(by 4 people)
Come Dancing! It's Only Natural
In the hit song Come Dancing, Ray Davies of the Kinks sang:
Come dancing,Come on sister, have yourself a ball.
Don't be afraid to come dancing,
It's only natural.
[Click for the full lyrics.]
How true! Well, at least for me. Ballroom dancing IS only natural! I started taking lessons in mid-June, 2005, when the woman I was dating at the time told me I'd be "THE perfect man" (her words, not mine) if I could only dance. Well, signed up for lessons and almost immediately became addicted. The woman has long since broken up with me (I guess she just couldn't handle perfection) but we've remained friends and occasionally dance partners. And I now have a passion for life!
My latest dance routine
Mike & Selena - Time in a Bottle, Viennese waltz
A Viennese waltz routine to Time in a Bottle, by Jim Croce, performed by Mike Rosenberg and his instructor, Selena, at the Kaluby's Dance Club Black and White Gala in Jacksonville, Florida, June 28, 2008.
Runtime: 3:18
394 views
0 Comments:
My Public Performance Premiere!
Mike & Amanda - As Time Goes By, foxtrot
A foxtrot to As Time Goes By, from the Humphrey Bogart movie, Casablanca, performed by ballroom dance student Mike Rosenberg and his instructor, Amanda, at the Kaluby's Dance Club Black and White Gala in Jacksonville, Florida, June 24, 2007.
Runtime: 7:04
2197 views
1 Comments:
Come Dancing at CafePress
Old-time Ballroom Dancers Ornament (Round)
Decorate your Christmas tree with this and other ballroom dance ornaments
Price: 9.99
More Videos from Kaluby's Dance Club
Performances by staff and students
Still more videos from Kaluby's Dance Club
My "As Time Goes By" foxtrot
The background story
I was born May 23, 1957, and began taking ballroom dance lessons in mid-June, 2005. Two weeks after my first lesson, I attended a local Jacksonville, FL, event, the Black and White Gala, hosted by my dance studio, Kaluby's Dance Club. It's an event put on purely for fun and entertainment, not competition, consisting almost entirely of one-couple showcase routines.Although I'd started the lessons only with the notion of becoming a good social dancer, I was enthralled by the showcases and came away from this event with the goal of performing them eventually. I'm also a nearly lifelong fan of Humphrey Bogart (see my Squidoo lens on Bogie), and Casablanca is my all-time favorite movie. Having already come across a foxtrot version of As Time Goes By, the famous title song from that film, I immediately knew that this is what I'd have to do for my first routine.
It took me two years to feel I was ready, though. By this time, I had collected several more foxtrot versions of As Time Goes By. When I listened to all of them, though, none of them felt right. They were all kind of, well, hokey or overly schmaltzy. I wanted something a lot jazzier. Macintosh geek that I am, I took a nice solo jazz piano MIDI file, imported it into GarageBand, increased the tempo from 80 to 120 BPM, and added bass and drums. Then I dubbed in dialog from Casablanca. After the event, I had a field day putting the video together in iMovie, so, really, what you're seeing combines three of my biggest passions.
By the way, you can't hear it because it's drowned out, but 10 seconds after the music ends, the routine ends with Bogie saying "Here's looking at you, kid."
My Favorite Ballroom Dance Movies
Vote for YOUR favorites!
I've just focused on movies from the last 20 years or so, will eventually add all the classics including the great Astaire/Rogers films.
Strictly Ballroom
1 point
Shall We Dance (Gere/Lopez remake)
0 points
Mad Hot Ballroom
0 points
Dirty Dancing
0 points
Take the Lead
0 points
Dance with Me
0 points
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