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"When the music's playing, I hope you're dancing; I hope you crank up the
volume, kick off your shoes, and have the time of your life!" -- Oprah Winfrey
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We're not here for a long time, we're here for a GOOD TIME!
So let's get started...and DANCE!!! -- TLChasteen
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Our lives begin to end the day we become silent
about things that matter - Dr Martin Luther King, Jr
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Welcome to "Nobody asked for my opinion...BUT..." at www.DanceDirt.com (www.DanceGossip.com), the web site of DanceSport gossip... and more. The topics listed below include excerpts from some of my favorite photo galleries....(like the one immediately following of Christian the Lion).

 

Hug your dance partner today!
I promise that your DANCING (with lions & tigers & bears....& even other people!...)
will NEVER be THE SAME!...


This site is inappropriately and unprofessionally maintained by:
www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com
 (www.InternationalDanceSPORT.com, www.DancingWithTheDCStars.com)
the home of
 Terry Chasteen's
International DanceSPORT & Entertainment
We offer the most professional and authentic dance entertainment available throughout Metropolitan Washington DC.
Plus we provide easy, flexible and fun instruction for the entire family in every style of social dance from around the globe
that literally ANYONE can afford (and your 1st class is FREE! with a 2-for-the-price-of-1Pass online for 1st-timers).
TerryChasteen@PleaseDanceWithMe.com
TerryChasteen@InternationalDanceSPORT.com
TerryChasteen@yahoo.com
202-462-0870

ALL OF TERRY CHASTEEN'S CLASSES AT PleaseDanceWithMe.com WILL
TAKE PLACE AS SCHEDULED ON MOST HOLIDAY WEEKENDS. CHECK
THE WEB SITE HOME PAGE TO CONFIRM.


Learn 'Michael Jackson's Thriller' during a Dance Place Tribute to the King of Pop - Thurs, July 2nd.

Join us at Dance Place in NE Washington DC for another FREE tribute to Michael Jackson on Thursday, July 2nd from 5-6pm; a short walk from the Brookland/Catholic University Metro station. Terry Chasteen of www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com will be teaching and leading those attending in the 'Michael Jackson's Thriller' dance routine, plus there'll be dancing to other music of Michael Jackson in his memory. Everyone is welcome, including those of all ages, singles, couples, same-gender couples and the seeing and hearing impaired.

Dance Place
3225 8th Street, NE
Washington, DC 20017
202-269-1600
www.DancePlace.org

HOW TO GET TO DANCE PLACE
BY METRO: Dance Place is a few blocks from the Brookland/CUA Redline Metro stop. Exit the turnstiles and immediately go right and up the escalator. You will be out of doors in a bus area. Turn right at the bus area. Follow the sidewalk, which leads to Monroe Street. Turn right on Monroe Street and go across a short bridge. After the bridge, turn left immediately onto 8th Street, NE. Dance Place is two blocks down on the left side of the street.
BY AUTO: Visit http://www.danceplace.org/content.aspx?ID=27

AND THANK YOU!
to so many of you who took the time to commemorate Michael's passing by coming
in to learn 'Michael Jackson's Thriller' over the June 26th weekend. I can't think of a
better way to honor him than to learn how to dance like him, though none of us will ever
even come close. This is not the end, however .... we'll be doing this most Sat mornings as
a class warm-up at 10:00AM and on Sundays between 8:30PM & 9:00PM as part of the weekly
Washington DC Michael Jackson's Thriller Meetup Group


Continued 'Michael Jackson's Thriller' training will take place to learn this one-of-a-kind dance routine in his memory.
Join Terry Chasteen of www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com and the Washington DC Michael Jackson's Thriller Meetup Group at the Chevy Chase Ballroom (Friendship Heights red line Metro) for continuing 'Michael Jackson's Thriller' training sessions in honor of this incomparable icon of music and dance on Saturday mornings at 10AM, Sunday evenings after 8:30PM and more as different opportunities arise (keep visiting www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com or www.MichaelJacksonsThriller.com for future times).

The objective over the June 26th weekend was to teach as much of the authentic Michael Jackson's Thriller dance routine (straight from the DVD with all of the details, not the counterfeit material that one might see on the internet) that we could fit into a half hour or an hour which we did on:
(1) Friday, June 26th at 12:00 Noon and 6:00PM (confirmed and accomplished),
(2) Saturday, June 27th at 10:00 AM and 7:00PM (confirmed and accomplished),
(3) Sunday, June 28th at 12:00 Noon and at 9:00 PM (confirmed and accomplished).

