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Congratulations to Dr. George Hill, of the Upper Montclair Fred Astaire Dance Studio, for completing the Army Ten-Miler on October 8, 2006, with his daughter Lana. It started at the Pentagon, goes to the Capitol, and then back to the Pentagon. In addition to jogging every day, George and his wife Dr. Lanie Hill have been ballroom dancing every Monday with Carrie and Kostadin for over 9 years, and they have a near perfect attendance. Congratulations George and Lanie!!!


Georgi Kanev and Adriana Bezmenova Upper Montclair's Bulgarian Latin Champions Baby Shower December 30, 11:30 a.m.

Adriana and Georgi are having a baby in January. You're their family here in the U.S. If you'd like to attend their baby shower, it will be held at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio on Saturday, December 30 at 11:30 a.m.

You don't have to bring a gift, but they are registered at babiesrus.com ( i think!) email or call 973.783.8999 for more information. Feel free to bring your favorite dish to pass.

We'll be serving some breakfast cake and champagne and orange juice (mimosa's!) Please r.s.v.p. a.s.a.p, before I mail out invitations. Anyone who wants to go in on big ticket items (car seats, college funds), please call me directly and we'll arrange it together.

 

 




Congratulations Tony
 
Tony Dovolani and Stacey Keibler

A special congratulations go out to Fred Astaire Dance Studios professional dancer, Tony Dovolani, for his participation in Dancing With The Stars. A 2005 World Rhythm Champion, US Open Champion, and one of the most successful dance instructors in the country, Tony Dovolani has had a long standing association with Fred Astaire Dance Studios.

Tony Dovolani isn't new to Hollywood! Playing a Latin bad boy in the hit film Shall We Dance?, he also coached Jennifer Lopez for her role in that film.

But now he's captivated America with his role on Dancing With The Stars. His partner, professional wrestler Stacey Keibler, lavishly praised him after their elimination, saying: "He's the best dance teacher."

Thank you, Tony, for your exhilarating performances each week! You made Dancing With The Stars come alive and we're proud that you're a part of our organization!

Tony Dovolani and Stacey Keibler

Dancing With The Stars
   

Ballroom Dancing for a Healthy Life
 
Have Fun, Get Healthy, and Stay Healthy Through Ballroom Dancing
By George J. Hill, M.D. - West Orange, N.J.

Lanie and George Hill, dancing the Cha-Cha

Lanie and George Hill, dancing the Cha-Cha.


My wife and I have studied at Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Upper Montclair, N.J., for about eight years, having started taking lessons with this studio in 1998 when it was located in Verona, N.J. We usually take one 45-minute lesson per week, with either one instructor (during which we practice dancing as a couple) or with two instructors (at which time we are usually learning new routines and are being critiqued on our existing knowledge). We also usually dance somewhere else at least once a month, for an hour or so, at a social event, or by ourselves. When we learn a new dance routine, we often practice it at home, using a CD player in our kitchen.
Except when we are taking lessons, we often dance in formal clothing, such as black tie or white tie, or in Latin dress which is an open-necked black shirt for the gentleman and a short swishy skirt for the lady. We also enjoy costume balls (e.g., Halloween and Mardi Gras), for which we use either costumes that we own or rent.
We have now learned some steps in about fifteen different dances, including the basic six that are the fundamental dances of all ballroom dancing: Waltz, foxtrot, tango, swing, rumba, and cha-cha. We have also learned some steps in the Viennese waltz, quickstep, bolero, mambo, hustle, single swing, double swing, and pasa doble. We have learned as many as ten short dance routines, known as “steps,” each lasting for 10-12 measures of music, in some of these dance styles.
Ballroom dancing is taught in many commercial studios, some of which are franchises whereas others are independent. Some of the largest commercial organizations are the Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire Dance Studios.
Ballroom dancing is usually done with a partner, in contrast to line dancing or square dancing. It could be said to be “touch dancing,” in contrast to “non-touch” partnered and group dances such as the Twist or the Electric Slide. Specialty dances incorporated into ballroom routines may include elements of the Charleston, polka, and salsa, although these are not taught as classic ballroom dances.

Social benefits of ballroom dancing

It is good to make new friends and enjoy the company of others who are also learning and having fun. With a bit of practice, even a beginner is able to dance instead of being a wallflower or feeling awkward at weddings, benefit balls, and parties. Ballroom dancing, one can enjoy partnering with others, while accepting the paradox of being physically close while also maintaining discreet distance. A dancer practices being a good leader and also a good follower by learning how to be a good partner. Ordinarily, the gentleman is the leader, but in reverse steps lady is the leader, and the gentleman must be the follower.

Physical benefits of dancing

Dance is good aerobic exercise. A dancer consumes calories at about the rate of a brisk walk (4 miles per hour, utilizing 400 calories per hour) during “smooth dancing” (such as waltz, fox trot, and tango), and at the rate of a slow jog (6 miles per hour, or 600 calories per hour) during continuous fast rhythm dancing (e.g., swing, mambo, and samba). Other fast dances include the Viennese waltz, quickstep, jitterbug, and hustle. Slower dances include bolero and merengue.
Dance enhances flexibility, through continuous callisthenic-type movements of the neck, back, legs, and arms. Dancers are encouraged to do warm-up exercises, which help prevent injury and enhance performance in all types of athletic activities.
Dance enhances strength, through isometric contractions of muscles of back, legs, and arms. Dance enhances balance, by strengthening the small muscles of lower leg and foot, and through practice in balancing while performing dance steps. Posture and poise, and strength and endurance will inevitably be improved by ballroom dancing on a regular basis.

Mental benefits of dancing

Dance enhances memory, as the student advances through various basic components of the dance. For example, “position 1” or “position 2” for the feet, “natural underarm turn” or “reverse underarm turn,” “promenade” and “reverse promenade,” and “contra-body movement.” Memory is also enhanced as the student develops a repertoire of dances such as rumba, cha-cha, and pasa doble, and of specific dance steps, such as the “Manhattan Rollout” in the swing and the “Apache Throw Out” in the tango.
A dancer can forget the problems of yesterday, and the cares of today and tomorrow, for a little while.
Ballroom dancers learn about music and dance, thus enhancing their enjoyment of theatrical performances on stage and in motion pictures. After instruction, dancers are able to critique and appreciate the performance of others, as they plan to correct their own defects and add new possibilities to their dance routines. For those who know little about rhythm and music, dance also offers the opportunity to learn how music is constructed (usually 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, or 6/8), about tempo, and about styles of performing artists.
If desired, ballroom dance competition offers rewards for success, and the certain knowledge that you can do your best even when winning less than a First Place award. Dedicated, successful amateur dancers may also win scholarships as well as ribbons and trophies in intra- and inter-studio events and in regional and national competition.


References: Music CDs from FADS and other sources such as Lester Lanin and Frank Sinatra “oldies,” and Tito Puente, FADS videos, and movies such as Shall We Dance. For information on aerobics, see Kenneth Cooper, New Aerobics (Bantam Books, 1972).


Ballroom Dancing Builds Self Esteem in Montclair Teens
 
By Carrie Babcock
Elliott Pauson with Carrie competes at the Westwood Fred Astaire

Elliott Pauson with Carrie competes at the Westwood Fred Astaire.


Whoever thinks teens today are over-scheduled is probably right. Our children today are far more active than in yesteryears. But kids don’t always find the right activity, and can spend a good part of their adolescence bouncing from lacrosse to tennis to chorus to piano to football, soccer, and so on. If they don’t show talent in these activities, they often drop out. These drop-outs can help to lower your child’s self-esteem. Kids can spend years accumulating feelings of solitude, not fitting in, geekiness or clumsiness.

Well, not these kids, and not this sport. This is Dance Sport, and these kids started it before the television show “Dancing With the Stars” swept the nation and the nelson ratings. And BALLROOM BOOTCAMP, DANCE WITH ME, SHALL WE DANCE (Japan), SHALL WE DANCE (US), SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, AMERICA’S BALLROOM CHALLENGE, MAD HOT BALLROOM.
Ballroom has never been bigger or more popular, and these kids know it.
Meet Mark, Andrea, Elliott, Katie, Kestin, Danielle, Charlotte, Dana, and Laura. They are just a few of the kids who have been hanging around the Fred Astaire Dance Studio after school. Some of them for years. Katie, a sixteen year-old honor student started taking lessons when she was 12, and now holds several United States pro-am titles. She plans on using ballroom as an extracurricular activity on her applications for college. Katie’s hoping for Penn State, but has also looked at Harvard.
Nineteen year-old Andrea began taking lessons the summer between her junior and senior year in high school. She fell in love with it, and found herself at the studio every day. She completed her senior work-study program with the studio as a receptionist, and after graduation was hired as a trainee. She is currently now teaching beginning students and training to become certified.
Mark, a senior in Montclair, started taking lessons because he’s been to Argentina on a study abroad program and wanted to learn how to tango. He’s since performed an Argentine-tango inspired showcase routine at the Fred Astaire Holiday Ball, and will be competing with his teacher next week in the Metropolitan Dance Sport Championships, in the Sheraton Meadowlands hotel.
Kestin aspires to be an actress. She started taking lessons after her parents took the introductory program, and thought Kestin might like to try. That was almost 4 years ago. Kestin is now a full bronze dancer, and will receive a bronze trophy award before the end of this year. Kestin competes regionally with her teacher and is a favorite on the dance-floor.
Dana is a 10 year old who started taking lessons after her Mom and Dad, sister and family friend. Her sister still comes occasionally, but Dana comes every week and has 2 teachers. She’s got the build and the desire to become a fabulous dancer.
Elliott, 12, is the newest edition to the Fred Astaire Dance Studio.
He saw MAD HOT BALLROOM and told his mother he’d like to try. “Elliot led me on his first lesson. He learned the basics of salsa, foxtrot and tango, and after 20 minutes was leading me with great poise. I winked at his mother and whispered ‘he is a natural – he was meant to do this” says his teacher. Elliot began in October and has entered one competition, and is currently working on a musical theatre style samba routine to dance for the year end “recital”.
These are just some of the dozen or so children we have taking lessons here at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio. These kids may or may not compete, may never be on television for their dancing, but they ooze self-confidence. They KNOW when they’ve done a step correctly, they BEAM when their teacher gives them a compliment, they PRACTICE hard, are poised, elegant, well-mannered, respectful, timely. They’ve developed coordination, balance, muscle control, and musicality. Most of them shy, awkward kids when they started, they now walk into the studio alone, without their parent, say hi to everyone, change their shoes and clothes (or come dressed, in dress pants and a polo shirt or a tie).
They are comfortable in their skin and their surroundings. They practice hard at home in hopes to win the respect of their teacher, yes, but more important, because they want to get it right.
Subliminally, subconsciously, these kids know they are building their own self-esteem.
Sure, they’re still teenagers, and they still have to go through the sometimes unbearable pains of being adolescence. Why can’t we just skip those years???? But these kids, for 40 minutes, twice a week, 3 times, 4 times a week, are the Richard Gere’s, the Cheryl Burkes, the Charlotte Jorgenesens, the Fred’s and Ginger’s of their own lives and their own destinies, and they know it. They feel it. They’ll never drop out. They are ballroom dancers.

