Ballroom Newsletter, Siskiyou County & Northern California – July 23rd 2024
Dear All,
Let’s see . . . we have covered the physical benefits of Ballroom Dance in week one, the mental/intellectual benefits in week 2 and last week, we covered the emotional/social benefits. What does that leave, to finish off our panoply of benefits? Ah . . . the spiritual benefits.
Many people, when encountering the word “spiritual” think of the religious definitions of the word. Many others think of the mystical connections to the universe itself and how it interacts with all of its elements (including us {or should that be: “we, ourselves”?}). But let’s face it, Ballroom Dance, for all of its subtlety of elements, is essentially a pragmatic art form. Those of you who have trained with us for a while have heard us say (more than once) that “in ballroom dance, the most practical, efficient and effective way of moving ends up being the most beautiful way of moving (with no extra effort from you)”. Pragmatic to the last.
And that is true, which makes Ballroom Dance a spiritual practice in itself (let alone the fact that a couple, whilst dancing, is converting the auditory beauty of music into kinesthetic beauty. Something that is beautiful to listen to becomes something that is beautiful to see. There is an inner joy to doing that that many equate to the joy of spiritual congress (whether that congress be religious, meditative or connecting to the universe).
This understanding explains the slower dances (and betrays our preference for the slower dances like Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba & Bolero) but what about the faster dances? The word beauty does not apply to dances like Cha-cha, Samba, Swing, Salsa, Quickstep or even Tango (necessarily) outside of the beauty of watching well-trained dancers (which all of you are becoming, trust us) executing the figures flawlessly (or with a great deal of enjoyment). How do those fit into the “Spiriual” framework?
Another definition of “spiritual” can be seen in the word “spirited” (as in high-spirited) which means with a great deal of energy and (dare we say it) verve which definitely applies to the “Spirit of the Tango”!). In this sense, the word “spirit” refers to connecting with an energy (or a large variety of energies) larger than ourselves yet lies outside ourselves with which we can connect to our betterment.
There are a myriad of choices ranging from the Spirit of the Age (not recommended for this particular age) to the Spirit of Love (recommended for any age and all ages). For ourselves, Spirit of the Dance comes to mind, and having followed it all of our adult lives (and in Peggy’s case, since childhood) we heartily endorse it. It has been bigger than the both of us and taken good care of us throughout our lives and is continuing to do so.
You don’t have to devote your life to it, just be cognizant of the benefits of health, joy and longevity that are inherent in accepting it and let that guide your decisions as you plan and engage in your training. The Spirit of the Dance will do the rest.
See you in classes this week.
Cheers,
Rick and Peggy Nixon
530) 853-4147 / 415)215-2652 (cell)
(Weekly Class schedule listed below.)
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THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
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The Mountain Fitness Center (South):
1630 South Mt. Shasta Blvd, Mt. Shasta, CA 96067 (back parking lot is best, as the dance studio is a mere two steps from the back door)
Wed. July 24th BOLERO 6:45 – 7:45pm
Thur. July 25th TANGO 6:45 – 7:45pm
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CURRENT RATES Group Class Rates $10 Single Class ($10.00/class) $25 Four class Card ($6.25/class) $50 Eight Class Card ($6.25/class) $60 Ten Class Card ($6.00/class)
Private Lesson(s) Rates
$30 Half-hour Private Lesson ($25 at four per month or more) $60 One Hour Private Lesson (one per month or less) $50 One Hour Private Lesson (two per month or more) Hour Lessons may be divided into two ½ hour sessions at half the hourly rate each.
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