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SDsalsaguy
03-10-2004, 03:16 AM
Having a Ball
A twirling pack of boomers is competing on the ballroom floor

Some couples golf together. Some play tennis. And some, like Terry Viney, 62, and his wife Leilani, 51, dance — and by dancing, we're not talking about the occasional night out. Terry, a strategic-planning consultant, and Leilani, a dietitian, spend 20 hours a week taking lessons and rehearsing the waltz, fox trot, tango and quickstep. They hone their moves so they can participate in about 10 different ballroom-dancing competitions a year. It's an endeavor that costs $6,000 annually, mostly spent on travel and numerous gowns and tuxedos that have been hand stitched for their outings. They have even built a 20-ft. by 30-ft. ballroom addition to their two-bedroom, ranch-style home in Millburn, N.J. "You get a major rush of adrenaline when you're out there on the dance floor," says Terry, who has been competing for a decade. "It's even better when you win."

You can see the rest of the story here (http://www.time.com/time/generations/article/0,9171,1101040315-598531,00.html).

Pacion
03-10-2004, 08:41 AM
Just one mention of salsa though - hmmm. I can see I am going to have to have a word with their editor :( :lol:

pygmalion
03-10-2004, 05:00 PM
A couple interesting notes. No mention of independent studios, which feed the competition circuit. And 45% of ballroom dancers are 50 or over. Holy cow! So where's the feeder pool for the next generation of ballroom dancers?

SDsalsaguy
03-10-2004, 05:15 PM
A couple interesting notes. No mention of independent studios, which feed the competition circuit. And 45% of ballroom dancers are 50 or over. Holy cow! So where's the feeder pool for the next generation of ballroom dancers?
Notice that your two items may be intinsicly linked...

Also keep in mind that the article was for the Generations supplemental section, so it was targetted at an older audience and, hence, probably written from that perspective as well...

pygmalion
03-10-2004, 05:18 PM
Yup, SD. I wonder if I can find a copy of that article in the newsstand version.

And another thing. Given the "aging of America" that people keep talking about, I wonder if ballroom won't just automatically grow, as baby boomers hit the stereotypical ballroom dancing age. Hmm.

There were also a few other things in the article caught my attention, but I'm leaving those points for others to discover on their own, btw.

Pacion
03-11-2004, 12:20 PM
There were also a few other things in the article caught my attention, but I'm leaving those points for others to discover on their own, btw.

Thanks :wink: