Rhumba Dervish

Heroes & Villains Ball

2011-03-20T17:00:00.002-04:00

Last night we joined Kathy and Randy for the 12th Annual American Red Cross Ball. The theme for this ball was Hero's and Villains. We didn't get any costumes ourselves but we did see a lot of Captain America and Super Woman.

The band was the Fabulous Bel Airs. We've heard them before and they put on a great show. There were a lot of swings and hustles, but they played a variety of other styles too. This was a well attended event at the Heritage Hunt Club. Dancing is the best way I know of to give to a worthy cause.

Swingin' Band

2011-03-20T16:50:00.002-04:00

Friday we danced to the Mount Vernon Swing Band at the Holin Hall Senior Center. This is a great band like the big bands of the swing era. They have an extensive song list and play different tunes each time we see them. Not only do they play a lot of different songs, they play them all well.

Janet and Jeff joined us at the dance. This was their first time at Holin Hall. The band plays on the third Friday of most months. They are starting to get a large following at Holin Hall. I guess the word is getting out. The price is right too. It's only $4 to dance from 7:30 to 9:30 PM.

Tango Buenos Aires

2011-03-04T07:21:00.003-05:00

We went with Kathy and Randy to a terrific tango show at the Hylton Performing Arts Center last night. It was titled "Tango Buenos Aires Fire and Passion of Tango." This was the first time we had gone to the new Hylton Performing Arts Center. It's a very impressive venue. We're glad to have another place where we can enjoy live theater and other performances.

The Tango Buenos Aires dance company has been touring since 1987, traveling throughout the Americas, Europe and the Far East. We always enjoy the music of Argentine Tango. This company has a 5 piece ensemble with the piano, guitar, violin, double bass, and of course the bandoneon. It also features 5 couples who can really kick up their heels. We have seen several tango shows at the Lisner Auditorium and in Buenos Aires. This show definitely had all the precision and excitement of any that we have seen.

Officers Club

2011-03-03T18:16:00.004-05:00

Last night we enjoyed an evening of dancing and dining at the O Club on Ft Belvior. The band was Night Watch. They play a lot of swings, foxtrots and ballads. The O Club has a buffet dinner and dancing from 1800-2100 (6-9 PM) every Wednesday. It has gotten to be our regular date night and we are there almost every week. Sharon and Paul joined us and we had a good time.

Forever Dancing

2011-02-28T17:30:00.005-05:00

Last night we went to a studio called Forever Dancing off Seminary Road in Falls Church. This studio is operated by Jennifer and Fabio Bonini. They are spectacular dancers, and are also a couple of the nicest people around. We've taken an Argentine Tango Workshop from them and like to go to their studio. It is spacious and has an excellent floor.

They have a milonga on Sundays and frequently treat their guests with live music. Last night they featured Emmanuel Trifilio, who plays a bandoneon. We always enjoy spending an evening dancing the Argentine Tango. It makes it extra special to have good, live music.

A Busy Weekend

2010-09-19T15:43:00.002-04:00

We began the weekend Friday night by going to the Hollin Hall Senior Center to listen to the Mount Vernon Swing Band. We always enjoy their music. One of the things we really like is that they don't play the same songs over and over. They play at Hollin Hall every other month. Every time they have a completely different play list. I don't know of any other band that has such an extensive song list.

Last night we had the first dance of the season with the Regal Dinner and Dance Club. This was a formal dance at the Country Club of Fairfax. It's always fun to get dressed up and go dancing. The Regal has 7 dances this year, all at the CCF. There are 5 that are formal and 2 that are Tea dances.

Tonight we are visiting Kathy and Randy. Their clubhouse is having a Polka night. We're looking forward to lost of good German food and working off the calories to an Om-Pa band.

New Season with the Friday Nighters Dance Club

2010-09-12T10:55:00.003-04:00

We belong to the Friday Nighters Dance Club. The dance season started this month. We hold our dances on the 2nd Friday of each month from September through June at the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church. The music is provided by the Family Band.

I was elected as Vice President this year. This means I get to help set up and clean up the dances. We have a pretty good group of members and most everyone pitches in for a turn. I figure if I'm going to join a club I owe it to myself to participate. It's been my experience that the more I contribute, the more I get out of a club.

We're looking forward to another season of dancing.

Milonga at Freedom Plaza

2010-09-06T12:09:00.006-04:00

It was a beautiful evening last night and we took full advantage of it by going downtown to Freedom Plaza for the Milonga a la Libertad. There was a good crowd and we saw a couple of people that we know. The schedule of Argentine Tango events around the area is maintained by the Capital Tanqueros. This is a Milonga that is held every Sunday evening during the summer. The calendar goes through the first Sunday in October at this point. There won't be many Sundays left before the season is over. We hope the weather holds so we can enjoy the dancing as many times as possible.

Freedom Plaza is located on Pennsyvania Avenue between the Reagan Building and the National Theatre. It's adjacent to Pershing Park and just a few blocks from the White House. The western end of the plaza contains a large fountain, while the eastern end contains an equestrian statue of Kazimierz Pułaski, a Polish soldier who saved the life of George Washington and became a general in the Continental Army. There’s also a giant stone map of the District of Columbia, as designed by Pierre L'Enfant.

The Plaza doesn't have the best dance surface. It's granite with inscriptions chisled into the surface. We've had a time trying to find the best kind of shoes to wear on the Plaza. We ended up each having a pair made especially with Freedom Plaza in mind when we went to Buenos Aires a couple of years ago.

The video was taken using my phone. It is facing the fountain and I hope it gives an idea about the dancing. I apologize for the poor video quality.

Dirty Dancing: Limited Keepsake Edition

2010-05-09T10:56:00.002-04:00

This is great! The Washington Post has reported that a new version of Dirty Dancing is out on DVD. The timing is wonderful. We are going with friends to our 4th Dirty Dancing weekend at the Mountain Lake Hotel in late June. I ordered the DVD right away so we should get it in time to study for the trivia contest.

The Dirty Dancing weekends start with dinner and then dancing on Friday night. Saturday is a full day of activities. After breakfast, there is a tour of the places where scenes were filmed. Then there is the trivia contest in the Activities Barn. We actually were at the table that won 3 years running. Steve jinxed us last year by bragging. After lunch, instructors from a local dance studio offer group and private dance lessons. They also perform a showcase after dinner featuring dances from the movie. Then the floor is open for everyone to dance to songs from the movie played by a DJ.

Jen Chaney made a mistake in her article for the Post. Baby (real name Frances) didn't dance the merengue with Johnny. She danced the merengue with Mrs. Silverman during a class in the gazebo. Mrs. Silverman was the pickpocket that got Johnny fired. Baby and Johnny danced the mambo at the neighboring Sheldrake Hotel after Penny (Johnny's regular partner) couldn't.

You remember all this right? If not; go watch the movie.

Argentine Tango

2010-04-18T18:42:00.004-04:00

We've been hooked on Argentine Tango for the last couple of years. Of all the types of dances that we've been exposed to over those years, Argentine Tango has been both the most challenging and the most rewarding. All dancing is a special way of communicating with your partner. You are together there in the moment talking back and forth without speaking. Argentine Tango is so much improvisation that it brings that communion between partners to another level. The dance and the music are inseparable and both evoke passion. I remember a great line from the movie Take The Lead when tango is described at "sex on hardwood".

We saw our first tango show and took our first lessons in 2006. We started taking regular private lessons from the Tango Duos the following year. Along with our lessons we found venues like Freedom Plaza where we could practice. We've found that we only get our money's worth with our lessons if we practice, practice, practice. We had already set our sights on going to Buenos Aires someday and wanted to know the dance.

We finally made it to Argentina in June of 2008. We were there for 2 weeks and really had a great time. The only hiccup was that we discovered in the Milongas as they are danced in Buenos Aires, they don't dance quite the same Argentine Tango as is generally taught in the States. What is taught in the US are styles like Tango Nuevo, Salon, and Fantasia. These are generally very energetic with a lot of kicks and turns. The Milongas in Argentina tend to be very crowded. There isn't room for large movements so the Milongero style is more subtle. It was such a pleasure to watch the dance that matched the music so well. We were determined to find someone who could teach us the Milongero style of Argentine Tango. We tried a couple of teachers and things just never worked out.

We recently found a teacher who understands what we want and who we are compatible with. We're taking instruction more in technique than specific steps or dances. We've been taking lessons long enough that we have a lot of steps. While we will never be competitive dancers, we still want to improve our dancing technique. A lot of what we are learning now is applicable to not only Argentine Tango but the other dances that we know.

The journey is the destination.

Pablo Veron Argentine Tango Workshops

2010-04-18T09:03:00.008-04:00

We had an opportunity yesterday to take 2 workshops from Pablo Veron. The first workshop was in Vals, a type of Argentine Tango that has a 3-count beat much like a Waltz. The second workshop was in Milonga. A Milonga can describe either a dance event or something that 2 people can dance at an event. The Milonga is an Argentine Tango with a very snappy beat. The steps have a lot of syncopation and everything moves very quickly.

Pablo Veron is internationally known for his Tango and teaches around the world. He also starred and danced in the movie "The Tango Lesson". We felt extraordinarily fortunate to get into his workshops. The workshops were great in that they reminded us of things that we had forgotten in these forms of Argentine Tango.

To top the day off, Robert Duvall and his wife hosted a Milonga at their farm in The Plains, Virginia. The Milonga was a charity event in support of The Knowledge is Power Program charter schools. KIPP is a network of free open-enrollment college preparatory public schools in under-resourced communities throughout the United States. The Milonga was held in the second story of the Duvall's barn . They have a great room with a lot of space. The room filled up quickly with a lot of Tanqueros showing their moves. It was clear that Mr. Duvall and his wife enjoy the dance also.

We had a really great time.

Connections

2010-04-12T17:58:00.006-04:00

I've heard it said there are 4 connections involved when dancing Tango. There's the connection to your partner, the connection to the music, the connection to the floor and the connection to the other dancers. We got to practice all these connections when we went to an Argentine Tango workshop at Glen Echo Park held by Sharna Fabiano and Korey Ireland of Tango Mercurio.

We made a day of it with our friends, Janet and Jeff. We went to brunch at the Ft Belvoir Officers Club. We usually go there to dance. It is a little hard to do on a Sunday when they put the steam tables on the dance floor. I hope they get up the syrup I spilled before Wednesday. (Just kidding. I have more respect for a dance floor than that.)

We had our lessons in the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park. The weather was perfect and the Spanish Ballroom has one of the best floors around. There was a Basics for Elegant Tangos lesson at 1:00. This was followed by a Variations for Playful Tangos at 2:00. They had a Pre-dance Intro Lesson at 3:00 with a Milonga at 3:30. All in all, we got about 4 hours of Tango in. The lessons were great. They really emphasized the musicality of dancing Tango and the connections. I think the thing that I enjoyed the most was that they brought their own orchestra. The Community Tango Orchestra is a volunteer organization lead by Korey Ireland who is not only a tango instructor but also an accomplished musician and the orchestra's director. The beautiful music, great instruction and wonderful venue really made the day something to remember.

Technology and Me

2010-04-09T17:00:00.002-04:00

I've been working with computers for decades. You'd think that I would have a better relationship with pieces of technology than I do. Do you remember the Twilight Zone episode where machines were taking over, bent on destroying mankind? I think there may be some truth to that story.

