Hello Gainesville Ocala Social Dancers,
Lots of news in this week's newsletter.
We have rented 308 West University Avenue for a new Gainesville Dance Association and we have lots of interesting programs for you.
To start, this Saturday evening, January 22 will be Tango Pavadita, bringing the sophistication of Buenos Aires to downtown Gainesville, followed by a lovely Sunday morning Tango brunch, January 23 at 11 am.
Sunday evening, January 23 is a one-time only class, Salsa for Swing Dancers, to give you enough background to be able to dance an occassionaly Salsa at a social. If you come to my Salsa class, you are invited to my Israeli Dancing class for free.
Monday evening, January 24 is English Country Dancing, giving you a chance to experience a little of the world of Jane Austen. See the Folk Dance Newsletter for details.
Thursday evening, January 27, Christian Campbell is hosting a free 10-Year Swing Dancing Celebration, yes free, thank you Christian, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his first swing dance.
No UF Swing and no UF Tango Club meetings this Friday night.
Richard's big Swing Social is next Saturday night, January 29 at the Boltin Center and his Tuesday night Swing classes are in the same place. Next month they will be doing Texas Two-Step.
Ongoing Tango lessons on Tuesday and Wednesday, and West Coast Swing on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Latin dancing three nights a week. Check the schedule.
Here is a great opportunity to start swinging. In February, Judi Markell has a four week beginners West Coast Swing series February 1, 8, 15, 22 for $35, Tuesdays, 7 to 7:50 at Imperial Dance Studio. jlmarkell10@comcast.net
In Ocala, David teaches Tango now on Thursday nights at Las Palmas Restaurant.
If you have items you would like to donate, to the Gainesville Dance Association, let me know.
We need pratical things like garbage pails, wall clock, chairs, serving pitchers.
Does anyone know how to fix speakers or can donate working ones.
We have a couple of speakers that have a problem with the electronics, but the speakers themselves are good.
Some really good dancing going on in Gainesville.
Last week was a fantastic Contra Dance on Saturday night and a happening West Coast Swing birthday party for Josh at the Eagles Club.
www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100663751483521
Sunday celebrate Josh Angel's birthday and get in some West Coast Swing at the Eagles Club.
Hustle! is coming in February.
Arjay Centeno and Jen Deluca are teaching a West Coast Swing workshop in Jacksonville this weekend. Debi Dillow, debidillow@comcast.net
Happy Dancing,
Andy
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Schedule: confirm all programs before going
1. Fri-Sat 1/21-22 - West Coast Swing with Arjay and Jen in Jacksonville
2. Saturday 1/22 - Tango Pavadita Opening Night
3. Sunday 1/23 - Salsa for Swing Dancers
4. Tuesday 1/25 - Mostly Swing Dancing
5. Wednesday 1/26 - West Coast Swing
6. Thursday 1/27 - 10-Years of Swing Dancing Party
7. Thursday 1/27 - West Coast Swing with Judi
8. Thursday 1/27 - Tango in Ocala
9. Friday 1/28 - UF Swing Club
10. Friday 1/28 - UF Tango Club
11. Saturday 1/29 - Mostly Swing and Social Dancing Party at the Boltin Center
Article: Now I Know How a Dog Feels and An Old Man and His Dog
Other:
Argentine Tango with David and Thuy on Tuesdays in a downtown private home. david.chayes@gmail.com
Argentine Tango with Andrea Pham on Wednesdays in a NW private home. pham.andrea@gmail.com
Ballroom Semi-Private Classes with Caroline Picart in private homes. cjpicart@gmail.com
Latin dancing on Tuesdays 8-10 Bachata and 10-11 free dance social, Thursdays 8-10 Salsa and Sundays 5-7 Salsa at the Unified Training Center, $6/hour. leydi@salsacalientestudios.com
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Quotes:
- For myself I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else. ~ Sir Winston Churchill
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1. Friday-Saturday 1/21-22 - West Coast Swing with Arjay and Jen
Friday, January 21 is a Group Private Party limited to 8 couples at $100 per couple. Instruction is 7-9 pm. This is a small intimate group that will share in 2 hours instruction from our pros and have more of a one on one touch with the lesson. Call for reservations and location.
