The River City Ballroom Dance Competition

This past weekend Agnes and I drove down to Richmond to cheer on our friends who were taking part in the River City Ballroom Dance Competition. We had a great time dancing, partying, and generally enjoying time with a group of people who know how to enjoy life.

If you've never been to a ballroom competition, you might have a mental image of a very staid, formal affair full of men in tuxedos and tail suits and ladies in gorgeous gowns or skimpy, sexy Latin costumes. It's actually a rowdy, raucous affair with loud cheering and applause encouraged to fire up the dancers and the rest of the audience. Our school, Studio One of Alexandria, is widely known for being loud and happy, and for lustily cheering not only our own dancers, but everyone else's, too. Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

I played a key role in preparations for the event. At our party the evening before, when dresses were being modeled, I was often called on to help the ladies with pesky zippers and such ...

Our mascot always travels with us for good luck ...

A judge's-eye view of the dance floor ...

This was our group after the smooth and standard dance rounds (Agnes took this one) ...

And I took this one after the afternoon Latin dance rounds ...

And, of course, we always work very hard to present a calm, dignified image of our studio ...

If you're not into ballroom dancing, you don't know what you're missing. What's not to like about spending the weekend in the company of beautiful ladies in gorgeous costumes who want you to dance with them?

Unfortunately, it's time to go back to work. Sigh.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo