WALTZ  TIME  NEWSLETTER

August/September 2009

. . .there was a star danced, and under that was I born.

Much Ado About Nothing - Shakespeare

Greetings from Waltz Time! This newsletter offers a calendar of upcoming waltz dances and workshops, dance community news and informative articles. We encourage your articles to our newsletter. What would you like to know? Please send your story or suggestions for topics to staff@waltztimedances.org.

Waltz Time is an all-volunteer committee that produces the twice monthly Sunday afternoon waltz dances and the Annual Strauss Ball at Glen Echo Park's Spanish Ballroom. The August and September waltzes are listed below or view the entire year's calendar at our web site. Waltzes for the year 2010 will be posted around November 1, 2009.

We hope you enjoy our newsletter. At the end of this page there are additional links that you can use to forward this newsletter to a friend or to unsubscribe.

From all of us at Waltz Time

Creating a More Perfect Union – of Dancers

Liz Glynn and Fred Lindahl met while dancing – though neither can remember the exact date or if the encounter occurred at a Sunday waltz or zydeco dance. Even if the initial meeting wasn't at a waltz, we're sure the Sunday dances helped enhance and cement their relationship. It will surprise no one reading this that dancing often leads to GOOD THINGS, and a good thing this has been.

The couple, together for nearly eight years, married in May at the 15th-century Holy Cross (Lutheran) Church in Rauma, Finland. Liz and Fred lived in Turku, Finland, for a year and grew to love the country and to make a number of friends there. Why Rauma? Fred is the fourth generation of Lindahl to be married in this church, though not the fourth consecutive. The previous Lindahl wedding took place in 1870.

The newlyweds honeymooned on the north coast of Brittany – Fred brought back 12 sutures in his face as a souvenir of their hiking exploits. Liz, obviously basking in the glow of nuptial bliss, never once called him a klutz. A remarkable part of the whole adventure concerns Liz' wedding outfit, which she packed in her suitcase from Virginia to Finland, then in her backpack for the 90-minute wedding-day bus ride from Turku to Rauma. Despite the ceaseless creasing, the bride managed to look like a showroom model, as the photo, taken at Holy Cross, attest. Fred looks neat, too!

Our warmest congratulations to the happy couple.

Do you have a personal waltz story you'd like to share with your fellow dancers? Please send details and, if you'd like, photos, to staff@waltztimedances.org. We'd like to spread the love of dance!

Joan Koury

Are you Addicted to Dance? ~ author unknown

Is dancing taking over your life? Have you heard whispers that you're becoming addicted to dance? Are you afraid that you or a loved one iis becoming a dance-aholic? Take this simple test, or take it on behalf of someone you care about. However painful it might be, it's time to face the truth.

Count 1 point for every YES answer.

• You listen to dance music at times when you cannot possibly dance - i.e. on your car stereo, with headphones while taking public transportation, on airplanes. Give yourself an additional point if you have actually taken your hands off the steering wheel while driving in order to clap your hands at the spot in the music where you would clap if you were dancing.
• More than 50% of the t-shirts in your wardrobe are dance-related. Give yourself an extra point if any of them are no longer the right size or are too worn to wear, but you keep them anyway for sentimental reasons, because they remind you of a special dance event.
• When you are debating whether or not to buy a new article of clothing, a chief factor in the decision is whether or not you can wear it dancing.
• You go to non-dance social functions with other dancers, but you cannot carry on a conversation for longer than 15 minutes without talking about dance. (This includes gossiping about people at dance class!)
• You have to explain at least once a week that you missed some over-hyped television program, a business function or social event because it conflicted with dance class.
• What you eat for dinner depends on whether you're going dancing afterwards (nothing too heavy, no garlic or onions).
• Even though you are an advanced dancer, you drop in on the beginner classes at least once a month just in case they are doing a beginner dance you've never learned and to check out the newcomers for some good prospects.
• At least once a month you phone or e-mail another dancer to find out whether he/she is going to a dance. Give yourself another point if, when you find out he/she is not going dancing, you go anyway.
• You subscribe to more than one dance-related magazine or newsletter.
• At least two gifts per year (received or given) are dance-related - clothing, music, video, money for dance camp, etc.
• The photos on your desk at work include at least one of you at a dance-related event.
• You plan business trips and vacations so as to avoid missing your favorite local dances, i.e. leaving the morning after the dance and/or arriving the afternoon before the dance.
• You get information about dancing in the area of your vacation or business trip, and pack dance clothing so you can dance while you're there. Two extra points if you pack extra dance gear on business trips just in case your returning afternoon flight is delayed and you have to drive from the airport directly to a dance instead of going home to change clothes.
• Your car is adorned with (1 point for each):
• Dance-related personalized license plate
• Dance-related bumpersticker
• Dance-related license plate holder
• You have, at least once in the past year, spent more time driving to a dance event than you knew you would actually spend dancing, i.e. one hour each way commuting to dance less than two hours.
• You use your computer for dance-related activities. (1 point for each)
• You netsurf for dance-related websites.
• You have e-mail relationships with other dancers in which you write about dance-related activities
• You check newsgroups for news of dance events
• You subscribe to a mailing list organized around dance-related topics.
• You maintain a dance-related website.
• Your e-mail address, password, or screen-saver is dance-related!
• If you have pets, at least one of them has a dance-related name - a cat named ChaCha, a dog named Paso, a bird named Cucaracha.
• You don't know the last name of at least five dancers, but refer to them descriptively instead, something like "David Who Usually Dances with Shoshana" or "Rachel the Tall Blond Who Wears Leggings and Long T-shirts."
• You miss your child's wedding because it conflicts with a dance!

