Reservations are coming in already! Make yours NOW! It is going to be a terrific party you will not want to miss.

“Celebrate Valentine’s Day with class and fun”

Margaret Burns  presents:

Voces Libres Trio playing spanish love songs and boleros

Master DJ Chris Kanozsay spinning great party music

Champagne, chocolate, strawberries…and more.

$35.00 per person/$60.00 per couple

Not just for couples. No dance experience necessary.

Call now to make your Reservations:  941-896-8834

Dance With Class Ballroom

4069 Cortez Road West

Bradenton, FL  34210

Yes, I have opened a dance studio in Bradenton, Florida. A great big open space on Cortez Road West. People are rolling in the door tonight for the first West Coast Swing class and party. Looking forward to a wonderful partnership with Jon and Marianne Hagman. Great couple to be with.  Private lessons began last week. All dancers beginners through advanced are welcome. We will be teaching social as well as competitive dancing. Here are a couple of pictures. I am also looking to train people that are interested in a career change. It is a wonderful profession being a dance instructor. I can prepare you for exams and credentials as well as prepare you to be the best instructor you can be.

will always need to learn and study more. The fact that we cannot dance is exactly the reason to take lessons. That is why there are dance lessons and instructors.I developed my slogan to be “Two left feet? I have your right” because I have met so many people that fee that they are too bad at dancing to take lessons. This is so amazing to me that people have forgotten the purpose of school. The reason for learning. Even if we already know something, anything we

So, my point is that it is never too late to learn. I was at a west coast swing class a few weeks ago helping out my friend Bobby Caudill. I met someone after the class that always wanted to learn but seemed reluctant to take the class. I didn’t quite understand our conversation as I strongly believe that everyone should be taking dance lessons. The best professionals in the world take lessons to improve their craft. They might be competitors striving to be faster, stronger, more clever than their counterparts. They might be instructors looking for better ways to impart their knowledge. No matter what your level of dance from nonexistent to brilliant there will always be more to learn. Find that class, that studio. Learn to dance, and as this gentleman said to me he dances to have fun and to seduce the ladies. Of course, the better his dancing and his other essential skills the better his chances. Ladies do like men that are gentlemen and good dancers.

The group mambo was quite interesting. I found myself initially in sync with the judges. Then they started eliminating the good ones. Someone needs to tell the judges the difference between Salsa and Mambo (Salsa  on “2″). If you are doing a mambo the key is the timing!! Basic judging rule #1 “Timing, timing. timing”. All of the stars had a hard time keeping the the mambo beat. However, Mya, Aaron and Kelly were more on than off. Especially Mya. She was by far the best on the floor in every way. Joanna was hopelessly lost and should have been cut so much earlier. Daring strategy for Louis to freestyle. I thought it went very well for them. The result - not so much. Such a shame for this to happen. The band played a real mambo too.

Here we go again. Another fabulous dance show with our stars. I love this program. I still get so frustrated when the dancers are blamed for the inadequacies of the music. For the judges to fault the dancers for not showing the excitement and liveliness of the jitterbug when the tempo for Mya and Dmitry was so slow is unbelievable. Then they get excited and praise Mark and Lacy for showing that aspect. Of course they did! Hello! Was anyone listening? The music was terrific. So were they. Mark is one of my favorites. He is super talented and I am a Food Network addict. My criticism is not with the dancers but with the producers that are making these ridiculous situations for the judges and dancers. When a couple (Melissa and Mark) are saddled with a dancing by the toenails, incredibly slow waltz how are they supposed produce a relaxed elegant look. It takes so much to stay in tempo and still keep your form, technique and spirit when the music sinks you into a quagmire.  The viewing audience are, I am sure, equipped with sight and ears. The are probably confused with the comments sometimes made by the judges when the obstacles inhibiting the dancers are so obvious. The dancers when stuck with bad arrangements, should be applauded for dealing so well with these things.

Dancing With The Stars is a show about endurance, bravura (not always a good idea,  notice all the injuries), and fun. The professionals do an amazing job with their stars. The choreography is always spot on with the music. This is not always well received by the judges, but is always appreciated by the audience. It is amazing how much they achieve in such a short period of time. Kudos to the dedication of the stars.

Question of the Day? Do you think that the music with the appropriate and more exciting/passionate/sensuous tempi are given to the chosen winners? With the less lustrous music going to the next star to leave? Is Melissa going next? Sabotage or coincidence? Mmmm… makes you wonder.

Dancing With The Stars is spicing up the airways. Congratulations to all the wonderful professionals and the daring and adventurous stars. It is amazing how much they accomplish each week with their dances.  Normally I get so upset each week when acknowledgements are not given to the choreographers. This week the Argentine Tango couple even had their names flashed across the screen. Terrific! Maybe this will be a new trend for this show. The quality of the music selections are still abominable. Oh my goodness!  Sometimes I cringe when I hear the music these wonderful dancers are subjected to. For goodness sake, can’t someone tell them that some of the music is impossible to dance to with any amount of conviction. Such a shame to have to subject the viewing audience to such music. When they choose the appropriate songs/rhythms it is truly a pleasure and is one of the reasons for the show’s success.

I look forward to a terrific season.