Ballroom Dance Lessons

[tropicalsunset]

Eric and Linda... I will have to work on my husband for that...!! maybe I will have him convinced by next September... !! Maybe by then we will feel like we can maneuver better around the dance floor with all the vets!! :)

 

GCurry: You should write "Ballroom Bootcamp" and nominate Lance for the next go 'round!!

 

Our last group class was swing... one of the young instructors gave the class -- it was Dave and I and an older woman who is more of a beginner but intent on getting all her qualifications to test.,, Young Matt was swinging us around and we were getting winded and dizzy... and ended up having laughing fits on top of it..

Dear Matt will never understand what it is to start this aerobic excerise at middle age!! and it didn't help that we were in a small back room that had just dismissed an Irish Step Dance class... so it was warm and quite stuffy in there!!! :eek:

 

While you are dousing yourself in sunscreen... :cool:

we will be up here in a snow storm tomorrow ... donning all the necessary layers and mittens , hat and scarf... climbing ladders and untangling lights and extension cords as they stiffen in the frozen mess!! Now that's CHRISTMAS!!

 

We have a formal dance at our dance studio this month -- we are on a waitteam for the dance at our Elks lodge... I'm hoping we can join in on the dancing after dinner... and New Years... not sure what we are going to do.... the dance studio is doing a party and also theres a less formal dance at the Elks... I'm betting my hubbie will want to go with the latter...This is a stressful time of year at his job...:rolleyes:

 

Janet: Have a great time!! (I'm soo jealous!!) its been 6mos since we've been on a ship and I NEED my cruise-fix!!!

[GCurry]

Have a great cruise Smooth, hope you hit Nassau for Xmas shopping.

We just got a call from cruise friends going out of Galveston on the Conquest today, they were going to try to see some of our Dickens festival as well.

 

Next Thursday a friend from Redding CA. is flying in to stay with us. She goes out on the Rhapsody along with another couple we met on our Grand cruise last Dec. We also have a couple coming down from Austin that were on the same cruise, so this will be the 2nd Grand cruise reunion we've had since Dec. We've met a lot of neat people on the Rhapsody thread, so I've arranged a precruise party for them in Galveston next Saturday. Cruise Critic has really caused us to meet a lot of good folks we otherwise would have never encountered.

Do you think I can over use the word cruise?

 

Mid 70s today, 92% humidity so it made the dog walk and outside jobs a sweaty affair. Fronts are coming in, however, so we'll only have a high of 57 on Thursday.

 

Tropical, you really need to read more Robert Frost, he always made it sound beautiful up there.

 

We had a formal dance with a band last night, and another one coming up on the 17th. We enjoy dress up, I think I even dance better.

[tropicalsunset]

This is very beautiful: (I was standing in the street looking up the hill in our neighborhood before the plows came through!!)

[tropicalsunset]

My husband was not enjoying it as much!!:

[GCurry]

Beautiful Tropical, although I haven't missed the snow shovel!

I moved the fall Croton display around back so the Poinsettias take their place and look like Christmas. Later we will switch to Cyclamens for our coldest period. We'll drop into the 50s for highs this week, so winter for us is here. "Whose woods these are I think I know" We have had the A/C on to remove humidity and keep it comfortable, fact of life here in the Southwest, you need air conditioning in Dec. and start again in Feb.

 

Dancing, you get to know what places are cool enough. For practice, I carry a towel for perspiration and get to work.

[tropicalsunset]

friends of mine in Galveston just emailed me photos of themselves dressed for the Dickens festival...what fun!!!

we don't have anything like that up here unless you visit Sturbridge Village or Plymouth Plantation in MA....

[GCurry]

I was vice president of that festival for a couple of years, and worked as a volunteer for a number of others. One night Charles Dickens great grandson taught us to drink port; "I'll drink to Cardinal Puff for the first time" of several times. It's a good way to get ripped!! There is a ball in Victorian costumes that is held in conjunction with it.

Here are a couple of good stories.

 

http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=7ed7f19ef8723dfcff36b8c1682f424a

 

My wife and I won the costume contest one year, she made her own.

 

http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=27d6c3ed8d2b8d0d2733526694468085

 

It looks like you are getting more weather "Tropical" and none of it is tropical. I thought Springfield, Salem and Stockbridge were quite historic and pretty in September. I spent 11 days exploring New England one year, what a beautiful part of the country when you don't have all that snow covering it up.

 

We have friends coming in this weekend to sail out of Galveston on the Rhapsody Sunday. We'll also have a Cruise Reunion as we and others that are coming sailed together on the Grand last year.