SCORING:

1. 15 or more. Mayday, mayday. Houston, we have a serious dance problem. Don't be surprised if your friends organize an intervention to confront you with your addiction. You can deal with the problem directly by checking your phone book for the local 12-step-hop program in your area.
2. 11-14. You're a borderline dance-aholic. With some effort on your part, you can take back control of your life without outside help. It may be enough to cut out dancing between dance classes.
3. 6-10. Not to worry. You're one of those social dancers. You can take it or leave it. You can walk off the dance floor anytime. Dance-aholics view you with suspicion.
4. 1-5. Are you kidding? Are you taking this test as a joke? You probably don't know a step-hop from a pivot. Get outta here - you wouldn't even watch dance-related television programs!

As Always...Happy Dancing!

Free Two-Step Workshop, October 4

Prior to the Sunday waltz on May 17, Waltz Time and Flying Feet Enterprises sponsored a free tango vals workshop taught by Ellen Engle and Marc Shepanek. More than 70 dancers – both experienced and novice tango dancers – enthusiastically participated. A great time was had by all, and many thanks go to Marc and Ellen for teaching a fabulous lesson!

As part of Waltz Time's commitment to offer our dancers the chance to expand their dance horizons, we're presenting another free workshop, this time in two-step, on Sunday, October 4.

On that day, we'll present an afternoon of country-flavored waltzes and couples dances with a favorite local western band, the Oklahoma Twisters. Most of the dances will be waltzes, as usual, but with a western flavor; the band will also play a number of two-steps. To help you enjoy this engaging style, dance champions Linda and Mal Zerden will teach a one-hour two-step lesson at 2 pm. There's no need to register. Just show up at the Spanish Ballroom 15-30 minutes before the workshop begins. The cost is included in your admission to the waltz.

For those not familiar with two-step, it's perfectly suited to the 4/4 time music common in many western ballads, as well as more up-tempo western swing. The Zerdens have actively competed in national country dance competitions (UCWDC) since 1993. They are two-time Diamond Showcase World Champions, with their most recent world title won in the Netherlands in January 2002. The two-step lesson, from 2-3 pm, will be followed by the usual half-hour beginner waltz lesson from 3-3:30 pm. The Oklahoma Twisters will then play from 3:30-6 pm. The cost of either or both lessons is included in your admission to the waltz that day: $8.

The Zerdens first taught for Waltz Time's "country-flavored waltz" in October 2008, drawing a large crowd of neophytes and seasoned two-steppers who afterward enjoyed the music of the Twisters. If you missed it the first time around, this is your chance to join in the fun!

Upcoming Sunday Afternoon Waltzes

Sunday Afternoon Waltzes begin with an introductory waltz lesson from 3 - 3:30 pm, followed by dancing to live music until 6 pm. Cost is $8, including the lesson.
AUGUST 2009 August 2: TERPSICHORE with Elke Baker, Liz Donaldson, Ralph Gordon August 16: ADDISON BLEUFONTE with Andrea Hoag, Jonah Blaustein, Marc Glickman, David Lopez	SEPTEMBER 2009 September 6: (Bumper Car Pavilion) THE LATTER DAY LIZARDS with Peter Barnes, Bill Tomczak, David Langford September 20: CABARET SAUVIGNON with Paul Oorts, Karen Ashbrook, Andrea Hoag, Dave Wiesler