Dancing in Milwaukee and Reston

Goodness, it's been so long since I wrote to update our adventures. Last fall we saw and fell in love with a smaller house, which we purchased and moved into in the beginning of February. Now we can live on one level and look out at wildlife on our pond and in our woods every day. Love it!

Still haven't sold our former home. Anyone want to buy a big, beautiful 3000 square foot house in Okemos, MI? It's a steal! Here's the link to see the house and take a visual tour: http://www.visualtour.com/applets/flashviewer2/viewer.asp?t=2035639&sk=60&dm=mlsfinder.com

In March we went to Egypt and Jordan for almost the whole month. Great trip! Then when we came back, we went to Milwaukee to dance in Dan and Rebecca Messenger's Wisconsin Dancesport Championship. We were thrilled to have been asked to dance our comedy cross dress number on Saturday night. Dan was a hoot in his brilliant idea for how to introduce it. Here is a link to the video on utube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhaQjEEFhPg
We heard there was a write up in Dance Beat with a picture of Art in his ballgown, but we missed it. If anyone has a copy, please send it to us! Our new postal address is: 1236 Jolly Road, Okemos, MI 48864.

What a great comp. We always have so much fun in Milwaukee--Dan and Rebecca are such warm hosts and the Pfister is such a beautiful hotel.

And now we just finished dancing at Virginia State Dancesport in Reston. Another great comp, hosted by Rosendo and Ahmed. We liked the schedule change a lot. The open pro Latin and American Smooth styles used to be danced on Sunday afternoon, with hardly any audience in the ballroom to watch. This year they were moved to Saturday night. Much better.

Time for us to go now. We'll try to post some pictures later.

Happy dancing!
Betty and Art

Summer Garden at Our Dance Studio

This is the second summer since Louis and Tracy Soma bought the Anderson Center building in Grand Ledge to house Our Dance Studio. They poured so much work into renovating the interior to transform a building that housed an archery business into a dance studio, that I wanted to do something to decorate the exterior. They had cut down all the ugly, ratty, bushes that had not been cared for in years, but nothing was there to replace them. To me, the exterior looked bare without plants.

With their permission, I began transplanting perennials from my garden, which Gage faithfully watered. Last summer was a good start, but this summer, the perennials are starting to come into their own. To the purple coneflower and black eyed susans I had planted in the spring of 2008, I added daffodils, peonies, and Japanese anemone in the fall. This spring I added Russian sage, lavendar, thyme, and Stella D'Oro daylilies. Finally, I put in some annuals--nasturtiums and marigolds. It has really looked beautiful this summer, and I have enjoyed it so much. This fall I plan to add shasta daisies and more daffodils.

Here are some pictures.

Enjoy what is left of summer!

Betty

Virginia State Was Great

We had a wonderful time dancing at the Virginia State Dancesport Competition in Reston in July. This was Art's first competition since his back surgery, and he did really well. Betty and Louis did well, too, and everyone had a great time.

In the pro competition it was really fun to see Mazan Hamza with a new partner, Lisa Vogel. Both of them were in the Ohio Star Ball finals in the American smooth last November, but with different partners. Together they make a really powerful pairing, and they took first. I think the other top couples will have to watch out--these two look really great together!

Now we are home enjoying our garden. I'll try to remember to post some pictures of my late summer garden.

Happy dancing!

Betty

Art Is Back to Dancing!

I am hapy to report that Art is back to dancing less than 2 months after major back surgery. He started back to dance lessons about 2 weeks ago and has already worked up to 2 hours. He danced 2 hours of tango today without a break, then was a bit tired. After a 10 minute break, he danced Viennese Waltz for another 30 minutes. Awesome!

Betty

Successful Back Surgery

I am happy to report that Art's back surgery on March 24 was successful. He came home on Friday and is walking and climbing stairs. Although he is in low gear, and sleeping a lot, he is not in pain. So we'll be off the dance floor for awhile. We will be sorry to miss the Amateur Nationals next weekend in Baltimore, but hope to dance the following year.

Meanwhile, I plan to continue my pro-am dancing with Louis.

Betty

My March Garden

Here are some photos of the flowers coming up in my March garden.
Enjoy!
Betty

Dance Notes Gives Us a Rave Review!

Imagine our delight to receive the January/February issue of Dance Notes and find that it contains a rave review of Ballroom Dancing Is Not for Sissies. OK, the reviewers, a competitive amateur dance couple, didn't like the title or the cover--but they loved what was inside. A few excerpts:

"It's so good that the competitive dancers in us want to keep the things we've learned a secret, but the book lover parts want to pass on a good find!"

"Not only are the answers in there, but they're easy to find because the book is well thought-out and nicely organized. Plus, each chapter's material is summarized at chapter's end. With the short chapters, the moments of thunderous self-enlightenment, and the lack of psycho-babble, you'll actually enjoy reading this book."

"With gentle humor, conversational ease, and some dead-on quotes, Betty and Art guide readers from the Bronze level of dance relationship skills (Respect, Responsibility, and Responsiveness) through the Gold level and beyond."

"Beginners will feel mentored. Long-time dancers will relate to their own struggles, and then feel validated to recognize how common their emotional issues are."

Thanks Paul and Mary Jo! (No, we really didn't pay them to write such a great review, but we surely appreciate it!)

Betty and Art