Social Dance 101 Begins Wednesday!!! Sept. Calendar

Hello everyone!

I've got a little soap box to jump up on today.  It has come to my attention that sometimes we inadvertently scare people away from our community...

We have purposely created The Crystal Ballroom Dance Center to be a welcoming space for everyone: new dancers, experienced dancers, quirky dancers, shy dancers, straight dancers, gay dancers, tall dancers, short dancers... you get the point. :)

Why? Because I'm a quirky, odd duck who never quite felt like I fit in. Ballroom dance was the first place where I truly felt accepted, like I had found my community, my people. I want everyone to experience that same connection through dance!

With that said, I think sometimes we all need a little education on what it really means to help people feel at home in our studio. It takes a village to welcome new dancers, but it only takes one interaction to push someone out the door, never to return.

I know this may seem abstract to some of us because we genuinely go to great lengths to encourage those around us. However, more than one new dancer has left the studio because of an interaction at a social dance that made them feel even more self-conscious, uncomfortable, or shunned than they already did.

~~Imagine you're cooking a meal for the first time and you burn the toast,  you already feel bad, you know it's burnt, it smells, and you want to crawl into a hole. Then someone tells you you're bad at cooking, takes a bite and spits it out while rolling their eyes. You'd probably never want to cook again.

Now imagine the same scenario, but instead the reaction is, "Oh man, that toast is really burnt. Oh well! We didn't need toast with this meal anyway. Next time we'll just cook it a little less."

Which response makes you want to try again?~~

Let's think about how our words, our actions, and our grace can either pull people toward dance or push them away forever.  Assume good intentions. Most dancers aren't trying to do something wrong, they're simply learning and growing. A kind comment, clear communication, and a little patience help everyone enjoy dancing more.

If your dance partner is off time, leads too strongly, feels too light, runs into people, or steps on your foot, instead of assuming they're doing it on purpose, what if we said something like, "Hey, this is tricky in the beginning. Don't worry—it gets better with practice. What if we just dance the basic for a little bit in the center of the floor so we can get on the same page and adjust to the floor?"

That attitude of assuming good intentions can make our studio an even better place while growing our community and sharing the love of dance with even more great people.

Tom has been generous enough to give you all the photos from our Independence Day Potluck!

You can see and download your photos here from Facebook! :)

This week is the start of our Spice Girls/BackStreet Boys Group Social Formation! Join us Wednesday July 15th at 7:45pm! I am so excited to create this routine with you all!  Get ready CBC, you won't know what hit you!  All levels are welcome to join this routine, we'll have 10 classes to get comfortable with it and then on August 20th we'll head to CBC to show off our awesome studio!  If you haven't confirmed that you are going to be part of this yet, please let me know ASAP so I can keep you in the loop on the group messages!

Also, thanks to everyone who came Out on the Town with us this Sunday! Our next Out on the Town will be in Worthington on August 9th at 7pm in Worthington.  Conspiracy Band has some of the BEST music, let's dance!!!

Upcoming Events!!!

Big Band Swing Group Class

Starts TONIGHT at 7:45pm!

Come get "In the Mood" to jam to some great high energy music!  Spencer & Amy will be showing you some Jitterbug, some Charleston and maybe even some Lindy in this fun 4 week series!  Get ready to kick it up a notch as we travel back to the 1940s!  Included in the Unlimited Membership ($20 Drop-In)

Social Dance 101 Restarts!!!

Starts Wednesday at 7:00pm!

This class is built to get you dancing!  in 7 weeks learn the 6 primary dance of ballroom dance plus enjoy a custom Beginner Dance party!  If you're looking for a way to review the dances or get confident switching from one dance to another, join us this week!  Join the entire series for $70 (Also included in the Unlimited Membership OR $20 Drop-In)

Ballroom Dance Swapmeet

Time to clear out the dancewear and shoes you don't use!

On Saturday July 25th bring along all of the dance clothes and shoes you no longer wear to swap with, sell to, or give to others.  Gentlemen, this includes you!  So far we have both mens and womens clothes and shoes as well as dancewear, and competition wear planned! Setup is from 3:30pm-5pm, SwapMeet is from 5pm-8pm, Enjoy a social ballroom dance afterwards for only $20!

Dancing with Our Columbus Stars Fundraiser!

August 14th 5pm-10pm enjoy dinner and a show

Both Fergie and I have the chance to choreography, perform, and raise money for a great cause this year for the Byron Saunders Foundation Fundraiser!  Purchase your tickets HERE to sit at The Crystal Ballroom Tables at this event! This organization is fantastic since all of the profit goes directly to feeding families in the Columbus area!  We will be planning another opportunity to volunteer and pack boxes as well this year!

Silver Cha Cha I

Starting in November we will begin Silver Medal Classes!

Get ready to experience advanced group classes at The Crystal Ballroom!  Start thinking now about what private instruction you may need to support this new information and movement! You must Pass the PreRequisite Tests to Qualify for Silver Medal Classes at The Crystal Ballroom! (Dance Vision Student Achievement Awards Qualify as well as a Pre-Req Test in Bronze Levels I-IV)

This week join us for group classes all week long, private lessons around your schedule, Friday VIPs will get to dance the night away, then Saturday enjoy 2 levels of Viennese Waltz before our Wonderful Saturday Night Ballroom Party!!!  

Let's all connect through dance at The Crystal Ballroom Dance Center!

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