Vol 3 No 5, May 22, 2009
© 2009, Salt Lake Vienna Waltz Association
Greetings Waltzers,
With the arrival of Spring, Vienna Waltz season has ended. Locating a dance venue along the Wasatch Front metropolitan area is
relatively easy. However, standard ballroom programs feature a waltz perhaps every dozen or so numbers, plus standard waltz and
Viennese waltz often seem interchangeable to ballroom orchestras. A slow, quaint "Edelweiss" just doesn't cut it when one is used to a
long and almost breathless "On the Beautiful Blue Danube."
If you just must have to dance more Viennese during the summer, an interesting option is to stage a waltz demonstration at a local
retirement or assisted living facility. We have! These places are always on the lookout for inexpensive entertainment for their residents.
And the residents will marvel at your dance. If you're not a professional, you'll know what being one feels like after one of these
performances.
Dressed black tie formal, we performed a a series of waltzes, foxtrots, and polkas a couple of weeks ago at a downtown Salt Lake City
facility. Music was a simple CD we prepared, played on the facility's portable stereo. A few of the residents even accepted our offer to
dance with us.
To stage the program, we simply asked at the front desk a couple of weeks before if they would be interested in having us for an hour-
long or so performance, and they enthusiatically replied yes. Afterward, they insisted we come back in June when we plan to concentrate
more on 40's-style swing and foxtrot.
Most of the residents — almost all women — only watched, and would not accept our invitation to dance. Next time, we plan to pull them
one by one onto the floor, giving them no reason to just sit idly by.
If you decide to host your own "retirement waltz," and plan to dance with the residents, remember you're not dancing with your regular
partner. Go easy! And make sure the music is turned up loud!
On a sad note, we pass the unfortunate news that San Diego Young Artists Symphony (SDYAS) will not be hosting a Viennese Ball this
year. Its annual ball is one of our favorites. The current economic recession may be to blame, but the San Diego people told us that
revenues from last year's ball did not meet expectations. That's a shame because I remember the floor being quite crowded. Hopefully,
SDYAS will present a ball in 2010.
That said, please support your local orchestras and balls!
I just received notice that San Francisco Waltzing Society is hosting its ball Nov. 14 at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland. Last year's turnout
to the San Francisco ball seemed smaller than in previous years, and while the Claremont is a beautiful facility, I worry that cost savings
may be the reason the ball is not being held in The City this year. Hopefully, I'm wrong, and I will let you know if I am.
Salt Lake Symphony's Vienna Ball was definitely less attended this year. These organizations and orchestras need your support, and in
the case of San Francisco Waltzing Society, its charities also need your help.
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