The other day we had some power outages. It got unseasonably warm and everyone turned on the AC at one time. That and a transformer blew out. It took a while for the electricity to come back on and stay on. It kept going out for a few moments then coming back on just long enough to go around and reset all the clocks before going out again. We thought it was on for good by the time we went to bed but it must have gone out again during the night. I went down to the kitchen to get some breakfast to find that the coffee hadn't started and the pot was flashing "12:00". I figured that I would just start it up and start setting clocks again. No such luck. With this model of coffeepot the time has to be set to get it to work at all. I had never set the time on the coffeepot. Doris usually gets this job. It turns out that there is a trick to it. One that I couldn't figure out, especially since I hadn't gotten my morning shot of caffeine yet. I messed around for a few minutes, pushing buttons and trying to coax it to give me some much needed coffee. I finally gave up and set the kettle on to boil so I could make some instant coffee.

I then turned to the microwave to heat up my bowl of oatmeal. It must have been designed by the coffeepot maker. I couldn't get it to go until after I had set the time. I'm already frustrated and cranky with being defeated by the coffeepot. I'm pushing buttons on the front of the microwave trying to set the time, not getting very far. It starts beeping at me and "CHILD" is displayed on the LED panel.

It's bad enough that the stupid technology won't work when I want it too. It didn't have to insult me, too.

Dancing at Hollin Hall

2010-01-16T17:13:00.002-05:00

A couple that we know from the Friday Nighter's Dance Club, Robbie and Alan, told us that a great band was playing at the Hollin Hall Senior Center. The band was the Mount Vernon Swing Band. We decided to try it out and were glad that we did.

Hollin Hall has fairly large dance floor in what used to be a grade school cafeteria. The band was set up in a corner and even though it is a good sized band there was still plenty of room to move. They played a selection of Swing and Foxtrot with a few Latin tunes thrown in for good measure.

Skinifatz Nightspot

2010-01-03T09:36:00.004-05:00

We saw an acquaintance of ours at the Dance Factory on Christmas Day. He told us that he occasionally goes to Skinifatz for dancing on Friday and Saturday nights. Skinifatz is a local night spot that is affiliated with the Lazy Susan Dinner Theatre. Both of these establishments are close to home and have been fixtures of the area for quite some time. We first went to a play at the Lazy Susan for our 4 year wedding anniversary. The last time we went there for a play was our 34th wedding anniversary.

The best way to improve dance skills is to practice. Jodi, our instructor when we started taking dance lessons, encouraged her students to get out and dance. We decided to take a group lesson at Skinifatz. On Tuesdays, they had a beginning and intermediate lesson followed by open dancing. We had only just started dance lessons and hadn't realized that the Waltz is a moving dance. Nor did we have a clue about line of dance. (On a moving dance, dancers all move counter-clockwise around the floor. This helps couples avoid bumping into each other.) At that point we were only up to the basic box in the Waltz. After the lessons we went out on the floor to put our dance lessons to use and promptly got run off the floor. I can imagine what the more experienced dancers thought of us rank amateurs doing a box in the middle of traffic. The music started and we began our few faltering steps and then everyone seemed to be racing toward us from all different directions. I panicked and froze which made matters worse. We did make it off the dance floor without causing serious injury, other than to my pride. We haven't lost our amateur status, but I think our dancing is a little less rank.

We decided to try out Skinifatz again last night as we didn't have anything else scheduled. We met Sharon and Paul there to check the place out. We arrived about 6 PM and were the only people there besides the staff. They have a pretty good selection of appetizers and sandwiches so we ordered some dinner and enjoyed the fireplace. The fireplace is designed after the cooking fireplace at Monticello and held a good blaze that was appreciated on a cold winter night. The dance floor was all ours until 9 PM when the DJ showed up. In the mean time they had the sound system tuned to a radio station that did play music that we could dance to. All in all, we had a good time. It's always good to find another venue to dance at if the agenda on Saturday night is empty.

The New Year is Here

2010-01-01T18:55:00.003-05:00

I'm one of the people who subscribe to the opinion that it's not only the beginning of a new year, but also the beginning of a new decade. We brought in the new decade last night with friends. We spent the evening with Candy and Jerry and with Kathy and Randy. The community where Kathy and Randy call home has a club house and they put on a special do for New Year's Eve. We had a buffet dinner and DJ. The dance floor kept pretty crowded. I can't think of a better way to welcome the new decade.

Fun at the O Club

2009-12-30T21:46:00.004-05:00

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

2009-12-27T17:21:00.004-05:00

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

2009-06-21T10:26:00.007-04:00

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

2009-05-27T16:59:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-27T15:03:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-19T13:08:00.004-04:00

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

2009-04-06T11:55:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-03T15:34:00.004-04:00

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?

2009-04-02T11:54:00.006-04:00

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

2009-04-02T06:49:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-29T16:03:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-22T15:40:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-22T10:05:00.006-04:00

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

2009-02-15T10:13:00.004-05:00

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

2009-02-14T10:23:00.004-05:00

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

2009-02-08T21:32:00.003-05:00

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)

2009-02-02T17:28:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-02T07:18:00.004-05:00

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.

Christmas Gifts and Childhood Memories

2008-12-25T08:22:00.004-05:00

We received a most excellent gift for Christmas from my mom and dad this year. In our family it's tough to find presents for each other. We're dispersed around the country and don't see each other as much as we'd like.

This year Dad got us a coffee table book. This particular book is titled "Our Yellowstone" by Mark and Diana Treglown. It is a really beautiful pictorial of Yellowstone National Park. What makes it really special is that Diana Treglown is my sister. She has seen a lot of Yellowstone including parts that most tourists don't get to visit. She spent several years as a winter caretaker in West Yellowstone. That's about as close to the American wilderness as anyone can get these days.

It also brings back memories of my visits to Yellowstone as a kid growing up in Montana. Most years it seemed we went "back East" to the Chicago area to visit relatives. Sometimes we'd get visitors coming our way. I remember my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Rose bringing their family along with us to Yellowstone one year. I was only about 7 or 8 at the time; a long time ago. I remember seeing the geysers and a lot of wildlife. I especially remember a black bear coming through the campground and licking clean a cast iron skillet we had by the campfire.

Thanks Mom, thanks Dad, for the special gift.

Back in the Swing

2008-12-24T13:21:00.002-05:00

We missed out on dancing for a couple of weeks. First, I was out of town and then I was under the weather. I got back home and am feeling better so we are getting back to our usual haunts. We went to the O Club last Wednesday and to the Studio One Christmas Party on Friday night. We also had a Christmas Ball at the Elk's Lodge on Saturday and went to the Rec Center to practice on Sunday. Some people go to the gym for exercise; we go dancing.

Support Your Local Dance Studio

2008-11-25T21:33:00.007-05:00

We went to the practice session a the Dale City Rec Center on Sunday afternoon. We hadn't been able to go as much as we like lately. The Redskins' games keep getting in the way. The game Sunday was in Seattle so we recorded it and watched it later. We won; Go 'Skins!

We had heard that there is a new manager at the Rec Center who is looking hard at attendance to see what programs can be cut. We went Sunday not only because we need the practice, but also hoping they don't cut the practice session. It is good to have somewhere to practice that is larger than our living room. Latin and Swing steps are fine, but there isn't enough room for moving dances.

On Monday night we had our regular lesson with Richard. We didn't learn any new steps; we just reviewed a couple that we have been working on. Richard generally puts on a couple of songs that we warm up with. Then he asks if we have any questions about the steps we are learning. We have a new step called the Cha-Cha Circles that's a real challenge. First of all, it's an 8 measure step. Doris says that I have trouble with anything that counts past 4. It also needs an assertive lead from the gentleman. I'm still trying to get my footwork down, so I am having trouble with the lead. I can't figure out what to do with my hands until after my feet know the step.

The other dance we worked on is the Samba. We're still on the first half of the Bronze syllabus with the Samba. We went over the Promanade Conversa and the Reverse Conversa. We're still trying to get the basic movements down. Samba has a lot of Latin motion. I'm not sure I'll ever get it right. Or, if I get it right, I'll probably throw my back out. Anyway the lessons with Richard are always a lot of fun and he's patient with us.

Night Club 2 Step

2008-11-18T21:49:00.003-05:00

Tonight we finished a 5 week class on the Night Club 2 Step. This class was taught by Cookie at the Center for the Arts in the old Candy Factory in Manassas. The 2 Step is a good dance for those ballads and slow songs where a Foxtrot just doesn't fit. We got to see Janet and Jeff who were also taking this class.

There was an interesting photo exhibit in the foyer of the theater/dance hall. It is titled "Reality Imagined" by Laurie Sand. It is a photographic exhibit inspired by tanqueros who dance milongas at Freedom Plaza in DC. These images are captured in low light situations using hand held camera techniques and digital processing. We especially found these photos intriguing as we love Argentine Tango and have danced at Freedom Plaza. These pictures are a wonderful collection that really capture the movement and beauty of Tango.

Halloween Weekend

2008-11-04T09:43:00.005-05:00

We started the weekend on Friday night, joining our friends at Studio One for a Halloween party. I dusted off my 1970's leisure suite and Doris had a new "cat suit" for the occasion. I think the addition of the wig really set off the leisure suit.

On Saturday, we went to another Halloween Dance at the Elk's Lodge. There are a great group of folks at the lodge, many of whom can really shake a leg. Dinner was at 7:00 and dancing started at 8:30. The band was named Napoli and played very well.

Sunday, we went up to Heritage Hunt to meet friends at the clubhouse for a practice session from 4:00 to 6:00. There were just 4 couples on the floor so there was plenty of room.

Monday, we took off from work to watch the Redskins lose to the Steelers. They should have a rule that they have to win at every home game. It's a lot more fun that way. This was our first night game. It started at 8:30 and we got home about 1:45 this morning.

I took the day off from work today to go vote. According to the Washington Post, Obama is going to win. In 16 of the last 17 presidential elections, the incumbent party kept the White House when the Redskins won their final home game before the election. Hail to the Redskins!

Sock Hop

2008-10-26T09:05:00.010-04:00

We have been taking lessons on the Night Club 2 Step from Cookie at the Candy Factory for the last couple of weeks. The Candy Factory has a variety of group classes and Cookie is one of their regular instructors. She is currently having an 8 week session on beginning Swing and Night Club 2 Step. Last night we attended a Sock Hop from 8 to 10 PM at the Candy Factory that was set up so students could practice their new steps.

The Candy Factory has a real nice dance floor with plenty of room to shake a leg. They had a snack stand in the back that was serving finger foods and ice cream sundaes. There was good attendance at this dance but still space to dance. We saw some old friends including Janet and Jeff. Elvis took time off from his job at the 7-Eleven in Vegas to make an appearance. Our friend Stella was showing him some of her steps.

We got to practice the Night Club 2 Step and picked up the steps for The Stroll. There was a dance contest where Kathy and Randy picked up First Prize. There was also a contest for the best costume where I picked up top honors. Many thanks to Henry for the loan of his hat. I think that was what made the difference. Kathy and Randy did a short exposition on Swing. They really enjoy dancing and it shows.

Ouch, That One Hurt

2008-10-13T09:40:00.003-04:00

We had a good time dancing over the weekend. Friday we went to the practice dance party at Studio One. There was a pretty good crowd, but there were more ladies in attendance than gentlemen. On nights like that I make sure I dance with my regular partner each kind of dance at least once. I also try to dance with each lady during the evening. I've gone alone to dances before and know that it is a lot more fun if everyone gets to dance. That's one of the good things about Studio One. The regulars all seem to realize this and try to make sure that dancers who come as a single get to dance too.

Saturday, we went to hear Helmut Licht at the Elks Lodge. Helmut's band always puts on a good performance and we really enjoy their music. The Elk's were having an Oktoberfest Dance so we got to practice our Polka along with the regular Ballroom Dances. We sat with a group we know from the O Club, had a nice dinner and a lot of dancing.

What hurt was the Redskins game yesterday. The only precision on the field was provided by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team at half time. The Redskins have a bad habit of coming back from winning against a tough team only to lose against a lesser ranked team. I hope that Coach Zorn can turn them around. There was that one incredible play that had everyone in the stands looking at each other saying "What the heck just happened?". I didn't figure it out until I read the paper this morning. The Redskins Quarterback tried to pass; the ball was batted out of the air by the Rams; a Redskins Guard caught it and tried to run with it; he got tackled and fumbled it; the Rams picked the ball up and ran 75 yards for a touchdown. All I knew at the time was the ball was snapped, something happened around the line of scrimmage; and the Rams were running it into the endzone right below us.

Another Week of Dancing

2008-09-27T08:57:00.005-04:00

We started on Monday with our lesson at Studio One. We spent most of the hour reviewing a figure called Spot Turn with Under Arm Turn in Waltz. It's one that we thought we had but parts of it kept escaping. As we go through the syllabus, the steps get more complicated and take more floorspace to execute. Besides that, I have a mind like a steel sieve. We could tell that something was going wrong because after doing this figure we'd be off the beat. Richard quickly diagnosed the problem and we worked on correcting it. Then we spent a little time on a Rhumba step that Richard introduced us to recently; the Open Cross Over. This one is eight measures long and uses advanced timing. We've seen advanced timing in Rhumba before. However, on this figure the advanced timing doesn't start until measure 4.

Tuesday, Doris joined the Elks Lodge. I had never realized that Elks were party animals. We have a whole new calendar of dances to attend.

Wednesday, we have a standing date at the Officer's Club on Ft Belvoir. We always reserve a table for 4 in case someone we know can make it. This week we dined and danced with Joy and Tony. It was one of those times when you look at your watch at the end of the evening and wonder where the time went.

Thursday, we practiced in our living room. A couple of years ago we got rid of the furniture and had the floor refinished so we could have room to dance. The room is much more functional now. We use it a lot more as a dance studio than we ever did as a living room.

Last night we went to the Dance Party at Studio One. Most of the regulars were there. We had more ladies than gentlemen but we swap around so that everyone gets to dance. Dancing with other partners really helps me improve my leads. I can cheat with Doris because she can read my mind.

We may go down to Strictly Ballroom tonight. They have a 70's Disco Party and a group lesson on the Hustle. I haven't worn my leisure suit in a while. It's hard to dance in those platform shoes.

We are torn about what to do on Sunday. We can either watch the Redskins beat Dallas on TV or tape the game and go to the practice at the Dale City Recreation Center.

Another Win

2008-09-23T05:12:00.004-04:00

We got to see the Redskins win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The Redskins pulled out a win even though we were robbed of a touchdown because of a penalty for "unnecessary roughness". I thought that unnecessary roughness was the whole point of football.

Going to the game is an all day affair. We drive up to the Springfield Metro station to catch the Blue Line. We stay on the same train through the Virginia suburbs, across DC and into Maryland. The Metro ride last about an hour and twenty minutes. Then we hike up to FEDEX Field and across the parking lot to the Extreme Skins tailgate party. Total trip time is about 2 hours. It's worth it to see the Redskins win. The tailgate party is a lot of fun too. There is usually a good crowd even at the pre-season games.

Chief Zee usually shows up at the tailgate party. He's a big time fan and we've seen him at the games several times. We were glad to hear that his tomahawk was returned.

Weekend Dancing

2008-09-21T07:04:00.003-04:00

We started our weekend dancing at Studio One. I can't think of a better way to make a clean break between the work week and the weekend than going dancing. Studio One has a practice dance every Friday night from 9:00 to 11:00. There was a pretty good crowd this week. This was the Friday we celebrated birthdays for September. Studio One is a good place for singles to dance. Richard encourages swapping partners (on the dance floor). This way the gentleman gets to practice his leading skills with dancers other than his regular partner. The other benefit is that when someone attends without a partner, they still get in some dancing.

Last night we attended a Ball for the Elks' Auxiliary at the Elks Arlington-Fairfax lodge. We had recently been invited to join the lodge and this was our first social function there. There were cocktails at 6:00 followed by dinner at 7:00. After a short program the dancing started around 8:00. We danced to the music of the Joe Shelko band. We have heard them before and they play very well. We saw a lot of familiar faces at the dance from both the Officer's Club at Ft. Belvoir and the Regal Dinner and Dance Club. We had to leave at 11:00 so we could get up early for the Redskins game today.

First Regular Season Game

2008-09-16T19:46:00.003-04:00

We had a good time on Sunday, even if we didn't go dancing. We went to the Redskin's first regular season game. It really is a lot more fun when your team actually wins. We got to watch the winning touchdown come into the end zone right below our seats, too. So, the Skins beat the Saints 29 to 24, pulling it out during the last quarter.

Part of the fun in going to the game is the tailgate party. We take the Metro to the game, so we can't take much in the way of refreshments. However, the walk to the stadium helps work up an appetite. This game the big attraction was a hot dog eating contest. The picture shows the action, fast and furious. The winner got 12 dogs down in the time limit. He did pretty good, he even kept them down.

Unsolicited Advice

2008-09-13T17:52:00.003-04:00

I don't like getting unsolicited advice, so I have a rule that I never give any. However, since rules are made to be broken, here is some unsolicited advice to anyone considering taking ballroom dance lessons.

The first piece of advice is to figure out why you want to learn to dance. Is someone you care about getting married and you want to do more than the "high school shuffle" at the happy event? Are you looking for a hobby that helps you stay fit and is a lot more fun than calisthenics? We just wanted to be credible when we went somewhere there was dancing. We started dance lessons because my wife had always been interested in learning ballroom dance but the opportunity never really presented itself. She tried to find a studio to take lessons when she was a kid, but there just weren't any ballroom studios in Boise, Idaho during the 70's. She was looking through the catalog from the County Recreation Center a few years ago and saw that they offered ballroom dance lessons on a night we weren't doing anything anyway and they were relatively inexpensive. She wanted to go and I couldn't think of a real good argument for not going, so she signed us up. These were group classes that were held once a week at the local recreation center.

My second piece of advice is to look around for the studio and instructor that fits you. We started with group classes to learn the basics, but after a while we felt that we needed more individual attention to get to the level of proficiency that we wanted. We wanted to add to dance steps we had already learned so we found a studio that did both group and private lessons. We would go to the group lessons to pick up new steps and work with our instructor to polish what we had learned. This did build up the number of dance steps we knew rather quickly. We left that studio because of traffic and rising gas prices. One night we were scheduled to go to a group class and traffic was so bad we arrived just in time for the class to be over. We went looking for a studio that was closer to home and easier to get to. We found the studio where we currently take lessons. Our instructor is very patient and has a lot of experience both with dancing and with instructing. This is something else we have found when we have taken lessons from different instructors. Just because someone knows how to dance, doesn't mean they know how to teach. Our instructor has seen all of the mistakes that we make many times before. He is adept at being able to explain what we are doing wrong. If he sees that we just aren't getting it, he tells us in another way. If you are looking around you will find dancers who try to teach and less often dancers who can teach. It is pretty rare to find a teacher who is an expert dancer and can break down the steps in a variety of ways depending on how the student learns.

The third piece of unsolicited advice is to practice. Early on we could tell the couples who took the lesson and didn't practice the whole week until the next class. They would take up time in the class going over the last lesson. If you're spending money and time taking lessons, don't waste it by not practicing. We take our lessons on Monday night. We generally practice on Tuesday, go out dancing on Wednesday, practice on Thursday, go out dancing on Friday and Saturday night, then go to a practice session at the Recreation Center on Sunday afternoon. OK, so we tend to go overboard. Some people go to the gym; we go dancing. It gets worse. So that we had enough room at home to practice we got rid of all the furniture in the living room, tore up the carpet and refinished the floor. When we started we used to practice on the deck, much to the amusement of the neighbors.

Take Abbey Road to Harris Pavilion

2008-08-24T11:43:00.003-04:00

Last night we went to the last dance offered by the Harris Pavilion this year. We haven't been able to go to many of the dances offered this summer by the Harris Pavilion. We like going because they usually book some great bands and it's free. The band last night was Abbey Road. They play a lot of the Beatles' music and really put on a good show.

Abbey Road plays a good selection of songs that let us practice different dances. We got to dance the Rhumba, Cha-Cha, and of course Swing. There was a good turnout at the dance. We saw some people we knew from various dance venues, including Kathy and Randy.

The Lake that Wasn't There

2008-08-17T21:53:00.004-04:00

We had a very busy day yesterday. Since it was almost all about dancing, it was all good. We had breakfast on the patio. This is the same area that the Houseman's had breakfast when Baby's father told them they were going home early. We had a great view of the front lawn and where the lake used to be. The weather has been very good this year. It was mostly sunny and warm during the day and cooled off nicely in the evening.

Later in the morning, we went on the tour of the grounds. I think that there were more people taking the tour this year than last. We went from the front of the hotel to the cabin where Baby's family stayed. Then we went to the gazebo where several scenes were shot. Who can forget the one where Baby told off her father. After that went back to the hotel to go through the dining room and out to the kitchen. Everyone had to get their picture taken in the same spot where Baby found Penny crying. At the rear of the hotel the chef told us some of his stories from when the movie was made. He had worked at Mountain Lake that year. He told us about the time he gave Patrick "Buddy" Swayze a ride down the mountain on his motorcycle one night.

After the tour we proceeded directly to the Activities Barn for the Dirty Dancing Trivia Contest. I am happy to report that we were at the winning table the second year in a row. The contest is a group effort. It is very similar to BINGO, but called DANCE. The emcee called out a number and a letter then give a question about the movie. We would write the answer in a block on the answer sheet. We had one row almost filled when they asked what song was playing when Baby and Johnny were dancing on the log. It had us all stumped for a while. Kathy and Randy came to our rescue when they remembered "Hey Baby" by Bruce Channel for the win.

After lunch we went with Sharon and Paul to see what was left of the lake. The tour guide earlier told us that the reason the lake had all but disappeared was that they haven't had any snow for the past 5-6 years. So the boat dock was high and dry. The sign with the Rules of the Water looked kind of out of place since there was no water.

Later in the afternoon we headed back to the Activities Barn for some group dance lessons. A group of instructors from the Sapphire Ballroom and Dance Center gave lessons on meringue, foxtrot, and mambo. It's always good to review the basics. I picked up a new step in the meringue and a pointer on technique in the mambo. And it is always fun to dance.

After dinner we were back in the Activities Barn for the show and more dancing. We got there early to get a good table. We managed to get our lucky table from the trivia game. The DJ was warming up so we took advantage of the empty floor to get warmed up ourselves. The show started at 8:30 with the group from the Sapphire dancing selections from the movie. Like the show last year it was choreographed and executed very well. At the conclusion of the show the DJ cranked it up again and we danced until they shut down at 11:00.

After such a busy, but enjoyable day we slept like logs. We went down fairly early for breakfast and met Kathy and Randy going into the dining room. So we had a nice breakfast together again on the patio.

We made good time driving home. We took the Interstate to Charlottesville then went up Route 29. The weather was pretty much perfect as it had been all weekend.

Good accommodations, good friends, and good dancing. We truly had "the time of our lives."