Saturday, January 22
Club Savoy, 6354 Arlington Road, Jacksonville
12:00 - 1:00 : WORKSHOP 1 That's how he does it
1:15 - 2:15 : WORKSHOP 2 That's how she does it
2:30 - 3:30 : WORKSHOP 3 That's how we do it
3:30 - 4:30 : WORKSHOP 4 No idea what we are doing as a couple
4:30 - 8:00 : Dinner BREAK
8:00 - 12:00 : Dance Party with Jen deluca and Arjay Centeno
Weekend Pass (all Workshops plus Dance) $70 before 1/16/11 $80 after 1/16/11
Saturday Workshops only (4 daytime workshops) $60
Saturday Dance only-$20
Video Pass(bring your own camera , hand held , no tripods) $20
DJ's for the weekend will be Tony Taylor & Tony Dillow.
Arjay & Jen are available for privates over the weekend.
904-608-3179, DebiDillow@comcast.net
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2. Saturday 1/22 - Tango Pavadita Opening Night
Gainesville Dance Association, 308 W University Avenue
7:30 - 8:30 : Tango technique, all levels
8:30 - 12:00 : Milonga
$10, $5 Students
Argentine Tango milonga. Elegant dancing, light refreshments
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3. Sunday 1/23 - Salsa for Swing Dancers
Gainesville Dance Association, 308 W University Avenue
7:00 - 9:00 : Salsa class for Swing Dancers
$10, $5 students
Add Salsa to your repetoire so you can do a few Salsa dances when they are played at a social. You will have a chance to put your new skills to good use next weekend at Richard's social on January 29.
No partner needed. All levels welcome. Swing dance experience helpful, but not required.
Come early to sign in. Class starts on time.
Andrew, 352-327-2378, publish@gainesvilledance.com
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4. Tuesday 1/25 - Mostly Swing Dancing
Thelma Bolton Center, 516 NE 2 Ave
6:50 - 9:00 : Lesson and dancing
$8, $6 students with ID
Richard, 352-213-8769, mostlyswinggainesville@yahoo.com
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5. Wednesday 1/26 - West Coast Swing with Essie
Eagles Club, 4562 NW 13th Street
7:00 - West Coast Swing class and dancing
$3 members, $5 non-members
Essie Jennings, essie.jennings@gmail.com
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6. Thursday 1/27 - 10-Years of Swing Dancing Party
Gainesville Dance Association, 308 W University Avenue
9:00 - Midnight : Swing dancing
Free
Come celebrate with me my first ten years as a swing dancer. This means more to me than a birthday! And, of course, this calls for a dance!
I count my swing dancing career from the 27 January 2001 Student Honors Organization dance at Norman Gym. That's the night I saw how fun swing dancing could be and committed to regularly attending the Florida Swing Dancing Club until I learned to have fun like that. Little did I know the impact to be had on my life.
Thank-you to everyone who has touched my life over the past decade, especially all my dance teachers and the countless encouragers. I remember you fondly and keep passing your gifts on.
If you'd like, share something to eat or a non-alcoholic drink. Bring anyone you wish ...this would be a fun night to introduce a friend to swing dancing! =-D
Christian, dcamp@alumni.ufl.edu
www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102309836513700
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7. Thursday 1/27 - West Coast Swing with Judi
Imperial Dance Studio, SW 34 Street
7:00 - 8:00 : Class
$35 Month
Judi Markell, jlmarkell10@comcast.net
352-375-7763, imperialdancestudio@hotmail.com, www.imperialdancestudio.net
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8. Thursday 1/27 - Foundations of Argentine Tango in Ocala
Las Palmas Restaurant, Ocala, FL
7:00 - 9:30 pm : Argentine Tango class
$10, $5 students for lesson
Free for practice, social dancing afterwards
David Chayes, david.chayes@gmail.com, 352-328-7916
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9. Friday 1/28 - UF Swing Club
Unified Training Center, 809 W University Ave
8:00 - 11:00
www.FloridaSwingDance.com
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10. Friday 1/28 - UF Tango Club
Possibly at
UF Housing Tanglewood Common Room, 2907 SW 13 Street
8:00 - 9:15 Tango class
9:15 - 11:00 Tango practica and social
Class and practica is FREE for UF Tanglewood residents and students. $5 donation minimum is asked from others.
UF Argentine Tango Club, http://grove.ufl.edu/~tango/
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11. Saturday 1/29 - Mostly Swing and Social Dancing Party at the Boltin Center
Thelma Bolton Center, 516 NE 2 Ave
7:45 - 10:45 : Swing and Social Dancing
$8, $6 students with ID
Richard, 352-213-8769, mostlyswinggainesville@yahoo.com
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Article: Now I Know How a Dog Feels and An Old Man and His Dog
Last Saturday night I was intending to go to the Contra dance, but somehow I got pulled into running the slideshow for a musical Rabbi visiting our synagogue.
He was on the bima, singing and playing the guitar.
I was in the front row, with my finger poised on the enter key, ready to show the next slide.
As I have written many times, my favorite show is the Dog Whisperer. I was sitting, staring up at my master, waiting for the tiniest gesture or facial expression for my instructions. I was worried, because I did not know how to go backwards and was afraid of changing a slide too soon. After a while, I could figure out when to change the slides before he gave me the signal. Now I know how a dog feels.
A friend of mine sent me this and I thought you might enjoy it.
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An Old Man and His Dog
"Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!" My father yelled at me. "Can't you do anything right?"
Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn't prepared for another battle.
"I saw the car, Dad. Please don't yell at me when I'm driving."
My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt.
Dad glared at me, then turned away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts. Dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil. What could I do about him?
Dad had been a lumberjack in Washington and Oregon. He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reveled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He had entered grueling lumberjack competitions, and had placed often.
The shelves in his house were filled with trophies that attested to his prowess.
The years marched on relentlessly. The first time he couldn't lift a heavy log, he joked about it; but later that same day I saw him outside alone, straining to lift it. He became irritable whenever anyone teased him about his advancing age, or when he couldn't do something he had done as a younger man. Four days after his sixty-seventh birthday, he had a heart attack. An ambulance sped him to the hospital while a paramedic administered CPR to keep blood and oxygen flowing.
At the hospital, Dad was rushed into an operating room. He was lucky. He survived. But something inside Dad died. His zest for life was gone. He obstinately refused to follow doctor's orders.
Suggestions and offers of help were turned aside with sarcasm and insults.
The number of visitors thinned, then finally stopped altogether. Dad was left alone.
My husband, Dick, and I asked Dad to come live with us on our small farm. We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.
Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. It seemed nothing was satisfactory. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated and moody. Soon I was taking my pent-up anger out on Dick. We began to bicker and argue.
Alarmed, Dick sought out our pastor and explained the situation. The clergyman set up weekly counseling appointments for us. At the close of each session he prayed, asking God to soothe Dad 's troubled mind.
But the months wore on and God was silent. Something had to be done and it was up to me to do it.
The next day I sat down with the phone book and methodically called each of the mental health clinics listed in the Yellow Pages. I explained my problem to each of the sympathetic voices that answered in vain.
Just when I was giving up hope, one of the voices suddenly exclaimed, "I just read something that might help you! Let me go get the article."
I listened as she read. The article described a remarkable study done at a nursing home. All of the patients were under treatment for chronic depression. Yet their attitudes had improved dramatically when they were given responsibility for a dog.
I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. After I filled out a questionnaire, a uniformed officer led me to the kennels. The odor of disinfectant stung my nostrils as I moved down the row of pens. Each contained five to seven dogs. Long-haired dogs, curly-haired dogs, black dogs, spotted dogs all jumped up, trying to reach me. I studied each one but rejected one after the other for various reasons too big, too small, too much hair.
