SparkleShan

SO as some of you know, I was taking ballroom dancing lessons over the summer at Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Mystic. I was planning on doing one of the competitions and I was searching the Internet for Latin ballroom costumes. I saw a ton that I like, but even used any of the decent ones were $500 to $1200 or more. So I decided to attempt to make one on my own. I looked at several different styles of Latin dresses that I liked and decide to use certain elements from each to make my own dress. I didn't end up doing the competition dies to scheduling conflicts and the cost to enter was like $800 or more! The dress is for the most part finish, excepted I need to put more swarovski crystals on the bodice (it is a very time consuming process). I wanted to share the pictures anyway because I am very proud of it. Let me know what you think about it.

If you are interested in ballroom dancing or are a fan of Dancing with the Stars, then there is a great site out there for you. One of the founder's of the site is Tony Donvaloni who was the professional partner of Jane Seymour on the latest Dancing with the Stars Show. Similar to myspace or facebook, you can create a profile and add friends. The great thing about this site though is that there are different groups you can join and talk to other people about any topic of ballroom dancing. Tony and Maksim (also seen on Dancing with the Stars) post video's called "Dance Talk". They talk about different subjects in ballroom dancing and about their experiences as professional dancers. There are several other professional dancers that endorse the site including; Paul Barris, Hilary Fleming, elena, Grinenko, Snejana Urbin and Ysenia Adame. If yiu are interested in Ballroom dancing you should think about signing up for this site by going to http://www.ballroomdancechannel.ni...

I have done a lot of research on site for ballroom dancing including music, shoes, costumes ect. Below are a few of the best sites I have found http://www.ballroomdancers.com/ This site has videos of American and International Style Dances in both smooth and Latin that show you how to do the basic steps. The site also has a lot of other useful information for ballroom dancers like where to buy costumes and shoes and music. You can even sell your costumes of buy used ones on the site.

I was searching for a place to start taking dance classes again after a 7 year break. One day while on my way to the Sea Swirl in Mystic for dinner, I drove by the Mystic Packer building I saw a sign for Fred Astaire Ballroom Dance Studio. I was interested so I went home and did some research online. I found there website easily http://www.fadsmystic The Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Mystic Connecticut just opened in February 2007. The two owner's, Roglio and Vadim , were previously teachers at the Hartford and Glastonbury Fred Astaire Studios before opening there Own Studio together. I decided to take advantage of there online introductory offer of 3 classes for $35 dollars. With this offer you receive an introductory group class, a private lesson and a practice party. I fell in love with the Studio right away. The teachers were professional and extremely nice and great at what they do. If you live in this area and are interested in learning ballroom dancing you shou...