Available for lessons at Capital Ballroom

 I’ve been quiet about dancing since January, with Kat and Olga’s encouragement, I resettled at the Capital Ballroom Studio in Bethesda, Maryland. The studio was founded by the late Nick Short (the old DuShor) is now lovingly run by Olga Chekhova.

I'm teaching here on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I love the energy. Friendly people coming and going, a spacious  floor that’s always available.

Plus, it's conveniently located across from my favorite spot, Tastee Diner.

More updates on the way….

Hello again! It's been a while since I last posted on this blog, and I'm excited to be back. I've been doing most of my writing on Facebook and in personal letters to friends. Speaking of which, I rediscovered the joy of letter writing after my cruise on the Queen Mary last year, thanks to exchanges with friends Charlotte Carpenter Lewis and Heather Hutsell.

However, I'm now looking to move my writing back to this blog. Unfortunately, I've hit a paywall, which is quite inconvenient!

My biggest news is that I bid farewell to Arthur Murray on January 7. The studio hired a new instructor, Greg Mitchell, and it was clear that it was time for me to move on. I'm grateful for my time at Arthur Murray and have taken a few weeks off to rest and recharge.

I've returned to my old job at The Dubliner and couldn't be happier. I'm also shifting my focus to dancing for fun! I apologize if I've been slow to respond to messages; it's been a big change, but I'm getting back on track.

I've started teaching independently again, one day a week, and am exploring locations in Bethesda and Dupont Circle. I've been updating my website and reconnected with my former dance partner, Kat Pollinger. We've already started practicing together again!

I've been taking time to reconnect with dance friends, enjoying nice lunches at Tastee Diner , and feeling thankful and optimistic about the year ahead. I've updated my event calendar with cruise dates for the Queen Mary 2 and will continue to add events.

Looking forward to keeping in touch with everyone!

Back at the Dubliner

It's been a wild week in DC, full of unexpected twists and turns. But in the midst of chaos, I'm finding gratitude.

People come and go quickly here, which makes me more thankful for what stays the same. I'm grateful to be back at The Dubliner, where I've found a sense of security and belonging. Unlike the dance business, this job offers stability and security. Good friends, a steady job, and a supportive community are things to be deeply thankful for.

As I settle back into my old routine – working a real job to pay the bills and dancing just for fun – I'm reminded of the importance of community, job security, and following one's heart. ☘️

Out of Dance Retirement

 Well, the last few years haven't been easy. The main reason I went offline from blogging was my full time commitment to care giving for Pat Traymore. When Pat passed away in July of 2022, it was a very difficult time for me. For the most part, I had been off the dance floor since the pandemic.

In May of 2023, I experienced another unexpected loss, my dear pup, Aggie, crossed the rainbow bridge.

The day after I lost my sweet dog, Arthur Murray Dance studio in Chevy Chase, Maryland, called to offer me my position back as dance instructor (this after being unceremoniously dismissed in 2021). I accepted the studio's offer, as I learned that the studio is under new ownership, under the direction of Phillip Gofreed and Jeniifer Battle,

Pat’s next story

 This month I’ve been helping Pat Traymore continue story telling on her Patreon page. Pat is currently working on a story about Ned Wayburn. It’s hard to believe that Pat, age 97,  with her 83+year career, has been in the business so long, that her career actually overlapped with Mr.Wayburn. Pat is probably the last  living person in our industry to have worked with him. Prior to working with Pat, I had no idea who Mr. Wayburn was. He made some fascinating contributions to the dance industry. This story will be published in June. 

checking in

 

This week I'm looking forward to coaching time with Nick Short at the Hollywood Ballroom. Dance life has been quiet for me, but it's still going. I'm back on the floor but only dancing with close friends. A few hours of dance practice each week keeps my heart going.  I'm still helping Pat Traymore with her biographical project. Pat has nearly completed the story of her life, and she's started a new historical video series called Footnotes. You can learn about Pat's story here: Pat Traymore is creating the story of her life | Patreon  At age 97, Pat is living with the assistance of a part time aide. The money from her Patreon account is going to help with Pat's cost of care, which is continuously rising.

I'm trying to set aside some time each Monday to check in. I've managed to reduce my screen time, and hours online, but continue to blog as a weekly check in. Since starting a digital detox, I've felt less stressed and more focused, especially with my dancing and exercise. 

2021 has brought good luck to me so far, I've spent more time in the present moment, and it feels good. I'm focusing my dance efforts with friends and family. The next several weeks and months will  be concentrated on closed syllabus work. I'm not in a rush to return to the competitive floor or travel to distant dance events. I feel it is best to wait for the world to settle into Post Covid life, before jumping back into the event circuit and travel.

