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The benefits of dancing by Richard Powers

Here's the latest on the Ballroom with some pictures.

This unique dance can be traced back to St.
Louis. Sherry Lawson (known as the Queen of
the St. Louis Shag) describes it as a dance
with a bouncy step that swivels in and out
very much like the Charleston. It has
patterns with kicks and jumps, patterns that
are traditional, dating back more than
twenty-five years. The St. Louis Shag, like
the Balboa, is described as a non-swing
dance. Also like the Balboa, the Shag is done
to very fast music: 165 beats per minute and
faster.

The last dance at the Carrillo Ballroom will be on Saturday, Sept 12th. Then the work begins.

Dan Guest wrote a very concise and I believe accurate account of Balboa.

A day in the life of one reporter, Elizabeth Schwyzer, witnessing the new new TV series So You Think You Know Dance? I did this once too and she's right on.