Vol 3 No 3, March 01, 2009
© 2009, Salt Lake Vienna Waltz Association
Greetings Waltzers,
Did you attend Salt Lake Symphony's Vienna Ball, Feb. 14? Attendance seemed smaller than at last year's ball, but with the current
recession, I somewhat expected that. Hopefully, I am wrong. Still, the ball was a lot of fun as usual.
The dance floor wasn't too crowded, allowing us to literally charge down the long runs provided we stayed near the outside perimeters.
We received several gracious comments from other dancers, including one woman who told us we inspired her to begin taking
Viennese Waltz lessons. It seems the common misperception of Viennese Waltz by casual dancers is to box step more or less in
place in a tiny section of the overall dance floor. There were few other couples who danced the entire floor.
Dinner by Chartwell's was again served at the start of the ball, along with a performance by the BYU dancers, so the orchestra skipped
an opening grand march. However, about halfway through the evening, a gentleman sitting at our table purchased the right to conduct
the orchestra, and Director Dr. Robert Baldwin handed him the baton. Perhaps to make conducting a little easier for him, the orchestra
skipped another waltz and proceeded to play Johann Strauss Sr.'s 2/4 time "Radetsky March." As the orchestra played, more and more
people came onto the floor, and soon an impromptu and spontaneous grand march ensued. It wasn't organized at all, what with no
floor leaders, but the crowd's exuberant enthusiasm more than made up for the helter-skelter pace.
This year's emcee was Kurt Bestor, who also took a turn conducting. Having never heard Bestor lead an orchestra, I was very
impressed.
Baldwin's predecessor Dr. David Dalton also made an appearance and took his turn conducting Anderson's and Parish's "Blue
Tango." It's a beautiful number, and always reminds me of the music played at the cocktail parties my parents hosted when I was
growing up. Dalton conducted the Salt Lake Symphony for eight years and originated the idea of a Vienna Ball for a fund raiser. He is a
retired professor of viola and conducting at BYU.
And when the orchestra took well-deserved breaks, the Wayne Christensen Jazz Trio kept everyone dancing with foxtrots, tangos,
rhumbas, etc.
I also thank the Salt Lake Symphony for placing waltz etiquette cards on each table — you know, slower dancers to the middle, faster
ones to the outside, etc. One teenaged couple, who obviously did not read their card, danced in the "other" counter-clockwise direction,
forcing Lucy and me to constantly navigate around them as they continually bee-lined toward us. We've had to do that at balls before so
it wasn't such a big deal. But then the BYU principal couple came onto the floor to perform a solo, and what did they do? They traveled
clockwise! Yes, they were the only ones on the floor at the time, but I suspect a lot of people, including the aforementioned teens, took
the BYU couple's cue and now assume Viennese flows in any direction you darn well please.
I'd also like to thank Salt Lake Symphony Managing Director Joyce Mahoney for giving me the name of a waltz Lucy and I danced last
year — Franz Lehar's "Gold and Silver Waltz." Musicians can't dance and dancers don't know their music — just teasing — but I've
always thought I could do both. Turns out, what I thought was "Gold and Silver Waltz" was certainly not. And then, I haven't played my
violin since eighth-grade orchestra at Nicolas Junior High. Thank you, Joyce! You are an asset to the symphony, and you treat us like
old friends when we see you.
If you're like me, Midnight was too early for the closing of the Salt Lake Symphony Vienna Ball. The next Salt Lake City area ball will be
the Civil War Ball at Ft. Douglas, March 6, from 6-10 p.m. This is a period ball and antebellum costume is recommended although not
required. But why not dress up as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara, or for extra drama, as Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton. Pardon
me — I am a Southerner — but I'm sure the ball will also welcome Colonel Robert Shaw and Anna Haggerty, or Frederick Douglass
and Anna Murray. Costumes can be rented at Hale Center Theatre by appointment; call 801-984-9001. Additionally, women's costumes
can also be rented by calling Kim Fransen at 435-851-6466. A live orchestra will play Virgina Reels, Waltzes, and Hat Dances. Tickets
are $10 per adult at 435-851-6646 or civilwarball@gmail.com. Prepaid tickets are required to attend, and a map to the ball (on Potter
Street) will be mailed with your tickets.
Does the current recession find you cutting back on entertainment expenses? Instead of going to the movies, do you consider renting a
video instead? I recommend renting the original "Shall We Dance" (1996), written and directed by Masayuki Suo, and starring Koji
Yakusho and Tamiyo Kusakari. This story about a bored Japanese accountant who discovers his true passion for ballroom dance is
charmingly poignant and very funny. You may be familiar with the 2004 remake starring Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez. However, I
found in the Japanese original an exhilarating sense of liberation from traditional mores in the male dance students that is absent in
the American version. Any fairly large video rental store should have it in its foreign films section.
Finally, this is the first edition of this newsletter in HTML format. If you are unable to read parts of it, and your email program allows it,
view the newsletter in "text" format. Until next month . . .
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