Vol 3 No 6, June 24, 2009
© 2009, Salt Lake Vienna Waltz Association
Greetings Waltzers,
It's time to plan vacation. If you're like me, a vacation destination has to be a place to relax, and, once thoroughly relaxed, a place to dance.
Ship cruises, especially those catering to dancers, are an easy solution. I've met several dancers — all women — who voyage on dance
cruises each year. They've told me that cruises hire men for the sole purpose of dancing with the majority of single women who purchase
fares for dancing cruises. No one gets left out.
Me, I like to get sweaty and dirty riding my bicycle, or foraging through unique book and grocery stores, or visiting family, etc. on vacations,
things difficult to do on a cruise ship. But I also like to use a vacation as an excuse to dance somewhere beside home.
A couple of months ago I planned a drive to Las Vegas and wondered about dance venues there that didn't entail only me and a female
pole dancer. A quick internet search found Arthur Murray Las Vegas, www.arthurmurraylasvegas.com.
I called the studio, and spoke with a very outgoing and enthusiatic dance instructor, Tiffany Thomsen, I believe, who described many
couples dance venues in the Las Vegas area, including events held at Murray Las Vegas's two locations. The website has a "Current
Events / Places to Dance" link that offers a comprehensive listing of lounge, ballroom, polka, you name it, etc., venues for each day of the
week, including telephone numbers for each location.
It got me thinking that Arthur Murray studios, found in just about every metropolitan area in the United States, much less the world, may be
the perfect resource for locating dance venues when on vacation. I'll certainly check with the Portland and Beaverton studios prior to my
bicycle trip to Oregon this summer. "Where can I dance on a Friday nght in The Dalles?" They'll have an answer.
I found this link from the Arthur Murray studio in Coquitlam, BC,
www.dancecoquitlam.ca/pag_cms_id_41_p_world-index.html, that lists Murray studios around the world. Unfortunately, there are no
listings for any Arthur Murrays in Utah. Our coach Matthew Rice used to be the Murray franchisee in Salt Lake City, and I'll have to ask him if
any locations still exist here. Of course, with the BYU dance programs, Murray (City of) Art Center dance, and so many local studios, there
may be no room for another instruction site.
During our Las Vegas trip, Lucy and I found ourselves there on a Sunday night and walked Las Vegas Blvd. (The Strip) from the Sahara
Hotel at the north end all the way almost to I-215 at the south. Unfortunately, Sunday nights aren't noted for ballroom. We walked through
several hotels offering dance, but all were almost exclusively Rock. Don't get me wrong, I was raised on Rock, but next time, we'll try a
weeknight.
Correction to last month's newsletter: San Francisco Vienna Waltz Association's (SFVWA) 2009 Fall Vienna Ball will be held at the
Claremont Country Club in Oakland. Location is 5295 Broadway Terrace, Oakland, CA. Thanks to SFVWA's Michael Silpa for correcting us.
See Salt Lake Vienna Waltz Association's website, www.slviennawaltz.org for a link to SFVWA.
Save the Date: Salt Lake Symphony's Vienna Ball will be held February 13, 2010. Olpin Union Ballroom construction will be completed by
then, and the ball should have its usual great attendance.
Return to Newsletter