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I'm a Minnesota Girl, living in the south. I tell my friends I try not to talk and think like a Yankee, but sometimes I slip up!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Another Dance Ending





Well, sure, I danced when I was a kid. My dad taught dancing for Arthur Murray when he was younger. He was a great ballroom dancer. Mom sent me to one of those tap and ballet classes for a couple of years when I was a kid....but we didn't have a lot of money and I didn't get to stay with it. Dad made up for it by dancing ballroom with me at home...I danced with my feet on top of his. It is a sustaining memory for me. Even now, I get teared up at the thought.

Every once in awhile, my folks would surprise me when they'd spontaneously start to dance together. I published a short piece on this on Pearlsoup and Epinions; you can visit it here:





In college, I took ballroom dancing for a couple of years, and ended up teaching in a studio that our teacher owned in town. I specialized in swing and cha cha. It sounds funny to say that now!

No pictures survive from this era...just memories.
I married someone who didn't like to dance. Oh, he'd do so from time to time, but we didn't go out dancing and he remained opposed to taking any dance lessons. So I lived vicariously...
Andrea, my daughter was in ballet, jazz and tap for two years and pulled out of ballet and tap when it bored her. She loved the one year of jazz dance and acrobatics, and gave up dance to go to gymnastics lessons. (I have a good pic of her at recital, and will try to digitalize it and post, of course, if I do, she'll kill me).
And so I began the next phase of my dance fix.... I haunted the movie and TV show, "Fame" (soon to be released in a new version!) and just about any movie that came out that featured dance. Favorites were "Chicago", and Richard Gere redux "Shall We Dance":





I've laughed at myself for being a reality TV dance show fanatic with "Dancing with the Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance"(SYTYCD). Most of my men friends poke fun at me. Secretly, though, I recently discovered that three of the five women who work for me are all nuts about the shows, too. Whew! I feel better.

It's funny, but I tend to walk a rode I've traveled with music, and only bring new music into my life from artists and genres I'm comfortable with SYTYCD has expanded my horizons. The last 5 songs on my playlist below are from the show.....


SYTYCD wrapped up this week, not nearly as memorable as last year, but with a great 18 year old winner from Miami, Jeanine Mason. Her winning pictures are featured above. Mason scores $250,000 and the starring role in the dance tour of 40 cities, something that may derail her college plans for this fall. Pleased with the result, I nevertheless had another favorite...Janette Manara, a salsa dancer, also from Miami. The finale featured some top dances of the year, but not one of this year's best, which starred Janette and runner up Brandon, and was choreographed by multi-talented Wade Robson. Enjoy "Ruby Blue":


With the season now over, and new shows not starting again to September, I'll probably need to revert over to football.


My vicarious life of almost dancing!!!

6 comments:

Kelly said...

I'm actually quite impressed with all your dance experience!

I don't watch any of those shows regularly, but often will view bits or clips when my daughter tells me about particularly good ones. I took a number of years of dance as a child (tap, ballet, jazz) and still would like to take tap again if the opportunity presented itself. I think the purpose at the time was to give me "grace & poise". Considering what a klutz I am now, I can't imagine what I'd be like if I hadn't had all those years of dance!

quid said...

I am such a klutz, as well. I may have wanted to dance longer, but something tells me I have various bones in my body that might not have survived.

:)

Pam said...

While I don't watch the dance shows I am hooked on "American Idol" and "America's Got Talent".

I took dance lessons from the time I was little until jr. high school. I took tap, ballet ( even did some toe)and Jazz. Mama enrolled me because I was such a klutz! LOL!

I've always loved to dance, myself. I've done ballroom, won a dance contest with my bf in high school and danced my way through discos and clubs in the 80s.

Actually, I still dance with the kids when we get wild hairs, shove the furniture back some in the living room and crank up the music!

Well, maybe not this summer as this is the summer of the 'boot'. LOL!

Dance away, Dear Quid!! I applaud you for it!

Bob said...

I LOVE to watch people dance who actually know how. I think it is beautiful, no matter what type they might be doing . . . well maybe not some of the rap, hip-hop stuff but most of it, anyway.

Like you, my parents were wonderful dancers and I think it's interesting that the type of dancing they did in the 40s and
50s seems to be making a comeback.

Maggie and I used to dance to "Beauty and the Beast" ("Tale as Old as Time . . . ") and she says it will be the background music for our first dance at her wedding. If that happens, of course, someone will have to scrape me off the floor.

quid said...

Bob... once again a little vignette about you and Maggie that brings tears to MY eyes.

quid

Carma Sez said...

if I counted how many hours I've spent watching DWTS!

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