Creative Combination of Social and Competitive Dancing

Posted on March 31, 2014 by WildBill

Whether you’re already an enthusiastic social dancer, or just interested in an up-close look (from front row table seats) at world-class ballroom dancing, you might want to take advantage of a thoughtful “guided tour” during the San Francisco Open DanceSport Championships April 11-13 at the Marriott Hotel near the San Francisco Airport. Senior champs James Kleinrath and Melody Singleton, who have recently taken over the Imperial Ballroom in Redwood City (where Dancing with the Stars standout Anna Trebunskaya trained former San Francisco Forty Niners star Jerry Rice), will be the tour guides. Top dancers in all four divisions will be dancing Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, Rumba, Cha Cha, Swing, Bolero, Jive, Paso Doble, Mambo, Samba and more. Because the worlds of social and competitive dancing have recently grown apart, and because competitors are now being groomed (mostly outside the United States) to compete from an early age, these two worlds rarely overlap. Wilddancer believes taking advantage of local opportunities for promotion is all too rare in both the ballroom and country-western dance worlds, so applaud the creativity of James and Melody …who are exceptions, having started as social dancers, and are imparting their skills to social dancers. And if the past is a guide, there will be some opportunity to do social dancing during breaks in the competition, with a nice large floor and great dance music. The $50 tour will start at 8 pm on Sunday, April 13, and there is an optional dinner nearby starting at 5:30 pm. Contact James Kleinrath, at 650-591-6757 or jameskleinrath@hotmail.com.

Ice Dancing at the Winter Olympics: More Like Ballroom Dancing Than Ice Skating

Posted on February 13, 2014 by WildBill

Couples dancing needs a lot more promotion than it usually gets, but right now it may be getting a bunch of free advertising thanks to the growing list of household names sponsoring ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White. According to the Wall Street Journal, their sponsors include Airwave (a Japanese mattress company), AT&T, Kellogg’s, Procter & Gamble, Ralph Lauren, and VISA. “Dancing with the Stars” has apparently boosted interest in ice dancing, and its choreographer Derek Hough helped the couple with their routines.

Will Teen Star on DWTS Boost Youth Interest in Couples Dancing?

Posted on March 18, 2013 by WildBill

The couples dancing community, especially dance studios and independent dance teachers, looked forward initially to the new Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) TV show, as it would have been expected to help drive a rebirth of interest in couples’ social dancing. Unfortunately, though, it was not a dancing show but a reality show, where the TV audience was more concerned about the personalities of the stars and the banter of the judges than about the dancing feats that skilled teachers could elicit from men and women who had been stars in sports or other pursuits. Hollywood got involved, with their interest in the ratings (i.e, watcher-ship) far exceeding any interest in the dancing itself. The stars were all household words in their own specialties, and often were no longer active in them, so they were happy to prolong their share of mind in American audiences. But the show did not drive many, or any, new students into dance lessons or studios. Now, however, there is a 16 year old woman named Zendaya who is a current star on the Disney Channel’s “Shake It Up” series. We can all hope that she will give a shot in the arm to couples dancing by her high-schooler fans.