As I neared the last pen a dog in the shadows of the far corner struggled to his feet, walked to the front of the run and sat down. It was a pointer, one of the dog world's aristocrats. But this was a caricature of the breed.
Years had etched his face and muzzle with shades of gray. His hip bones jutted out in lopsided triangles. But it was his eyes that caught and held my attention. Calm and clear, they beheld me unwaveringly.
I pointed to the dog. "Can you tell me about him?"
The officer looked, then shook his head in puzzlement. "He's a funny one."
Appeared out of nowhere and sat in front of the gate. We brought him in, figuring someone would be right down to claim him. That was two weeks ago and we've heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow."
He gestured helplessly.
As the words sank in I turned to the man in horror. "You mean you're going to kill him?"
"Ma'am," he said gently, "that's our policy. We don't have room for every unclaimed dog."
I looked at the pointer again. The calm brown eyes awaited my decision.
"I'll take him," I said.
I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. When I reached the house I honked the horn twice. I was helping my prize out of the car when Dad shuffled onto the front porch... "Ta-da! Look what I got for you, Dad!"
I said excitedly.
Dad looked, then wrinkled his face in disgust. "If I had wanted a dog I would have gotten one. And I would have picked out a better specimen than that bag of bones. Keep it! I don't want it" Dad waved his arm scornfully and turned back toward the house.
Anger rose inside me. It squeezed together my throat muscles and pounded into my temples. "You'd better get used to him, Dad. He's staying!"
Dad ignored me. "Did you hear me, Dad?" I screamed.
At those words Dad whirled angrily, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed and blazing with hate. We stood glaring at each other like duelists, when suddenly the pointer pulled free from my grasp. He wobbled toward my dad and sat down in front of him. Then slowly, carefully, he raised his paw.
Dad's lower jaw trembled as he stared at the uplifted paw. Confusion replaced the anger in his eyes. The pointer waited patiently. Then Dad was on his knees hugging the animal.
It was the beginning of a warm and intimate friendship. Dad named the pointer Cheyenne.
Together he and Cheyenne explored the community. They spent long hours walking down dusty lanes. They spent reflective moments on the banks of streams, angling for tasty trout. They even started to attend Sunday services together, Dad sitting in a pew and Cheyenne lying quietly at is feet.
Dad and Cheyenne were inseparable throughout the next three years. Dad 's bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne made many friends. Then late one night I was startled to feel Cheyenne 's cold nose burrowing through our bed covers. He had never before come into our bedroom at night.
I woke Dick, put on my robe and ran into my father's room. Dad lay in his bed, his face serene. But his spirit had left quietly sometime during the night.
Two days later my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad 's bed. I wrapped his still form in the rag rug he had slept on. As Dick and I buried him near a favorite fishing hole, I silently thanked the dog for the help he had given me in restoring Dad 's peace of mind.
The morning of Dad's funeral dawned overcast and dreary. This day looks like the way I feel, I thought, as I walked down the aisle to the pews reserved for family. I was surprised to see the many friends Dad and Cheyenne had made filling the church. The pastor began his eulogy. It was a tribute to both Dad and the dog who had changed his life.
And then the pastor turned to Hebrews 13:2. "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."
"I've often thanked God for sending that angel," he said.
For me, the past dropped into place, completing a puzzle that I had not seen before: the sympathetic voice that had just read the right article.
Cheyenne's unexpected appearance at the animal shelter, his calm acceptance and complete devotion to my father, and the proximity of their deaths. And suddenly I understood. I knew that God had answered my prayers after all.
Life is too short for drama or petty things, so laugh hard, love truly and forgive quickly. Live While You Are Alive. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.
God answers our prayers in His time, not ours.
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Sentimental, I know. If you are still in the mood, read Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night.
www.words.bz/Articles/tabid/145/words/10/Do-Not-Go-Gentle-Into-that-Good-Night-by-Dylan-Thomas.aspx
www.gainesvilledance.com/Articles/tabid/79/Gainesville-Dance/163/Now-I-Know-How-a-Dog-Feels-and-An-Old-Man-and-His-Dog.aspx
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