Tag: arthur murray

Yes, You Can Cha Cha to Lady Gaga

/ Gary Hilson

Daniella, Lindsay and GaryWhen I first started my ballroom dancing lessons last September, I’ve learned a lot more steps across six dances: waltz, tango, fox trot, rumba, swing and cha cha.

The latter has proven to be my favourite dance of late. It’s fast, it’s fun and it’s great for dancing to a lot of popular music. So when it came time to select a dance for my latest spotlight dance, it was a no brainer. I told Lindsay, one of my teachers, that a cha cha to Lady Gaga would be fun. I was half kidding, but only days later she and my other teacher Daniella conspired to develop a route to Bad Romance.

But here’s the kicker: I wouldn’t be dancing with just one partner – I would be dancing with two!

Dancing with two partners made rehearsals challenging, but I knew it would be routine to remember. It was tricky, but a lot of fun and it caught the audience by surprise too. My friends Jonathan and Izabella were there once more to cheer me on, as well as my friend Natalie and my friend David, who snapped some photos.

Care to Waltz?

/ Gary Hilson

Gary and LindsayLast week I performed my first dance routine in public.  Every few months students are encourage to perform a “spotlight dance” in front of other students and guests. It was scary and amazing at the same time.

This spotlight was close to Christmas so the dance was performed to a holiday song. I actually brought my entire Christmas CD collection into the studio for my instructor Lindsay to go through. Ultimately she selected a song by Enya. We did a waltz, which had quickly become my favourite dance.

I did two lessons a week for several weeks leading up to the big night and we even had a professional dance coach come in to help with the choreography. Preparing and practicing a routine is a lot like planning a wedding: It takes a lot of time but the actual event flies right by. The routine itself was two-and-a-half minutes.

I was so nervous leading up to the performance, but it went flawlessly. It was a fantastic experience, thanks in large part to my instructor Lindsay. My friends Wenn, Ashley, Jonathan and Izabella came out to watch.

When I first started dancing in September I had no idea I would enjoy the performance aspect so much. I can’t wait until the next one.

A big thanks to Wenn for capturing it on video!

Gary Hilson is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for hire. He lives in Toronto.