DanceSport Talk

I was photographing a significant DanceSport competition this past weekend (the Vancouver Open) and was once again struck by the importance of lighting. We tend to think of floor, music and other aspects of a competition venue, but we often don't bother to think about how lighting impacts the event.

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Today is the fifth anniversary of the iPod. I thought this was an appropriate time to consider what this little portable music player has done for the world of DanceSport.

At the press event introducing this new innovation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, "You've heard of plug-and-play. This is plug, unplug and play. It's so simple to use, it's unbelievable." It was a revolution, not because of what it did (play music) but because of how it accomplished that functionality -- with style and grace that are still far ahead of the pack. So how has the iPod influenced dancing?

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There are only moments. As history moves along to the steady rhythm of time, most of it becomes a blur. But there are moments that seem to stand still in the center of a crazily turning world, like the sun breaking through the clouds after a storm.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were such a moment in time. From 1933 through the war and to the end of the 1940's, their dance relationship stirred the world as no other couple ever has. Their onscreen relationship eclipsed Taylor and Burton, and far exceeded the buzz around even such couples as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Now, finally, the whole collection of their unforgettable movies is available on DVD.

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If you love the art of dancing, check out my new 2007 oversized wall calendar. I was frustrated by the lack of DanceSport calendars out there, so I decided to create my own. Before I got immersed in the advertising world I was a professional photographer. Having taken some pretty decent photos of top dance couples at various events, I sorted through the best of my DanceSport photography and combined those photos with inspiring dance quotations by dancers, coaches and choreographers. The result is a stunning full-color calendar printed on premium heavyweight paper that measures an impressive 17" wide by 22" high when hung on the wall (photos are 17x11 inches).

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Vancouver, Canada, has long enjoyed a vibrant dance community much more active than those of much larger North American cities. That reality has really begun to sink in this past week as the enthusiasm of upcoming competitions is reaching a fever pitch. I can't recall when we've had this many competitions within a reasonable travel distance so close together.

Teachers say that each competition you enter is the equivalent of 10 lessons in terms of how much you take away in your personal growth as a dancer. So the next few weeks should shape our BC dancers quite effectively. There are five competitions in as many weekends in a row:

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