 

Well, back to reality, we've got our weekly abuse lesson with Ole Lance tonight!

[tropicalsunset]

I asked my instructor last night why they had new plants in the studio... she went to tell me that one of the "Stars" on the next Dancing With the Stars is using our studio for practice with their instructor... she thought it was pretty amazing to see them learn the Quickstep with no prior Ballroom training... I geuss this person is a sports announcer.. they are using the studio during the day before it opens... she said some of the instructors may end up in the background of some of the takes....

 

Thanks for the links..!!! May have to make a trip down there one day and check that out... I would so love to see the outfits!!!

 

More snow predicted for Thursday night up here ... 6 inches or so... we are hoping to get in a Cha Cha group class if it doesn't get too bad....

\the snow is very beautiful if you can curl up with hot cocoa by the fire and watch it come down ... but if you have to drive in it and drive around people "driving" in it...it ain't so pretty!! It is always good to have a cruise booked to break it all up though!!! :cool:

[abbydancer2003]

I know I haven't been posting recently, but wanted to post a note about Dancing with the Stars. Like tropicalsunset, our studio is a practice studio for DWTS. Apparently our local celebrity participant (Jerry Rice) is practicing there. I think they're practicing in the mornings. His partner is Anya ?? (Jonathan Roberts partner). We're kind of excited about seeing our studio on TV.

 

And our manager thought watching him try to learn quickstep was "interesting".

 

Cheers,

Abby

who had to put off her dance test this month because of a nasty cold.

[seadancer]

Hello All

we have just taken our first few classes .We are starting on the rumba and then moving to the chacha.We got hooked watching all the new dance shows this last year and I finally decided to make the wife happy.i've always been terrified of dancing.She's always taken dannce since childhood.

We took up private instruction(I don't do well in groups)and we'll see where that leads.I'm scared and excited at the same time:D .

We are to debut ourselves on our next cruise.I hoipew it goes well:o

 

Seeyaaa

Jeff

[tropicalsunset]

Jeff. welcome to our group!! my husband was very self conscious on the dance floor ... I would have to drag him up there... Now we have been taking lessons for awhile... he loves it and we often get compliments as we leave the dance floor... we found the private lessons to be much better for us as we can go at our own pace.... ( i don't get quite so frustrated) and we can focus on dances that we want to learn.

 

We went on Granduer in June... and found there were many opportunities to practice our dancing... In the centrum in the evenings was a 3 piece band that played ballroom music and would take requests.. If you don't want to be in the center of attention on the dance floors.... go up the elevator to one of the upper levels and find some floor space and have some fun!!!

 

Lorraine

[seadancer]

Thanks For the welcome

 

We joined the local Usa Dance chapter and started watching the what was going on at the dance meetings.We seem to get around 40+ people at the monthly dance. I've heard the Daytonabeach dance will see upwards of 100 at times. There seems to be a real growing interest in the central Florida area(orlando-Daytona).The latin population down here is responsible for a lot of that I think. Some schools we checked with were full up and had waiting list.It seems everyone wants to learn the latin dances right now.

We are going to see our first dancesport in January over in Daytona i'm really excited about that.I want to pick up some nice formal dance shoes.Right now i'm using capezio dance sneakers and want something a little more dressy, but in central fl male dance shoes are next to impossible to come buy. I'm a little scared to order 100=$$$ shoes over the internet.Especially since my dance sneakers are a different size than my normal shoes.If anhyone is heading to central floreida just let me know. I can get you all the info for the area.

 

Seeyaaa

Jeff

[mummsie]

Hello all. Just back from the Pacific Princess - hard to be back at work today. What a trip :-) We had the dancefloor to ourselves most nights so the band played whatever we wanted. What a buzz :-) People would come up to us all the time and say how much they enjoyed watching us dance. Never had that happen before.!!! Got back to a bit of a mess though - my mum who passed away a few months ago - her house was badly damaged by a thunder storm that blew in Thursday. We had just had the estate finalised and the house now belongs to my brother and I. Quite a bit of the roof was smashed off and lots of internal damage. I know how you guys feel now from the hurricanes you guys have. As my brother lives quite a distance away, its up to me to talk to all the insurance people and builders - what fun. Nice way to finish a holiday.Gayle

[GCurry]

Wow, headed out on the "Grandeur", have a great time, and dance alot. Also, the more you learn, the more fun it it. Check out these guys for shoes. I wear a twelve narrow, and they had the right shoe for me. I would call and talk to them before I ordered, they are very helpful. http://www.lonniesdance.com/

 

We had a precruise party for about 40 Cruise Critic sailors, going out on the Rhapsody Sunday, Saturday night, in Galveston. Three of our Cruise Friends were going with them, so we set up a meet and mingle at a restaurant by the terminals. As we met, we watched the "Grand" and "Splendour" set sail. They were all excited, a lot of them were first time cruisers.

