Hey Everyone.. Been A While..

Hi Everyone,

Well.. needless to say it's been some times since AnnieMarie and I have been active here.. hope ya'll remember me/us. A lot has been going on.. more than I could possibly say in one post and probably more than you want to hear.

We did go to worlds to compete.. what an experience.

We've parted ways for the last six weeks (taking a big break) and we're about to see each other again this weekend we're we'll possibly put ourselves back on the dancefloor for the first time since worlds. (Just a TAD nervous about that)

She did a great job following and most likely looked a lot better than I did in leading (go figure :wink: ) until the cha cha.. oops Ann.. that's ok.. we'll get'em next time.. :lol:

Though we're working things out.. I want you all to know she's still a heck of a dance partner. We've endured a lot!

I hope you all are doing ok. We didn't go to worlds with the intention of winning (Thank God!) but we did go with the intention of making it a "memorable" experience.. boy was it.

I doubt we'll be doing much competing this year.

We're working on other things.. like, um, reviving the reason we came to love to dance. To have FUN. Things got so stressed out for me during the part of this part year.. that the fun was and basically bought out by stress. Long story but before we step back into comp.. hopefully soon if all works out well.. we're going to rediscover having fun with each other on the dance floor (WITHOUT TRYING to compete or perform for anyone else.. but ourselves).

This past year was a lot of fun and we met a lot of really nice people. We're grateful that everyone liked us in return.

I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to meet anyone this past year.. we barely actually saw anyone at Worlds.. was pretty hectic for us.

I got to meet Suzy Boggus, bought her CD , she autographed it and got my pic taken with her.. that was great.

Congrats to all those who attended and did well.

Take Care,
Ron aka DancinDude

Thanks for the update. I'm glad that you have discovered what ahs been missing and are looking for it, rather then getting burnt out and getting turned away from dance. Sounds like you and your dance partner have a very mature relationship. There are quite a few other threads about dance partners, crushes, love, relationships and dance. Perhaps you can share your perspective with some other df folks in these threads?

Sagitta said:

Thanks for the update. I'm glad that you have discovered what ahs been missing and are looking for it, rather then getting burnt out and getting turned away from dance. Sounds like you and your dance partner have a very mature relationship. There are quite a few other threads about dance partners, crushes, love, relationships and dance. Perhaps you can share your perspective with some other df folks in these threads?

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Thanks.. well, perhaps I should clarify.. we're going to "rediscover" the commond ground reason for our friendship and our dancing. We found our friendship through dance and enjoyment in dancing and during the last 3 to 6 months .. lets just say.. issues mounted. Now, we're going to attempt to put it all back together. We're both guilty of stuff and we know it so we're acknowledging it and working on it.

Dance partnering is probably the second most intense relationship people can have. That's why it's often confused with the first. I know it was really difficult for me and my first dance partner. We crossed a lot of emotional boundaries with each other, that we really shouldn't have.

Anyway, I'm glad you guys competed, and you should keep at it. It only gets easier. One thing I always try and remember, is it's all an act. None of it is real. It's art, it mirrors life, but isn't the real thing.

One thing you could try, is just running routines when you are together, not making any judgements whatsoever, and just letting your coaches take care of all of that.

Also, do you guys remember to do non-dancing socialization? I find that helps dull the intensity.

sunshineboy78 said:

Dance partnering is probably the second most intense relationship people can have. That's why it's often confused with the first. I know it was really difficult for me and my first dance partner. We crossed a lot of emotional boundaries with each other, that we really shouldn't have.

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Well, for beginners what you probably don't know is that AnnieMarie and are far from "just dance partners". We've been super close friends for sometime and dancing competitively along with all the snarls that came in to play put stress on that (for various reasons).

sunshineboy78 said:

Anyway, I'm glad you guys competed, and you should keep at it. It only gets easier. One thing I always try and remember, is it's all an act. None of it is real. It's art, it mirrors life, but isn't the real thing.

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Thanks. Yes, we are aware that it's not real. There are simply other things that got in the way.

sunshineboy78 said:

One thing you could try, is just running routines when you are together, not making any judgements whatsoever, and just letting your coaches take care of all of that.

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Ok, first, we no longer have a "dedicated coach" .. we just have kind friends who are also coaches and pros.. willing to help now and then. As far as making judgements.. LOL.. you should get to know us more.. you would never have said that.. LOL.. for us.. hard as we try.. that is kind of unavoidable. AnnieMarie and I are somewhat perfectionists.. at least we were and we work hard when we work. I mean we work extremely hard.

sunshineboy78 said:

Also, do you guys remember to do non-dancing socialization? I find that helps dull the intensity.

