January/February 2012

"To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.
This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking."

Agnes De Mille

Greetings from Waltz Time! This newsletter offers a calendar of upcoming waltz dances and workshops, dance community news and informative articles.

Our newsletter is sent every two months and offers a calendar of waltz dances and workshops, dance community news and informative articles. We encourage your articles for our newsletter. Or tell us 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. 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.

Happy New Year from all of us at Waltz Time

Ring in the New Year
At Vienna's Musikverein

If you can't travel to Vienna to ring in 2012, here's the next-best option. After you join us for the New Year's Day waltz in the Spanish Ballroom, tune in to GREAT PERFORMANCES From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2012 on your local PBS station. The program is scheduled to air at 7:30 p.m., but be sure to check your TV listings. The concert includes a selection of favorite waltzes from the Strauss family, as well as several polkas and the ever-popular Radetzky March, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Mariss Jansons in Vienna's opulent Musikverein.

Julie Andrews hosts the broadcast, which includes three dance sequences performed in the stately Belvedere Palace. The concert is billed as the largest world-wide event in classical music, reaching more than a billion people annually through radio and television in 72 countries. Join them - and have a Happy New Year!

Intermediate Waltz Workshop with Donna & Mike

Sunday, January 29, 1 - 3 pm, $15
Instructors Donna Barker & Mike Marcotte
Ballroom Annex, Glen Echo Park

On Sunday, January 29, Donna and Mike will teach an Intermediate level folk waltz workshop in the Ballroom Annex, Glen Echo Park from 1 - 3 pm - ending just before the Sunday afternoon waltz that day. This class is appropriate for waltzers who are competent with waltz rhythm and footwork and comfortable with the basic half-turn. The instructors will move on from these basics to other figures - free spins, assisted turns, optical illusion, scissors, and more. The workshop will offer tips for effective leading/following so that the transition from the half-turn to these moves is smooth and musical.

No partner is required, and changing partners during the workshop will be encouraged. However, we urge leaders to invite a follower and vice versa to maintain gender balance. PLEASE arrive at 12:45 pm to pay at the door (cash/checks only) so that the workshop will start on time.

The waltz dance that same day runs from 3:30 - 6pm and features Waltzing Stars.

Volunteer with Waltz Time!

Give us 45 minutes of your time and you can dance for free! Waltz Time is seeking volunteers for each Sunday waltz. There are several slots available, including attaching wristbands and sweeping after the dance. We also need someone to monitor the area by the cafe stairs; with increased traffic in the park during the summer months, visitors often wander in and don't realize they're in a "restricted" area. To volunteer, simply sign up before the waltz on the appointed day. There will be a sign-up sheet at the table. We appreciate your help!