FRIDAY,
AUGUST 20, 2004
Hello Dancers,
Time moves so quickly, it seems just a moment ago I wrote the last
newsletter, and here we are two months later! And much has happened.
FIRSTLY, this is the SECOND month we've had two new classes going --
Club Salsa, taught by Memo Calvo (past instructor from Fernando's
Hideaway), and Argentine Tango, taught by Megan Pingree (one of
Portland's first Argentine "aficionados" and now instructor
extraordinaire. Both classes already have quite a following, and we are
enjoying the new atmosphere of cooperative dancing.
And our regular classes have had quite a boost of energy as well, and
classes are full of enthusiastic students of dance soaking up
information, form and patterns just like the ground soaks up fresh rain.
(Guess this must be one of my more poetic moments...)
Next, the END of July saw the FIRST of our MEDALS testing. We invited
Diane Jarmolow, DVIDA National Examiner, (DVIDA is the nation's newest
and most innovative Teaching Organization), to give both student medals
exams and instructor exams on July 28th. Passing with honors were
DanceWell's very first Medals students: John and Rene Sealander, who did
their Bronze II exams in Waltz, Foxtrot and Rumba. And taking their
first TEACHING EXAMS were Eric Zimmer and Hannah Childs, who also passed
their first theory and dance exams with Honors. Congratulations to all!
Just a note about Diane Jarmolow:
Diane Jarmolow is a DVIDA National Examiner, and has helped to create
DVIDA's professional certification examination program. She has been
teaching Ballroom Dance since 1978, and has trained more than 200
professional dance instructors, including U.S. champions. In 1991 she
founded the Metronome Ballroom the largest ballroom in San Francisco,
and a Bay Area institution, voted the "Best Place To Learn to Dance" by
the San Francisco Chronicle, The Bay Guardian, and the SF Weekly.
Ms. Jarmolow is currently an adjudicator for national DanceSport
competitions, member of the DVIDA Artistic Advisory Board, a DVIDA
National Examiner, and a DVIDA Certifying Expert. Her credentials
include a Licentiate Degree in the Ballroom Branch of the United States
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (USISTD), an Associate Degree in
the Latin American Branch of the USISTD, an Associate Degree in the
American Branch of the USISTD, and an Associate and Membership Degree in
American Style Ballroom and Latin with the United States Terpsichore
Association.
As an instructor Ms. Jarmolow successfully prepared five-time U.S.
Champions Victor Veyrasset and Heather Smith, and U.S. Champion Olga
Foraponova for the U.S. Terpsichore examination. She has trained some of
the Bay Area's top teachers including US Rising Star Champions and the
2001 US Smooth Finalists David Weise and Valentina, and World Exhibition
Champion Tom Slater, all of whom currently teach at the Metronome. Most
recently, in March of 2001, eight dance instructors from the Metronome
Ballroom, all of whom were trained exclusively by Ms. Jarmolow, passed
the I.S.T.D. (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance) exam receiving the
highest commendations for their exceptional knowledge of dance theory
and performance.
We are pleased to have Diane as liaison to "spring" us to National
Accreditation.
And MORE CONGRATULATIONS are in order:
-- To long-term friends Dick Bancroft and Corry Stevens on their
marriage on August 7th.
-- And to Roy Aveling and Dorothy Vanderdasson, who entered and did
very well dancing Amateur Open Novice and 4-Dance at Seattle Star Ball
in August. The Seattle Star Ball is their first entry in a LARGE
competition -- and nerves or not they achieved a good showing, making
call-backs in their dances (which is a big deal when there are many
couples on the floor). Can you imagine the pressure of trying to show
your best on a crowded floor? Congratulations again to everyone!
And Finally... Again, we had a wonderful crowd of friends at our
August Dance. Thanks all, for joining us! And have a great month!
FRIDAY,
JUNE 4, 2004
Hello Dancers,
Wow! What a great time at our Beach Getaway! We had 52
people join us on the week-end of May 21-23! Most for the whole
week-end from Friday through Sunday -- and did we keep people busy or
what?
First, on Friday evening we had a little private party and potluck
with one of my past students and her Group. Bonnie Prater now
runs a successful dance program of classes in Lincoln City and
Newport. There will be pictures of this great time onsite soon!
We also had opportunity to perform which we love. Bonnie had a
Waltz group who danced to a beautiful original piece of music (the
composer was there to see the routine too!); and we had our
spectacular Rumba group perform to Nights in White Satin (Ernest and
Tenora Grigsby, Sergei and Larisa Rassk, Doug Daniels and Sandy Sallee,
Steve and myself) and also had a peppy Swing routine too, danced
by Rob Boutin and Mary Smith..., sorry Bonnie I didn't catch all your
couples' names.
After that party, the night owls continued on to dance at the
Lincoln City Elks Club, where we found a great one-man-show. He
played everything we wanted to hear and we had the whole beautiful
floor to dance on!
On Saturday morning, the early birds came to our Suite at the Shilo
Inn for a continental breakfast. They found more food than they
bargained for too! We like to do things up well. We also
have pics of this fun event, where people came and went throughout the
morning, visiting laughing and eating.
On Saturday afternoon we had our annual pre-dance party! We
had brought our own music to dance to and arranged with the lounge to
provide for our group. This was an even larger DanceWell
get-together. We crowded the whole place with even more people
than Friday.
Saturday evening's CASA Beach Ball was lots of great fun of course.
A seafood buffet, live music by Let's Dance... And we had
another opportunity to dance our Rumba Routine. Of course we
wowed them all, since it's such a startling and emotional dance.
I hope to have professional pictures of that. We ourselves took
a group picture that evening, though it slipped my mind until later in
the evening and many of the group had already left.
I apologize if you were there and you're not in our great big group
picture, now you know why...
After the dance the night owls went back to our suite for
champagne. It's always fun to mull over events of the evening...
And to give closure to the week-end (I thought), we had a brunch
Sunday morning at the Shilo. Many joined us for that fun time of
remembering. More pictures were taken then too.
Then to even my surprise we had one more get-together before the
week-end ended. Sometimes kismet is obvious! It seems we
had birthdays to celebrate, and one birthday boy of the day! Tom
Apel is a good friend, and head of the Chinese Dance Club here in
Portland. Of course, Tom's birthday and several others were
celebrated back in our suite. And -- with a great Costco Peach
Pie that accidentally wasn't taken to the Potluck on Friday!
With this auspicious Peach Pie decorated with candles and with one
final bottle of champagne we celebrated birthdays in general -- and a
very successful week-end! We already have commitments for next
year!
We had a great party JUNE 5th, with 90 people enjoying our FIRST
SATURDAY OF THE MONTH SOCIAL. Reports are the music was good, the food
was great -- (with a special fest of great home-made taboule salad and
hummus by Rene Johnson -- Thank you Rene!), the people are GREAT! What
more is necessary to make an evening than that combination?
A Showtime Special
given by two great people! Steve and Kathy Baker. Steve and Kathy
started with us learning to dance for their wedding and now LOOK! Their
Nightclub Two Step very romantic and you could still see the lovelight
shining after almost 8 months of married life!
I would also like to thank the many who helped with the clean-up
after the party! Many hands helping to close down a party and put things
away make the job go so quickly!
ADDITIONAL NOTE: The dance lesson was International Rumba, (very
similar to salsa, but slow and romantic). For those who liked it and are
interested in learning this great dance from the beginning, we have a
class this month on Thursday nights at 7p.
Thanks all, for joining us! And have a great month!
TUESDAY, APRIL
20, 2004
Hello Dancers,
More news to share this month. We had fun at our last dance
party. Since our dance was held on the 1st Saturday of April we
(I) felt it was close enough to April Fools Day for a surprise.
So the lesson taught that night was "The Bump" which years ago was and
still is a fun disco dance for just like it says -- bumping partners.
