SMOOTH TALK. San Diego Smooth Dancers, Inc. Bringing Ballroom to our Community. President s Message. The San Diego Chapter of National Smooth Dancers

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1 August 2013, Vol. 14 No. 1 The San Diego Chapter of National Smooth Dancers SMOOTH TALK San Diego Smooth Dancers, Inc. Bringing Ballroom to our Community President s Message Mike Cowlishaw Good times are here! We've had great dancing, great classes, and great business meetings this year. Our new VP Mark Eskandar is our host for the Luau themed dance, August 3 rd. We will be honoring Scott Dodson, so don't miss the party! Kay and Ann have very graciously volunteered to help with the party as well. We only have about a month before our annual convention (Aug 30 th through Sept 2 nd ). Visalia is our host this year. The theme is "Out of Africa." Competition entries are due by Aug 10 th ; several categories only need one more entry for the competition to be held, so jump in. I will be the party host for December. If you have been working on a routine, either as a couple or pro-am, and want to perform, please let me know. This year we will have a shorter program, so less sitting and more dancing. If you have a favorite and good for dancing piece of music for December, let me know. (I will also do most of the DJ duty that night.) Our SDSD business meetings have been very active and generally well attended. This is where decisions are made regarding club activities, and how the chapter money is spent. The board of directors can make recommendations, but all effective voting occurs at the meetings. Our next meeting will be at Kay Ryan's home, Aug 10 th, at 2:30 p.m. (Pot luck to follow, always a good time.) Kay has been doing a fantastic job as our treasurer. Many thanks to all who helped with our socials. Anita and Vicki were our hostesses for July, and did their usual fine job. Many others contributed too. Dance tip: Dancing is an interesting sport. People can have a wide range of skills or abilities; for instance, some are better than others at partner skills. Sometimes I hear people express frustration with their speed of improvement, how fast they get better at dancing. This too can be complicated, as some are blessed with better coordination, and some perhaps are even "natural" dancers (don't I wish!). If you experience this frustration while trying to become a better dancer, think about some detail where you are getting better. Don't compare yourself to someone else; we are all different. Instead, take little bites. Make small improvements, and they will all add up. Some wise person said, "The longest journey begins with the first step." I'm sorry I wasn't able to write a column last month. I'd kind of hit a stress wall. My mother has been struggling with health issues. She did get a pacemaker this last Saturday, and is doing much better. Thanks to all who have kept her in your thoughts and prayers. Hugs to all, Mike Next Meeting: The next General Membership Meeting will be held on August 10 th at 2:30 p.m. at Kay Ryan s home, 4303 Coronado Ave, San Diego, August 2013 Page 1 of 7

2 Queen s Message Kao I knew there wasn t going to be a Coronation for me to write about this month, so I decided I needed to create my own reportable event; the Fourth of July provided me with the perfect opportunity to accomplish this. In fact, I had been thinking about doing something special for the 4 th for a couple of months back. Those of you who have been around our chapter awhile will remember the parties Vickie and Slim Durham used to throw at their house every Fourth of July. Their parties always drew a large turnout of our members, and the festivities included a potluck and a parade through their neighborhood, complete with flags, drums, and Slim dressed up as Uncle Sam. (Mark, could you please find Slim Durham from one of his and out if Judy has a photo of Slim Vicki s parades. Photo by J&V we can put here?) After Slim passed away and their July 4 th parties ended, I found that along with missing Slim and Vickie I also missed getting together with everyone and celebrating the holiday. I especially missed the parades with the drums and the flags. I talked it over with Mark, and we decided to see if we could get people to come out for a 4 th of July party at our place, and maybe even organize a parade to march around our neighborhood. We don t really know many of our neighbors beyond the ones on either side of our house, so we didn t know what kind of reception to expect for loud drums and a big parade down the street. We figured there was only one way to find out, so we made our plans! Unsure of how many guests we could expect to join us on a family holiday, we were so delighted at all the people who showed up for our party! We had around close to 70 guests come to the potluck (including a lot of our friends from Palomar Chapter!), and about half of them came early enough to join the parade. As you can see from the pictures, we really filled up the street as we marched along. We filled up the airwaves, too, thanks to Chuck DiSessa, Mark Eskandar and Gary Wyko, who carried the three drums that Judy and Vern brought to the party (we were so happy to see Vern up and feeling good again!) Chuck really knows his drum rhythms, and he gave a little premarch tutorial session to make sure all three of the drummers were on the same page with their beats. By the time we actually began our march, many of our neighbors had already gathered in front of their houses to see what the drumming was about. What a blast we had marching around our neighborhood to those drums, carrying a lot of small flags and one really large one that Joyce Richards brought (Continued on page 3) Update on Vern: It s All Good News! Many of Vern s friends have been concerned about his health and have been asking about his progress after his recent stroke. It would be difficult to provide a more dramatic indication of his speedy recovery than this photo (by J&V) of him with Judy and Mary Murphy. On June 28 th Champion Ballroom was featured on Good Morning, San Diego, and manager Tony Prado asked for a few Smooth Dancers to come in and provide some background dancing behind the featured interviews. Bright and early, Vern was right there with Judy to dance a little Salsa, lead a little waltz, and burn a little sweat in Tony s dance-based aerobics class. It was great to see Vern back on his feet and looking fine, and it was also fantastic to have him join us at our 4 th of July party! August 2013 Page 2 of 7

