either that or Foxy had visited with them about that issue. Although, it was International and not American Smooth, so I would have placed well in the Olympics with the footrace that they were calling Tango.:D

From what I have read, and please feel free to correct me, (usually never a problem on this board:)), Costa brings to mind cigarette smoke and the Poseidon Adventure.

The underlying question is "What figures does my partner know, how do we describe them, what does she expect from me?". For example in American, there's a pretty good overlap in latin/rhythm, but standard/smooth gets really confusing when she takes off on her own and I don't know what will happen next. Sticking to the syllabus is a quick way to remember partners, eg. " this lady does ISTD bronze except fan".

Don't know how accurate any of my information is because I haven't seen anything myself. When I heard 37 figures in VW that got my attention- wow, dance studios will be able to make a lot of money teaching that, which has an unfortunate ring of truth about it.

According to my travel agent, HAL took away the Queens Lounge dance floor to make BB Kings and (Crows Nest?) for classical music on their remodelled ships (he was on the Eurodam I think), the music is totally revamped.

I agree Foxy and when you follow the money, it certainly goes back to the studios. This, of course, should only apply if you compete which means that you can bear the expense and benefit from the experience.

That's interesting about HAL, as we've had some good dancing on their ships. The music has changed how??

Our next two cruises are on Princess, a Sea of Cortez in Jan. followed by a Med, Barcelona to Rome by way of Gibraltar .