WALTZ  TIME  NEWSLETTER

February 2009

Give me something to dance about and I'll dance it.

- Jerome Robbins

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 at Glen Echo Park's Spanish Ballroom. The February and March waltzes are listed below or view the entire year's calendar at our web site.

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

Poetry Corner

Joan Koury submitted the following poem, My Methodist Grandmother Said, by Ms. Mary Mackey for our February Poetry Corner. . . enjoy!

My Methodist Grandmother Said

by Mary Mackey



My Methodist
grandmother said
that dancing
was adultery
set to music

how right
she was

in that sweet sway
breast to breast and
leg to leg
sin comes into its own

if you have never
waltzed
you can not imagine
the sheer voluptuousness
of it
the light touch
palm to palm
wool and silk
mixed below the waist
the warm breath
of your partner
on your neck
coming quicker
and quicker
the strength of the man
the yielding of the woman
so incorrect
so atavistic
so unspeakably sweet

he moves toward you
and you back away
he pursues you
and with the faintest
pressure
you encourage him
and watch the blood
rush to his face

not a word is spoken
no one sees this
although it's done in public
in full sight of everyone

you touch
and retreat
meet
and touch again
in time to the
music
saying yes
no
yes
no
yes
no
yes

you dance
in a place outside of time
without thinking of your body
in that gentle
rhythmic
careless
almost copulation

one
two
three
one
two
three

the longest
foreplay
in the western
world.

Many others have enjoyed Ms. Mackey's poetry, including Garrison Keillor who featured this poem and another, Chicken Killing, at his Writer's Almanac. You can also visit Ms. Mackey's site and read more Poems by Mary Mackey. Also try The Mystic Cat. We hope you'll send us your favorite poem for our next issue! Just send it to staff@waltztimedances.org along with the poet's name.

The Hot Society Orchestra of Washington

We are pleased to introduce the Hot Society Orchestra of Washington, a new presenter at Glen Echo Park, who will present a monthly Sunday afternoon tea dance at Glen Echo Park's Spanish Ballroom throughout the 2009 season. Director Dave Tucker will lead this 10-piece orchestra to play music and dances from the 20s, 30s and 40s, including foxtrot, two-step, waltz, cha-cha, rumba, swing and more. A basic dance lesson from 3 - 3:30 pm is followed by dancing until 6 pm. The lesson is included in the $12 admission and will feature a different dance style each month.

Visit the Hot Society Orchestra of Washington for the year's schedule or bookmark Glen Echo Park's online calendar for a chronological listing of all dances at the Park. Please give the Hot Society Orchestra of Washington a warm welcome at their first dance, Sunday, February 22!

Lovers Waltz

Joanne and Bob Kranich, familiar faces at the Sunday waltzes, met at the waltz on January 6, 2008. They enjoyed three dances together that day, not knowing they'd be gliding toward the altar before the year was out. Shortly after their fortuitous introduction, Bob asked Joanne to a Valentine's dance. By the end of April, they had traveled to North Carolina, where Bob asked Joanne's father for her hand in marriage. They were engaged right after that and married on September 7, 2008, in White Post, Virginia.

Prior to their meeting, Joanne had been going to the waltzes on a regular basis for two years, Bob for about a year. The happy couple feels that God brought them together. We at Waltz Time like to think we helped - at least a little!

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.
FEBRUARY 2009 February 1: TAYLOR AMONG THE DEVILS with Marty Taylor, Steve Hickman, Alexander Mitchell, Jonathan Jensen February 15: WALTZ WIZARDS with Alexander Mitchell, Henry Koretzky, Liz Donaldson, Ralph Gordon	MARCH 2009 March 1: WALTZING STARS with Alexander Mitchell, Marty Taylor, Liz Donaldson, Ralph Gordon March 15: AVANT GARDENERS with Laura Light, George Paul, Dan Sebring, Dave Wiesler

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All events are held at the Spanish Ballroom, Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD and
sponsored in cooperation with the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture, Inc.,
the National Park Service and Montgomery County, Maryland.

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