CHANDELIER NIGHT

Our July 19th visit to the Chandelier Ballroom is an experiment.  It is the first time in the 30 year history of SSQQ that we have had Crash Courses at the studio, then gone somewhere else for our dancing afterwards. 

We are giving this a try because it makes a lot of sense.  Ballroom Dancing is stylish and elegant.  Nothing captures the mood like dancing to a Band playing excellent live music on a spacious dance floor. 

There is just something about the 'atmosphere' of dressing up and going out to a fancy place.

Certainly you have heard the old saying, "Brought to you by popular demand?"

We are trying the Crash Course at SSQQ/Field Trip to Chandelier because our students have asked us to give it a try.   The reason is that over the past year we have developed a group of dedicated Ballroom Dancers who thoroughly enjoy going over to the Chandelier for their popular Saturday Night parties.

Ballroom dancing has made quite an impact on Sunday evening here at SSQQ.  Over the past year, we have developed some pretty good Ballroom and Swing Dancers on Sunday nights.  Jack Benard, Marla Archer, and Jill Banta do a great job developing the Beginners, then they hand their students over to Dakota.   Thanks in large part to Dakota Wilhelm's Accelerated Ballroom program plus lots of Sunday  Night Ballroom Practice, we now have some very talented Ballroom dancers here at SSQQ. 

This group loves to dance to live music.  Thanks to the organizational ability of Robert Kaechler, the Chandelier Ballroom has become an instant tradition in the past year.

Our Saturday night trips to the Chandelier Ballroom have been very successful.  The Chandelier Crowd of 30 to 50 people typically dance the night away to Tango, Waltz, Rumba, Cha Cha, Foxtrot, and Swing music.   You can come alone or you can come together, but no one sits for long.  Everyone dances with everyone.

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Kaechler
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2008 6:54 PM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: Chandelier Ballroom dance

We had a much larger turnout in March than in February at the Chandelier Ballroom.

I counted 36 from SSQQ and that was difficult to do because there are always couples on the dance floor. I reserved two tables again and we overflowed onto a third table.

Some folks, after arriving came over to our area to introduce themselves and I had never seen them before but they said they were from the studio so we had a great time.

One of the funniest lines I heard was when Kit and a gentleman who I think his name is Raphael came off the dance floor after a Samba.  Someone asked Kit, "Kit, I didn't know you could Samba?"

Kit replied, "Neither did I!"

This picture was taken on the 2007 Carnival Conquest Dance Cruise.  As you can see, that is a pretty crowded floor.  Ballroom Dancing has been a big hit on all of our dance cruises.  You can only see half the floor, but you get the idea - Ballroom Dancing is very popular on the SSQQ Cruises.  Please note that everyone in that picture is from SSQQ.

MORE ABOUT SSQQ BALLROOM DANCING
Written by Rick Archer

You would be interested to know that Ballroom Dancing here at SSQQ first became popular during our first dance cruise back in 2001 aboard the Carnival Celebration.

Ballroom Dancing took us all by surprise during that trip.  It was Formal Night and we were are all expected to dress up for the evening.  Someone noticed the ship had scheduled a special Ballroom Night known as the Captain's Reception.  It said the ship's orchestra would be playing famous Big Band standards from artists like Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw.

Only a couple people in our group had ever actually danced to live Ballroom music before.  The majority were pretty much hooked on Country-Western.  But all of us knew how to Swing dance.  After all, the annual Sock Hop featuring Swing dancing to Fifties Music has always been popular at SSQQ.  So we decided to check it out.

So we went to the auditorium on the ship.  There were 300 people in there.  We were intimidated to discover that we were expected to dance up on the stage.  'No way', we all agreed.  We weren't about to get up there in front of all those people!

So the music came on. The familiar strains of In the Mood filled the room.  We all noticed that music sounded pretty darn good.  But the stage remained absolutely empty.  No one dared get out there.  But a couple of us decided we couldn't stand it anymore.  That music was too darn good to waste!

Faced with the beautiful, spacious dance floor, our group got brave.  Two by two, our couples began to get out there.  That is when we discovered it was possible to dance and look nice at the same time. Amazing!

Most of us had no idea Ballroom Dancing was so much fun!  We were like ducks to water out there; suddenly we could care less if a room full of strangers were watching.  We were in for a big surprise.  When the song ended, there was a huge applause from the crowd. 

Although most of us could hardly be considered experts at Ballroom Dancing, it turned out that no one else in the entire room except our group knew a thing.   We had the floor all to ourselves.  That was pretty cool. 

We were in for another surprise.  Members of our group that were still seated overheard people in the crowd talking about our dancing.  The consensus was that we must have been hired as entertainment for the evening!   They thought we were the performers!  They loved watching us dance.  When they clapped at the end of every song, it was just as much for us as it was for the Band.  Woo-wee!

Upon hearing this, our egos inflated to enormous proportions.  Move over, Fred and Ginger!  Now that we had everyone's approval, we let loose and had the time of our lives.   Out on that stage, we were the stars of the evening.

Nor did it end there.  As the trip progressed, we discovered there was nightly Ballroom Dancing on a smaller scale in a central area on the ship.  For example, on our beloved Rhapsody, there was an area called the Centrum which featured a trio of musicians doing a pretty good job with Waltzes, Foxtrots, Cha Chas, and Swing.  That is how Ballroom Dancing became a nightly fixture on our cruises. 

People would make a point before and after to dinner to get in several very enjoyable dances. 

We sometimes had as many as 50 people dancing to the live band in the Centrum every night of the trip.  And our popularity continued.  While we danced, passengers would ring the railing along the level above to watch us dance. 

Although they smiled, I could tell there was a touch of sadness in their eyes.  I think they wished they could join us.  They realized just how much fun we were having.

After each cruise, people would make a point to learn more about Ballroom and Swing dancing for the next trip.  That's when they discovered that Ballroom Dancing was fun on land as well as at sea.   Through word of mouth, the enthusiasm of the cruise dancers was passed on to non-cruise dancers as well.  And that's how Ballroom Dancing picked up momentum at SSQQ.   Who would have ever thought that our interest in Ballroom Dancing would have started out at sea? 

BALLROOM DANCING ON SSQQ CRUISE TRIPS


6 DANCES TO LEARN:  SWING - FOXTROT - TANGO - CHACHA - RUMBA - WALTZ

The major drawback to mastering the Art of Formal Dance is that there are six distinctly different dances to learn.  Although experienced dancers discover there is quite a bit of overlap in the patterns, the beginners usually feel pretty overwhelmed.

The thought of having to learn six completely different dances chases off many of the faint-hearted.  But for those who stick with it,  Ballroom Dancing becomes a wonderful skill to acquire.  For one thing, Practice Night never gets boring because there is a new challenge with every song.

The flagship of SSQQ Sunday Ballroom is Dakota Wilhelm's Accelerated Ballroom Program.  Dakota offers a two-month class in each of the five major Ballroom dances plus a Samba and Viennese Waltz class at the end of the year.   This class has been well-received for two reasons.  One, Dakota is an excellent teacher and two, his students enjoy learning advanced Ballroom patterns. 

For more information about the SSQQ Ballroom Program, click here.

A NIGHT OF BALLROOM DANCING AT THE CHANDELIER BALLROOM

Chandelier Ballroom is the name of an SPJST Lodge located in the Heights on 15th Street and Beale near Shepherd. 

Robert and Nancy Kaechler first organized a group of us to go Ballroom Dancing on Saturday, January 15, 2007.  The idea went over very well - despite very well advertising, we had 25 people in attendance.

Jack Melick and his Orchestra played many Big Band favorites for Swing and Foxtrot. In addition there were songs for Waltz, Tango, Cha Cha and Rumba. 

The music was good, the floor was huge, and we had plenty of great dancers to share the evening with.  In other words, we had a great time!

Some people came as couples and some people came by themselves, but everyone danced with everyone as is the spirit of SSQQ.  No one sat still for long, I assure you.  And yes, some people were better dancers than others and yes, many mistakes were made. But you know what, no one minded?  We were there to have fun... and we did!

MORE ABOUT BALLROOM

2006 was the first year in the history of the studio where SSQQ introduced a complete Ballroom Dance Program.  I can't tell you how pleased I was to see that many people had been curious about Ballroom for some time and were more than happy to give it a try.

Houston, Texas, has had a long love for Western music.  Consequently, Western Dancing has dominated the dance landscape for the past 25 years.  To its credit, Western Dancing has made itself more interesting by incorporating the best of Ballroom Dancing.

For many years, SSQQ has seen great interest in Western Waltz, Western Cha Cha, and Night Club classes.  In other words, Ballroom Dancing has been popular at SSQQ for a long time, except that it has been disguised as Western Dancing.

However, true Ballroom Dancing differs from the Western version in certain ways.  For example, many of the Box patterns common to Waltz, Foxtrot, and Rumba are unavailable at a Western club because you will get run over.

Second, good Ballroom music is very pretty to listen to.  Don't get me wrong - there are some beautiful Western Waltz songs.  But there also some beautiful Irish Waltz songs. The point is - I like to dance to all kinds of music.  One night it might be George Strait, the next night it might be Frank Sinatra.  Why choose?  Have them both!

Third, Western dancing ignores Tango.  This sexy dance is just too much fun to do without. 

Fourth, once in a while it is downright fun to dress up and look good!  I can't tell you how much fun our dancers had on the last Rhapsody Cruise with Ballroom Dancing.  If it wasn't the Captain's Reception or the Crown and Anchor Ballroom Dance, then the Ballroom floor in the Centrum was crowded from wall to wall every night with SSQQ Ballroom dancers.

That ship was rocking as we danced the night away.  And we will do it again this year in Hawaii and aboard the Conquest.

I am thrilled to see that Ballroom Dancing has carved out a new niche at SSQQ.  This trip to Chandelier Ballroom was just a start.  I imagine the dancing will get more sophisticated throughout 2007 as Dakota Wilhelm's Accelerated class kicks in. 

In the meantime, each week we get better and better. Our weekly Sunday Night Ballroom Dance averages 70 people who thoroughly enjoy their night of Ballroom music and dance.  Come join us!