Fun at the O Club

We had a great time at the O Club this evening. We have a standing date on Wednesday nights to go dancing at the Officer's Club at Ft Belvoir. We always reserve a table for 4 just in case someone we know shows up. Tonight, it turned out that we needed a table for six.

We got an email from Marlene and Rob saying they would probably make it tonight. We always get there early. After we were seated, who did we see come in but, Sharon and Paul. We hadn't seen them since Saturday at the Carlyle Club. We've known both couples from different dance venues, but didn't think that they knew each other.

It turned out that they hadn't met. However, both Paul and Rob are retired Navy aviators and had served together during the same time and several times on the same stations. They were soon reminiscing, talking not only in Navy speak, but in Navy aviator speak. I served in the Army, so know how to communicate in acronyms. Navy aviators talk a whole different language.

The evening was a real success. I hope we'll be getting together again soon for good conversation and dancing.

Holiday Weekend Dances

Christmas was a very quiet day, so we decided to go to the Dance Factory in the evening to get some exercise. We had gone with Janet and Jeff a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. The Dance Factory is one of the few studios open on the holiday. We weren't too sure of the weather. There were still mounds of snow left from the storm last weekend and it was raining pretty hard. We were able to find parking and got there without any trouble.

Last night we went with friends to the Carlyle Club in Alexandria to see Doc Scanlin and His Imperial Palms Orchestra. Our friend Cynthia has come into town to visit her parents. She thought it would be a treat for them to see the show. Doc Scanlin puts on a great show and the Carlyle Club is a perfect venue for his kind of music. It's like being transported back in time to a Fred and Ginger movie where they're dancing in a supper club. We found out later that Doc Scanlin will be playing at the Carlyle Club every Friday night starting the end of January.

We also found out that Sharon and Paul, another couple we know from dancing, had the same idea to see the show so we got to visit before the show and joined them on the dance floor.

Another busy weekend

Here it is, closing in on the 4th of July holiday weekend already. Time flies when you are having fun. We've done a lot of dancing over the last several weeks. Both of the dance clubs that we are members of had their final dances of the season and will start back in the fall.

Friday night we went to Studio One for the weekly dance. There was a good crowd. We saw a few people that we don't see on a regular basis. Jodi and Charlie brought Diane. Jodi and Charlie teach Ballroom Dancing at the Dale City Rec Center. Except for the summer months they teach a class on Friday nights so can't attend the Studio One dances. Diane we know from the Candy Factory. She is a regular there and this was her first time to the Studio One dance. There were more ladies than gentlemen in attendance. However, the gentlemen try to dance with other partners which keeps all the ladies from having to sit out all the dances. Richard encourages his students to dance with other partners. It really helps the gentlemen develop their leads and the ladies with their following skills. Doris and I have been together so long that she can read my mind anyway and usually knows what I am going to do before I do.



Last night we went with Joy and Tony to the last dance of the season for the Colvin Run Schoolhouse. There was a Foxtrot lesson and Helmut Licht was the band. The good thing about Helmut is that he is also a dancer. This means he understands about keeping a beat and knows the difference between a Foxtrot and a Waltz. A lot of DJ's and bands are great to listen to but hard to dance to. We saw several people there that we know from other dance venues. They have an excellent floor and there was a mix of dancers with different levels of expertise.

The Harris Pavilion in Manassas has begun their summer series of events. They always have a good selection of bands. A week ago Saturday we went there to dance to the Abbey Road band. They are a 5 piece Beatles band. They play a lot of the early Beatles music which can be danced to. We saw Kathy and Randy there with a friend of theirs from their neighborhood. We had to leave a little early because of some impending thunderstorms. Being in an open air pavilion that is a metal structure can give some anxious moments in a thunderstorm.

Long Time No Hear

I have been very remiss in keeping up my blog. I've been very busy and sometimes life gets in the way of things you want to do. Not that we've been too busy to go dancing, however. I've changed jobs this month, so I was busy finishing up some things with my old job and starting some things with my new job. The change has been worthwhile.

We went dancing 3 times over the long weekend. Friday, we went to Studio One for the practice session from 9:00 to 11:00 PM. Some of the regulars were out of town but we still had a pretty good crowd. For most of the evening we were evenly divided with the same number of gentlemen as ladies. This doesn't happen often.

Saturday, we had to choose where to go. Having too many places to go dancing is a good problem to have. We were deciding between the Elk's Lodge, Strictly Ballroom and Louidmila's. We ended up going to Louidmila's. We haven't been there for a couple of months. We probably spent as much time catching up with friends we hadn't seen in a while as dancing. One couple there, Rick and Char, we met through dancing and found that we have even more in common. Rick and Doris went to the same High School in Boise, Idaho. He and I graduated 1 year before her. I went to a rival High School in Boise also. We met about 30 years later at a dance in Virginia and were sitting at the same table. Small world, isn't it?

Sunday, we went to the practice session at the Dale City Recreation Center. There is more room to dance there than we have at home.

Argentine Tango

I found this quote which perfectly sums up the appeal of Argentine Tango Milonguero:

Michael from Houston wrote on Tango-L:
In my humble opinion, fantasia, or stage dancing is strictly that, a work undertaken to entertain an audience. Open tango may be fun for some, but that's all, and is still used to impress those around you. Salon is fun, and more appropriate socially, but still generally danced by those searching for new moves, fancier steps; almost an "athletic" direction to improvement. And while maybe not quite as much to impress the crowd, still, there is that impression that they're trying to impress themselves. Tango Milonguero is for nobody but me and my partner, and the improvement that I search for is almost spiritual in quality. When me and my partner can exist on the floor oblivious to all else but the communion of our love for tango, and the synchronicity of our awareness. When we can both exist in a state where the music tells us what to do, and the embrace becomes not hands or arms, or even chests, but heart and body. When you get right down to it, as I learn more and more, tango becomes less and less about dancing, and more and more about feeling. I wish I could adequately describe this feeling, but I don't think anyone can.

Friday Nighters Dancing Club

We were invited to attend the Friday Nighters Dancing Club party by Pat and Bob, a couple that we know from the Elk's Lodge. We are always looking for more places to go dancing. The Friday Nighters have a dance the second Friday of every month except for July and August. The dance is held at the Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church and music is provided by the The Family Band.

We saw a lot of familiar faces from both the O Club and the Elk's Lodge. The church has a great dance floor with lots of room for moving dances. They were having a "Friday Nighter's go to the Movies" theme where members were encouraged to dress as their favorite movie stars. We sat at a table with Groucho Marx, Sally Fields and Charlie Chaplin.

We put in an application and were accepted, so we now have another venue to go dancing. We'll still get to go to Studio One most Fridays so it seems like a win-win situation for us. Going dancing is a great way to start the weekend.

Yesterday evening we went to the "Spring Celebration Dinner Dance" at the Elk's Lodge. The band there was a combo "Mike Suratt and the Eclectic Coalition Band". They played a good selection of music and it was obvious that swing is their forte.

Oops

I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum.

I need to write this 50 times because of an incident that happened on Saturday. We attended the last formal dance of the season with the Regal Dinner and Dance Club. I was in my tux and Doris in a pretty pink and white gown. Things were going pretty well until I tried to lead the Fall Away and Rocks in the Waltz. We did the fall away alright, but my feet tangled with hers when we went into the rocks. All of the sudden she was on the floor looking up at me. I remember vividly the expression on her face, but don't have the words to describe it.

I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum. I will not drop my partner on her bum.

Cherry Blossoms

We went downtown today to see the Cherry Blossoms. We hadn't gone in years, so we planned for me to take a day of vacation and go on a Friday to avoid the crowd. Mother Nature helped considerably with keeping the crowds away. However, we did get to meet a duck. We also went to the FDR Memorial which we hadn't seen. It was very nice. Across the river we could see Ft McNair with the National War College. Ft McNair was my old stomping grounds. I was stationed there back a couple of decades ago.

The sun started to break through so we decided to check out one of the Smithsonian Museums. We decided to have lunch and were treated to mediocre food at exorbitant prices. We didn't have much trouble finding a parking spot though.

Would you like milk with those dance shoes?

Okay, so they are not custom-made dance shoes from Argentina, but for $44.00 they are not bad.

We recently were introduced to a great little shop that sells dance shoes, clothes and accessories. It is Fu-Hao Dance Wear and is located on Gallows Road in Falls Church, VA inside the Great Wall Supermarket. Judy, the owner sells a wide variety of dance shoes (at very reasonable prices) for both men and women as well as dance accessories and clothes. We highly recommend her for personalized service. She is a dancer herself so she understands what dancers need and want. We admit that it is a little odd to find such a shop in the corner of a grocery store but who are we to complain? We have often wanted to Waltz down the aisles of our local Safeway. They play some great music that you can dance to.

As for being custom-made, the shoes may not be but the clothes are…..and still at reasonable prices….Cha Cha anyone?

Wednesday Night at the O Club

We had a great time at the Officer's Club on Ft Belvoir last night. Doris and I have a standing date on Wednesdays. Unless I'm out of town we go to the Club for dinner and dancing. They have a great buffet and a live band. The dancing goes from 6:00 to 9:00. We always reserve a table for 4 just in case someone we know shows up. Last night we had to take a table for 10. It's fun to go out dancing. It is even more fun when we get to share the experience. The only problem is that the evening goes by too quickly. The band was Night Watch. They play a good variety of songs. It's interesting to watch Jerry, the guy on the keyboard and horn player. Especially when he's playing both at the same time.

Fredericksburg

We went with some friends to Strictly Ballroom in Fredericksburg last night. It was a bit of a trip for all of us coming down from Woodbridge so we had dinner at a pizza parlor before we went dancing. Mike and Melissa have been having some dances on Saturday nights recently.

We saw some familiar faces at Strictly Ballroom. We began taking private lessons from Melissa about 4 years ago. They were still in their old location then. The new place has one of the largest dance floors in the area and is a pleasure to dance on. When gasoline prices started hitting $3.00 a gallon a couple of years ago, we started looking for a studio that was closer to home. We were fortunate to find Studio One which is about half the distance and has an excellent instructor.

A Weekend at Mountain Lake

For the last 2 years we have gone to a Dirty Dancing weekend at the Mountain Lake Hotel in southwestern Virginia. The first year we went just by ourselves. Last year we went with a group of friends. We've told a lot of people about the fun time we had and there has been a lot of interest. We hope to go again this year over the summer. The schedule this year has weekends in July and August that look good. We need a good group so we can win the Dirty Dancing Trivia Contest three years running.

Regal Dance

We attended a dinner dance last night at the Country Club of Fairfax with the Regal Dinner and Dance Club. It is always fun to get dressed up and go dancing with friends. We've never had a bad meal at the CCF either.

People approach dancing in different ways. We know some dancers for whom dance lessons are an end in themselves. They take a lot lessons, sometimes several a week, but hardly every go dancing. On the other hand, we take lessons so we can go dancing. We generally go out dancing on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We take our lesson on Monday's and try to practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Some people go to the gym; we dance.

I saw this cartoon today and it really struck home. We used to be like this. Come home from work, sit in front of the "boob tube", usually with a bag of chips, and go to bed. Dancing is the most fun that two people can have while remaining vertical.
TV viewers of America: Arise!! Get off the couch and get dancing!

Valentine's Day Dancing - Part 2

Last night, we went with friends to the Officer's Club at Ft. Belvoir for their Valentine's Day Dance. The evening went differently than we expected. It showed how important it is to be flexible.

First, there was a wedding reception in the ballroom where we normally dance. The Valentine's Day Dance was held in one of the upstairs rooms. The room was nice, though the dance floor was smaller than in the room downstairs. There were also more people attending than our usual Wednesday night crowd since this was a special occasion. The band was a 3 piece ensemble named "Arrow Band" with a drummer, keyboard,and saxophone player set up on the edge of the dance floor. The combination of a smaller floor, larger crowd and the band meant there was not much room for any fancy moves on the dance floor.

