Christmas Gifts and Childhood Memories

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 without us on it.

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 on Thursday right after dinner at 6:30 and got there an hour later. Traffic was good and we thought we had it made.

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 in front of the desk while the line kept getting longer and longer. I guess they were trying to evenly distribute the weight to avoid baggage fees.

Once we got our bags checked we hurried over to the TSA line. This is where a person can really demonstrate that patience is a virtue.  It didn’t look like a very long line.  I’ve seen the line longer when  trying to catch a flight out of Dulles on a Monday morning.  Just as we got into the line, TSA starting closing gates. Soon, we could only see 4 gates open and the line kept getting longer and longer. We finally got through the first line to get our boarding pass checked then moved over to the next line to strip down for the metal detector. We finally got through TSA with only 10 minutes to spare.

We rushed to the shuttle to go to the 'C' concourse. We actually got on a shuttle that was just leaving. We got to the concourse and sprinted for the gate. Of course, it couldn't be a gate close to the shuttle stop. We had to go to the end of the concourse. We got to the gate right after they closed up and they have some silly rule about not opening back up again. The gate agent 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. So, instead of arriving 2 hours early like we did last night, today we're going to leave right after lunch and eat dinner on the concourse.

Here We Go

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.