Dance Lovers

I saw the movie, "Shall we Dance" (the original Japanese version) over four years ago when I first started taking Ballroom Dancing lessons.

I couldn't rent it then because it was nowhere to be found in any of the video stores. So, I purchased a copy on ebay from someplace that offered it on DVD and cheap. I think it came from Korea or Singapore.

Anyway, without a doubt this is one of my favorite Ballroom Dance movies of all time. I'm a sucker for foreign films anyway and to get a peek into the Japanese culture was entertaining and fascinating.

The story is about a Japanese businessman (I think he's an accountant) who is very successful. He has all the trappings in his culture... a wife, a daughter, a good job, and a nice house. He should be happy but he's not. On the train ride from work every night he watches out the train window at life passing him by.

One night at one of the stops he notices a window in which a strikingly beautiful young girl is standing looking as forlorn as he is. And from that day forward he looks for her. Just the sight of her gives him a small bit of excitement giving his lonely days some meaning.

He eventually gets the courage to find out what's going on behind that window and learns it's a Ballroom Dancing studio. Finally he secretly joins the classes to be closer to this youthful, sad beauty only to find over time that dancing has brought new meaning to his life.

The characterizations of different dancers is wonderful. In the studio we meet several indivduals, many of whom you'll know if you dance yourself. There's the obsessed nerd who spends every waking moment practicing his dance steps (I'm guilty of this one practicing in check out lines and listening to music on the radio and wondering which dances go with the music). And, the "know it all" competition dancer who can never find a partner worthy of her talent. Finally the overweight klutz who is dancing because his doctor said he needed to start exercising.

I especially enjoyed how the characters portrayed the stigma of dancing in Japan. Seen as something which is to be ridiculed and scorned the characters go at great length to hide the fact that they have another life on the dance floor.

This movie explores everything I love and remember about first learning to dance. The shyness of asking others to dance with me as a rank beginner. The joy of just moving to the music. The pride at becoming better at something and then excelling through hard work and long hours of practice.

It's got it all and I would recommend to highly to anyone who is a dancer or who want's to be a dancer. With the advent of online video stores like Netflix and Blockbuster you'll have no trouble tracking down this gem of a feel-good story. Go rent it today. You won't be sorry.

I can't imagine that any new seasons of Dancing with the Stars will have the caliber and high level of dancing that was on this year. There were so many amazing routines ... professional, athletic, and charismatic. It was so difficult to see people voted off ... to have anyone as "a loser" when, in fact, so many were first class winners. Each one gave it their all. Each one sacrified to produce fabulous performances. I oftened questioned Len's judging; he appeared to be way too harsh on Mario. The show was for entertainment purposes ... not just an international ballroom dance competition. I also thought at various times the music was in appropriate for the dance and handicapped the dancers.
Emmitt and Cheryl were great. If I, as a dance teacher, were to pick a student to work with, it would have been Emmitt. From all appearances, his attitude, work ethics, and abilities would have been a joy to mold. Mario, however, in my humble opinion, was the better dancer. One routine after another just blew me away with his style, precision, and strength. It's been a joy to see all the quickstep, rumba, samba, mambo, swing, foxtrot, waltz, tango, and cha cha routines ... all presented with pizzazz, flair, theatrics, grace, talent, and LOTS of hard work. It was AMAZING that they could learn the routines they did in such a short time. My hat's off to each one.

OK - I admit it: I really enjoy this show. I have so much respect and admiration for all that have the courage, time, and discipline to put themselves out in the public in an unfamiliar area. My hat's off to the celebrities with crazy schedules and limited time to work and practice. It will be interesting to see who grows into fabulous dancers. After watching only the first week, here are my humble predictions for the top 4: Laila Ali, Apolo Anton Ohno, Joey Fatone, and Ian Ziering. We'll see what happens.........

The final results show of Dancing with the Stars aired last week; a big subject of conversation amongst dancers and non-dancers is still "who won." The top 3 were all amazing; each one deserved to win. I was personally happy that Apollo Ohno won since his background, like Ali's, was not a dance background. He was in very new and foreign territory and improved dramatically. I still can not fathom how they were able to learn 2 or 3 dances in one week. I particularly enjoyed Apollo's quickstep, tango, and paso doble. Joey's swing was out of this world. Laila's smooth dances, like her waltz, were all beautiful. The professionals were all fantastic ... especially 18 year old Julianne. Very inspiring performances. Now to practice, practice, practice!

Whoo - Hoo! The new season of Dancing with the Stars began with an amazing start. There were so many high level of dancers of cha cha and foxtrot on week number 1. It will be interesting to see who keeps shining ... as it's challenging to do great performances in both latin and smooth dancing. My favorite was Sabrina with Mark doing the cha cha. They actually deserved 10s ... no question asked. Helio with Julianne did a fine job with their foxtrot ... smooth, classy, fun. I think Jane Seymour and Tony will go far; Albert and Anna, although a bit "cheeky," really sold their performance. Jennie Garth with Derek were actually quite good and deserved higher than straight 7s. Tough to keep popularity to a minimum and have "fans" actually vote for the best dancers. Should be a great season!

Oh - my - gosh!! This season of Dancing with the Stars has some phenomenal dancing very early in the season. Sabrina's jive deserved tens - it was a really fun swing. Helio also got "robbed" as his jive was outstanding. Jennie's tango was quite good. Marie Osmond's tango was good but did not deserve the high scores received; the choreography and dancing was just not as strong as the others. Mel does a fine job with her dancing and gets overshadowed by some of the super star dancers. Julianne's choreography, strength, and ability is certainly winning me over as one of the top female professionals. Mark is doing a great job with Sabrina. Sabrina and Mark as well as Helio and Julianne will make it to the top three. (in my humble opinion) I don't know who else will emerge: Mel and Maksim? Jennie and Derek? It's amazing that the professionals are able to mold their students in such a short time. It's a tremendous amount of work ... work on posture and dance frame, timing, footwork, steps, patterns, costumes, memorization, stage presence, strength, and endurance. I look forward to seeing more great dancing.

It is unbelievable that Sabrina and Mark were in the bottom two; it destroys the show's credibility that they were voted off. Sabrina consistently did great performances with all her dances. I thought she'd be at least in the top two; actually I thought she'd win. Apparently fan base support rules the show ... not abilities ... not performances. It's a low blow for Dancing with the Stars.

When it came down to the finals and I was asked "Who do you think will win Dancing with the Stars," I would, hands down, say "Sabrina." Alas ... she was voted off weeks ago ... so my options were left to Mel and Helio, both doing great jobs. Although Mel was amazing and a fabulous dancer in both the latin and smooth dances; my answer to the question was "Helio." His encore quickstep was great as were many of his performances. It's so much more difficult for a man, with no performance or dance training, to rise to the occasion and accomplish what he did. A woman can follow and be led more easily by a strong leader than a man can "fake" leading. (Although Julianne is also one of my favorite pros). The audience was treated to some fabulous swing, waltz, paso doble, quickstep, foxtrot, rumba, cha cha, mambo, viennese waltz, samba, and exuberant free styles this year. The season started off with superb dancing; it ended with the "nice guy" finishing first.