Dance around the world

Saturday night lived up to expectations.  Although neither Mum nor Dad were able to dance, they were so appreciative of being taken to their local RSA for a meal and dropped back again home after the first hour of dancing.  It is humbling to see how such small tokens of love and respect mean so much to them.  Local NZers know that a drink and a meal at the RSA do not exactly break the bank.  The corollary is that the food is generally not memorable.  However my choice of lamb shanks turned out to be the best lamb shanks (yes, there were two of them) that I had ever tasted anywhere.  The other food choices seemed ok too.

A small, but perfectly formed group of us hit the ballroom floor to some great dance music while Mum and Dad watched.  They don't know that I am writing this blog, but they do know that they are much loved and they return that in spades.

Back to the more prosaic 20 reasons next time, but I can't guarantee that I won't break into some more evidence that the passion lives before the last of the 20 reasons has been dealt with. 

On a techie note, a number of readers of this blog are picking up the RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feed, which means that they get an alert each time I write a new entry.  If you would like to do the same, the RSS icon is at the bottom right hand panel on this page. 

Chris Mitchell
www.dancetours.co.nz

A friend told me that my recent posts on the blog have lost a lot of the passion of earlier blogs.  That got me thinking that maybe I should take a break from the 20 reasons why dancing is good for your wellbeing and add an entry that conveys the passion that I do continue to feel.  Tomorrow a group of us will be dancing at the Manurewa Returned Services Association (RSA). It's a good venue and a great band, The Constellations, but there is another more poignant reason for this venue.   

Recently my Dad (aged 84) and Mum (aged 80) nominated and seconded me respectively, in my application to become an associate member of the RSA.  With Dad's active membership of 60 years and Mum's mere 30 years membership, the President rightly commented that with 90 years of membership behind my nomination, how could he decline the application.  It is only in the last 30 years or so that women were admitted as members, hence the difference in years of service.

The nomination process gave me the opportunity to state publicly, in front of my Dad, how proud I am of him and Mum and that it was a privilege after all this time to become an associate member of the RSA.  So tomorrow might we head off for an early meal at the RSA where I can say thanks for their nomination and thanks for everything they have done for me in my 50mumble years...... then the dancing begins at 7.30pm....

I am very fortunate to have both parents still alive and well.  They introduced me to ballroom dancing lessons when I was 14 yrs old and my current passion comes directly from their introduction more than 40 years ago.  Legend are the stories that I have heard about my parents' dancing seven nights a week while they were courting.  Tomorrow, Mum may not be up to dancing following a recent hip operation, but I am sure that Dad, who is a very good ballroom dancer, will be able to dance with the friends who are joining us tomorrow evening.  Five days later my Mum will be 81 so there are multiple levels of celebration tomorrow.

So despite the apparently clinical and dry recent posts... the passion is alive and well....  The next post will be an update on tomorrow evening's dancing.

Chris
www.dancetours.co.nz

14th of 20 reasons why dancing is great for your well-being.  Here's the full list.

We keep on being told about the eight cups of water that we need to drink each day to avoid dehydration. Excuse a little cynicism, but maybe there are also some vested interests behind this message.  Petrol is expensive but it is only half the price of bottled water.  Although there are undoubtedly some health benefits in drinking plenty of water, I have never been one to suck on the cap of a plastic bottle of water, especially at the exorbitant price that bottled water companies charge.  The negative impact of discarding so many plastic bottles into our environment seems to bypass the logic and conscience of the water sellers and buyers.  -What does Evian spell backwards?

Maybe my view is a poor attempt to rationalise my lack of commitment to drinking water continuously all day.  I'll drink water, usually out of a tap, when I am thirsty and/or when I have worked up a sweat.  Dancing does both.  I don't have to consciously think about drinking water in this situation.  It comes naturally. Whether at dance classes or at dance venues, there is usually plenty of water available and this gives me the opportunity to drink close to the eight cup quota that others say I should drink.  Dancing also reduces the quantity of alcohol that I might otherwise drink.  A beer or two or a wine, at the beginning of the evening is usually enough to set the mood and I continue to dance while drinking only water for the rest of the evening.

 For more info on the global issues around bottled water you can read the report from Food and Water Watch, who have a particular perspective on this issue.  They state their goal clearly:

In a Nutshell...
We are working with grassroots organizations and other allies around the world to stop the corporate control of our food and water.  We are committed to creating an economically and environmentally viable future.

Here's another counter view on the eight glasses of water a day issue which contains a lot of common sense to me.

A quote from a compilation of Tom Parsons, used with permission http://www.dancer.com/tom-parsons/quotes.html

If you're on thin ice you might as well be dancing.
             --Source unknown

Chris Mitchell
www.dancetours.co.nz