It's a nice feeling, knowing that the years of  of frequent travel are behind me. I had always intended to live the fullest life in dance, check all the boxes, and then slow down. I thought this wouldn't happen until age 50, but it seems I arrived at that point a bit sooner than expected. I still look forward to many dance events, but doing so with a focus on social and fun. Formal competitions I intend to limit to not more than 4 per year. I remember at peak, doing 26 events per year, and I'm happy those days are over.

The pandemic shut down has really helped me discover something deep. It helped me to restart and make choices for a more authentic, and less complicated way of life. 

Is the Hotel Pennsylvania closing?

 I'm very sad to hear the latest news about the Hotel Pennsylvania in NYC. The Hotel is now at risk for demolition in the city's latest plan to extend Penn Station's footprint. Also at risk are St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, The Stewart Hotel, and the Penn Station Service Building.

The Hotel is well known for music and dancing history, as it was home to the Cafe Rouge. In the 1930's and 1940's had a big band remote connection to the NBC Radio Network, and was famous for performances by The Glenn Miller Orchestra, The Andrews Sisters, and Count Basie.

My event history

2021

August - Newport Rhode Island, Naragansett

October - Swing 46, NYC

2020​

January 10-13 : Snowball Dancesport, Minneapolis MN

​February 27 - March 1st : New York Dance Festival​

March- December events canceled due to COVID crisis

2019

October 2019 - Pennsylvania Ballroom Scrimmage

September 2019 - The New England Open

July 2019 - Dancing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra

July 2019 - Twin Cities Dancesport, Minneapolis Minnesota

May 2019 - The Washington Open

April 2019 - The Strauss Ball

April 2019 - DCLX

April 2019 - Wisconsin State Dancesport Championships

October 27 - Studio Fall Showcase

December 8 - Avant Garde Holiday Party

December TBA - Childrens' Holiday Studio Recital

December 31st - Yuletide Ball Gala

2018

September 2018 - Dardanella, The Gatsby Picnic

July 2018 - Dancing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra

June 2018 - Washington Area Summer Showcase

April 2019 - Washington Area Spring Freestyles

April 2018 - DCLX

April 2018 - The Strauss Ball

2017

December 2017 - Holiday Dance-O-Rama

December 2017- Holiday Showcase

July 2017 - Dancing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra

April 2017 - The Strauss Ball

April 2017 - DCLX

May 2017 - Dardanella Gatsby Picnic

January 2017 - The Snowball, Minneapolis MN

2016

July 2016 - Dancing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra

April 2016 - DCLX

April 2016 - The Strauss Ball

2015

November 2015 - Ohio Star Ball

August 2015 - Empire State Dancesport Championships

2014

October - First Coast Dancesport Championships, Florida

Embassy Balll

August - Capital Dancesport Championships

August -Heart of America

July - Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

June - Millenium Dancesport, Florida

May - The Washington Open

May - The American Star Ball, Atlantic City, NJ

May - Peoples Choice, Arizona

April - Wisconin State Dancesport, Wisconsin, Top Gun Award

February - New York Dance Festival, NYC

February - Maryland Dancesport Championships

February - Florida Superstars, St. Petersburg, FL

January - Nashville Stars

2013

Dance For the Cure, Washington DC

December - Holiday Classic Las Vegas, 1st Place Best of the Best 9 Dance

November - Ohio Star Ball , 3rd place Bronze Best of the Best with Sophia D'Angelo

October - New Jersey State Open

October - Pennsylvania Ballroom Scrimmage

September - USDC

September - Windy City Open

August - Capital Dancesport Championships

July - Virginia State Dancesport Championships

July - Twin Cities Dancesport, Minneapolis, MN

June - Yankee Classic, Boston

May - The Washington Open

May - Atlanta Open

April - Wisconsin State Dancesport Championships

February - Florida Superstars

February - New York Dance Festival

February - Maryland Dancesport Championships

January - The Snow Ball, Minneapolis, MN

January - Nashville Stars

2012

December - Yuletide Ball

December - Holiday Classic, Las Vegas

November - Ohio Star Ball

October - The New Jersey State Open

August - USDC

September - The Windy City Open

August - Capital Dancesport Championships

June - Millenium Dancesport Championships

May - The Atlanta Open

May - The Washington Open

April - Wisonsin State Dancesport Championships

February - New York Dance Festival

February - Florida Superstars

January - The Snowball

2011

December - Yuletide Balll

October - Pennsylvania Ballroom Scrimmage

September - The Windy City Open

July - Virginia State Dancesport Championships

June - The Virginia Beach Lindy Excgange

April - The Strauss Ball

March - The Vegas Open

February - The New York Dance Festival

2010

December - Yuletide Ball

November - The Carolina Classic ?

October - The Pennsylvania Ballroom Scrimmage

August - Empire Dancesport Championships

July - Virginia State Dancesport Championships

April - Maryland Dancesport Championships

2009

December - Yuletide Ball

April - Variety's Ballroom Blitz

2008

December - Yuletide Ball

October - The Pennsylvania Ballroom Scrimmage

August - The Windy City Open

May - Dancing A"La Carte, Springfield Mass

May - The Strauss Ball

April - DCLX

2007

December - Yuletide Ball

October - The American Lindy Hop Championships

2007 - Empire State Dancesport Championships

June - The Chesapeake Ball

May - The Strauss Ball

April - DCLX

March - Las Vegas Dance O'Rama

March - The Harrisburg Area Showcase

2006

December - Yuletide Ball

December - Severna Park Holiday Ball, MD

November - Atlantic City Dance O'Rama

September - Arthur Awards, Mid Atlantic

May - The Strauss Ball

April - DCLX

2005

October - The Navy Ball

October- Jammin on the James

June - VBLX, The Virginia Beach Lindy Exchange

April - DCLX

April - The Strauss Ball, Washington DC

2004

April - Triangle Dancesport

June - The Virgnia Beach Lindy Exchange

2003

October - Yehoodi Y6A

October - The Count Basie Centenial

October- DCDI

2002

May - International Dance Studios Showcase, Virginia Beach, VA

2001

Rhythms Around the World Showcase, Virginia Beach VA

2000

The Navy Ball

Sam's book: Sam Sadano, Passionate Journey

 This week I started reading Sam's biography, written by Sharon Savoy. It's the perfect book for anyone with an interest in dance history. The book includes insightful stories on his early family life, Sam's military career, and rare photographs of his competitive dance partners.

Our studio closed... what's next?

For the last 4 months I have been out of work. The studio stopped operating on March 16 and then went out of business on June 4. The restaurant where I work stopped operating during the same week. It seems that none of the dance teachers qualified for unemployment from the dance studio, all along it has remained unclear. Everyone had a difficult time filing as an independent contactor. Avant Garde isn't the only studio that had to shutter due to staggering COVID losses, we've been reading that many studios are closing permanently due to unforgiving landlords and property managers. Now everyone is wondering who might be interested in taking the studio over. The floor, mirrors and fixtures are still in place. As the world slowly reopens, perhaps someone will negotiate a deal for the space and reopen. Local dancers are all talking about who might be next to shutter, and who stands a chance of reopening. It's been difficult to make any career decsions, not knowing what the options will  be.

Looking for a new studio

There was a lot of sad news this week. The studio closed with no advance notice and it's left the students and staff in search of a new home. It's sad, the COVID crisis has hit the industry hard.

Avant Garde Ballroom Closes

The song has ended but the melody lingers on. Another studio closes, but this one feels like the death of a friend. A good job, no scandals, good bosses, fair pay, better than pay was the freedom to travel, do what we please and create... they gave us trust. The studio lead the way in this region on breaking color barriers, female owner, female office manager. Pinky, Nick, and Slava were good to work for. Affordable classes for underprivileged youth. A workplace with diversity and acceptance. Was too good to last, like many good things in the dance business..... now gone .... to the land where the good songs go.

Dark days for dancing with the Cornona Virus

Only days after we returned home from the New York Dance Festival, news about the Corona Virus escalated. During the first week of March, many of us at the studio were living our days normally, with no idea that we would soon be shut down, and closed for business completely.

Heading into the month of March, we still had a packed schedule, we had flights booked for a studio crusie in March to the Carribean, along with April tickets booked on the Queen Mary 2. Life was going full swing, with plenty of dates filled in on our dance cards and calendars. Little did we know how quickly things would change. By the 16th of March, I was out of work completely (from both jobs), and we've been stuck with stay at home orders ever since.

Since the lock down began, the stress began mounting. Working as an independent contractor at the dance studio, I still have been unable to navigate the unemployment system as far as dancing goes.

I was working more than full time before all this started, but the only unemployment benefit that I qualified for was from working part time at Mr. Henry's.

As dance gigs have been put on hold, I've been passing my time by volunteering for seniors citizens meal delivery. I've also been helping with conference meetings by phone with the American Legion.

With all the downtime that I've had, I've been running two dance education groups on Facebook, taking yoga class daily online, and running the Anacostia River trail.

The downtime from the stay at home order has afforded me time to update my video library on youtube. In a way, I'm still just as bsuy...... but it's frustrating. Eveyone in the dance business is wondering if and when things will get back to normal by November.

New York Dance Festival 2020

In the last week of February, 2020, the studio attended the New York Dance Festival at the Roosevelt Hotel. I've attended this event many times and it is among my favorites. We had a nice group and took the train up from Union Station. I traveled with my dance partner, Kat Flores, along with Anne-Marie Lund, and Beth Mobley. Kat traveled with her students as well, Steven Pollinger and David Wang.