It actually is a "take-off" from our Disco Swing (also called 4-count
Hustle or Swing, and more difficult than it sounds, yet so much fun to
try!
DANCEWELL BEACH GETAWAY
TIME IS RUNNING OUT!! TO SIT WITH
OUR GROUP AT THE BEACH BALL YOU MUST PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS FROM
DANCEWELL FOR ANY OF THE WEEK-END ACTIVITIES.
PRIVATE PARTY ON FRIDAY NIGHT with
buffet & SHOWCASE including students routines from DanceWell in
Portland and from 2 to Tango in Newport!
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
Saturday morning!
A PRIVATE HAPPY HOUR GATHERING
including appetizers, no host bar and club dancing on Saturday
afternoon!
The CASA BEACH BALL (a benefit for
Court Appointed Special Advocates for abused or neglected Children) at
Chinook Winds Casino on Saturday evening!
NO-HOST BRUNCH Sunday!
DANCEWELL PACKAGE COSTS:
$65/person (Saturday only $45)
HOTEL: Please make your own hotel
reservations, and notify us of your Lincoln City location and a
contact number for use over the week-end. We will be at the Shiloh
Resort Inn both Friday and Saturday (541)994-3655. Other
suggested hotels are Surftides (541)994-2192 and Liberty Inn
(541)994-1777.
We’ll order your Beach Ball tickets for you and plan for a GREAT
TIME!
WALTZ MIXER DANCES
ENJOYABLE FOR ALL
At DanceWell parties one of our
mixer dances is Waltz, allowing everyone attending to enjoy this
beautiful and gracious dance, extend their circles of acquaintance,
and practice a moment with all levels of dancers. A reminder for
advanced leaders:
When dancing with ladies who are
either beginners or at a lesser skill level, the best rule of thumb
is: BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING. Start with Bronze I, II & III patterns
and work your way towards Silver — Dancing too Advanced patterns only
causes lesser skilled ladies to consider you a “show-off”, or even
makes them fearful of joining in the Waltz mixers at all.
DanceWell Bronze Review Workshops can remind you of the Bronze
steps you may not often use and yet for proper etiquette need to
recall. The last two weeks of the month of April will cover all 15
patterns of the Bronze American Waltz. Perfect to jog your memories of
proper figures to dance with less experienced lady dancers.
BRONZE REVIEW WORKSHOPS
JOG YOUR
MEMORY WITH REVIEW WORKSHOPS. Learn a routine of the steps you have
already learned in class so you can remember all the “school figures”
you may want to use in future. Bronze I (figures 1-4), II (figures
4-8), III (figures 8-11), IV (figures. 11-15)
Review
Workshops are appropriate for all levels of dancer. The Week #1
routine covers figures 1-4 (Bronze I) and 1-8 (Bronze II) — for
Beginners who have already taken some Waltz classes. Week #2 reviews
figures 1-11 (Bronze III) — for Beginning/Intermediate dancers; Weeks
#3 & 4 review Bronze IV — for Intermediate and Advanced dancers;
these weeks include all the Bronze School Figures from 1-15 in a
routine format..
The goal
is to remember more of the steps you’ve paid to learn, then take your
Medals Exam (if desired) for any level from Bronze I to Bronze IV.
Discuss with Linda which Level would be appropriate for your skills.
Student Medals exams are a big deal! Know you
are progressing to a National standard; and receive an attractive
certificate of achievement, personal feedback by a National examiner,
and public recognition of your progress! (See our Medals brochure)
DVIDA
We at DanceWell have recently begun a teacher
training program with national certification as the main
goal. The
National organization is DVIDA, which is connected to the DanceVision
Video and music
company. Use the link found on our Resources
page. Those interested should contact Linda
FYI
DanceWell Student Practice Music CD’s are at the studio — $10
deposit.
