From the President UPCOMING DANCES MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

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1 Vol. 19, No. 1 Spring 2018 UPCOMING DANCES MARK YOUR CALENDAR! June 8 July 13 August 10* *Tentative Regular club meetings are the 2 nd Friday evening of each month (with some exceptions due to holidays, etc.) Dance lesson starts at 7:30; open dancing from 8:30 to 10:45. Bring your favorite finger foods to share, and/or a door prize (value not to exceed $10-$12), and enjoy an evening of fun and fellowship. And don t forget to invite a friend our monthly dances are a great introduction to ballroom dancing! Cost is $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers (charge may be added for dinner dances). From the President Our club is in its 21 st year of providing lessons, open dancing and a relaxing and rewarding social atmosphere. We have such a great team of board members, club members, and guests. Rich, Donna, and I work hard to try to accommodate all levels of dancers at our lessons. It is very uplifting to us when we have a successful lesson. It is beneficial for all to go home and practice what they have learned. The PBDC is very fortunate to have many new members in the last two months. Let's do our best to make them feel a part of our club. We hope our club exceeds their expectations. Note: Rich and I are going to experiment with the dance lesson being 45 minutes instead of an hour. We have noticed some tiredness overtaking the dancers at the 45-minute mark. Feedback is always welcome. Dancing is a gift, and I love to see people come to the club meetings, embrace dancing, and make it a priority in their lives. I also love to see people come in smiling and leave smiling. That is what dancing is all about! Please share our club with your friends and bring them to a dance. See you on the dance floor! Love, Pauline Jelovchan Club President

2 DANCE MOVIE REVIEW: STRICTLY BALLROOM Reviewed by Deni and Mark Sibley Editor s Note: Like many of us, Deni and Mark Sibley love dance movies. They have volunteered to review some of their favorites from time to time for our newsletter. This is the first review in the series. Strictly Ballroom is an entertaining but quirky film released in It achieved considerable success in Australia where it was filmed, and at Cannes where it triggered an international bidding war for distribution rights. Director Baz Luhrmann and co-writer Chris Pearce adapted the screenplay from their play. Luhrmann is said to have been fascinated by the Australian ballroom scene of the 1990 s; however his viewpoint certainly proves to be unique. The movie continues to have a cult like following in the dancing community down under. Strictly Ballroom follows some conventional plot premises - rebellion versus conformity, as well as a predictable but slow to develop romance. Although predictable, the film is hardly conventional. The plot centers around Scott Hastings - about whom we quickly learn in the mockumentary beginning of the film - is destined to become Australia s premier ballroom dancer. His parents run a dance studio and his ambitious mother is obsessed with Scott s success. However during a competition he uses improvised dance moves which incurs the wrath of Dance Federation President Barry Fife and the rest of the ballroom dancing establishment (think Len Goodman vs Mark Ballas). Not only does he lose the competition, but also his equally ambitious dance partner just weeks before the upcoming Pan-Pacific Ballroom competition. Scott s mother schedules an increasingly desperate series of tryouts to find Scott a new partner. Unknown to everyone, he has begun teaching and practicing with a clumsy and seemingly homely beginner student named Fran. We can all see it coming the ugly and awkward dancing duckling turns into the lovely and accomplished swan. Ignoring the chemistry that is growing between them, Scott wants her to tryout as his partner. Events now intervene and the seemingly inevitable goes seriously awry... There is a lot of dancing throughout the movie. It is inspiring to watch Scott and Fran rhumba. The dance is beautiful and graceful. The steps that are danced seem to be of bronze or perhaps silver level and illustrates the fact that even simpler patterns, when well executed, can be breathtaking. The second 2 half of the film is devoted to Paso Doble with strong Flamenco influence. Luhrmann s cinematic treatment of the ballroom establishment is farcical, and the depiction of Fife, Scott s mother and others who demand adherence to ballroom conventions borders on cartoonish. But it is all in good fun and adds to the enjoyment of the movie. Strictly Ballroom can be quirky and has perhaps too many subplots, but overall it is very entertaining and well worth watching. We give it three out of five dance shoes. A DVD of Strictly Ballroom is available for viewing in the Palmetto Dance Club video library,on Netflix or on Amazon Video.

3 CRUISE OPPORTUNITY Want to take a cruise? Larry and Shirley Thow are planning to take a cruise next year starting January 27 and ending February 7. It is on Norwegian Cruise Lines ship the Dawn and it will sail out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The cruise will visit the ports of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Granada, Barbados, St. Maartens, and the Tortolas in the British Virgin Islands. They would love to have some couples go with them. Although it is early, the Thows like to make the reservations early to get the maximum perks offered by Norwegian and get lower incentive prices. Because the trip is in January it is a good idea to plan to arrive in San Juan a day earlier. Most flights go from the north to the south and you never know if a snow storm up north may delay flights. Overall cost for a couple could be $6,000 to $7,500, depending on whether you select interior rooms or balconies or even mini-suites and how many excursions you might want to take, and/or how many drinks you have. It includes a hotel for one night and coach airfare. Previous Norwegian passengers and AARP members get discounts. If you have any questions please contact Larry or Shirley at or at larrythow@hotmail.com and they can give you the answers or get them for you. They love cruising. It's very relaxing, excellent food, dancing almost anytime, good entertainment and an opportunity to explore new lands and talk to the natives of the various islands and see some beautiful scenery. They hope you can join them. Palmetto Ballroom Dance Club Membership Application Name(s): Address: Phone: Home Work Cell Annual membership dues are $20 per person. Mail to: Palmetto Ballroom Dance Club, 410 Eastburn Ct., Darlington, SC Decorating Help Wanted! We can always use help decorating the Leatherman Center for our monthly dance. If you have a flair for decorating, this is your chance to get involved! It does not require you to spend any money for we have an inventory of decorations available. If you d like to help with decorating, please call Marilyn Mong at or Marilyn.mong@att.net. 3

4 Leadership President: Pauline Jelovchan Vice-President: Jane Snipes Treasurer: Janice Flowers Secretary: Jesse Adams Standing Committees Dance Theme & Decorations: Marilyn Mong Music and Band: Rich Gerner Pauline Jelovchan Dance Instructors: Rich Gerner and Pauline Jelovchan Assistant Instructor: Donna Gerner Newsletter: Dorr Depew Door Prize Chairpersons: Rich and Donna Gerner Video Librarian: Janice Flowers Webmaster: Bruce Blumberg Editor s Notes Dear Friends, Can you believe it? Summer s almost here! We had a great fall and winter dance season, starting with the 20 th anniversary dance, then the holiday and Valentine s events! Great fun and a wonderful chance to improve our dancing skills. We look forward to a great summer! Why not try your hand at writing a brief article about your dance experience? You don t have to be a great dancer or a great writer to tell your dance story! Just send it to me and we ll include it in a future newsletter. I ll even edit and polish if you like! it to me at dorrdepew@yahoo.com. Thanks! Dorr Depew Dance Information Dances are held on the 2nd Friday of each month, unless noted*. The Palmetto Ballroom Dance Club meets at The Leatherman Center, Freedom Blvd., Florence, SC. Dance Lesson from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Open Dancing from 8:30 til 10:45 p.m. Admission Regular admission is $5 for members of the PBDC and $10 for non-members; there may be an extra charge for dances when dinner is included (holiday dance, etc.) Media Library Our club s media library includes instructional videos featuring Waltz, Cha Cha, Tango, Rumba, Foxtrot, East Coast Swing, Bolero, Samba, and Salsa! These DVDs are available for loan to members of the PBDC. If interested, please see Janice Flowers who is responsible for maintaining the library. We ask that DVDs be signed out for only one month at a time to allow other members access. 4

5 Thru the Viewfinder Photos From Recent Dances Check the Club Website for more! 5