Merry Christmas,
share
the holiday with your friends, family & loved ones and take
care of those less fortunate.
Happy birthday wishes to Noel
Colon, Keith Harrison, Joanne
Piazza, Carol CK, Marianne
Gonzalez, Eileen Erlich, Joan
Dudley and
singing sensation Donna Summer
Our heart felt condolences go out to Mike Reher and
his family. Mike's father passed away this past week. Please keep them
in your thoughts and prayers.
High-Five to the Class of 2007, Life Time Achievement
members of the Hustle Hall Of Fame. Our distinguished panel has just
selected the four newest members. Please join us in congratulating:
Maria Torres,
Jeff Shelley,
Diane Nardone
Franc. "Perico" Reyes
Visit
http://www.hustlehalloffame.com
Great images from Mary Keegan's birthday dance at
Michael's Cafe courtesy of Fred. Enjoy,
http://fredf.fotki.com/maryk07/
Monday Jan 7th, on ABC, Cari Ann Vs Bruno Dance War
at 8PM
Music pioneer Mel Cheren has passed. He supported
the creation of the first 12" single for DJs and in created the first
record pool (The New York Record Pool). Mel was the first to release an
instrumental mix on a 12" B-side ("We're On The Right Track" by Ultra
High Frequency). He was the co-founded of West End Records. Artists
included: Karen Young ("Hot Shot" sold 800,000 copies), The Bombers
"(Everybody) Get Dancin'," Taana Gardner "Work That Body," "Heartbeat,"
Raw Silk's "Do It to The Music," NYC Peech Boys "Don't Make Me Wait,"
and Loose Joints "Is it All Over My Face." He was the financial backer
behind The Paradise Garage Discotheque. In 1987 formed 24 Hours for
Life, which served as the founding fiscal sponsor for LIFEbeat, The
Music Industry Fights AIDS. Mel helped revolutionized dance music,
opened one of the greatest nightclubs in history, and used his energies
and resources to help in the fight against AIDS for 25 years. When you
go out tonight, blow a kiss to the disco ball and remember a wonderful
man.
It's not to late to give the gift that shines all year long. Twelve
months of dancing, on your own calendar. High quality photos by Sam
Habet. The photos are a collection from all styles of dancing
including Hustle, Salsa, Ballroom, Swing, Country & Line Dance.
Order now at the reduced price of only $5.00 each. Visit the website
for more info. - write to Sam at, Sam@samssnapshots.com Mail
checks payable to Sam Habet at PO Box 2314, Rockville, Maryland 20850.
Please add $3.00 for shipping per calendar.
http://www.samssnapshots.fotki.com/dancing/news-
and-information/ordering-2008-calendar/
The #1 Billboard Dance song is "Keep Your Body Working," sung by Martha
Wash. Yes, thee Martha from her days with Sylvester (Two Tons
of Fun) to the Weather Girls and their classic hits (It's Raining Men)
to lead singer for C & C Music Factory.
It's not to late to take part in the "Dancing With Our"Stars"
weekend at Port St. Lucie, Florida, Jan 10 - 13, 2008. It's a total
all-inclusive vacation at Club Med. For info contact Cindy Sherman
(561) 495-7571 See all the details below.
This weeks edition of DanceTalk is sponsored by The Remission party to
honor one of the sweethearts of dance - Kim Vanaman.
Read all about it below.
Make it a great week,
Ron
The Remission Party
Hustle Night on Saturday 01/05/08 with Kim Vanaman at the
œThe Remission party? Polish Home, 9 First St., Windsor
Locks, CT
One year ago, almost to the day, the Northeast dance community came
together to aid one of New England™s most prominent dance
instructors in her battle with breast cancer. It was a resounding
success. Unfortunately, Kim was unable to attend that event, mostly due
to the well documented side effects of chemotherapy and radiation
treatment. In her own words, January 2007 was the "Low Point" in this
struggle. Thus we have chosen this date, one year later to celebrate
together, that Kim's doctors have told her the good news: she is cancer
free.
Kim will be here this time ... teaching 2 workshops, socializing ...
and dancing the night away.
Saturday 01/05/08 “ 2 workshops and a dance “
Material will be œKim™s Choice? ... basically I
don't know what she already taught in the area, so I'm going to leave
it up to her to show something different.
Schedule for the night;
Novice/Intermediate Hustle - 6:00 - 7:00 PM
1/2 Hour Dancing and Practice - 7:00 - 7:30 PM
Intermediate/Advanced Hustle “ 7:30 - 8:30PM
8:30PM - Midnight - Hustle Dance - Pizza around 10:00PM
DJ™s Ken Mercik, Bob Frione & others TBA - The music
for tonight's dance will be Hustle, and what I refer to as "Swustle"
(Contemporary music suitable for West Coast Swing and Hustle). Later in
the night we'll mix it up a little, but the music thru out the night
will be at least 50-60% Hustle
Both lessons and dance - $30 - One lesson and Dance - $20 - Dance Only
- $12
No Partner - Pre-Registration required. No BYOB “ Cash bar on
Premises (Really Cheep Drinks) For more Information, contact Ken
Mercik, djkenm@aol.com - call 860-749-5434
http://www.djkenm.com
Letters to the Editor
Thank you to all those who wrote letters about Dancing With The Stars.
We had many view points and some very poignant comments. This topic
clearly hit a nerve as we received nearly 100 letters. We apologize
that we cannot post them all and we had to shorten some, just a
bit. Enjoy,
Ron
....................
From the first season of DWTS, I felt the judges should have had at
least 75% of the vote while the public's opinion should have
been only 25%, - have the show find another way to sort out
the final scores. The public is voting for their favorite
star and nothing more. Take Jerry Rice, who should have been
out of the competition sooner than he was, but with the
show airing during football season, all the fans voted to keep
him on longer. I also felt that Mario was the clear
winner. Although Emmitt did a nice job, he was not
the better dancer. For this last season, Mark Cuban should have been
off at least two weeks before he was finally voted off. Sabrina had
youth and dance experience on her side but she was a natural at
ballroom, which you know is much harder than just the simple
choreography that dancers like the Spice Girls perform on stage. I
still give kudos to Helio and Julianne for their win. They
deserved it. However, the judging really needs to change on DWTS.
Lisa
....................
Thank you for your information re Dancing With the Stars and the
Judging. It was the most bizarre season ever, and it was indeed a shock
to see Sabrina Ryan go home so early. It brings up a lot of questions.
I agree that the audience input is way too high on this show, and, just
because a person has a lot of "fans" - it shouldn't be fair to keep
them going, like, no offense, Marie Osmond. I felt that Jennie Garth
deserved to be in the finals. She improved so tremendously and built up
her confidence. But then again, does anyone really care what we say,
and will it even make a difference? Regarding Sabrina and Mel B, I felt
they both had an unfair advantage because they both had professional
hip hop experience, so they both immediately had an edge over the other
contestants. The rules should be no real dance training, especially
performing. That's why I felt helio and Jennie really had to struggle.
It's got to be one way - the other, either no experience other than
hopping around in ballet class when you're 5, - all experienced
dancers. It's just not fair. I feel however that the judges are also
biased each in their own way, and each had their favorites. I felt that
often Len was very harsh, and he never seemed to agree with Carrie Ann
- Bruno. He is perhaps more European? Sometimes he was kind of cruel,
which is unnecessary. These people are trying, and it's not easy. I had
to give a lot of credit to people like Cameron who had to travel coast
to coast. But then you wonder how much of this comes down to real dance
ability - the entertainment aspect of things - because there certainly
was enough drama on the show. And yes, let's face it there has to be a
degree of entertainment in there...... But even so, this last season,
they were so tough on the dancers. Do we have to be perfect - is the
spirit of dance what is most important???? That's my question. I would
also have to say there was way too much break dancing and hip hopping
around, but then again it may be the audience they are targeted to.
Sigh. Why can't we all just dance?.... I started dancing at 3, and now
find myself struggling to get back into dancing after surgeries and
injuries. As long as I can get my dance shoes on I hope I can keep
dancing until the day I die.
Thanks for your letter re Dancing With the Stars.
Mary
....................
Hey Ron.
I agree with your editorial. The judges usually
have a good eye when it comes to the execution and performance of the
dancers on Dancing With The Stars. It becomes a popularity
contest when they give the audience too much control over the
judging. That was apparent by the length of time Marie Osmond
was on the show! She is very popular with her fans (and
justifiably so), however she is by no stretch of the imagination, a
dancer. Perhaps if all of us sent our replies to you, you
could send them to the station. The audience definitely
should have less percentage of the judging. Thanks again Ron
for all of your hard work for the dance community and for your
wonderful DanceTalk. Love and Happy Holidays to
All,
Nancy McGough
....................
I agree with you 100% -- which is close to
the percentage
that the judges should have. Since the show's inception, it has been
[sometimes painfully] obvious that the judges are judging the dancing,
but it is primarily a popularity contest for the majority of the
viewers. I watch the show because I enjoy the dancing, but I, too, was
very sorely tempted to stop doing so after Sabrina was voted off (I
admire your daughter for sticking to her principles). I especially
don't like that viewers can submit almost limitless numbers of
votes (based on number of remaining stars in a particular
week, as well as quantity of different phone numbers from
which a viewer can call and/or text and number of different e-mail
addresses from which a viewer can vote on-
line). I also don't
like it that viewers can only vote by phone for up to a half-hour after
the show goes off the air. For those who have tried, this requires
patience and perseverance -- and is sometimes still not successful. In
the just-ended series, I even got shut out when I tried to vote on-line
("page temporarily not available"). Therefore, even the viewer voting
tally does not represent the real picture. Not counting those who
didn't attempt to vote, if all the attempted votes were actually able
to be tallied, I wonder when (or even if) Sabrina would have
been voted off -- - how much sooner Marie Osmond, Jerry Springer,
Master P, etc. would have been off their respective
shows. Diane J. Weinberg
....................
Should the audience judge? The dance shows on TV are not
meant to impress dancers. They are meant to impress
non-dancers. Why? To get them to watch the
show and see the advertising during
commercial breaks. Though the judges may be
qualified to accurately score a contestant's performance,
people are more interested when they have a say in the
outcome. They want to vote based on emotions, not
syllabus standards. It would be nice if only judges had the
right to vote, but then
ratings would drop and the shows would fail. It is a no
win situation. We all just have to be amused if we
watch one of the shows, but not take it seriously.
Judges do not always agree, but their decisions are based on
real standards. They have skills and experience that most
people do not possess. They have the ability to
judge more consistently and accurately than the biased,
fickle, untrained masses do. They also have an
investment in the dance community, which translates into
integrity with respect to the sport of dance. So if you want a
real competition, you must go where there are no TV
cameras. If you want to see an approximate representation of
dancing, watch TV. TV is a business intended to
create revenues. Period. Contestants enter
a popularity contest and compete for career enhancing
notoriety and cash. What is profitable will always
take priority over what is right.
Philip C. Spinka
....................
In response to Dancing With The Stars edit, I have found that it is
always a popularity contest. When you let unprofessionals vote....it
becomes a POPULARITY CONTEST!!! Duh? Also, in our real world of dance,
winners are also from a "popularity" win basis. I think that
most dance contests are not about "the dance" .....unfortunately. It's
about who are taking privates from? what event are you sponsoring?
etc....pick you own reason. I would love to see a dance contest in real
life - TV judged for the dance technique and the true joy of a dance
only.
Wendy B.
The 30 year anniversary
I had the honor of emceeing a wonderful 30 year anniversary party for
the motion picture "Saturday Night Fever" at Paul Pellicoro's
Dancesport in NYC. The festivities included: the film being shown on a
large screen while dancers hustled all night to DJ's Donnie Shields and
Nelson "Paradise" Roman. The large crowd was entertained as dance
exhibitions were performed by Roberto Pagan & Rosa Juliana
Paredes, Ricky Quintana & Veronica Castilla, Miquel
Marrero & Barbara, Louie Orlando & Elizabeth Darchi,
the Dancesport All Stars (April, Rainer, Ron, Kristen) and Luis
& Maryanne Rosa and the Starlight Kids featuring Christopher
& Jasmine.
There was a Jack & Jill contest as many dancers attended to
celebrate dressed in 70's wardrobe as they participated in our Fever
trivia contest.
In the house were: DJ Bobby Morales, Lori Brizzi, Jerry Hobbs, Robert
Rothman, Tariq Brown, Spinning Cindy, Cindy Lehning, John Merisier,
Lawrence Rush, Diego, Anat Shamash, Rob Finocchio, Zoe Klien, Dave
Paris, Robert Lawrence.... Lets hope they honor the anniversary of
"Thank God Its Friday" next.
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