America's Ballroom Challenge

Although there are a lot of topics out there that require serious commentary and thought, this morning I want to write a few words about some great television we watched last night: the first installment of "America's Ballroom Challenge."

As regular readers of this blog know, I'm an avid amateur ballroom dancer, my wife is a dance teacher, and we participate in ballroom competitions as a Pro-Am couple. In my opinion, there's not a better sport for keeping you healthy, socially connected, and mentally alert. In last night's program, six couples competed for the American Smooth championship - and the dancing was just as great as you would think it should be at that competitive level. The head-to-head group dance competition was great, but the show dance routines were truly amazing. In particular, Mazen Hamza and Irina Sarukhanyan's show dance, which combined a powerful tango with a complex karate kata, was fantastic and took a well-deserved first place in that part of the competition. This was the incredible climax of their routine:

I encourage you to watch the show for the fun and excitement of an elegant and powerful sport. You can find the schedule and more information at the PBS website for the show (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ballroomchallenge/). And once you've watched it, why not give ballroom dancing a try yourself? If you need a sport to help keep you in shape, you can go to the gym and lift weights with a bunch of sweaty show-offs, or you can run a few miles ... or you can take a beautiful lady in your arms for a fast Quickstep or Viennese Waltz.

It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

Have a good day. Take some dancing lessons...you won't regret it!

Bilbo