The second thing that happened was the saxophone player fainted. He recovered after being checked out by the paramedics and came back to finish the evening to the applause of the assembled company.

Since the dance at the O Club was coming to a close and we hadn't much opportunity to shake a leg; someone suggested that we go to Lioudmila's to get in some dancing. The Valentine's Celebration there began at 9:00 and ended at 11:00. There was a good crowd there also, but plenty of room to move around the floor. They also had a mini-showcase with some fantastic dancing featuring the Rhumba, Jive, and Waltz.

The evening got off to a rocky start but ended well. We got a good dinner, some dancing and the saxophone player recovered.

Valentine's Dance at Studio One

We went to a Valentine's Day dance last night at Studio One of Alexandria. We've taken ballroom dance lessons there from Richard for going on 4 years. Included in the cost of the lessons is the Friday night dance. It is obstensively for practice. However, practicing sounds like work to perfect your skills. The Friday dance accomplishes this but we're really there for the fun of it. We start our weekends on Friday night from 9-11 PM by joining our friends for social dancing.

There was a good crowd last night with all the ladies looking pretty snazzy in their red dresses. Leslie brought in a "Build your own boyfriend" kit that was a great hit with the ladies. They never did put any pants on him though. Kind of reminded me of the Naked Cowboy in Times Square. Everyone had fun as we celebrated with Cupid and also had cake for everyone with a birthday in February.

Lessons in Swing

We've learned a couple of new swing steps from Richard lately. Doris saw an ad for some weekend workshops by Gotta Swing so we decided to try them out to add some additional pizzaz. The first class was Aerials 101 with Sue and Gary on Saturday to learn some dips, leans and aerials. We aren't much for the aerials, but we did get a couple of steps to add to our swing.

Today, we went back for the Flash and Trash with Michael and Poppy where we picked up a couple more moves for our swing. The instructors for both classes were very good and we really enjoyed them. We always like a good swing.

Back in the Saddle(shoes)

We were out of commission most of January. First Doris had a cold and then I had one. We did go out a couple of times but missed out on some dancing so we wouldn't be spreading germs.

We attempted to make up for it this past weekend. We were invited by some friends to go out with a group on Friday night. There were about 10 couples. Most of them we had seen at different venues. We also got invited by Joy and Tony to go to the Fort Myers Officer Club on Saturday night. We had a good dinner both nights and got in some dancing.

On Sunday morning, we redeemed the coupon we won at the Sock Hop for a free dance lesson. We met Cookie at a local studio and she showed us some Country Two-Step. Every once in a while you hear a song that will fit and it's good to be prepared. In the afternoon we went to the Candy Factory for the 1st Sunday dance at 4:00 pm. We really got in some dancing this weekend. After the Candy Factory, a group of us went to dinner.

During dinner I had one of those "It's a small world" moments. I was speaking to a gentleman sitting next to me and found out he had retired from the Army also. We got to comparing notes and he had been my company commander when I was a student at the Computer Programming School located at Fort Benjamin Harrison back in 1979-80. That's such a long time ago that I don't really remember. Of course, the only time a student ever got to see the Commander was when he was in trouble. I managed to avoid that.

New Year 2009

We celebrated with friends at the O Club for New Year's Eve again this year. We dined with Janet, Jeff, Joy, and Tony. There were lots of folks there that we see around at various dance venues. The band was Special Delivery. They had a 5 piece ensemble and played very well. We got there about 7:30, the dancing started at 8:00 and continued to 1:00 AM. We had to dance a lot to work off the cheesecake we had for dessert.

We had a pretty good year dance-wise. We got to Buenos Aires for a 2 week vacation and got to work on our Argentine Tango. We also got a lot of dance shoes there. We went with friends to a "Dirty Dancing" weekend at the Mountain Lake resort in southwest Virgina. We joined the Elks Lodge which along with a lot of charitable activities, have numerous dances throughout the year. We've kept up our dance lessons with Richard at Studio One.

So, with the economy spiraling down the sewer pipes and wars that never seem to end, keep you head up, dance frame locked, watch your step, and keep on dancing. There are always more dance steps to learn.