Dirty Dancing at Mountain Lake 2

2008-08-16T08:51:00.005-04:00

We enjoyed our "Dirty Dancing" weekend at the Mountain Lake Hotel so much last year that we decided to do it again. We had spoken about our plans to some of our friends that also dance and we ended up a group of us here. With us this weekend are Kathy and Randy, Sharon and Paul, along with Joy and Tony. It's great to be able to share good times.

We left home fairly early and took the scenic route down Route 29. We made a stop at the Burnley Winery. We hadn't been there for several years, but always remember their Spicy Rivanna as one of our favorite wines. The weather was good although we did get a little rain along the way.

We checked into the hotel about 4:00. Everyone had arrived by dinner time. We were seated next to a picture window and were treated with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains complete with a rainbow. There was a bird feeder on the lawn outside the window and several pretty yellow birds who must have had dinner reservations the same time as us.

The dancing began at 8:00 in the Activities Barn. The hotel had put in a new wooden floor since last year. There was a DJ who played all the favorites from the movie along with a good mix of other music. Everyone was having a such a good time that the DJ went over the allotted time so we danced until 11:00.

We slept real well last night.

Redskins Fever

2008-08-10T13:27:00.005-04:00

I know this has little to do with dancing except the occasional touchdown dance in the end zone. But, we finally came up to the top of the list for Redskins season tickets. We have been on the list for 7 years. When we put our names on the list we were somewhere around number 122,000. As you can see in the photo above, we are in the "nosebleed" section near the top behind one of the goal posts. Our seats are way up there but we can see everything.

We went to our first game yesterday complete with a tailgate party beforehand. We've both signed up on the Redskins Fan site. Members of the site were invited to party in the parking lot. We drove up to Springfield to catch the Metro. We went from one end of the Blue Line to the other which took about an hour and 20 minutes. It is about a mile from the Morgan Boulevard Metro stop to FEDEX field. Then we wandered around the parking lot for a while before we found the section where the ExtremeSkins were having the party.

It was a good party and we were made welcome even though we were newcomers. There was a lot of food and plenty to drink.

Best of all we got to see the Redskins beat the Bills 17 to 14. The biggest HD television in the world can't match being in the stands to see the action.

Double Header

2008-07-27T11:37:00.003-04:00

Friday night we did a double header. We went first to the Officer's Club on Ft Belvoir to enjoy their seafood buffet and music by Special Delivery. We were seated at a table close to the dance floor so we didn't have to go far when some good dancing music was played. After that we went to Studio One for the Friday night practice. There's always a good selection of dance music there. We were also treated to an exhibition of the samba routine that Laurie and Richard have put together for the showcase a Lioudmila's this weekend.

We slept well Friday night after dancing for the better part of 4 hours.

Adios Argentina

2008-06-27T16:30:00.005-04:00

We are home safe and sound. It kind of feels like the day after Christmas when you wake up to an empty tree. All the anticipation is over. We got on the plane about 9:00 yesterday evening and got into Dulles about 7:00 this morning. A very long flight.

We spent the morning of our last day packing. We went out to lunch and decided to go back for one more pair of shoes. They already have our measurements so we only had to pick out the type of leather and color. They will be ready on the 10th of July and will be shipped to us. We met a nice couple from Boston who were in Buenos Aires on a 3 week shoe shopping holiday. They gave me a lead on another cobbler who made custom shoes.

I'm really glad that I kept up this blog as a remembrance of our first trip to Argentina. It only covers a portion of the things we did. We kept so busy that there wasn't time to cover more than the highlights. We really enjoyed staying at Lina's Tango Guesthouse. Lina made us feel at home. We've already decided that we'll be going back. We are looking forward to staying with Lina again.

New Shoes

2008-06-26T14:58:00.003-04:00

We picked up our tango shoes yesterday. Doris had 4 pair made and I only had 2 pair. We tried them on and they fit well and looked great. After getting our shoes we got some lunch and went back downtown on the subway. There were some sites where we wanted to get more pictures. We came back to the hotel to say goodbye to Magda. She went back to Montreal yesterday.

We took the subway downtown to go to a tango practica or practice session later in the afternoon. This was our first experience with the subway during rush hour. Lots and lots of people use the subway here and they sure can pack them into the car. The real bad part was that we never did find the right address for the practica. When we got back Lina told us of another restaurant to try. We went to the Cafe San Juan and had the best meal of our stay. They do cook some good steaks here.

Another Tango Show

2008-06-25T19:00:00.004-04:00

We had another Tai Chi lesson yesterday followed by tour last Tango lesson with Pablo. We really got a lot out of our lessons with Pablo working on the milonga style of Argentine Tango.

In the afternoon, we took the subway up to the Plaza San Martin and took a stroll along the Calle de Florida. We are happy to report that capitalism is alive and well in Argentina. There are many high end stores and, of course, 3 or 4 McDonalds.

Later in the evening we enjoyed another Tango show. This was the El Querandi restaurant that featured a tango show that goes through the development of tango from its beginnings in the brothels of La Boca to its modern form.

City Tour

2008-06-24T18:03:00.013-04:00

We took a tour of the city Monday. Our guide was Regula the wife of Pablo, our tango instructor. It was great to take a tour with someone who was very knowledgeable of prominent sites and their history.

We began the tour by taking a city bus to Plaza de Mayo. The plaza is the historic core of the city and is the political heart of Argentina. It is bordered by government and public buildings including the Casa Rosada, the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Cabildo, which was the original seat of the city government. The Plaza de Mayo serves as a forum for demonstrations and protests. We saw parts of a demonstration last Wednesday. We were eating lunch in a local restaurant and saw crowds of people waving Argentinian flags and banging on drums as they marched toward Plaza de Mayo.

Following the Plaza de Mayo we went by taxi to the Cementario de la Recoleta. This is a unique cemetery that is like a city with small ornate houses and very quiet neighbors. There are about 4,800 vaults including those of many prominent figures of Argentine history such as Evita Peron.

After wandering Recoleta, we took another taxi around an area of the city known as Palermo Chico. There are many large mansions here that date from the end of the 19th century. Several of these are now foreign embassies.

We continued in the taxi to the Retiro Train Station. This station was built by British engineers at the end of the 19th century. It is quite impressive and still servers as a major commuter terminal coming into the city center.

We then went to Puerto Medero which is being developed into a commercial center. This was the major port for Buenos Aires until it proved too small to handle the large modern container ships. It was abandoned for several decades and is now enjoying a revival with many shops, hotels and office buildings being built.

We ended our tour at the La Boca district. La Boca was the main point of entry for immigrants at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Since there are no stones native to Buenos Aires immigrant houses were generally built of corrugated metal. Some of the original houses remain. Part of La Boca, El Caminito, has been developed into a tourist center with brightly colored shops along a pedestrian walkway.

Go To Market

2008-06-23T18:51:00.010-04:00

It was “go to market“ day yesterday. We went back to the San Telmo Market first. We thought we had covered it pretty well last weekend. But, we discovered that we had missed a lot of it. We´d seen the covered part which is open every day of the week. It is like a flea market complete with butcher shop and fruit stands. Last Sunday we had also gone to Plaza Dorrega and surrounding streets. There were a lot of handcrafted items and antiques.

Yesterday we found that the Plaza Dorrega is only one end of the market. There is a street called Defensa that borders Plaza Dorrega. We followed Defensa for block after block of handcrafted items, antiques and specialty stores.

Lina had told us of another street fair to go to in the Plaza Lisandro de la Torre. This one is across town in the Matederos district and took us 20 minutes by taxi to get there. This area seemed to be less frequented by tourists and catered more to the local population. There were a lot of handcrafted items related to the Pampas and gauchos. There was also live music with traditional dancing. We spent quite a while there watching the dancing and wandering the market.

Tigre Delta

2008-06-22T16:51:00.007-04:00

About 20 miles northeast of Buenos Aires is the Tigre River Delta. The delta is formed by the confluence of 5 rivers, where they flow from the Pampas to the Rio de la Plata. This marshy complex is full of silt and hundreds of tiny islands and is continuing to grow down the Rio de la Plata toward Buenos Aires. The Tigre Delta began development into a resort area in the 1870`s when the railroads were built.

Lina has a small house on one of the islands. She took us on a day trip for a picnic there yesterday. We took Lina`s car and a taxi to where she hires a boat to take her out to the island. We had to take the second vehicle as we had Magda and two new guests that had arrived yesterday. The new guests are friends and one lives in Brooklyn and the other on the Big Island of Hawaii. We stopped along the way to pick up a picnic lunch; a roast chicken, salad, and papas fritas (french fries).

We got on the boat and motored out to the island where Lina has her house. Many of the islands we passed had houses on them. We unloaded the boat and set up a table and chairs in the front yard. There were a couple of dogs who live on the island who joined us for lunch. They were pretty well mannered but eager to see what we brought to eat. We had a relaxing picnic with nice conversation and good food.

On the way back to Buenos Aires we stopped at a Panaderia that sold wonderful baked goods and coffee. The coffee here is very good. They serve it strong and very hot. We usually order cafe con leche (coffee with milk). This is about half coffee and half milk and tones the coffee down to what we are more used to. We got back to the hotel late in the afternoon. We had a few hours to rest before we went out dancing.

Club de Tango

2008-06-21T18:07:00.002-04:00

Doris had her first belly dance lesson yesterday. She got to do this one on her own. I have a bad back and the wrong gender to make some of those moves. Right after her lesson we had our third tango lesson with Pablo. We are not learning new steps from Pablo. He is working on basics and style with us.

In the afternoon we went with another guest to lunch. Magda is a student from Montreal taking a break before returning to work on her Masters in Anthropology. While we were eating lunch she mentioned that Lina had told her of a good place to buy tango music. Music is one of the things we wanted to get while we are here, so we asked if we could come along.

We weren't sure what to expect, but this was definitely not a Sam Goody. We took the subway to the downtown district. There were a lot of shops and many of them music related. We assumed that this shop would be a store front on the street.

Club de Tango is located in an office building on the 5th floor. We rang the bell on the office door and the lady that runs Club de Tango let us into a small office suite with 2 rooms. They must publish a periodic magazine as there were bundles of magazines stacked on shelves in the first room. There were also a display rack of tango records. These included 45's, LPs, and even Victrola records. Any other available space was covered with reproductions of tango sheet music covers.

We went through to the second room where the walls were covered with racks of CDs. I had no idea that there were so many artists playing tango. There were also books in a variety of languages about tango and DVDs of instruction and shows. We were fortunate that we were with Magda. She had been making a list of artists and songs that she heard on the radio that she liked. We followed her recommendations and purchased several CDs of tango music.

Subway Travel

2008-06-20T20:19:00.003-04:00

We had a rainy day yesterday. Generally, the weather has been fair and cool in the 50´s and 60´s. The first day of winter is tomorrow. We thought it was a good day to try the subway. There is a station just 2 blocks from the hotel. We took the subway down to a shopping mall. The Abesto Mall would be very familiar to anyone who has been to Springfield or Tysons Corners Mall. This mall is in the same area of town where we went to the tango show on Saturday. In the area around the mall are many shops that cater to the tango trade. Doris even got another pair of tango shoes.

The subway has 7 different lines, color coded like the Metro in DC. They radiate out from the government center. Tickets are purchased from a person not a machine as in DC. This is a definite improvement from the fare card machines we are subjected to. One other difference is that here you pay to get on the subway. On the Metro you pay to get off. The fare for both of us was under $3 pesos or under $1 US. We got a farecard that is fed into the turnstile like on the Metro. The car we were on looked more worn that the DC Metro. Lina told us that parts of the subway here date back from the early 1900´s. Some of those cars are still in use. We rode in one of those cars. It looked odd to have wooden paneling in a subway car. It´s like going back in time.