3 room upstairs, we were very happy to see that several of our friends were dancing right up until it was time for the fireworks to begin. for the occasion (it was so good to see Joyce again, too!) People waved to us from their doorsteps and cheered for us all the way along our route. I had originally planned a two-mile parade, while Mark was thinking of about half that. We found, though, that everyone seemed very satisfied with the distance that we finally completed, which was just a little over a half-mile. By then, the drummers especially looked like they were ready for the potluck to begin: I didn t realize how much energy it took to carry and beat a drum for thirty minutes, especially that big one! And our three drummers never stopped putting out a marching rhythm for us during the entire parade what a We all love a parade! Photo by J&V great time we had marching! Afterwards we had a huge 4 th of July potluck, with a variety of homemade dishes to choose from. I was especially thankful to our daughter Tami who really helped me keep things going in the kitchen and her husband Shane, who ran the barbeque all evening. I also really appreciated the fact that Mark took off for the store every time I thought of something else we needed for the party. Grand-daughters Mikayla and Emma, whom many of you may remember from my coronation, were perfect little ladies all evening as they mixed with the adults. We even had some dancing: although Mark and I weren t able to join the fun and the music in our dance The fireworks were right in front of us! Photo by J&V The fireworks display from the Hyatt was excellent again this year, as it usually is each year. Mark and I are really fortunate to have a great view of the display that the hotel sets off across Batiquitos Lagoon, and it was a wonderful experience to be able to share it with our friends this year. I had a thoroughly good time throughout the entire evening, and I think we just may do this again next year. I wonder if our neighbors will join us in the parade next time around they sure seemed to enjoy watching us march by! Before I close, I want to thank the people who sent me Thank-You notes in the mail over the days following the party, telling us how much they enjoyed the evening and how much they appreciated the work that went into it. It was a lot of work, but I had great help thanks again, Mark, Tami and Shane, and everyone who brought food to share and it was all very much worth it to see everyone having such a great time! (Uncredited photos in this article are by BK) MEMBER ADDRESS UPDATES STEVE MARTSOLF 3333 BAYSIDE WALK #3 SAN DIEGO, CA PETER BUTTERLY /2 FOURTH AVE SAN DIEGO, CA August 2013 Page 3 of 7

4 SUNDAY NIGHT DANCE CLASS Chuck DiSessa Our July and August dance classes opened with a flourish as Phillip Gott retuned to instruct our summer classes. The International Rhumba class at 5:00 p.m. was well balanced with men and woman and very well attended. Even more surprising was the increased attendance for the 6:00 p.m. class in Samba. I don t believe we did a very good job of putting the word out that the classes had been switched, because several students signed up for the Samba after the first class was completed. Originally, we advertised that Samba would be taught first, and when we didn t announce the switch the class swelled in the second hour. In any event, there appears to be a real need in the dance community to build on the knowledge and technique of certain dances like Samba, which requires more time and effort to master. Phillip Gott is the perfect answer for such a need, considering his extensive background and experience as a professional Latin competitor for many years. His choreography blends well and has a nice flow to it. Some of it builds from what he has previously taught for example, expanding the Box Turns to Extended Box Turns. Phillip is light-hearted and easy to work with. He s both very thorough with an adequate amount of repetition, and reassuring as he indicates that we need not be overly concerned about our learning mistakes since, as he puts it, You re not supposed to get it right the first time. The 5:00 p.m. class in International Rhumba was a bit of a challenge initially, but by the second week of instruction the basic moves like the Fan, the Hockey-stick, the Allemana, the Cucaracha and the Opening-Out became a lot more comfortable. As is his modus operandi, Phillip will continue to build on what has been taught as he adds more advanced moves to our choreography through the month of August. Then, what has been speculated for September will now become a reality: Irina Chalkevitch has agreed to be our class instructor for the last four weeks of September!! Commencing on Sept. 8 th, the Nite-Club Two- Step will be taught at 5:00p.m., followed by instruction in the Hustle at 6:00p.m. Once again, we ll have the opportunity to increase our growth in ballroom dancing while we learn some really cool new moves in both the Hustle and the Nite-Club Two-Step. Irina is very artistic, and she will incorporate some lovely and creative moves into the choreography. So please, mark your calendars, plan to be there, and help us put the word out. Al Folkman is updating our online schedule to reflect these new additions to our 2013 Dance Class Schedule, while Paul McKenzie will be adding them to our online promotional flyers. He sends out these flyers regularly to advertise both our dance classes and our socials. (Thank you, Paul!) In other news, class members Steve Martsolf and Ann V. will team up for the two-dance competition at our State Convention in Visalia. We wish them both a world of success in their first venture together. Chuck and Cathy shined really well on stage at the Lincoln Center for the Arts, dancing their solo routine to All That Jazz as they participated in Broadway Babies the title of this year s annual production of the Senior Follies. Several class members and friends of SDSD, Inc., attended with glowing reports about the production. Once again, as a reminder, if you attend our dance classes and have a computer, we will do our best to provide a review video every week of all the material being taught in class that week. This is a treasured learning tool for many students that will help to accelerate your growth in Ballroom Dancing. For those of you that have joined us and are on the learning curve with us, please know how sincerely we value your patronage and your commitment to our dance classes. Thank you ever so much just for being you!! Happy Dancing!! Chuck August 2013 Page 4 of 7

5 Indoor Picnic and Ballroom Dance! Judy Miranda The indoor picnic this year was hosted by Anita Tey and her crew. Vickie Durham made sure everyone had plenty to eat thanks for the food, Vickie! The ballroom was festive and colorful, with red, white and blue decorations and highlights everywhere. We also had a July 4th parade around the ballroom with drums played by Chuck DiSessa, Gary Wyko and Mark Eskandar (who also played their drums at Kao s party on the 4th). Al Folkman led the parade at Champion as Uncle Sam (maybe he can do that at Kao s parade next year?) There was good participation and everyone seemed to enjoy the parade. Jack Staudte and Irina Chalkevitch performed a lovely International Waltz with some American flair added at the beginning and end of the routine, including a very impressive lift. Nicely done, Jack! Every year at the Fourth of July social, all chapter members present take a photo together to be included in the annual convention album. We have one of the largest chapter memberships in NSD, and it is always a pleasure to see how many of our members show up for a social and a picture! (All photos on this page by J&V) August 2013 Page 5 of 7

6 Fond Memories of David Stewart Submitted by an Anonymous Friend David was one incredible Smooth Dancer and a frequent dance host on cruises. He actually served as a dance host for the last ten years of his life, and I am sure that he made each dance special to the ladies on-board these spectacular ships. David s final cruise was aboard the Amsterdam (Holland America) for 78 days. The Grand Asian Voyage. During this cruise he visited beautiful ports of call from Bora Bora to Japan, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Micronesia. David was such a gracious and charming person; every SDSD lady with whom I have spoken has told me that he had a unique way of making a person feel special with his smile of kindness and confidence. David was also a caring and generous friend who would always be there to check up on a sick friend, and he regularly volunteered to set up the tables and bring a plate of food for the SDSD socials. David routinely avoided group dance classes in favor of private lessons, especially with his all-time favorite instructor Carrie Kloss. David lived a very active life in downtown San Diego and enjoyed the car shows, where he could check out the fast and sexy foreign race cars. When David retired as a security systems consultant last year he gave himself a little retirement present: he went to Las Vegas to take some laps around a race track at very high speeds in a Lamborghini! What comes as a big surprise is that he also loved George, his 23-year-old 3-cylinder Geo Metro that had a top speed of about 35 mph. Many of us know also that David was an avid tennis fan and loved playing mixed doubles. Finally, though, what we all know for sure is that his presence will truly be missed at our Smooth Dancer Socials every month. (Photo by GW) Editor s Addendum: From a July 1 st note to members by Al Folkman I was told today that David Steward, one of our members, was found dead in Yuma Arizona. The details of his death are not clear. This note is just to make you aware of his passing. I will provide more details when they become known. Photo Credits A big Thank you to those who contributed photos for this month s newsletter: BK GW J&V Mark C. Chapman, editor (619) Smooth Talk is a members service and resource: all NSD members are encouraged to submit ballroom-related items for inclusion in the newsletter. Any articles not credited are by the editor. Please send proposed articles, photos, and suggestions for newsletter changes to: mcchapman88@yahoo.com. Monthly Deadlines: Submissions 15 th Been Kao Glenn Walker Judy & Vern Miranda Distribution 22 nd August Birthdays Durham, Vickie 8/3 Long, Sandra 8/4 McCloskey, Shirley 8/4 Cowlishaw, Mike 8/12 Alberts, Liliane 8/15 Courtney, Kathleen 8/17 Steele, Bob 8/17 DiSessa, Chuck 8/18 Rainey, Marcia 8/18 White, Denise 8/22 Meador, Ann 8/25 Miranda, Judy 8/25 August 2013 Page 6 of 7

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