On Friday, November 19^th, we were joined at our Egyptian Gala theme party by the staff and students of the Randolph Arthur Murray Dance Studio as well as Mark & Nancy.  We were truly flattered by their willingness to make the more than an hour drive to celebrate with us here in Manchester.  Their enthusiasm for their dancing is truly outstanding!

The students of the Manchester Arthur Murray went all out to welcome the students and staff from Randolph.  Our Egyptian Gala team, David & Karen Kelly, Kathy Metivier, Ed Shank, Tory Smith and Jean Pinard, provided all of our refreshments and most of the decorations for our fantastic evening of dancing.  The amount of time and effort they contributed to the evening was truly astounding.

The staff and students came prepared to share all of their best.  Brett, Gabby and the students from Randolph taught the Manchester students and staff an energetic new line dance.  Steve led three teams of students in a humorous round of Ancient Egyptian trivia which ended in a two-way tie.  Brett and Margery danced two professional showcases, Tango and Waltz, for their combined student body.  The students and staff from both studios mixed, mingled and danced the night away!

It was certainly a party we won’t soon forget!  We hope that the Randolph Studio will join us again next year!

When first seeing the posters for “Dance for the Cure” at the Dance O Rama in New York City I thought to myself—wow, someone is finally recognizing that prostate cancer in men is a serious problem and needs funding to increase research and to develop effective treatments. Having gone through much of the current recommended protocol for detection and treatment of this disease I can personally relate to many of the points listed on the AdMeTech Foundation web site. The disease is unrecognized, it is more prevalent in men than breast cancer is in women, current screening modalities are highly questionable, and recommended treatment highly uncertain.

I would strongly urge that every guy make a contribution to this cause. It may contribute to your future quality of life as well as your longevity.

It was my pleasure to contribute. 

 John

It was the perfect evening for it…warm weather greeted us as we departed the Manchester Studio in a giant van. Steve was manning the wheel and Mark Lightner played co-pilot. Nancy Hamblet helped with directions from the rear. Also joining our expedition to Weirs Beach was: Margery Patten, Jose Saucedo, Neil and Linda Philcrantz, Martine Silbermann, Trudy, Dorianne, Tory and Cody Smith and Dean Damico. Marc and Kathy Metivier joined us there.

First we had our picture taken and then we were escorted to our reserved tables. The ships staff was expecting us and made us feel welcome and comfortable. Then we settled in for a delicious dinner of Prime Rib and Seafood with all the fixings!

After dinner the band started. There were two dance floors…one upstairs and one down. Lots of fun to wander around dance a little…go on up to the next dance floor and start again. When we got too warm we stepped outside to the deck to enjoy the beautiful scenery and a cool breeze. The night was clear and the big dipper was clearly visible from the top deck. All in all a wonderful outing was enjoyed by all.

Steve

Pictures of the Event

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

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

• 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.”

I was impressed by the varying levels of dancing I saw…you have to keep in mind these women only had a handful of lessons to prepare for the taping and some of them didn’t even dance with their grooms. That must have been stressful for them but we provided the brides without partners one of our excellent Arthur Murray Professionals to dance with. Thanks to Zeke and Chadlyr for standing in for the grooms with a couple of the brides…I’m sure it made their performance a bit less stressful.

After watching the eight couples with my fellow judges…Olga and Kristen…it clearly became obvious who the top 3 couples were. I can’t tell you who won yet…you will have to watch the show…but I think you will agree they were the best of the group.

Zeke, Chadlyr and I finished up the day with some lunch at the Cheesecake Factory at the Natick Mall. Yum!

Steve