May 17th, 2010
On the night of Arpil 17th, we had a wonderful time dancing at the Milford High School “All That Jazz” concert. The concert featured Milford High School’s jazz band as well as a local professional group, the Temple Dance Band. The audience was treated to an evening of dinner, music and…dancing! We were invited to break the ice and open up the floor, encouraging the audience to dance, which took some work, but paid off when more and more couples started to join in the fun.
Both bands played a great variety of music, including foxtrot, rumba, swing and foxxy, giving everyone a chance to dance to their favorite tunes. The culmination of the evening was a high-energy performance of “Zoot Suit Riot” by the combined bands, filling the floor with spirited dancers. Afterwards, we got the chance to talk with students and faculty, who expressed their enthusiasm at having so many more people up and dancing at this year’s event. We are looking forward to future invitations.
Margery and Andy, Arthur Murray Dance Studio Manchester
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May 4th, 2010
It has long been my belief that we, your teachers, serve mainly as guides on your journey of self-discovery. Only you can know what it feels like to dance. Your body must execute the movements and your soul must express the feelings. We cannot do it for you. There is nothing more satisfying for us than to see that look on your face when you discover a new truth.
Any of you who are parents have seen that look on your childrens’ faces. You may stand them on their feet, but they must take those first steps. So when do we lose our ability to explore what our body can do? Why do we get discouraged when we don’t do it right the first time? Every time we try we learn something new, even if that is only that that way does not work. Sooner or later, if we keep trying, we find what does work.
Imagine how much faster we could learn if we discovered more of what our body can do when we are away from the studio. Have you ever just walked and allowed yourself to become aware of what your body does right naturally? We don’t have much time to think whe we dance but there is plenty of time to be aware. That awareness makes us live even more in the moment and we live a bit more fully.
I want to offer a challenge to all of you. Explore how your body works. Work your head, neck, shoulders, arms, back, ribs, hips, legs and feet. It takes almost no space. It can be done almost anywhere. You can do it sitting, standing, on the subway or stuck in traffic. Try it for 2 weeks and let me know what you discover.
Larry
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April 26th, 2010
Think you’re one of those people who just can’t dance? Everyone else has rhythm and natural ability but you don’t? Or maybe you’re the one with rhythm but your significant other has none. It’s a common feeling that we are either born with the ability to dance or we’re not. It’s time to destroy the myth: You CAN LEARN to dance!
We would never expect to be able to play a game of tennis without someone showing us how to hold the racquet properly, hit the ball effectively, and alternate between a forehand and backhand, but for some reason many approach social dancing as different. Perhaps the difference is the lack of a prop: ball, racquet, bat, or glove. We only have our body therefore we should already know how to use it. Or perhaps the perceived difference is the casual, social nature of dancing versus the organization of sports with teams and coaches. The reality is that dancing is an althetic activity like any other, and just like any sport, the muscles in our bodies must be taught how to move, must be shown options for adapting to different situations, and must be provided enough repetition for the actions to happen without concious thought.
With dance lessons, you learn patterns that show you how to match movement to music and how to maneuver around the room. You learn how to communicate with your partner to allow the couple to move as a unit. You learn how to hear the different rhythmic structures in the music to understand which dance to choose. You learn how to create different types of body movement to capture different characteristics of a dance. That’s a lot of skill to expect to know intrinsically!
Early in my teaching career, I had a student who was unable to identify the beats in the music needed to keep him on time. His statement on his first lesson? “I have no rhythm. I can’t hear the music.” And I must confess, he was right with regards to what he was inferring. While I believe we all have intrinsic rhythm by nature of the way our heart beats, he was indeed unable to keep himself on time with the music. I grew up in a very musical family, so I wondered if it was actually possible to teach him how to hear the music. I set out on my mission – to train his ear just like I would train his feet! A few months into his dance lessons, I had to point out to him at one of our social dance parties that he was always in perfect time with the music. He started himsef on time and danced with the music to ten different dances! Mission accomplished and note taken: rhythm, just like dancing, can be learned!
How can we expect to know how to dance if we’ve never taken lessons? Sure, there are those who can step-tap naturally a bit better than the others, but who really knows how to dance who hasn’t received some sort of education? We wouldn’t expect that in any other activity and we shouldn’t adjust those expectations when it comes to social dancing either. So if you’ve always wanted to learn and never thought you could, make the call and remove the intimidation of the dance floor for the rest of your life!
Kia
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April 15th, 2010
We had the pleasure of participating in the 15th annual New Hampshire “Try it and buy it” expo. The expo features businesses both big and small as well as New Hampshire craftsmen and allows visitors to see, taste, try and buy their wares.
Margery, Steve, Abby, Jenn, Andy and Sandra all took turns manning our booth all weekend and we had a great time talking to hundreds of people interested in trying ballroom classes with Arthur Murray. It was great to hear a lot of people relate stories about their past experience dancing at Arthur Murray’s or watching the old “Arthur Murray Dance Party” TV show.
On Opening day we got to hear the Governor of New Hampshire, John Lynch, speak as well as hear the reigning Miss New Hampshire sing the national anthem. Steve and Abby performed a dance demonstration on Friday. Margery and Andy performed on Saturday. Hopefully we will see a lot of new faces in the studio over the next couple of weeks, but they will feel welcomed by our great staff and students! Special thanks to all the students who stopped by to say hello or help out at the booth!
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April 12th, 2010
Do you watch Dancing With the Stars? At Arthur Murray we love it, of course! We have loads of fun talking about the dances, the celebrities and the pros. We’ve been lucky enough to meet some of the pros. As a matter of fact, we got a private lesson from Edyta Sliwinska and Alec Mazo at our Dance for a Cure of Prostate Cancer event in December. Edyta and Alec conducted a Paso Doble workshop and mesmerized everyone present with an inspiring dance performance of Paso Doble and international Rumba.
We are sponsoring a giveaway for a trip for two to see the final episode of Dancing With the Stars and a dance package. The winner will be announced on May 3. The show is on May 24. Just go to thebostonchannel.com to register to win.
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