Vocabulary

Every discipline has its own definitions and catch words, but ballroom dance has sub-categories of meanings of the same words, depending on which style of teaching. International has codified a number of terms: pivot, for instance, that students will use to describe how they understand a number of turns, is a specific action with two sides for the halves of the partnership.
In Waltz, Weaves are progressive parallel twinkles at the Mary French Studio Or quarter turns right and left facing the wall in International Or a grapevine at some studios that teach country dance.
Standing up straight has slightly different meanings depending on the dance.
No wonder it's so difficult writing down choreography.

Harry's

So we finally went to see the remodel of Harry's.
For something completely different, first we went a play at The Barnstable Comedy Club, "2 Across", crosswords and romance, very clever. We were free by 9:30 to hit the music club (not dance club).
Harry's doubled the size of the dance floor and improved the acoustics, but they left the carpet on. The bouncer/door man said it was for liability purposes. When people spill their drinks on the dance floor, it gets slippery. "We'd have to get everybody off the floor and dry it off."
I never thought of that. I certainly thought of making people leave their drinks off the dance floor, but that seems to be impossible.
Anyway, the first few numbers were not terribly crowded, so we danced a bit before giving the floor up to people who don't mind bumping into each other. It's a music club where a few people can dance.

Dancing with the Falmouth Stars

You heard it here first.
Preliminary plans have me teaching Mindy Todd from WCAI-NAN radio talk show along with Dr. Robert Wilsterman for a Swing Dance benefit Memorial Day Weekend at Highfield Hall.
The floor is a bit small for dancers, but a short performance piece will be okay. 90 seconds, like the TV Stars would be best. Then everybody can bump around happily.
Now we have to get to work.

Handicapping the Winners

With all the NCAA betting going on, we could have our own little pool.
A square? Or odds calculated by some math genius?
One avid watcher has it figured this way:
1) Adam and Julianne next
2) The Gute and Anna
3) Shannon and Derek
4) Marissa and Tony
5) Christian and Cheryl
6) Priscilla and Louie
7) Jason and Edyta
8) Mario and Karina
9) Marlee and Fabian
And the winner is Kristi and Mark!
I am superstitious and cynical at the same time, which makes me unable to make choices, but I'll try, based on my theory that the ABC/Disney execs have a finger in the pie.
Next: 1.Adam & Julianne (I hope)
2.Marissa & Tony
3.Shannon & Derek
4.Guttenberg & Anna
5.Mario & Karina
6.Marilee & Fabian
7.Priscilla & Louie
8.Christian & Cheryl
9.Jason & Edyta
For the winner: Christi Yamaguchi and her professional partner Mark Ballas

Results

Well, I forgot to watch the results show, not because Tom Bergeron didn't remind me enough. The repetition failed to overcome my apathy when faced with red light tackiness.
I watched a few of the highlights on ABC.com. Gymnastics!!(boy band) Jason's Mambo! He's Christi's competition in my eyes.
ABC.com also has dance lessons with Carrie Ann, not as good as the lessons Len Goodman put on last year.
Julianne probably got all the votes for Adam. I hope she can make him look at least passable next week.

DWTS 3/24/08

Sixth Season, gotta start dating these DWTS entries.
That was a long show last night. When you're tired, hearing them repeat their standard lines gets old fast. "Welcome back to blah blah! 2 stars go home tomorrow!"
I wonder if the costume guys are getting tired of their work. Could they go back to a real ball gown instead of those cut up skirts all the time? And in the Latin, the Mambo ruffles were stiff.
The dancers showed improvement except Christi and Priscilla who were obscured by the voluminous detailing on their costumes and seemed less comfortable in the Latin.

red suspenders

Red suspenders, pink t shirts, and lavender skirts. The girls liked the $5 skirts I found, better than the black circle skirt I made up. I like the sequins. Maybe I can dye some of them over to a blue and have different shades for more color.
Anyway, it's getting more real every time. Another teacher took photos for me.