STUDENT HANDBOOKS NOW AVAILABLE TO DANCEWELL STUDENTS — $2 --
Great information about dancing — vocabulary, etiquette, places to
dance, dance descriptions, tips for excellent leading and following
The studio has need of a plain VHS Video Camera
at the studio for videoing lessons and functions. If you have an
older version recorder for a good price, call (503)241-0460
The studio has need of a plain VHS Video Camera
at the studio for videoing lessons and functions. If you have an
older version recorder for a good price, call (503)241-0460
SUPREME GREENS from IdealHealth
Stress, environmental toxins, refined foods—especially sugars—can
overwhelm your body’s ability to make sure your system is quickly able
to neutralize acids. You become vulnerable to health issues if your
body is too acid OR too alkaline.
Supreme Greens is a comprehensive array of organic herbs and
vegetables designed to provide vital alkalizing nutrients to help
support your body’s acid/base balances for wellness. Brochures are at
the studio, or resources link on the home page of our website or call
Linda at (503)241-0460
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2004
Hello Dancers,
The 2004 City of Roses Competition! Dorothy Vanderdasson and Roy Aveling again danced
well in their first Amateur Competition at City of Roses, winning
first places in two different categories. The first dances were:
Waltz and Quickstep; the second series were Waltz, Tango and
Quickstep. For those who have never attended a Festival Competition
before, the dances are in series, one after the other, one and a half
minutes each dance — so you do get tired!
Our International Rumba Performance Team also did very well this
year at the City of Roses Competition. We wowed the crowd with the
beautiful team dance to Nights in White Satin. The DanceWell Dance
Team has done a beautiful job learning a beautiful and emotional
dance.
If you’ve ever longed to be with someone yet could not, you know
the heartbreaking story of Nights in White Satin (a slower Rumba
version than the original).
What a great show! Dancers are Doug Daniels and Sandy Sallee, Ernest and Tenora
Grigsby, Sergeii and Larissa Rassk, Paul Webster and Miranda Willis
Stephen Halvorson and myself. First performance was Sesame Club on
February 20th, then City of Roses on March 5th. Don’t miss the next
performances: Rose City Dance Club on March 21, USABDA dance on April
24th DanceWell party on August 7.
BRONZE REVIEW WORKSHOPS
REVIEW WORKSHOPS are devoted to teaching a routine of the steps you
have learned so you can remember all the “school figures”
you know.
Bronze 1,2,3,4, (beg-int) or
Silver 1,2,3,4 (advanced).
Beginning in
April the Bronze Review Workshops will include just one dance for the
whole month.
April will start with Bronze I and II WALTZ routines
on Week #1; Bronze II and III routines on Week #2; Bronze III and IV on Week #3;
and Bronze IV on Week #4. Most routines are a continuation of the same routine from
Bronze I through Bronze IV. That is 15 total steps you’ll remember to dance.
At social functions we encourage you to dance your routine in pieces rather than
as a whole “routine”.
The goal is to remember more of the steps
you’ve paid to learn, not simply dance the same thing over and over
(even if that were possible on a crowded dance floor…).
Why learn a routine?
- Challenging and fun
- remember ALL your patterns, not just a couple
- be more goal-oriented
- learn to execute steps with better style
- learn the names of figures
- learn to “dance the steps” before moving to more difficult
levels.
Each Tuesday at 7pm, learn a routine of steps you already know, which can then be used
to take your Medals Exam (if desired).
Student Medals exams are a big deal! Know you are progressing by a National standard;
and receive an attractive certificate of achievement, personal feedback by a National examiner,
and a little public recognition of your progress! (See our
Medals Brochure)
WELLNESS TIP OF THE MONTH: SUPREME GREENS
Stress, environmental toxins, refined foods—especially sugars—can
overwhelm your body’s ability to make sure your system is quickly able
to neutralize acids. You become vulnerable to health
consequences if your body is too acid OR too alkaline.
Supreme Greens is a comprehensive array of organic herbs and vegetables designed to
provide vital alkalizing nutrients to help support your body’s
acid/base balances for wellness.
Brochures are available at
the studio, our Resources link, or call Linda at
(503)241-0460.