The cars were crowded, even midday on a Thursday. With the narrow one way streets and busy traffic in Buenos Aires, I can see that taking the subway is probably the best way to get around.

International Finance

2008-06-19T15:25:00.003-04:00

We had our second tango lesson with Pablo yesterday. We went out to lunch and back to the bank again later. Going to the bank didn´t take as long this time. We practiced our dancing later and went to a milonga in the evening. Lina invited her guests to have dinner with family and friends after the milonga. We had an excellent meal, a lot of great wine and an evening of interesting conversation.

We´ve learned a little bit about international finance on this trip. Before leaving we made sure we knew the PIN for our credit card. It´s also a good idea to check what extra charges the credit card company will impose for the exchange rate and what network they are on. We also notified the credit card company that we would be traveling. It wouldn´t be nice to have a card turned off this far from home.

We bought a little amount of pesos before we left for Argentina. We wanted enough for the taxi from the airport and anything that might come up before we could get to a bank. We were glad that we didn´t get a lot because the exchange rate is more favorable here. Credit cards are commonly used but it is good to have some cash.

So, we had some dollars that we wanted to exchange for Argentine pesos. Monday was a national holiday here so we had to wait until Tuesday for the bank to open. We don´t have a car here so we are getting around by shoe leather. The first bank we went to didn´t exchange money. They sent us down the street to another bank. At this bank there were several lines. We couldn´t tell which one we needed to be in. I stood in line and Doris went to see if it was the correct line. It wasn´t. We moved to the right line and when our turn came around we talked to a nice young lady who didn´t speak English. Since our Spanish is very poor, this presented a little challenge. We found out that we needed our passports to exchange money. We had photocopies of our passports, but that wouldn´t do. We walked back to the hotel to collect our passports and returned to the bank. While I got back into line again Doris went to try the ATM. The first credit card she tried didn´t have any indication which network to use. There were several options. Some obviously wouldn´t work for us like one named Uruguay. The first network she chose didn´t work. The instructions were in Spanish and seemed to lead her around in a circle that either came back to the start or spit her card back out at her with no money. She pulled out her backup credit card. It did say which network to use, so that one worked.

While Doris was going through this, I got through the line to speak to the nice young lady again. She entered some information from my passport into her computer and sent me to an even longer line. Doris soon joined me after winning at least a partial victory in her skirmish with the ATM. We finally got through the line, got our pesos, and were able to go get some lunch. Things would go so much easier if we could remember some of the Conversational Spanish class that we took.

Buying Tango Shoes

2008-06-18T13:20:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a busy day. We had a Tai Chi lesson in the morning. Then we had to go to the bank to exchange some dollars for pesos. This took a lot longer than we expected. After a late lunch, we went shopping for shoes. In the evening we had a light dinner and went with Lina and Wendy from South Africa, to a club called Jazz&Pop. Lina�s boyfriend was playing Argentine folk music that night. We went with Lina, Raul, and Wendy for drinks afterward.

We figured that the perfect souvenir from our trip would be to get some tango shoes from Buenos Aires. Lina sent us to a place where the shoes are custom made. We have very little Spanish. The salesgirl had very little English. There was a wide selection of options for the design of the shoes. It will be interesting to see what our shoes actually look like when they are ready.

We went into the store. It was a small shop with a small display of some shoes and a selection of ready made shoes. There was also a desk for the salesgirl and a bench for the clientele. First we were shown a book with photographs of various styles of shoes. We discussed at length different kinds of heels for ladies shoes. Our discussions involved much pointing at samples and hoping.

I picked out 2 shoe styles. Then I had to choose the color and type of leather for the uppers that I wanted. There were too many choices but I finally narrowed it down. Then I had to let the salesgirl know what I had decided. This involved more pointing and hoping. Then I had 3 choices for the heel that I liked. Finally, I had 2 choices for the sole leather. The soles here are different from the suede that we find on ballroom dance shoes. One was a dark almost suede. A little thicker but with some texture. The other was light in color and harder. We think that this sole will be good for the milonga on Freedom Plaza in DC. Now that these decisions were made, the salesgirl measured my feet. She traced the outline of both feet on a piece of paper. Then she measured my foot 4 different ways with a tape. Finally, she recorded all of our choices on the tracings.

While I was doing this, Doris almost had enough time to come to her decisions. She ordered 3 pair of shoes. She then went through the same steps for her shoes. Our shoes will be ready for pickup on the 25th. Just in time for us to pack up when we leave the next day.

One of my pair is a smooth salmon with black patent leather. The other is a gray almost suede with black patent leather. One has a high tango heel. The other is a little lower. Doris� shoes include one pink pattern and solid fuchia. The next pair is silver with black patent leather. The 3rd pair has a red pattern with gold accents. Her heels are about 2 1/2 inches high.

Milongas

2008-06-17T16:39:00.005-04:00

Sunday evening we went with Lina and Wendy from South Africa to a milonga. We had a little problem getting a taxi. The driver of the one we eventually got said that everyone was watching the futbol game. Seems like DC isn´t the only place where sporting events can screw up traffic.

The milonga was in a building with a restaurant on the ground floor and the milonga on the second floor. The ceilings were so tall that each floor looked to be 2 stories tall. It was a grand building with marble stairs and columns. The wooden features were dark and richly carved. It had a faded opulance to it. There was even a lift like you see in old movies. Like a metal cage in the corner. The lift was roped off. This was probably a good thing; it looked scary.

There were tables set around the dance floor. Normally, the ladies sit on one side and the gentlemen on the opposite. The gentleman will ask the lady to dance by making eye contact (milonga eyes). If the lady declines she simply looks the other way.

Milongas are danced in sets with 3 different types of dances; tango, milongas and vals. There will generally be 3 tangos, a break when a completely different type of music is played like a hustle. Then 3 milongas are played. Then a break. Finally, a set of vals are played. Then it starts all over again.

A couple will dance all 3 dances in a set. If they stop in the middle of a set, something untoward has happened.

We danced a couple of sets together. When we finished our last dance, a cheer went up. For a split second I thought it was an indication of our dancing ability. However, it turned out that Argentina had made the winning goal against Columbia.

Lina´s Tango Guesthouse

2008-06-16T10:11:00.003-04:00

The guesthouse where we are staying is rather small. There are 7 rooms with all but 2 having a private bath. The outside facade is from the 60´s and there is no indication from the street of what the building contains. It is on a cobblestone street on a block of 2 or 3 story rowhouses. The front door opens to an entryway with a staircase going up and a passage to the central courtyard. The courtyard is open to the sky. Lina has been cultivating a variety of plants around the edge and on the upstairs balconies to give the courtyard a more natural setting. There is a barbeque/fireplace in one corner and a wooden table with chairs for sitting and visiting. There is also plenty of space for tango. Lina lives upstairs and likes to take her guests to various milongas in the area. It is hard to imagine a larger hotel giving such personalized service.

Our room faces the courtyard on the ground floor. There are green painted shutters over the french doors to add more privacy and limit the light for those of us sleeping late. The room is about 14´ by 14´ with 12´ ceilings. There is a queen size bed with 2 nightstands and a desk with chair along with 2 cupboards to hang clothes. The cupboard has an extra shelf for tango shoes. The bath isn´t huge but has all the applicances you might need. The whole effect is neat and cozy.

Introduction to Carlos Gardel

2008-06-15T15:01:00.005-04:00

Even though we were pretty tired from all the travel, I think we did well in diving into the culture of Buenos Aires yesterday. In the afternoon, we walked down the block to La Rosalida for a late lunch. The waitress was very nice and patient with our Spanish which ranges from very poor to non-existant. The food and wine were excellent.

Last night we went to a tango show, the ¨Esquina Carlos Gardel¨. The theater where the show takes place is about 20 minutes by taxi. So we had our first experience traveling by taxi in Buenos Aires. It went very well. I had a brochure with the address of the tango show and a card with the address of the guest house. So we didn´t have to rely on our Spanish speaking abilities. The tango show included dinner which we enjoyed very much. The dancers and orchestra put on quite a show. We sat next to a couple from Australia and 2 sisters. One of the sisters was from Connecticut and the other sister lives on a coffee plantation in Panama.

We are staying at Lina´s Tango Guesthouse. This guesthouse is in the San Telmo district. This is one of the city´s oldest neighborhoods, once the home of the very wealthy until the 1877 outbreak of yellow fever. We spent some time with Lina this morning. We talked a lot about tango. Lina describes herself as a ¨tango addict¨ which we understand very well. Lina said that she had guests staying here that are from Australia and South Africa. It really shows that the popularity of tango spans the globe. She helped us come up with an agenda for the next couple of days. Today we are going to an antiques market at the Plaza Dorrego. We will meet later with Lina and she is taking us to one of her favorite milongas. Monday we will have a tango lesson in the afternoon and go to another milonga in the evening. On Tuesday we are going to see about having some tango dance shoes made.

Finally Made It

2008-06-14T14:27:00.003-04:00

We made sure to get to the airport really early this time. We left home right after lunch and arrived at Dulles around one o´clock.

Checking in was easier as our bags were already at the airport. The TSA lines were longer, but they had more gates open, so it was actually quicker. If we could have gotten through the process as efficiently the day before, we would have made the flight.

We got to the gate and hung out all afternoon. We had a nice dinner and hung out some more. The flight was scheduled to board at 9:00 PM and leave at 9:45. At 8:50 the gate agent announced that there was a mechanical problem with the plane and the flight would be delayed. We were finally able to board a few minutes after midnight.

On the bright side, at least we were not getting on the plane on Friday the 13th.

It was a long day and a long flight (10 and half hours). We are finally in Buenos Aires and are going to our first tango show this evening.

Off To a Flying Start - Not

2008-06-13T07:08:00.007-04:00

You know how the airlines and TSA tell you to get to the airport 2 hours early? Don't you believe it! Our flight for Buenos Aires left at 9:45 last night. We got to the gate right after they closed up and they have some silly rule about not opening back up again.

I took Wednesday and Thursday off from work to make sure that we had plenty of time to get everything done before our trip. We left for Dulles right after dinner at 6:30 and got there an hour later. Traffic was good.

First, we waited in the International Departures Check-in line. There was a couple with several suitcases at the desk when we got in the line. They were opening all their bags and re-packing everything there in front of the desk while the line kept getting longer and longer.

Once we got our bags checked we hurried over to the TSA line. Here is where a person can really demonstrate that patience is a virtue. The line wasn't even as long as I've seen it trying to get out of Dulles on a Monday morning. Just as we got to the line, TSA starting closing gates. Soon, we could only see 4 gates open. We finally got through the line to get our boarding pass checked and moved over to the line to strip down for the metal detector. We got through TSA with 10 minutes to spare.

We rushed to the shuttle to go to the 'C' concourse. We actually got on one that was just leaving. We got to the concourse and sprinted to the gate. It couldn't be a gate close to the shuttle stop. We got to the gate just as the gate agent came back through the door from closing up the plane. He said that they had been paging us and reminded us that we should arrive at the airport 2 hours early.

So, we strolled over to get into another line at Customer Service. We weren't the only people to miss a flight last night. The nice lady there booked us on the same flight that leaves today at 9:45 PM. Today, we're going to leave right after lunch and eat dinner on the concourse.

Here We Go

2008-06-12T06:42:00.004-04:00

Dancing has been light this past week. Friday we went to the local Dinner Theater to see "Showboat". Saturday we went to a picnic at a friend's house. Everyone there were dancers that we regularly see at different dance venues. This time was unusual because we weren't dancing. It seemed a little strange to see this particular group of people sitting still for an extended period.

Sunday, we went to the 2nd Sunday Dance at the local Recreation Center. The crowd was a little light; probably because of the hot weather. That just gave us more room to dance. Jody had called ahead to have the Rec Center turn the AC on early so it was nice and cool for the dance.

We actually made it to the Officer's Club on Ft Belvior last night. We missed two weeks ago because of sickness. Last week, the weather wasn't cooperating. We went but the storms last Wednesday had knocked out the power so everything was closed.

We've also been busy getting ready for our trip. More to come on that. I'm not taking a computer. Hopefully, I'll be able to find an Internet Cafe so I can keep RhumbaDervish up to date.

Missed Wednesday Night

2008-05-15T15:04:00.001-04:00

I always know when the wife is really, truly ill. She passes up a chance to go dancing. We normally go to the O Club on Ft Belvoir Wednesday nights. She's coming down with a head cold and didn't want to pass it around. She'll probably be better for next Wednesday.

Pan American Symphony Orchestra

2008-05-11T13:17:00.003-04:00

Last night we went down to the Lisner Auditorium at GW to see the Pasion por Tango show. We couldn't find a video of the performance last night. The video above is from an earlier performance.

The show last night was part of the Washington DC Tango Festival. It featured the Pan American Symphony Orchestra, The Bruno Cavallaro Quartet, the singer Claudia Gargiulo, along with dancers Carina Losano and Angel Coria.

We really like Argentine Tango music. It is so different from the music we hear when we are ballroom dancing. With ballroom you listen for the beat to figure out what to dance. Four counts for Foxtrot, three counts for a waltz. The Latin rhythms are different for Cha-Cha and Rhumba. American Tango is also distinguished by the beat; slow-slow-quick-quick-slow.

Argentine Tango is danced to the melody. The music is full of passion. Sometimes it is light and lilting, others it is dark and heavy. With ballroom the gentleman leads the lady to a step; in Argentine Tango, the lady is lead through the step. Tango is very much improvised and to do it well the dancers have to feel the passion of the artist that composed the music.

The Pan American Symphony Orchestra was founded with the purpose of highlighting Latin American music that is rarely performed and unfamiliar to the concert public.

Bruno Cavallaro started studying music formally when he was 15 years old and two years later after an intensive audition, he was chosen by Maestro Lysy to study violin at the Music Center Lysy in Carilo, Buenos Aires. A few years later Cavallaro decided to immerse himself in popular music, including tango.

Mezzo-soprano Claudia Gargiulo was born in Argentina and now dedicates her career to promoting in the United States Argentine tango and contemporary Latin American music.

Angel Coria is internationally recognized for his main role as a dancer in the film "Tango" by Carlos Saura. Hi was also one of the stars of the show "Copes Tango Copes", performing nationally in Argentia and around the world.

Carina Losano is a native of Buenos Aires and has studied many forms of dance, included ballet, contemporary, modern-jazz, flamenco, and salsa, but she is internationally recognized for her mastery of tango.

Pasion por Tango

2008-05-11T11:48:00.002-04:00

Last night we went down to the Lisner Auditorium at GW to see the Pasion por Tango show. This show was part of the Washington DC Tango Festival. It featured the Pan American Symphony Orchestra, The Bruno Cavallaro Quartet, the singer Claudia Gargiulo, along with dancers Carina Losano and Angel Coria.

We really like Argentine Tango music. It is so different from the music we hear when we are ballroom dancing. With ballroom you listen for the beat to figure out what to dance. Four counts for Foxtrot, three counts for a waltz. The Latin rhythms are different for Cha-Cha and Rhumba. American Tango is also distinguished by the beat; slow-slow-quick-quick-slow.

Argentine Tango is danced to the melody. The music is full of passion. Sometimes it is light and lilting, others it is dark and heavy. With ballroom the gentleman leads the lady to a step; in Argentine Tango, the lady is lead through the step. Tango is very much improvised and to do it well the dancers have to feel the passion of the artist that composed the music.

The Pan American Symphony Orchestra was founded with the purpose of highlighting Latin American music that is rarely performed and unfamiliar to the concert public.

Bruno Cavallaro started studying music formally when he was 15 years old and two years later after an intensive audition, he was chosen by Maestro Lysy to study violin at the Music Center Lysy in Carilo, Buenos Aires. A few years later Cavallaro decided to immerse himself in popular music, including tango.

Mezzo-soprano Claudia Gargiulo was born in Argentina and now dedicates her career to promoting in the United States Argentine tango and contemporary Latin American music.

Angel Coria is internationally recognized for his main role as a dancer in the film "Tango" by Carlos Saura. Hi was also one of the stars of the show "Copes Tango Copes", performing nationally in Argentia and around the world.

Carina Losano is a native of Buenos Aires and has studied many forms of dance, included ballet, contemporary, modern-jazz, flamenco, and salsa, but she is internationally recognized for her mastery of tango.

Argentine Tango Dance Social

2008-04-26T09:07:00.002-04:00

Last night we went to the Milonga Pasional at Dance Studio Lioudmila. We're trying to incorporate both Ballroom and Argentine Tango events into our schedule. Anya and Anthony have the Milonga on the 2nd and 4th Friday every month. We are alternating between this and the Friday social dance at Studio One. We do get to practice ballroom quite a bit. We have our lesson with Richard on Monday. We regularly go to the O Club on Wednesday night. On Sundays we usually go to the practice at the Dale City Rec Center. Saturday nights there is usually a selection of places to dance at. Tuesdays and Thursdays we stay home and practice. Yes, we are nuts about dancing.

A milonga describes both a dance event and a dance where two people move together to music. The dance event normally includes tango, milongas, and vals. The songs are played in groups of three. There will be three tango, three milongas, then three vals. There is a short break between each set where some other dance style is played. We've been taking lessons from the Tango Duos for about a year. We are planning to take our vacation this year in Buenos Aires where we will see what kind of differences there are between tango taught in America and in Argentina.

Ax the Tax Party

2008-04-20T09:41:00.006-04:00

It has been a pretty good weekend for dancing. On Friday we went to the weekly party at Studio One. It's always a friendly crowd there. The philosophy there seems to be to see how many different partners you can dance with during the evening. I used to be more hesitant to dance with other ladies. However, I have found that dancing with other partners really helps me develop my lead. Doris and I have been dancing together for 4 years and know each other so well that leading her is completely different than anyone else. It also helps that she can read my mind. That comes from being soul mates and over 30 years of marriage.

On Saturday night we went to the "Ax the Tax" party at Lioudmila's. They gave a special rate for the party and were having a sale on group lessons. There was quite a crowd. Fortunately, the floor is large enough to accommodate a crowd. We saw several people that we have met at different dance venues. You meet the nicest people dancing.

Part way through the evening they had several showcases danced by instructors and students. They really have some world class dancers who instruct there. There were:

Bryan Duffy and Pauline Wang dancing the Argentine Tango

Dimitar Petrov and Migle Mareele dancing the Waltz and Rhumba/Cha-Cha

Krasi Petkov and Yana Blinova dancing the Viennese Waltz, Rhumba, and Jive

We won't ever get to the level of these dancers, but they sure are fun to watch.

Milonga Brava!

2008-04-05T09:12:00.005-04:00

As part of the DC Tango Festival we went to the Argentine Embassy for a Milonga last night. The dancing began at 9:00 pm and there was a short introductory class and a demonstration mid-way through the evening. The couple who gave the class and the demonstration are performing tonight at Lisner Auditorium in the Tango y la Milonga at 8:00 pm.

This was our first time at the Embassy. We had a little trouble getting around the Lincoln Memorial circle; we ended up going over the Memorial Bridge only three times. The Embassy is on Q Street near DuPont Circle. We even found a parking garage nearby.

The Milonga was held in an upstairs ballroom. It was oval with very high ceilings, a marble fireplace, and works of art displayed on the walls. There were tangueros of all levels of skill as the floor filled. We saw Anthony of Tango Duos with Tatiana, his partner for the evening.

Milonga Pasional

2008-03-15T13:18:00.003-04:00

Last night we had one of those difficult choices to make. We had too many dances and not enough time. We opted to attend the Milonga Pasional held by the Anya and Anthony at Dance Studio Lioudmila. There was a group lesson at 9:00 pm and the Milonga started at 10:00. Our friends, Char and Rick, gave the assembled crowd a demonstration of the routine that they put together for a showcase they performed a couple of months ago. Featured was the St. Charles String Quartet. It always enhances the dance experience to have live music.

We've been taking Argentine Tango lessons from the Tango Duo, Anya and Anthony, for about a year now. We really like the Argentine Tango. It is hard to explain but the feel of the dance is different from Ballroom dances. You really get into the tempo of the music and it's much more personal between the two dancers. The audience is irrelevant. We're even planning a vacation to Buenos Aires this summer so we can do the Argentine Tango in Argentina.

Robert Bruce Mantell

2008-03-12T09:22:00.005-04:00

A friend of ours from Studio One has a family project that she is working on. Here is the story in her words.

"My great grandfather, Robert Bruce Mantell, was a Shakespearean actor. He was sort of a Richard Burton of his time. Charlotte Behrens was my great grandmother. I have located the descendents of my great grandfather's family and we are planning a family reunion in Scotland in May. I took over the genealogy search work for my mother after she died and I have located family in Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland.

I wanted to bring something special to the get together. I asked myself what Oprah's people would do in this situation. A film from that time when my great grandfather would travel home to Scotland to visit his familly. I contacted the Debbie Reynolds Film Museum. There isn't enough time to do it this year, but I want to keep trying. I need internet votes!

I have found that some of the films he acted in are still in existance. I would dearly love to see even one of them so have been asking everyone I know or even people I don't know, to help me with online votes. This was the best idea I had from the Debbie Reynolds film museum people whom I contacted.

At first, the only film I knew about was Under the Red Robe - where Robert Bruce Mantell plays the Cardinal. Since then, My nephew, Mark has found several others!

There can be only one vote per e-mail address." This is the link to cast your vote, http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=504017.

Robert Bruce Mantell
Scots stage actor who late in life appeared in a number of silent films. Educated in Belfast, Ireland, Mantell traveled to America at 24 and played in "Romeo and Juliet" and "East Lynne" with Helena Modjeska. He worked constantly in America and Great Britain and established himself as a great success in Shakespearean works. Mantell married five times and was widowed twice. His third wife, Charlotte Behrens, had been his leading lady. Married, she fell in love with Mantell and lived openly with him. Her husband threatened to kill Mantell, who was also married. Following a divorce for each of them, they married, but Charlotte died less than two years later under cloudy circumstances. His fourth wife, Marie Booth Russell, was also his leading lady, and she too died at an early age, of Bright's Disease, in 1911. Mantell's fifth wife, Genevieve Hamper, was another of his leading ladies. She survived him when he died at 74, in 1928, following a nervous collapse. Mantell's son, Robert B. Mantell Jr. appeared in a few films before his suicide.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver

Spouse
Marie Booth Russell (1899 - 31 October 1911) (her death) 1 child
Charlotte Behrens (1896 - 1898) (her death) 1 child
Genevieve Hamper (? - 27 June 1928) (his death)
Margaret Shand (? - ?) (divorced)
Marie Sheldon (? - 1893) (divorced)

Still Dancing

2008-03-12T08:50:00.003-04:00

I haven't written in this blog for a couple of weeks. We've been busy dancing. This last weekend for instance we went to Studio One for a social dance. We always have a good time there and it's a great opportunity to practice dancing with other people.

Saturday we had our Argentine Tango lesson with the Tango Duos at Lioudmila's. On Saturday evening we took a friend from Studio One with us to Strictly Ballroom in Fredericksburg. She had never been there and, like us, she is always looking for new places to dance. Melissa and Mike have a real nice setup with two large dance floors. We can stretch out on the moving dances and do some moves without having to turn corners all the time.

Sunday, we went to the 2nd Sunday Dance at the Dale City Recreation Center. Jody and Charlie teach group lessons there and put on the dance for people to practice. We started our dancing by taking lessons at the Rec Center and it's a convenient place to go dancing on a Sunday afternoon.

Home At Last

2008-01-31T18:17:00.000-05:00

I just flew in from San Diego and boy, are my arms tired. I've been gone about 3 weeks on a business trip. While in San Diego I went to a studio in Encinitas called Dance North County. It's a friendly little place and I had a great time going there.

Doris and I have got a lot of work to do to catch up to where we were. Even though we've been dancing as much as possible, we couldn't practice all the steps we've been learning. We've got a lot planned for this weekend to help us get back up to par. We are practicing today and will go to Studio One Friday night for the weekly practice session. Saturday, we will go to our Argentine Tango lesson at Lioudmila's and have a dance with the Regal Dinner and Dance Club in the evening. Sunday, we will go to the Candy Factory in Manassas for the 1st Sunday dance. Monday, we have our Ballroom lesson with Richard.

Business Trip

2008-01-13T18:26:00.000-05:00

I am spending some time in San Diego on business. Since I have to keep in practice I've been going to a local studio, Dance North County. I've been here a week and had classes in Salsa, Argentine Tango, American Tango, Rhumba, and Hustle. I've also gone to 3 dance parties.

Looking at that list, you may find it hard to believe that I came out here to work. However, I am under instructions to keep in practice while I am out here.

New Year's Eve Celebration 2008

2008-01-01T10:09:00.000-05:00

There is no better way to bring in the New Year than going dancing. Before we started dancing we would get woken up by the sound of other people celebrating on New Year's Eve. Now we take the opportunity to kick up our heels. You only live once. We figure we should get some good, clean, wholesome fun before we get too old. This way we will have something to reminisce about when we're sitting in our rocking chairs at the old folk's home.

We celebrated at the Officer's Club at Ft. Belvior. This is becoming a regular haunt for us. The band was Impact. We hadn't heard them play before. They were a 5 piece ensemble and played really well. It got kind of crowded on the floor, but it looked like everyone was having a good time. I know that we did. We were with a group of friends that we see different places when we go dancing. Pictured are Janet & Jeff, Cookie & Raymond, Joy & Tony, Nancy & John, and us.

Holiday Party at Studio One

2007-12-22T21:19:00.000-05:00

Friday was the annual Holiday Party at Studio One in Alexandria. It was held in the same location as the regular Friday night party, but there was a lot more food and a lot of people showed up to help celebrate the season. Bill and Agnes hosted the festivities as Ben was unavailable.

Agnes brought in a new CD with ballroom dance music with a Christmas theme. We got to dance our favorite steps to new music.

New York, New York

2007-11-29T15:49:00.000-05:00

As an early Xmas present to each other, we had a 2 day holiday in NYC. We took the train from Union Station in DC at 7:30 am to Penn Station in Manhattan. They've put up a parking garage at Union Station since our last trip. The lot where we parked last time has a building on it now. We got up to New York about 11:00 am, hiked from Penn Station to Times Square and got into our hotel. Then we went looking for lunch in a real NYC delicatessen. On the way to lunch we saw the Naked Cowboy. I'm not sure what he was advertising, but he looks kind of cold. You never know what you will see around Times Square. It's fun to wander around and take a look. We saw some other entertainers in front of the Ripley's Odditorium. They were dancing to a Reggae rhythm up on stilts. The first night we went to see the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall. It was their 75th Anniversary Extravaganza and they put on quite a show. I never expected to see 3D effects in a live theater show. The next day we had breakfast in the hotel and then headed down to Macy's. We walked along 5th Avenue to see how the shops were decorated and passed by the NYC Public Library with its lions in the front.
Macy's was packed. Black Friday here is a regular Thursday for them. This was a regular workday and it was tough to move around, and you could forget about getting an elevator. I'm always intrigued by their wooden escalators anyway. These things are ancient and look like they could eat small children. Macy's goes all out during the holiday season. We liked the Poinsettias singing carols. Macy's also has on display the crystal ball that will be seen in Times Square to usher in the New Year. This was very impressive. A huge ball that changed color over and over. Like watching a kaleidoscope from the outside.We originally planned to see the matinee for Wicked on Wednesday. However, the stagehand strike prevented that. We did get tickets for Mary Poppins instead. This was in the New Amsterdam theater, which was famous for the Ziegfeld Follies. It was a great performance. I never have seen someone tap dance upside down before.After the play we headed back down to Penn Station to catch our train. We stopped off at another delicatessen for dinner. If you ever eat at one of these places bring a big appetite or plan on sharing. They had some really great coleslaw, too. We got a last view of the Empire State Building and went into the train station.
They have an interesting way of doing business there. There is a display board in the center of a huge room that shows what trains are coming in and what track they are boarding from. The thing is you won't know what track to go to until about 10 minutes before they start boarding. The board would change showing the track number and a herd would stampede for the door. We had a great time in NYC as we normally do when we visit. It would be a fun place to live; for about a year. I don't know if I could keep up the pace longer than that.

Milonga ‘Pasional’ at the Athenaeum

2007-11-27T05:19:00.000-05:00

Anya and Anthony of TangoDuos are participating in the Milonga 'Pasional' held at the Athenaeum in Old Town Alexandria every 2nd and 4th Friday. We are really enjoying our Argentine Tango lessons and are always looking for new places to dance. So, we decided to check it out.

The Athenaeum is an interesting venue. It used to be a bank among other things and is now a center for the arts. They have just installed a new floor which was a pleasure to dance on. It wasn't crowded as we went on the Friday after Thanksgiving. They usually have a pretty good crowd so next time we'll get there good and early. It was a great place to use our Argentine Tango and we need the practice.

Play Review - South Pacific

2007-11-27T05:01:00.000-05:00

We have a tradition for Thanksgiving. We normally get season tickets to the Lazy Susan Dinner Theater every year and spend Thanksgiving there. This year they put on a production of South Pacific. As the year heads into winter, it was kind of nice to be reminded of romantic nights on warm, tropical islands. The production of this classic play was great and the food is always good and plentiful. It's a lot easier on the cleanup, also.

Traffic Trouble

2007-11-17T06:48:00.000-05:00

We went to the O Club on Wednesday night, which is our usual thing. We have a standing date and have become regulars there. They have a great buffet meal and a good sized dance floor. The band last Wednesday was "Airplay", a four piece ensemble who did a pretty good job.

We always try to arrive before the door opens at 6:00 PM. There is normally a line of the other regulars and we get a chance to visit for a couple minutes. We wait for our meal until the band's first break. Most everyone else is hitting the buffet line while we hit the floor, so there is more room to dance. After the break we get to sit down to enjoy our meals; unless a really good song comes up. Eating comes second to dancing.

On the way off Ft Belvior, about 9:00 PM (2100 Hours for us military types), we encountered a traffic signal that was malfunctioning. We sat at the red light for several minutes before I decided it would never change. I checked both ways and proceeded through the intersection. The MP in the car behind me thought that I hadn't waited long enough. I got off with a warning and I will pass it on to you; "Never run a red light on a military installation." I wanted to ask him how long I should have waited. However, I make it my policy never to be argumentative with anyone more heavily armed than I.

Second Sunday Dance at DCRC

2007-11-13T07:33:00.000-05:00

Jody and Charlie have started having a dance at the Dale City Recreation Center every 2nd Sunday of the month from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. They normally have a practice session on Sunday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM. This is in a larger room and they bring finger foods and water.

We went Sunday to this dance and had a lot of fun. There were dancers with a variety of experience; some new students and others that have danced for years. It is a nice venue and a bunch of great people. The word must be getting out as there were enough people that Charlie opened the removable wall to expand the room. It would be nice if there were more opportunities for dancing on this end of the county.

I think that ballroom dance is the perfect entertainment. When you are dancing with a partner, you necessarily have to pay attention to that partner. If you go to a move with your significant other, you are both paying attention to the screen (or to the kid that just dumped his soda in your lap).

Friday Night Dance

2007-11-13T07:29:00.000-05:00

We were invited by friends to attend a dance at the Heritage Hunt clubhouse last Friday. There was a nice dinner and a DJ. We got a chance to visit and dance some Swing and Hustle.

Here are Kathy and Randy doing some Jive.

Strictly Ballroom

2007-09-09T10:48:00.000-04:00

We went out last night to the Strictly Ballroom studio. Strictly Ballroom is operated by Melissa and Mike Scott. They have a new venue and we wanted to check it out. They set it up really nice. There is a large dance floor where they had a group lesson in Swing. Mike is an excellent instructor and always does a good job with his classes.

Melissa was showing us around after the class. When you first walk in there is a large dance floor. That's only the half of it. Behind a wall they are putting in a competition sized floor. There aren't many studios around with this kind of space for dancing.

They are planning to have their Grand Opening the evening of October 6th. The new floor should be finished by then. We are really looking forward to trying it out.

Tango DC Freedom Plaza

2007-08-13T17:36:00.001-04:00

This is a great way to experience Argentine Tango. Almost every Sunday evening from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM there is dancing at Freedom Plaza located at 14th and Pennsylvania in downtown DC.

Weekend of Dancing

2007-08-06T18:19:00.000-04:00

We did get some dancing in over the weekend. I got home from San Diego late on Friday so we didn't make it to Studio One for our regular dance night. Our Argentine Tango lesson on Saturday was mostly a review since we didn't get to practice together during the week. It was very crowded with a lot of different lessons going on at the same time. We usually arrive early so we can warm up a little before our lession. There was not enough room on Saturday. It was interesting to watch the belly dance lesson. There was a wedding couple taking lessons at the same time we were and near our space. They played the same music over and over and over again. It would have been a good song if played once. After an hour, it was starting to drive me crazy.

Saturday night we went back to Lioudmila's for their dance party. While we were there a woman stopped by and asked if I worked for DCS Corporation. This was totally out of the blue and really made me do a double-take. I told her that I did work for DCS. She said that her husband worked for DCS and that she had seen us dancing during the XMas party last year. Hey, it was a DJ and an empty dance floor; we weren't going to waste it.

On Sunday, we went to the Candy Factory for the first Sunday dance. Another rather odd thing happened during this dance also. There was a photographer from the Washington Post there taking pictures. We were getting set to dance a waltz and he came over snapping pictures. We took off and here he came right behind us snapping away with his camera. He followed us around the floor at least twice. I think he got a little winded. I felt pretty good that I was able to maintain the lead even with that kind of distraction.

Business Trip

2007-08-02T08:53:00.000-04:00

This week I am traveling on business to San Diego. The weather this week makes me understand why Californians are so mellow. It's been in the mid-70's all week and not humid by DC standards.

I wanted to get in some dancing while I am here. You can't develop or keep any proficiency if you don't practice. So, I went the Dance North County studio Tuesday night to see what they had to offer. At 6:00 PM I joined their Beginning Argentine Tango class, given by David Tomko. It was a a good sized class with me making the 6th person and 3rd gentleman. I was glad to even things up. The instructor was very good and I'm glad he could accomodate me dropping in on his class. I got some good practice and finally picked up on something that Anthony has been trying to drill into me about displacement. We have been trying a step that uses displacement and I was trying to displace my partner's foot. I finally caught on that it wasn't just the foot I want to displace. I am moving myself into her space and of course the foot comes along for the ride.