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What do you mean.. 'non dancing socialization"? do you mean.. forget the comps and routines and just go social dancing and dance with others? Um, ya.. right... :wink:

No, lol, I mean do something that's not even dancing every once and a while. Like go to a movie.

I totally get where you are coming from with the perfectionist thing, but, I have some much more fun rehearsing now that I'm not fighting with my partner.

Actually, I have one partner, where we do have a dedicated coach, and he'll say to me, show your partner how to do that properly. I just smile and ignore it. I know what's good for me, and it doesn't involved coaching my partner, thats why we pay for the coach.

Who do you guys work with, meaning your friends that offer you coaching?

sunshineboy78 said:

No, lol, I mean do something that's not even dancing every once and a while. Like go to a movie.

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Oh.. ya we do that a lot. we did it a lot. We practiced so hard that we didn't even go dancing on the weekends anymore and did something else.

sunshineboy78 said:

I totally get where you are coming from with the perfectionist thing, but, I have some much more fun rehearsing now that I'm not fighting with my partner.

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yes, that's a good idea and a good thing. We're tired of fighting but one good thing.. we used to laugh all the time when we did it.

sunshineboy78 said:

Actually, I have one partner, where we do have a dedicated coach, and he'll say to me, show your partner how to do that properly. I just smile and ignore it. I know what's good for me, and it doesn't involved coaching my partner, thats why we pay for the coach.

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Darn, I wish another coach had realized that. I agree though we've fallin into that trap before. Perhaps it is what helped in our path to where we didn't want to be. But then, we like to figure things out and that may and may not be a great thing.

sunshineboy78 said:

Who do you guys work with, meaning your friends that offer you coaching?

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We've worked with Randy and Jennifer Jeffries(in depth and they were awesome!), and Kim Warner. We had a dedicated coach.. I'll leave that there.

I know Randy and Jennifer, competed against them in 2002. Very nice couple.

Who else is in Chicago now?

sunshineboy78 said:

I know Randy and Jennifer, competed against them in 2002. Very nice couple.

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yes, they are great.. I've known them for a long time.

sunshineboy78 said:

Who else is in Chicago now?

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As far as what? Could you please be a bit more specific or elaborate in your question?

Actually they were with us when we danced our very first comp back at Dance Camp last year.

Sorry, I meant: What other country pros do you guys have access to?

sunshineboy78 said:

Sorry, I meant: What other country pros do you guys have access to?

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I'm sorry, I'm not really sure I under the question. Do you mean working with locally or do you mean contacting for help? We're out of Detroit, MI. well.. not really Detroit.. but we're from Michigan.

I was just curious what teacers were near you. There's almost no one left in New York. John and Meredith have retired. It's impossible to book with Robert Royston, and even if you do, he may not show up, and Cody teaches mostly in New Jersey and charges 125 an hour. He also is not teaching the currently accepted version of Night Club 2 Step. Basically if you want to learn Country here, you have to to either me or Richard McMurrich.

sunshineboy78 said:

Basically if you want to learn Country here, you have to to either me or Richard McMurrich.

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Or you can do what everyone else here chooses instead:

Wait till you get time with Robert, and/or pay Cody the $100 an hr he charges (less if you take regularly I believe).
Yes, both have full schedules but they do still accept new students.

They both teach in Manhattan the majority of the week and some wknds if they are in town.
Robert has recently been building more business in Nyack where he lives and Cody does still teach in NJ once a week.

Re your derogatory comments, Robert is very busy with multiple projects and a family yet still manages to commute to Manhattan and teach a heavy load of groups and privates.

Cody seems to have no problem filling his schedule at the rates he charges, and it has been noticed that his students are always at the forefront either with placements or significantly noticable improvements.

So....

still the two best options in New York

Bump to the above.

Having taken with Cody for a while now and experiencing firsthand the amazing progress he can get you to achieve, I won't even address your NC comment, as it would have to be pre-empted with a side by side comparison of the students you both have (or in your case have not) coached to the top so people here would understand the absurdity of you acting qualified to cast dispersions toward one of the greatest dance teachers C&W has ever had.

And, having taken lessons with Robert (and Laureen Baldovi), as well as several years when Robert was the coach of our C&W dance team, I can assure that my dance prowesses would not be where they are today w/o Robert's training.

Even if you get the chance to only have one hour with Robert . . . it's an experience you will never forget . . . as you will have taken a lesson from the "greatest." I consider an event weekend complete if I get a "hug" from him!!!