Sunday, February 22,
2004
Hello Dancers,
I'll be teaching
Quickstep at Rose City Dance Club this March, on the 1st and 3rd Sunday
from 4:30-6:00. It's a great dance to know to complement your swing
dancing, and move around the floor! DanceWell Beginning Quickstep
classes just started this month. It’s not too late to “catch up”.
DANCEWELL RUMBA GROUP
Our Rumba team just had its first performance this past Friday at
Sesame Club, and teacher (me, I?)was proud of the progress made by all
involved and of the group emotion developed in the performance. Our
dance is to Nights in White Satin -- a very slow Rumba version. This
routine depicts the agony of unrequitted love, "Letters I've written,
never meaning to send....and I love you!" Wow! what powerful emotions
for Valentines month! Don't miss more performances at City of Roses
Competition and other venues around town!
XANADU
This past month we
attended Xanadu Winter Dance Festival here in Portland, where I taught a
couple of workshops and judged some of the contests. What a fun
time we had! The atmosphere was relaxed, and the combination of
Swingers and Ballroomers was great! I can say the mix of dance
types was great because it seemed to be a more eclectic group than most
other competitions I've attended -- and that's just what I like best.
A big
Congratulations go
to Roy and Dorothy! Dorothy Vanderdasson and Roy Aveling danced well at
Xanadu. Well enough to take first place in the
Strictly Dance Contest;
AND Dorothy was 2nd overall lady and Roy 3rd overall leader in the Jack
and Jill Contests.
Xanadu was a great
experience for all who attended. The combination of Swing and Ballroom
was a breath of fresh air.
The pros were
wonderful, students were happy and from my point of view I had a blast
doing the professional Jack and Jill and enjoyed teaching the Samba and
Foxtrot workshops and judging some of the heats.
Congratulations
also to Luke and Jennifer of Floorplay— “We’ll look forward to Xanadu
next year!”
CHRISTMAS SHOWCASE & CAST PARTY
On January 25th we
FINALLY had the DanceWell combination cast party for our Tango
Performance Group and for our Christmas Showcase. YEAH! Hosted by
Christine Smith and Steven Bray, it was great fun!
Christine and
Steve opened up their home for our large size group of 25 —
Thank you Thank you Thank you.
We showed videos
of the performances for both teams on a giant-size projection screen,
had a great potluck dinner with ham and turkey and got to spend some
time socializing with our friends. What a great way to spend our day.
A MORE GOAL-ORIENTED DANCE EXPERIENCE
You can now join
our 1-day REVIEW WORKSHOPS devoted to learning a routine for each level
of dance you have taken in class and lessons. Bronze 1,2,3,4, (beg-int)
Silver 1,2,3,4 (advanced). Partner necessary.
Why? a) it's
challenging and fun b) you can remember ALL your patterns, not just a
couple c) you will become more goal-oriented d) you'll learn to execute
steps better e) you'll begin learning the names of figures so you have
a reference point to talk to other dancers. Each Tuesday at 7p learn a
routine of steps you already know, which can then be used to take your
Medals Exam (if desired).
MEDALS EXAMS
Student Medals
exams are a big deal!
Know you
are progressing by a National standard; and receive an attractive
certificate of achievement, personal feedback by a National examiner,
and a little public recognition of your progress!
(See our Medals brochure)
Basic foundation steps are very important in one's overall dance
knowledge. Points to consider before moving from BRONZE (Basic) to
SILVER (Advanced) levels: Have I evaluated where I may need
improvement? Am I stepping where and how I need to? Am I consistently
in the musical rhythm? Is my dance frame stable? Am I clearly leading
(or following) partners? If not...Is there another DanceWell Basics
class in the same general style (Smooth, Latin, Swing, Nightclub)
available? All will help improve my dance skills... Or will a couple
of private lessons prepare me for the next level?
Friday, February 20, 2004
SESAME DANCE
PARTY:
First performance by DanceWell’s International Rumba Team.