At 7:00, I attended a Latin class given by Daniel Vasco. I know that I need help with my latin motion so this was a good class for me. We went over latin motion in a cha-cha step that combined a basic, a cross-body lead into a progressive forward, another cross-body lead into a basic. So, I not only got some pointers on latin motion but picked up a new combination also.

After the latin class I went to their Social Dance party that went from 8:00 to 10:00. I got to do some dancing and met some very nice people. I danced a couple of Rhumbas and a swing and even got to practice continuity style foxtrot. My partner for that one was very polite and said I did a good job. We have only just started on Silver level Foxtrot and I know exactly 2 steps. I only stayed for an hour because my body is still on East Coast time and I was quickly turning into a pumpkin. I tend to step on my partner's feet when I get tired.

Argentine Tango Practica

2007-07-07T10:22:00.000-04:00

On the first Friday of every month Anthony, our Argentine Tango instructor, holds a pratica at Lioudmila's from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM. We decided to go since we really needed the practice. It wasn't crowded and we knew the other couples that came from other dance venues.

Argentine Tango is very different from the other ballroom dance we know. Here is a quote from Wikipedia that sums it up: "Argentine Tango relies heavily on improvisation; although certain patterns of movement have been codified by instructors over the years as a device to instruct dancers, there is no "basic step." One of the only constants across all Argentine Tango styles, is that the follower will usually be led to alternate feet. Another is that the follower rarely has her weight on both feet at the same time. Argentine tango is a new orientation of couple dancing. As most dances have a rational-pattern which can be predicted by the follower, the ballast of previous perceptions about strict rules has to be thrown overboard and replaced by a real communication contact, creating a direct non-verbal dialogue. A tango is a living act in the moment as it happens."

All dancing is a special way of communicating with your partner. You are together there in the moment talking back and forth without speaking. Argentine Tango is so much improvisation that it brings that communion between partners to another level.

For example, in American Tango I lead my partner to do a fan. In Argentine Tango I lead my partner through the fan. As I interpret the music I can change the tempo of my lead in the middle of a step.

The Fabulous Bel Airs at Harris Pavilion

2007-07-03T09:05:00.000-04:00

We met our friends Janet and Jeff, and Kathy and Randy, at the Harris Pavilion for dancing to the Fabulous Bel Airs. The Harris Pavilion in historic Manassas has a series of dances through the summer with a variety of bands. Manassas offers a lot for visitors with a variety of restuarants and cafes along with distinctive specialty shops and galleries. It's perfect for a day of strolling and shopping. When you get tired of that you can sit down to eat at a sidewalk cafe. The Harris Pavilion is situated in the middle of the Historic Distict of Manassas. It has a full calendar with events all year long. When it gets too cold for anything else they have ice skating.

We heard the Fabulous Bel Airs last year and really enjoyed them. We got to dance some rhumba, cha-cha, and lots of swing.

Tango at Freedom Plaza

2007-06-25T16:56:00.001-04:00

Our dance instuctor in Argentine Tango recommended that we try the free Sunday evening Argentine Tango Milonga at Freedom Plaza put on by the Capitol Tangueros. The event is held every Sunday evening from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM during the summer. There were dancers at all levels of expertise. The outdoor dance surface was a little rough for the traditional ballroom dance shoe so it's better to wear either leather sole shoes or dance sneakers.

We are glad we went. The best way to get better at dancing is by dancing.

Freedom Plaza is located at 14th Street and Pennsylvania Ave NW, near Federal Plaza Metro Station. Admission is free.

Busy Day Dancing

2007-06-10T09:31:00.000-04:00

We had a busy day yesterday. It was mostly dancing, so it was all good. We had our Argentine Tango lesson from Anthony from Tango Duos at 4:00 PM at Lioudmila's. We then had dinner at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants, House of Dynasty. For the main event we danced to the Key West Band at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas.

Anthony moved our Argentine Tango lessons to start at 4:00. The Tango Duos will be teaching us from 4:00 until 5:00. After that they teach a beginner class at 5:00 and then an intermediate class at 6:00. After the summer they will go back to teaching beginner, intermediate, and advanced one right after another. Anthony is a great instructor. He and his partner break down the steps well and he is very patient. With us patience in an instructor is a key ingredient to a good class. Our instructors need all they can get with us as students.

You can find a Chinese restaurant or two in any shopping center in the area. Once in a while you come across a decent one. Very occasionally, you find a really good one. One of the best in the area just happens to be on the way home from Lioudmila's. This House of Dynasty in the Hayfield Shopping Center on Telegraph Road. The service and food are always excellent. They do little things to make the dining experience unique. Things like the little dish of lemon sherbet to cleanse the pallet before the main course and the hot towel when you're finished.

We like to play a game with the fortune cookies. When reading the fortune put the words "in bed" at the end of the fortune. It always puts a twist to the meaning. For instance, mine said yesterday, "Enthusiasm is contagious. Not having enthusiasm is also contagious.". Good advice in any context.

We met our friends Janet and Jeff, and Kathy and Randy, at the Harris Pavilion for dancing to the Key West Band. The Harris Pavilion in Manasssas has a series of dances through the summer with a variety of bands. We heard the Key West Band last year and were glad to see that they were on the calendar again this year. We got to dance some rhumba, cha-cha, and lots of swing.

So we had a busy day. What could be better than getting together with friends and dancing the night away?

Dirty Dancing at Mountain Lake

2007-06-02T12:35:00.001-04:00

We traveled to Mountain Lake Hotel on Friday to participate in their Dirty Dancing weekend. Mountain Lake Hotel is one of the locations where the hit movie Dirty Dancing was filmed 20 years ago. The hotel is located in southwestern Virginia just outside of Blacksburg. It's kind of rustic; my cellphone didn't even work and there was no TV in the room. I did find the alarm clock, though. It took about 6 hours of driving to get there. Late in the afternoon there was a terrific thunderstorm. Lots of lightning and loads of rain. We were glad we were staying in the hotel proper and not one of the cabins. We would have gotten soaked going to dinner. We had one of those package deals where the price included the activities and meals for the weekend.

By 8:00 PM the weather had cleared and we were able to go to the dancing in the Activities Barn. They had a DJ who started out playing the songs from the movie. Lots of swings and a couple of Rhumbas, Mambos, and Hustles. We danced from 8:00 to 10:30, which was good because dinner was great and we needed to burn off a couple of hundred calories.

We took a Dirty Dancing tour on Saturday morning. The guide had been working there when they filmed the movie and had a lot of insights and information about the filming of the movie. You might recognize the bungalow where Baby's family stayed and the "No Guests" sign from the movie. The bungalow has changed somewhat over the years. They added the stone wall and moved the staircase.

After the tour we went back to the Activities Barn to play Dirty Dancing Trivia Bingo. Our table won free Dirty Dancing T-shirts. During the trivia game, hotel staff passed out copies of the hotel register page where Patrick Swayze and several other cast members signed in. We noticed that Cynthia Rhodes, who played Penny, stayed in the same room that we did. I can honestly say that Penny and I slept in the same bed. OK, it was twenty years apart, but I can still say it. Quickstepper got her picture taken with a special someone, also.

A local dance studio, Sapphire Ballroom & Dance Center, came up and gave dance lessons during the afternoon. They had beginners classes on Mambo, Meringue, and Foxtrot. It was a good review for us and we got a couple of hours of practice. The instructors from the class had a showcase after dinner. This showcase was based on music and scenes from the movie. The showcase was followed by a couple of hours of general dancing. All-in-all, we got almost 5 hours of dancing in on Saturday.

On Sunday, we ate breakfast and hit the road for home. We took the southern route home; I-81 to I-64, then up Route 29 at Charlottesville to Route 17 toward Fredericksburg. We saw plenty of rain, but the only significant traffic was on I-95.

Hollywood Ballroom

2007-05-28T08:51:00.000-04:00

Last night we decided to go somewhere different to dance. We had heard good things about the Hollywood Ballroom, so we went there. It's up near Silver Spring, Maryland which is farther that we usually go. The traffic on Sunday evening wasn't too bad and we made it in just over an hour. Even that far afield we met a few people that we know from other dance venues. Anthony, our Argentine Dance instructor was there. He didn't get much of chance to rest. He seemed to dance every dance, each with a different partner. We also saw a couple that are also members of the Regal Dance Club.

The Hollywood Ballroom has a large dance floor (7200 sq ft) so even with the crowd they had last night, there was room to dance. There were dancers of all levels from beginners to couples that could really move across the floor. They had one "John Paul Jones" mixer where the ladies form a circle in the middle of the floor and the gentlemen along the outside of the floor. The DJ would blow a whistle and the dancers would pair off to dance some Swing. There was a good mix of music. We got to dance everything that we have in our repertoire. The standard ballroom dances and we also got a chance to practice our Argentine Tango. We have a few of the basic steps down, but I'm still struggling to string them together.

The Last Tango in Fairfax

2007-05-22T20:23:00.000-04:00

We are members of the Regal Dinner and Dance Club. This club holds 7 dances throughout the year. Five are formal and 2 are "Tea" dances. These dances are held at the Country Club of Fairfax. The formal dances have dinner then 3 hours of dancing. The Tea dances have 3 hours of dancing and then dinner. All the members have at least one thing in common, they like to dance.

We held the last dance of the year on Sunday. It was a Tea dance and we had an excellent band for the event. The Headliners played a great variety of ballroom dance music. They really made the last dance a great one.

I also had the privilege of being elected to the Board of Directors for the coming year. I don't know all the duties I've just signed up for, but I will give it my best shot.

Polish Night Dance

2007-05-09T21:18:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday we went with friends to the club at Heritage Hunt for Polish Night with authentic food and lots of dancing of the Polka. The band was Joe Stanka and the Cadets. We had a lesson in the Polka. We needed it since this was our first exposure to the dance. We picked up a couple of steps and now we feel confident enough to move around the floor when the band picks up that Polka beat.

On the left, Randy and Kathy show how it is done.

Movie Review - Dirty Dancing

2007-05-04T17:06:00.000-04:00

This week we went to see the movie “Dirty Dancing”. There was a special showing for the 20th Anniversary of this wonderful movie. The theater was full and there was applause at the end. It was evident that most people (like me) had seen this movie numerous times. You could hear some of the most popular lines being echoed throughout the theater. We knew all the lines.

“Dirty Dancing” is a coming of age story of a girl, Baby (played by Jennifer Grey) who accompanies her parents and sister to a ritzy resort in the Catskills in the summer of 1963. One night, she stumbles upon the resort workers’ quarters where they are dancing, dirty dancing (and it sure isn’t your Mama's Foxtrot). She meets and falls for the dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) who teaches her to dance (among other things). It is a story of the loss of innocence set at a time when America was poised to lose its own innocence with the death of President Kennedy and the Viet Nam War. The movie also explored the attitudes between the guests and owners of the resort to the workers. This was all set to great music and dancing.

How To Feed 100 Dogs at Once

2007-04-22T07:00:00.001-04:00

This one is for Jody and Charlie. They could probably give this guy lessons. Jody and Charlie teach Ballroom Dance at the Dale City Recreation Center. This is where we started with dancing. When they are not dancing, they run an Akita Rescue. They usually have several dogs in foster care. I think they can relate to this video.