Enjoy the grace, class, sophistication and fun that comes with ballroom dance. Few other leisure activities bring as much pleasure and enjoyment as ballroom. Take your spouse, girlfriend, or boyfriend out dancing for an evening of intimacy and closeness. After a few months of lessons and social dances, the steps and rhythm will become easier and more natural. Don’t wait any longer, get in the game!

We’re in the middle of Dancing With the Stars and it’s getting good. Brooke Burke seems to have taken over the front of the pack, but Warren Sapp and Cody Linley are also moving up.

Who will be Dancing with the Stars in Season 7? The best show on TV starts again Sept. 22 at 8pm.  This season features a newly minted Olympic gold medalist, a soap-opera icon and reality TV’s shape-li-est star.  Also on board are DWTS’ youngest and oldest celeb contenders. The official line-up is:

Lance Bass, formerly of NSYNC and a trained cosmonaut, is paired with Lacey Schwimmer, a So You Think You Can Dance finalist.

Rocco DiSpirito, celeb chef, is paired with Karina Smirnoff.

Team USA beach volleyball queen Misty May-Treanor is paired with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, absent from season 6 but returning for his 5th season.

Track star Maurice Greene is paired with Cheryl Burke.

Grammy-winning recording artist Toni Braxton is paired with Alec Mazo.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is paired with Mark Ballas.

Youngest celeb Cody Linley of Hannah Montana fame, is paired with Julianne Hough.

Oscar and Emmy winner Cloris Leachman, in her early 80s, is paired with Corky Ballas (Mark Ballas’ father).

TV veteran Ted McGinley is paired with recent professional Inna Brayer, the current US Amateur 10 Dance Champ.

Brooke Burke, of Rock Star and Wild On fame, is paired with Derek Hough.

Comedian Jeff Ross is paired with Edyta Sliwinska.

Super Bowl champion Warren Sapp is paired with Kym Johnson.

All My Children star Susan Lucci is paired with Tony Dovolani.

 The show kicks off Sept. 22 where the teams will prepare 2 routines for the first week of competition, 2 couples will be eliminated during the first week.  Stay tuned.

Really now, was anyone surprised with the latest ”Dancing With the Stars’” winner?  Did anyone think Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas weren’t going to win? That a 255-pound defensive end (and a fine one at that) from a sad team had a chance to topple Kristi “The Velvet Hammer” Yamaguchi?

Ahhhh … well … yeah. This is “Dancing With the Stars,” which has toppled female finalists with a weary and franchise-threatening predictability since the first season. But with that rep on the judges’ minds (perhaps), the show wasn’t in the mood for meeting expectations — however wrongheaded the end result may have been on occasion. They awarded Yamaguchi/Ballas a virtually unbeatable point total over the final two nights — a perfect 90 — which meant that Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska would need an overwhelming audience total to pull ahead. (Judges’ votes count for half the total.)
Who were the last 3 DWTS winners before Kristi? Drew Lachey, Kelly Monaco and Helio Castroneves.

Friday evening, 8 weeks starting Feb 8 - Apr 18, 2008 (some off nites). Featured dances are Swing Triple Step, 8:00 followed by Waltz basic, 9:00 

Friday evening, 8 weeks starting Apr 25 - Jul 18, 2008 (some off nites). Featured dances are Waltz continuation, 7:00 followed by Rumba, 8:00 

More info at TheDancingChapmans.com

Tues evening, 8 weeks starting Apr 29, 2008 at 8:45. Featured dances are Intermediate Tango and Merengue!

More info at EverybodyDance.com

You can make a difference - start making simple, everyday choices to help protect our planet. Check out Central Florida Green Guide. A resource for Eco-Conscious, Natural-Minded families in the Orlando area *green living, organic foods, holistic health, instinctive parenting, and more*

More good news: the Green Earth Expo 2008 will be in Orlando at the Convention Center, May 15-18.  Green Earth Expo 2008 will be open to the public and they are expecting 600 exhibitors and over 50,000 attendees.  Put this weekend on your calendar as it is sure to be a wonderful event for the eco-conscious. 

One of the fun things to do around Orlando during Feb & Mar is to check out Universal Studios Mardi Gras nights.  The shows are Saturday evenings, 1st one is early Feb.  The festivities start with the parade around 8-ish.  You’ve seen these kinds of parades before: costumed bead-throwers perched on floats throwing cheap bead necklaces to the masses causing hysteria and mayhem.  It turns into a free-for-all at times, but it’s all in good fun (until someone gets hurt).  The Real Fun starts about 9 or so when the featured band hits the outdoor stage. Some nice acts this year, see the schedule below.  If you’re an annual pass holder, the whole deal is gratis (free), but get there early….

Lean to your left…your other left!

Ballroom dance, it strikes fear into the hearts of men. Most think ‘There is no way I’m frolicing around a dance floor making a spectacle (or something else) out of myself.’   Another ballroom show-stopper for men are those that have gone before them.  Slip over to Dance Orlando for Friday Fiesta and you will see Real Ballroom Dancers, those that personify poetry in motion. Rest assured men, none of those guys (or gals) emerged from the womb with those dance skills.  It takes a few ingredients to get to that level: lessons, practice and good old perservance. But first and foremost, to acquire ballroom skills, a man must let go of his inhibitions and fear of looking foolish.  Anyone who does anything well probably didn’t look so elegant when he or she first started. So men throw caution (and pride) to the wind when you hit the floor.  Let go of that mental restraint that keeps you from learning to dance.  After you get the hang of it and start making some dance hall friends, you will soon realize ballroom dance is both fun and useful. Many lady dancers seek out ‘a man who can dance,’ ballroom is also a good way to exercise, and lastly, dance leaves men with a sense of satisfaction, yeah, I can Rumba.

Next post will be some tips for beginners and good places to take lessons and practice your moves.