 

Welcome back Mummsie, was it a great cruise, where did you go? Yeah, even I would hesitant to be on the floor at the same time you are, you'd make most couples look like hogs in a horse race.

Sorry about the storm damage, it's such a hassle working through the process, that it really interferes with your life.

[mummsie]

Hi GCurry, Ship left from Sydney and travelled around New Caledonia - visited Poum, Heingeng, Ouvea, Noumea and then back to Sydney. The beach at Ouvea was the nicest water I have swum in for a long time. It was just a native Kanak village - nobody spoke English so it was quite interesting. It was the first visit of the Pacific Princess to this port so the captain had to do the official thing and offer a gift to the head of the village. The locals did some dancing and then they set up a stall with a few items for sale. Was very relaxing. We loved the Pacific Princess so much that we booked another cruise on her for February 2007. This time going around Vanuartu. It was an interesting cruise actually because even though the ship is a Princess Ship, its actually on loan to P&O so they had a mix of Princess/P&O. The food was Princess but the entertainment was P&O with all the Island Nights and sock hops and stuff like that. Most of the passengers were from Australia - about 90% so made for a more local flavour. Gayle

[smoothdancer]

Hey Mumsie...

Glad you had a great time... We had a lot of opportunity to dance when we cruised Princess as well.

We just got back last night from a 3 day cruise on Carnvial, and had a REALLY good time!

 

It did cost us more than planned. We were due to leave on Friday morning, with a major snow storm coming in. We had to book another one way ticket to get out of town before the storm, and a hotel room and shuttle to the port!.. Still it was worth the extra dollars. We left 80 degree weather to fly home to 27 degrees... Yuck!

 

Can you believe it..we did not dance once! We just did full port days, and then total relaxation at night. We had really fun tablemates.

[tropicalsunset]

Janet: glad you had a great cruise and went out a day ahead..

the weather has been too cold, too snowy... far too soon this year... !! now, did you not dance because of lack of appropriate opportunity or were you just totally being ROMANTIC!!!! :) :) I'm hoping it was the latter!!

 

Mummsie: I was checking out those cruises Princess offers in your region of the world...looks wonderful!!! I am thinking a world cruise may be just what I need when Dave and I finally get to retire!!!! :D

 

Gcurry: thanks for the link for Dance shoes...believe it or not.. the dance shoes I ordered at our studio 6 weeks ago for hubby for Christmas still haven't come in.... I have convinced myself that maybe they came in but they were the appropriate size for Kenny Mayne who is practising at our studio for DAncing with the Stars and maybe they gave them to him and reordered shoes for DAve... if so, I think he should sign DAve;s when they come in!!! :D :D

 

Have a great weekend everyone... hope everyone gets a chance to dance and have a cup of cheer amidst the holiday frenzy!!!

 

Lorraine

[smoothdancer]

lol, Tropical...... I guess somewhere in between.....

 

We had a great time on this cruise, and decided to just low key it.... Thus is the problem with comp dancing... You are always in a performance mode, and even when not at a comp, you are always thinking performace.... We just wanted to chill out and enjoy each other so we put dancing on the shelf....

 

Then, had a pretty bad adventure on this cruise.... We stopped at Nassau and we went to the Atlantis for the day... After a full day we caught a taxi back to the ship in time for the Captians party(dance opportunity)

 

I guess I ate something bad at Atlantis and out of no where I became deadly sick... In the taxi I lost all feeling in my right arm and could not breath at alll.....I was really out of it..... My husband thought I was having a heart attack and wanted the taxi driver to take me to the hospital..... I said NO!!! Last place I wanted to be was an island hospital....

 

So I guess not romantic, but then again maybe.... I was really scared as to what was happening to me, yet I knew that Nick would take care of me and make it all alright.... I guess this is not romantic, but what marriage is all about, right??? Taking care of each other when the time comes.... somehow he got me back to the ship, I had no idea where I was but I knew his his voice and it calmed me down.....

 

Needless to say, no dancing or captians party for us.... Slept it off and I was back to myself in the AM

 

Even after a scare, we had a great get-away......

[tropicalsunset]

Janet... so sorry to hear of your sickness in Bahamas... wonder if it was food poisoning or some kind of food allergy..

I have had to deal with the ships medical facility and they are quite competant.... but I am glad to hear you got a break and did some marital bonding... Nick sounds like a great catch ....you sound like an awesome couple!!!!

