Normal?

Seemed like a normal week, but really was deficient in dancing. Only one night of night school. Dance & Stretch is moving to a new time. Nothing worked out Mother's Day weekend, and this past weekend I spent in the Berkshires for belated Mother's Day and her birthday and also to prepare for the family Memorial Day Weekend ("Easter"). A night out with a friend gave me excellent music. I ignored the couples bopping about in a tiny space and the spiritual type dancer waving her arms in the air.
Dancing with the Stars is in its final episodes with fewer contestants to think about. The dancing has been terrific. As for the contest, I would lay bets on the newly humble Maks (never won) with his Olympic partner as opposed to Derek's win again with the interesting partner or Mark, also an improved character publicly, winning again with the sincere Christian.
For the summer - So You Think You Can Dance! starts next week.
Also oak pollen season is on its way. I feel the sinus headache beginning.

Video on the way

Last year, I relied on another camera man, Lee Bruce, to take the footage of the showcases on Cape Cod:  children, Argentinians, and West Coast Swing cuties.
When I film, I get a bunch of local dancers. It's nice to see your friends and neighbors on TV, but my camera broke just before the September Celebration of Dance. I quickly bought one that didn't work. I had to return it, then worked on buying the right one, and hardly got to use it. 
The next event, the one that included West Coast dancers, was the Mary French Memorial that I run, so I could not film. I could barely even watch it! Having gone over the whole thing, I have to say, I think that is the best part of the show, but I am prejudiced against Argentine Tango music.


Now, almost done at the local access cable TV station in Falmouth, I just need to pick a good time to air the show. Maybe August, so the next Celebration of Dance is highlighted in people's minds.

Floors

Today I got a lesson in the floor at St. Barnabas. I haven't kept it clean enough, so from now on, I will be dry mopping and washing it the day after my dances.
I wish I could buy them a wood floor. But I wonder if they would even want it. It might be even harder to keep up. In our studio in Cataumet, the wood floor is a fifth the size and difficult to keep clean.
The floors are a big part of the treasure we offer our dancers: a space and the music to inspire them. The lessons help hold it all together in a non-dancing world.

splendid weekend

 People are loving St Barnabas.  In May, the view of Siders Pond out the huge back window is stunning. For the later hours, I improved the lighting with some tiny lights besides the charming floor lamps. If only it didn't take an hour and a half to set up, I'd use it more often. I could pay the custodians $100 to do half of the work, but last March, I didn't even take in $100. This month, I can pay them what the room is worth.
Cinco de Mayo theme means Foxtrots in Spanish! and loads of Samba/Salsa numbers with great percussion.
A Sunday with Ron Gursky always expands my dance knowledge.
Then we went on to see George Gritzbach at the Beach House. And he listened to us and turned down the volume so our ears wouldn't hurt. Nice floor. Great crowd. Dancers who are not intimidfated by people who have taken lessons and join us on the floor with their own moves. It inspires us to make up stuff to add to what we already know.

Playlist prep

I'm getting more into my DJ work, spending time ahead of the event with playlists instead of putting songs up on the fly the way Mary French thought was best. This Cinco de Mayo theme is fun since I have collected Mexican music from many sources.
The lastest, by Thalia, is "Amor a la Mexicana", what I would call a Samba, but with the same beat as Selena's song "Baila este Cumbia."
Tin Tan sings what I call Foxtrot. As a classic Mexican crooner, he might have called it Danzon. My daughter-in-law brought the CD from Mexico when she first met Dave.
Then there's El Puma (visions of Mexican cougars), Jose Luis Rodriguez, actually Venezuelan, very smooth.
The polvorones have chocolate. The chips and salsa. Should be a good party.