The author is a ballroom dancer, teacher, and holds 5 United States Titles, in ballroom and theatrical ballroom. She’d like you to take lessons at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Upper Montclair, but if you can’t, you can email her at uppermontclair2@aol.com and she’ll recommend a reputable and worthy studio in your area.


Congratulations to Deborah "Gina" Gianelli and Kostadin Bidjourov
 
Kostadin Bidjourov and Deborah Gianelli

Wednesday, October 5, 2005

Congratulations to Deborah Gianelli, who recently traveled to Jacksonville, Florida with Kostadin , where she won her division of the U.S. National Pro-Am Theatrical Ballroom Competition at the First Coast Classic. Gina danced a waltz and won her division, and then the same waltz 2 days later where she came second over all, against all divisions and all age categories. Theatrical ballroom is like partner ice-dancing, with 50% aerial lifts and 50% floor dancing.

Gianelli also won the Open Pro-Am Standard Scholarship division at the First Coast.

Way to go Gina!!

Kostadin Bidjourov and Deborah Gianelli

The winners of the U.S. National Pro-Am Theatrical Ballroom Competition at the First Coast Classic.

Congratulations to our National Champions
 

Monday, September 12, 2005

This was a dynamite week for the Fred Astaire Dance Studios of Upper Montclair.
Amateur dancer and Montclair Resident Marika Kurer placed 6th in the World Pro-Am Smooth Finals, and also placed 1st in the Silver Smooth and 1st in the Standard Scholarships divisions at the Embassy Ball in California, with her teacher Kostadin Bidjourov.

Montclair resident Martin Ahrens with his professional partner Gabriella Jileva won both the U.S. Bronze and Silver Smooth Scholarship divisions at the United States Dance Sport Championships in Miami.

Also winning at the U.S. Dance Sport Championships are 2 time Undefeated Theatrical Ballroom Champions Kostadin Bidjourov and Carrie Babcock. This marks their 3rd win in this division.



Congratulations to all.

Gabriella Jileva and Martin Ahrens
Gabriella Jileva and Martin Ahrens
United States Dance Sport Championships in Miami
September, 2005

Charity Ball For Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund
 

Charity Ball
For Hurricane Katrina
Relief Fund

Sunday, September 25 from 5:00-7:30pm

Ilya Ifraimov and Mercedes Palarino All proceeds will go to the
American Red Cross and FEMA

Any Vendors who would like to donate
door prizes, gift certificates or
merchandise should contact
Kay Connors or Carrie Babcock
during the week of September 13-16
at 973-783-8999.

Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served.
All ballroom and latin dances will be represented.
Dress attire. No jeans, please.

Professional show featuring US Champions
Kostadin Bidjourov and Carrie Babcock.
With Jay Brancato and Janene Costello

Tickets are $50 per person
Available ONLY in advance at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio at 604 Valley Road in Upper Montclair. Open Monday-Friday from 1-10pm

All proceeds will go directly to the Red Cross and FEMA
Call 973-783-8999 for more information or email us at UpperMontclair1@aol.com



Fred Astaire Upper Montclair Ballroom Dance Studio
604 Valley Road
Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043
(973) 783-8999