[GCurry]

Mummsie - glad you had a great cruise. Part of our Hawaiian cruise is a visit to Fanning Island a very very primitive place, much like you describe with no electric service or running water, and the natives sell handicrafts.

That should be interesting.

 

Smooth, glad you survived the medical emergency, there is nothing like getting deathly ill when you are traveling. At home you could deal with it, but out of the country is a whole different matter. Getting back to the ship was probably a good idea, at least you would be on board when it left. Did you visit the clinic on the ship, or were you feeling better by then?

 

Tropical, we have even been below normal in our area, with a lot of violent weather this past week. A storm blew through early Saturday, that caused rough seas in the Gulf. We picked up friends off the Rhapsody Sunday morning, who had a pretty scary time for a while. A Norwegian ship thread said the same thing.

 

Anyway, we had our 2 Left Feet formal Christmas dance this past Saturday, with a dinner party before the event. I hired Johnny and the Geezers (descriptive) a 5 piece band, who really did a great job with standards. We had about 100 in attendence, club members and guests.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you BTW, and I hope we all get to dance our way into the new year.

[smoothdancer]

No did not have to go to the clinic. After everything that was in my stomach was out(if you know what I mean!), I recovered on my own!!

 

I am really excited tonight... With everything else that we have going on after about 4 months of work we put up our new vacation review site on the internet. After the holidays we plan to start working on a cruise ballroom dance section! Take a look at our new toy!

 

http://WWW.Justeatin.com

[mummsie]

hi Smooth, Glad you are well again. Nothing worse than getting sick when you are away from home.

Gcurry, well done with the Xmas dance. Sounds like a lot of fun. Will get there one day to visit.

We have just found out our cruise for July next year has been cancelled. P&O sold the ship (Pacific Star) on us. Gary is busy trying to rebook with another cruise line today - probably end up on the Superstar Gemini out of Singapore. Bit more expensive and probably won't be able to get a balcony but will still be good. The Star ships are supposed to be really nice.

 

Have a happy and safe Xmas everyone - Gayle

[GCurry]

Great site Smooth, I visited your Newport review, which brought back some good memories, I had walked the cliff, seen the Breakers and enjoyed the beautiful harbor and town.

 

You were lucky on what sounds like food poisoning, a lot of people die each year from that. The two cases I've had as an adult could best be described as extreme violent illness, our sympathy. To get it at the Atlantis is just crazy.

 

Gee Mummsie, cruising out of OZ seems difficult. Would Hawaii work for you, or is that huge airfare? Our ten day is relatively inexpensive, and the air isn't too unreasonable.

 

Is anyone dancing in the New Year?

[mummsie]

Great site Smooth, I visited your Newport review, which brought back some good memories, I had walked the cliff, seen the Breakers and enjoyed the beautiful harbor and town.

 

You were lucky on what sounds like food poisoning, a lot of people die each year from that. The two cases I've had as an adult could best be described as extreme violent illness, our sympathy. To get it at the Atlantis is just crazy.

 

Gee Mummsie, cruising out of OZ seems difficult. Would Hawaii work for you, or is that huge airfare? Our ten day is relatively inexpensive, and the air isn't too unreasonable.

 

Is anyone dancing in the New Year?

 

Yeah its not the best. Only P&O cruise here on a permanent basis with 2 ships - soon to be 3 when the Regal comes here. We have had one HAL ship here in the last month on its maiden to Australia and Princess comes here every so often on the "exotics". Hawaii is expensive but doable. We are thinking of doing Alaska next year though. We would probably spend at least 4-5 weeks in the USA with the cruise in the middle. Not sure yet. Because its so far away, the air fares are expensive - probably close to $2K each so would have to make it worth while by spending extra time there. Will have to see what happens. :) Been to the USA before so I know some places we definiately won't be going again. :) Gayle

[GCurry]

There may not be snow in San Antonio, but it's a Texas Christmas to me -George Strait -

Due to a freak snow storm Christmas eve 2004, we actually had the first white Christmas on the Texas Gulf Coast in 30 years. Tomorrow, there will be a high of 74 degrees with 67 predicted for Christmas day. We'll have next week off for what the politically correct are calling "Winter Holidays", so Susan and I will get some cool weather projects done around the house, yard, and garden. I hope whatever your clime, that y'all have a Merry Christmas (or whatever) and a Happy New Year.

 

Mummsie, hope it's not too hot in OZ, and try Holland America if you get the chance, they are a pretty good ride.

Tropical, weather says like it or not it's a white Christmas for you!

Smooth, hope you dance in the New Year.