In early April I received a phone call that I would have never expected could be such a life changing experience. A woman by the name of Celeste Mansfield (ironic – same last name as myself, already a connection) called and asked if our studio would be willing to assist them in fulfilling a gentleman’s last wish. My first reaction was yes! Yes! Yes! Without even knowing any of the details, my instincts naturally told me that this was one of those opportunities that would be a once in a lifetime moment! I discussed with Celeste the details about their program.  Care Alternatives Dreamcatchers is an organization funded strictly by contributions for the purpose of granting wishes to terminally ill adults in their final days of life. She then proceeded to tell me about Willard Jackson, a gentleman who resides at the Concord Health Care Center.  His last wish was to ballroom dance! Celeste told me that Willard’s favorite song/dance was the Anniversary Waltz and his favorite singer was Patti Page. She told me he just loved dancing in general and he and his late wife were avid ballroom dancers, including foxtrot, waltz and the jitterbug. His last and final wish was to have one more memory of dancing. 

I got chills just hearing Willard’s story and was thrilled that our time together was scheduled for Friday May 7^th at 10 am. I was joined by my colleague, Mark.  We planned to do a short performance to entertain Willard and his family after he and I had danced together. 

When Willard entered the room that day equipped with his walker, my breath was taken away and there were no words to describe the feeling I had.  I was a little overwhelmed that I be the one who would dance with Willard one last time. I believe that he did much more for me than I ever could have done for him. I had been told that Willard was a bit frail and probably would only be able to tolerate one dance or so, but with a couple of rest breaks, six or seven dances later Willard was to still dancing! He was the most endearing man and when he got up and heard the music boy could he move! He was a great leader and had amazing rhythm.

Mark & I danced to the Anniversary Waltz for Willard and his family.  I knew this meant a lot to Willard and his daughter when their eyes welled up with tears. In all the years that I have been with Arthur Murrays this was truly a defining moment.  I know that what we do has a great impact on people’s lives. This truly was a dream “caught” for Willard and also for me.

Linda

For more about our day of dancing and the Dreamcatchers program, please read the article in the Boston Globe –  Click Here

On Saturday, February 6, the Arthur Murray Natick studio hosted an amazing event for Haiti relief.  We had approximately 200 people in attendance and collected almost $10,000 in donations.  We all enjoyed very powerful performances by Yanvalou Drum and Dance Ensemble from Wellesley College, a great find by Melissa Koch!   And of course, what unbelievable professional dance shows by Stanislav Ivanov, Gabriela Coufalova, Kia Kenney and Brett Giza from our own area Arthur Murray studios.  Their dances are always very entertaining!

We’d like to send out a huge thank you to everyone who donated their time, resources and imagination to create a very impressive event in only 2 weeks!  Amazing!  To all companies and individuals who donated items or money, we send out an especially grateful thank you!  Attendees from MASSabda (Massachusetts Ballroom Dancers Association) supported the event with an enthusiastic group.  Valerie Cenat introduced the Deronette brothers  and their wonderful Haitian music and dancing .  In addition, Valerie shared some of her Haitian music that was played at the party.  As a reminder, Valerie is still looking for First Aid kits and products, canned foods, toiletries, clothing and shoes to take to Haiti at the end of February. She will be leaving on 2-28-10 with the “What’s Mine Is Yours” charitable organization.  You can donate at our Natick or Boston studio.

We couldn’t have a fun party without great music!  A BIG thank you to DJ Dilson for donating his amazing sound and equipment and to Jane Rocha for coordinating DJ Dilson’s time!  Kudos go to Carol and Daniel for working together and putting in many hours to pull together a great playlist!

We are looking forward to seeing great pictures and videos taking by Bill Wynn and a special thank you to Bill for his personal interviews with some of the guests at the event who have been personally touched by this tragedy.

Carol, Olga and the Natick Staff

Ingredients:

• A crisp sunday afternoon
• Snowman Center Pieces
• 300 Ballroom Dancers
• Joyful music
• A sumptuous buffet

Directions:

• Open the doors at 10:30 AM
• Allow mingling for 30 minutes
• Bring to a boil with Solo and Group presentations
• Allow to simmer with lunch
• Bring to a second boil as before
• Finish with a Good NIght Waltz

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Posted by Larry Bonneau, Boston Area Dance Director

L to R: Mayor Thomas Menino with Dr. Faina Shtern, President of the AdMeTech Foundation, & Mark Lightner, President of Arthur Murray Dance Studios, Boston

Dance for the Cure is modeled after Race for the Cure of Breast Cancer, a successful public awareness and fundraising campaign. Race for the Cure appealed to the athletic community, which was instrumental in transforming breast cancer care. While prostate cancer is even more common than breast cancer, there is no public awareness and advocacy comparable to that in breast cancer, and the impact is staggering: Men do not have accurate, life-saving diagnostic tools akin to mammograms. Dance for the Cure is appealing to the leaders of the ballroom dancing community to change that, and you can review a recent history of this event here –> Admetech Foundation

Over the last 15 months, AdMeTech Foundation has organized seven consecutive events, each growing bigger than the last.

The most recent event of the Dance for the Cure of Prostate Cancer took place on October 10th and was held by the AdMeTech Foundation in cooperation with Arthur Murray Dance Studios and with support from SuperShag Productions, DanceBeat, Massabda and numerous dancing studios of New England. Under AdMeTech and Arthur Murray’s leadership, many regional studios united to help in the fight against prostate cancer and brought together more than 200 people to dance for men who live with prostate cancer, for men who lost their battle and died of prostate cancer, and for every man who is facing a threat of prostate cancer.

Leadership of the Arthur Murray Dance Studios played an important role in making October 10th event successful , including Mr. John Kimmins, President of the Arthur Murray Dance Studios International, and Mr. Mark Lightner, President of the Arthur Murray Studios in the Greater Boston area; they in turn, assured enthusiastic participation from Ms. Kia Kenney of the Boston studio, Ms. Linda Mansfield and Ms. Laura Mailander of the Burlington Studio, Ms. Olga Stepanets and Mr. Stansislav Ivanov of the Natick studio, Steve Mathon and Margery Patten of the Manchester, New Hampshire studio, and Mr. Mark Bertrand of the Johnston, Rhode Island studio. Leaders of SuperShag Productions Messrs. Christopher Johnston, Tibor Kerekes, Peter Walker and Andy Fischel have supported AdMeTech Foundation and Arthur Murray in assuring success of this event. Massabda’s President Jim DiCecca, who is Arthur Murray’s student, and Vice President Jane Rexroad have mobilized their membership and assisted organizers in developing a strong program of dancing performances, many of them by national and regional champions.

This event was opened by Dr. Faina Shtern, President of AdMeTech, Mr. Mark Lightner of Arthur Murray, and Mr. Thomas Menino, Boston City Mayor – and featured Mr. Barry Hughson, Executive Director of Boston Ballet, and Massabda’s leadership. For more information about the October 10 event, please click here .Please save the date for the next Dance for the Cure event, which will be held in cooperation with Arthur Murray Dance Studios and Mr. Nick Kosovich, formerly of Dancing with the Stars, in Los Angeles, California, on January 9, 2010.

For more information about AdMeTech Foundation, please visit www.admetech.org. AdMeTech’s mission is to improve early detection and treatment of prostate cancer through ground-breaking programs in research, education and public awareness.”