Upon arriving in NYC we all were heavy with luggage. Although I consider myself an experienced traveler at New York's Penn Station, this time we were required to take the elevator to the street level, as we had some in our group who were unable to use the escalator. Finding the elevator proved problematic, we ended up lost in one of the concourses. Once we found a working elevator, a homeless guy urinated in it. It was a less than pleasant start to the trip.

Once we settled in at the hotel, I met my aunt and my cousin at the Russian Tea Room for lunch on West 57th Street. Beth and Anne-Marie joined us. We had a swell time. It was during lunch that we were discussing world news and the subject of the Corona Virus in China and how some of the cruise ships were on lock down with sick passengers.

That night we arrived back to the hotel, went straight into the dance event full swing. There was a black tie dinner that night in the ballroom, with social dancing. Eddie Simon was there and he greeted our table. The comp started early the next morning.

The Saturday competition flew by. We only danced smooth this year, to save on expenses. Dancing in New York is always a thrill, but there was added stress from the ballroom being so crowded. There were several elite competitors there who were less than friendly. We ended our competition day with dinner at Tony's DiNapoli , which may be one of my favorite tourist spots in NYC. The food was wonderful.

On our last day in New York, we spent the afternoon at Ripley's. Then in the evening, we went to Swing 46 for dinner and dancing. Joining me for dinner that night was my former dance partner, and best friend, Shealyn Jae. It was a surprise to see her, but as luck should have it, we were both in NYC on the same day.

When I was a kid, the retired city firefighters had  garage shop downtown, always working on an old Pierce Arrow. One of the old men said that Greta Garbo left it outside the Totem pole ballroom, not sure if the story was true but I always enjoyed hearing it. I loved hearing stories about the Totem Pole, my grandparents went dancing there when they were dating. Must have been the top of the world. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QZpnzIMhzqU

Charles Augins and the labyrinth

Have known dancer/choreographer Charles Augins for 16 years.... and he’s kept this secret from me, until today, when I was delighted with his stories from working as choreographer on the Labyrinth. Not only was he choreographer, he also took his hand at voice work and puppeteering, all mentioned  in this new documentary book about the film. And what a book it is! Can’t wait to find a copy. ❤️

On our latest trip to NYC

 Our most recent trip to New York City involved the usual routine. We took the train from Union station in DC to Penn station New York.  As our train pulled up in Penn station, what was normal routine  suddenly changed, the train pulled up to a newly renovated track. The train  let us out in the post office across the street.  I have been following the Penn station renovations in the news for sometime now, but I didn’t realize that this is already a reality.  Here’s a photo of the newly renovated track that we arrived on in September.

 We exited the new entry point to the train station from the post office. I don’t think these new renovations will match the former glory of old Penn station, but it’s nice to see some progress .

 Upon arrival we headed over to the new Manhattan ballroom for coaching with Eddie Simon.

 It was my first time to the studio, New York dance studios are always intimidating.

 Going to New York for training is one of my favorite parts of dance life. After coaching that day we went to Macy’s for lunch at Stella 34,  which is our normal  tradition during these trips.  The hardest part is finding the restaurant, which is accessed by the little known express elevator that goes only to the sixth  floor :  We had a beautiful table overlooking Herald Square.  After lunch we went shopping on the Christmas floor.

2019 Pennsylvania Ballroom Scrimmage

 The Pennsylvania ballroom scrimmage was held on Sunday, October 6, 2019

 The event was moved to Harrisburg Pennsylvania this year .  The competition was beginner friendly. It is the perfect event for new  competitors. The event is hosted by Barbara Synder.  Peter Collins was the music coordinator, the judging panel was staffed by local studio owners.

Wedding at the Studio, Don and Jennifer get married

 On Saturday, October 5, 2019 I attended the wedding  reception  of my coworkers, Don Beedie and Jennifer Christophel Beedie,  who just returned from their trip to Italy to get married.

https://youtu.be/SIxZE2baby4

Avant Garde Anniversary Ball

 Last night I attended the 7th anniversary celebration for Avant Garde Dance studio.  I have been working for the studio for over a year now, but I was also there at the beginning when they first opened.  I had been involved with the studio for several years as an independent dance instructor, before finally joining the permanent residency staff in 2018.

 The Washington area is a saturated market for dance studios,  it is a struggle for many of them to stay open. Avant Garde has been able to excel in this market, by operating as a boutique style studio, accommodating a diversity of ages and styles, and giving everything a personalized touch. Twice a year the studio hosts a formal dinner dance, with many professionals attending from the area with their students, friends and family. This year‘s theme dance was “black and white “.