Dancing to “Nights in White Satin” will be: Sandy Sallee and Doug
Daniels, Tenora and Ernest Grigsby, Larissa and Sergeii Rassk, Miranda
Willis and Paul Webster, Stephen Halvorson and Linda. 11th & NE Couch,
Norse Hall
Thursday, February 19, 2004
WINTER DANCE PARTY:
Pacific Point
Retirement Inn Winter Dance from 2-4pm.
11777 SW Queen Elizabeth in King City.
Finger foods,
punch & cookies, dance contest with 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes. Great
entertainment by Dallas West, Las Vegas singer/entertainer and Wayne
Newton look-alike. Music of 40’s 50’s & 60’s. DanceWell will
provide dance demos and a Rumba lesson at 3pm. Floor size:
12 x 12 You do not have to be 55 to attend
The ADMISSION IS FREE! RSVP BY CALLING (503)684-1008
Friday, February 13, 2004
RESOLUTIONS
NORTHWEST’S BENEFIT VALENTINES GALA:
8pm to midnight at the
Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown Portland. A 15-piece big band, dance
lessons (by LINDA), gourmet desserts and a fun raffle make this a classy
but lively event. It's a great way to do something fun and romantic
with your sweetheart, with minimal planning. All proceeds support
nonprofit programs here in Portland.
Benefit is $75 per couple. The Hotel Package at the Embassy costs
$195 and includes the Valentines Dance benefit, a Suite at the Embassy,
valet parking, a special afternoon hotel reception, and a full breakfast
on Saturday morning after the Dance.
Floor size is 570 feet.
TICKETS:
www.resolutionsnorthwest.org or
phone 503-988-6927
Friday, January 23, 2004
Hello Dancers,
Here it is end of January already and we've had lots happening!
The weather stopped classes for a whole week, which is unusual here in
Oregon to say the least! I've lived here all my life and remember
VERY few times to be snowed in! It was kind of fun (for a while).
We've been working very hard on our newest performance routine:
It's a Rhumba danced to Nights in White Satin. It's turned into a
beautiful and dramatic piece well worth watching. The group's
first performance will be at Sesame this month (see note later in this
month's news).
And we're having our cast party for all those in the Christmas Show just
this week-end. Wow! it was hard to get that many people together!
News! Our new phone system
goes
into service this month.
You can now talk to someone Monday-Friday from 7a to 7p.
Also, to simplify
our accounting and reflecting cost increase recently our February Class
Pricing will be as follows:
Basic foundation
steps are very important in one's overall dance knowledge. Points to
consider before moving from BRONZE (Basic) to SILVER (Advanced) levels:
Have
I evaluated where I may need improvement? Am I stepping where and how I
need? Am I consistently in the musical rhythm? Is my dance frame
stable? Am I clearly leading (or following) my partners?
If not...Is there another DanceWell Basics class in the same general
style (Smooth, Latin, Swing, Nightclub) available? All will
help improve my dance skills... Or will a couple of private lessons be
all I need to prepare for the next level?
One of the questions people ask us
is regarding appropriate shoes for dancing and where to find them.
Regular
“Ballroom dance shoes” are designed for dance. They have suede on the
bottom, and a steel shank in the arch for support. They are also very
thinly soled and flexible for the easy movement necessary for good
dancing.
Stores in Portland:
The Glass Slipper
in Portland has the largest variety of Latin and Smooth dance shoes for
men and women. 3109 NE Broadway (503)282-0069
Dance Togs in
Beaverton has a smaller selection since they are more geared to ballet
and tap, but are increasing their inventory.
Dee’s Dance Design
is located at on McLoughlin Blvd in Milwaukie. (503)652-0479 Some
Ballroom shoes, plus skirts & tops. And they also can create simple
dance costumes.
Carrie B’s
on
122nd in SE Portland has a good selection of shoes geared to Square
dancing and some Ballroom shoes. Also practice skirts.
There are 3 events I wanted to bring to your attention for February Fun.