9:00PM on Sundays is our usually scheduled time for the Washington DC Michael Jackson's Thriller Meetup Group in conjunction with the weekly Sunday Salsa & Rueda and Argentine Tango Socials; both of which include refreshments of lemonade and pie right from the oven with ice cream. We'll be dancing Salsa & Rueda, Tango and the 'Michael Jackson's Thriller' dance routine on the absolute BEST professional floating dance floor in all of DC, Md & Va. The Salsa & Rueda Sunday Social is ended by 9PM in studio A while the Argentine Tango dance party continues in studio B and goes until 11PM (anyone taking any Sunday class is paid up to attend either one or both dance parties).

Visit www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com or www.MichaelJacksonsThriller.com for any additions in days or times above and beyond the 10:00AM Saturday morning class warm-up before our beginner Salsa class (taught by Mein at 10:30AM) and the 'Dancing Kids' Network' Ballroom, Latin & Swing classes at 10:30AM (taught by Terry or his other associate teachers). And help us to continue celebrating Michael's life by doing what he did better than anyone else...by DANCING! .... We want EVERYONE to know this dance!

Below are three very positive results in video from the June 26th weekend, in addition to causing so many more people to learn the authentic 'Michael Jackson's Thriller' dance routine:
(1) Michael Jackson "Thriller" Sat morning dance class at the Chevy Chase Ballroom on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/DCTanguera
Saturday, June 27th, 2009. (can you believe they all got up early enough to come to dance class on a Saturday morning?! This is one reason why I really do LOVE my job!....and look at those young GUYS dance!....I am AMAZED!!!)

(2) Featured WUSA channel 9 News Video with Terry & Nicole on Friday, June 25th. Now available at WUSA9.com.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller on Channel 9, Friday June 25th, 2009 (1.15 minutes)
http://www.wusa9.com/video/default.aspx?menuid=138
"Michael Jackson will always be known as the original King of Pop. But when Thriller starts to play, ---many fans sing, dance and try to imitate this legend".

 (3) Latest Videos now posted on WUSA9.com, including Terry teaching and Terry & Nicole dancing on June 25th, 2009 (5.25 minutes). Now available at WUSA9.com.
http://www.wusa9.com/video/default.aspx?menuid=138
Learn the dance from “Thriller”.
"Digital correspondent Lindsey Mastis found a man who has spent many years teaching the 'Thriller' dance".

Location: The Chevy Chase Ballroom & DanceSport Center, 5207 Wisc Ave NW, Washington DC 20015
(1/2 block South of the Jennifer St exit of the Friendship Heights red line Metro above Paul's Liquor at Harrison & Wisconsin).
Contact: Terry Chasteen, TerryChasteen@PleaseDanceWithMe.com, TerryChasteen@yahoo.com, 202-462-0870.

Isn't it time to STOP WATCHING all the fun....and START HAVING IT?!!

 

And don't just lie around the house & yard all day....

DANCE!!

EVERY SUNDAY:
Beginner and intermediate/advanced Sunday Tango classes taught at the same time
by Terry (beginners) and Rene' Davila (int/adv) from 7pm-8:00pm.


(click here for details)

 

 


We definitely plan to include a blog soon, maybe Blog Spot (as soon as I can figure out how to do that....) so we can get ALL of your opinions as well. For now, please send me your dance ideas and articles and maybe we can post them.

For who: Our classes and social dance events are for everyone of all races, ages, religions affiliations, genders and orientations of affection. That includes singles, couples, same-gender couples, seniors, the disabled (wheelchair dancers), youth (including pre-school enrolled along with their parents through high school), and the seeing and hearing impaired (limited ASL available. I love practicing my ASL with new deaf students). All are welcome and encouraged to attend. No dance partner, previous dance experience or specific age specifications are required. We just have a firm belief that EVERYONE should dance together! So leave the labels outside the door and get everyone "Out on the Dance Floor!"

Isn't it time to STOP WATCHING all the fun....and START HAVING IT?!!

Hurry...and start planning today to attend our upcoming
Dance-&-Learn Parties as well as our weekly Sunday
Salsa & Rueda and weekly Sunday evening Argentine Tango milongas.


Click here
(Email: TerryChasteen@InternationalDanceSPORT.com,
TerryChasteen@PleaseDanceWithMe.com,
TerryChasteen@yahoo.com)

Click here for the menu to the varied topics of the
PleaseDanceWithMe.com web site

 

 

 

"You have but two options to choose from, Mister....

Either git to dancin'....

....or get out o' Dodge...."

1. Nobody asked for my opinion...BUT...

As one who has always had an opinion on most topics and likewise has never felt comfortable keeping them to myself, I have decided to include one of my favorite ("and most opinionated") sections of the "DC DanceSport News" as a separate page on this web site entitled "Nobody asked for my opinion...BUT..." and so express my sometimes twisted opinions around the world. I can do that in America...the land of the free. The first few articles are out and I'd LLOOOVVVE to have YOUR OPINION...I might even post it on the following section that I call ....Nobody asked for their opinions either...BUT...

A. The world-wide war on drugs...as much as we hate to admit the real truth, the fault and the problem belongs to no one but "US" (U.S.)....

B. To Teach Well or Not To Teach well...That is the Question...A three-part article by Terry "Shakespeare" Chasteen and published in the bi-monthly American Ballroom Dancers' Association Magazine in 2002 (now USA Dance).

C. The reasons why I look forward to and just LLOOOVVE teaching my beginner wedding couples..

D. "Out and About in Washington DC" - links to valuable information about our Nation's Capitol,
including sight-seeing, entertainment, museums, transportation, media, sports, schools, hotels, etc.

E. Regarding religion and government

F. A tribute to Steve Irwin:

G. Terry Chasteen's bio

H. Black History Month - February 2007 featuring the Nicholas Brothers and Frankie Manning.

I. The discriminatory remarks by the Chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace are not only unquestionably inappropriate but also damaging to the morale and productivity of the thousands of gay and lesbian service members who are both presently in or are planning to join the armed forces....

J. A Sharp Drop in Gays Discharged From Military Tied to War Need
By Ann Scott Tyson, Washington Post Staff Writer
The number of homosexuals discharged from the U.S. military under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy dropped significantly in 2006, according to Pentagon figures released yesterday -- leading critics to charge that the military is retaining gay men and lesbians because it needs them in a time of war.

K. MY PICKS for the ®Oscars, 2007 ...

L. A Congressional Gold Medal salute to the Tuskegee Air Men...even though it just happens to be almost 6 decades too late....

M. July 4th, 2007...WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE...FOR ALL?...

N. Re: An email from Mein.

O. A complement from my brother (well one of my brothers...I have 3...and yes the 4 of us baby boomers were only 5 years apart...poor "Mom" in those days!)

P. The Reverend Ted Haggard...don't forgive him - accept him for what he is.....

Q. Loyalty:
Those who have a real concern for you would never abandon you in the first place...


R. Pit bull or pig? Public Forum Letter - (The Salt Lake Tribune, Thursday, Sept 11, 2008)

S. From the prepared remarks of President-elect Barack Obama for his election right victory speech at Chicago's Grant Park...

T. Grammy Award winner and breast cancer survivor Melissa Etheridge speaks out on California's Porposition 8 on marriage for same-gender couples..



(U) Terry's brief movie debut in Chris Rock's "Head Of State"

(V)
Terry's "even more brief" experience in the Oscar®-winning major motion picture "Syriana" with George Clooney, Geoffrey Wright, Amanda Peet and and Matt Damon



(W) Watch the videos and learn the "Michael Jackson's Thriller"dance routine......
(...but only for those who will even DARE to take the risk!...).


2. Also,...Nobody asked for their opinions either...BUT...

A. Quotes regarding discrimination by John F. Kennedy

B. A complement from DC...

C. A complement from the Miss Adams Morgan Pageant...

D. An observation by Christopher Reeve about some of us who are able-bodied shortly before his untimely death...

E. A MIRAMAX synopsis of "Shall We Dance?".

F. Homosexuals -- Are they REALLY destroying the institution of marriage?

G. My favorite quotes from Oprah's Mission Calendar Inspiration.

H. Wedding testimonials

 

We want YOU!! ......


to DANCE!!





 

Join us for our weekly
'SAOCO DC
Casino Rueda Extravaganza'

every Sunday from 5pm-9pm, including 2 hours of
SAOCO DC's incredibly popular Rueda Workshops for all levels of Salsa & Rueda dancers,
followed by dancing in Salsa & Rueda and all styles of Latin until 9pm
(check back for details as they become available).



Our Chevy Chase Ballroom social events include the absolute 'BEST' in dance music plus earlier mini-dance classes
for at least beginners and higher level dancers in many of the popular social dances
(Salsa, Rueda, ChaCha, Rumba, Bolero, Samba, Merengue, Cumbia, Paso Doble, Ballroom, Swing, Tango and more...).
WE ALWAYS INCLUDE...
refreshments, teacher assistance by request and PLENTY of general dancing.

You will definitely NOT want to miss these

new classes, along with other incredible dance party opportunities
available on our teaching schedule...

Newcomer thru advanced dance classes in many
social dance styles are forming now.

 

 

 

 

Please.......

...Dance with Me...

.... and my incredibly talented & professional associate teachers.

....we promise that your Dancing (and your social life...)

...will Never be The Same!

 


"Dancing with the Stars" has become THE! most watched program on National television. Join the
majority of Metropolitan washington DC again in the near future on ABC Channel 7 WJLA.



Join the majority of Metropolitan washington DC by watching
the "Battle of the Ballroom" on ABC Channel 7 WJLA on upcoming Mon & Tue evenings....

...as well as upcoming segments of
"America's Ballroom Challenge"

on PBS,

Start preparing yourself for the "Battle of the Ballroom"...
Isn't it time to STOP WATCHING all the fun and START HAVING IT?!!

(This web site is still

 

www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com
 (www.InternationalDanceSPORT.com, www.DancingWithTheDCStars.com)
the home of
 Terry Chasteen's
International DanceSPORT & Entertainment
We offer the most professional and authentic dance entertainment available throughout Metropolitan Washington DC.
Plus we provide easy, flexible and fun instruction for the entire family in every style of social dance from around the globe
that literally ANYONE can afford (and your 1st class is FREE! with a 2-for-the-price-of-1Pass online for 1st-timers).
(Absolutely no high-pressure selling, long and expensive contracts or holding students back who can proceed faster. Our
selling point is our superior ability to teach, not sell. Use the drop-down menu above for site information)
TerryChasteen@PleaseDanceWithMe.com
TerryChasteen@InternationalDanceSPORT.com
TerryChasteen@yahoo.com
202-462-0870

www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com
www.DanceSportOfAmerica.com
www.InternationalDanceSPORT.com
www.DanceAtYourWeddingWorkshops.com
www.TangoDanceSPORT.com
www.TheDancingKidsNetwork.com
www.RedHotBallroom.net
www.MichaelJackonsThriller.com
www.Learn-to-Dance-athon.org
www.OutOnTheDanceFloor.org
(the web site for the annual "Out on The Dance Floor Charity Ball" plus monthly "So You Think You Can Dance DC" and "Dancing with the DC Stars" mini-dance competitions in all styles open to anyone ..... join us "Out on The Dance Floor")

 

Click here
for a one-page flyer of
Terry's complete dance class schedule

Click here
to print, send or give to a friend a dance class discount
"2-for-the-price-of-1 pass"
good toward any of Terry Chasteen's dance classes
when one of those attending is for their first time...

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 Dance classes, Dance-at-Your-Wedding Workshops, Red Hot Ballroom for grade school thru high school, Dance-&-Learn Parties,
Sunday Salsa & Rueda and Argentine Tango Socials, Private Dance Coaching, Ballroom, Swing, Salsa, Argentine Tango and more...

 

Nobody asked for my opinion...BUT...

A. The world-wide war on drugs...as much as we hate to admit the real truth, the fault and the problem belongs to no one but "US" (U.S.)....


July 2nd, 2008 - "Until Death Do Us Part" author and former Columbian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt rescued this week after almost 6 years of being a captive of the drug cartels of that country. To the surprise of most of us, unlike what is continually being spun by America and many other developed countries, the drug wars are not the problem or the fault of those from poor 3rd world poppy-growing agricultural countries like Columbia, Chili and Afghanistan who cannot fight the money and power of the drug lords. The responsibility of the drug problem instead belongs to no one else but "us" (US) and every other supposedly-progressive country that continues to allow the spending of billions and billions of dollars for illegal drug use within their borders, while at the same time enforcing minimal repercussions to those drug users here at home. Drug users who I might add spend billions of dollars to ensure the value of those cocaine poppies which ultimately results in money that ends up in the coffers of our terrorist adversaries. Thanks only to "us" (US).
We continue to waste tons of money every year attempting to stop drug production at it's source in these economically-desperate and undeveloped countries instead of taking the bull by the horns and making the necessary corrections here at home and in other developed “narcotics-using” countries to eliminate the source of the problem. A practice which only helps to create the market for those drugs in the first place. It's much easier to point the finger at "THEM", the "have-nots" in the rest of the world for providing narcotics, than to be more diligent about stopping the problem both here at home in America and in other industrialized countries where the money and source of the problem begins. But then that might be stepping on the toes of too many of our drug-using political supporters. Something that the powers-that-be would never want to do.

After seeing the Ingrid Betancourt interview on the Today Show in an interview with Matt Lauer over 6 years ago, I posted my first article on this "highly opinionated" blog at www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com, "Nobody asked for my opinion...BUT...". The article, entitled "The world-wide war on drugs...as much as we hate to admit the real truth, the fault and the problem belongs to no one else but "US" (U.S.)...." (www.pleasedancewithme.com/myopinion.htm#drugwar) was my first insertion on this page right after I had read Ingred Bettancourt's book, "Until Death Do Us Part" about 6 months before she was kidnapped in 2002.
And now almost 6 years later after spending billions of dollars every year trying to free such prisoners from the drug cartels and to stop the drugs in other countries; finally witnessing her release, what is one of the latest of the other drug war stories on the National News Scene this very week? Answer: We are now in the process of destroying the poppy fields of the also-impoverished Afghan farmers who have no other means of making a living under the pressure and financial rewards of the taliban and Afghan drug cartels; leaving those people as well, along with Columbia and Chili and Mexico without any other means of making a living and feeding their families. Is it any wonder why so many on this earth have such hatred for America? And why they continue to support Osama Bin Laden and his followers who conveniently and thanks to "us" (US) use OUR money from the drug trade to support these people instead of destroying their livelihood as we do?
The thought processes behind this whole drug war scenario is absoluteling nothing but "Bass Ackwards" and I am amazed that after all of these years someone in this government cannot figure it out. Do you think for a minute these people, many of whom are muslim, will ever stand up and support the United States again? We create the market for this destructive illegal substance with our incredible wealth, compared to that of many other countries around the globe, and then we punish THEM for producing and making the substance available instead of punishing and putting an end to those of "us" (US) who are using it! If it wasn't for our incessant use and abuse of cocaine in America, which is causing the inflated value of this destructive illegal substance in the first place, these farmers as well as those in Columbia and Chili and every other less-developed country around the globe would be raising corn and beans and cattle and other food crops, just as their ancestors had done on those same farms for so many generations before.

...But then that is just MY OPINION...

The following article was the first one that I included on this Nobody asked for my opinion...BUT... blog at www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com back in 2002 after seeing Ingred Bettancourt's interview on the Today Show. That was about 6 months before she was kidnapped. And the problem is no more solved today than back then after spending billions of dollars every year since, only because we continue to ignore the real source of the drug problem on this planet.

A. The world-wide war on drugs...as much as we hate to admit the real truth, the fault and the problem belongs to no one but "US" (U.S.)....

Benjamin Arellano Felix, Mexico’s most ruthless of drug king pins claims after being incarcerated that the drug war is the problem of US (U.S.)......"Helllloooo, America!!....How long is it going to take for us (U.S.) to acknowledge the obvious?!!!

Do we really need the ruthless leader of a drug cartel to tell us something that we have known for years, but that we refuse to admit and address?

As our good friend, Dr Phil McGraw would say, "You cannot solve a problem if you refuse to acknowledge it". That is exactly why we have failed miserably and will continue to fail in this drug war, because WE (the U.S.) refuse to acknowledge that the drug problem is OURS; Not Columbia’s or Mexico’s or Chili’s or the problems of any of the other poor little 3rd world countries that we try to justify running around blaming for this debilitating problem. “WE” (the U.S.) are solely responsible for the drug problem, as is England, France, Germany and every other so-called "DEVELOPED" country on earth. Every country whose residents continue to dump billions and billions of dollars into the drug trade while we do little more than slap the purchasers, who are the real violators, on the wrist.

Do we think that the endless lines of automobiles attempting to bring drugs into this country every single day would bother to do so at the high risk of being caught if we weren't buying those drugs for a LOT of money? And do we think that Americans would continue to spend the billions upon billions of dollars on drugs if we had laws that have some real teeth in them? If we would fine drug-users of “ALL” types; not just those who are penniless addicts on the street, who are using street quality "crack" cocaine and not just the "non-white-collar" users but instead “ALL” users and dealers, and especially those in high places with the high-paying jobs, Mercedes and million-dollar homes. And we need to penalize them so heavily that they would quickly be out on the street and at the bottom of the financial barrel years before they have a chance to squander everything they own to the foreign drug industry? These are the people who are supporting the drug trade in a big, big way and these are the ones who are more often than not getting away with it. I'm confident that if the approach was changed, the end of the story would be a whole lot different.

As it is, however, after our American users have re-enforced the drug producers by giving them everything they own, WE (the U.S.) have to spend our tax dollars to feed and house and support them and their rehabilitation for decades later. This is truly "Bass Ackwards" (at least in my opinion). I personally am tired of everyone running around feeling sorry for the Robert Downey Jrs, the Winona Ryders, the Adam Rich’s, the Whitney Houstons and the Bobby Browns for their drug problems as they and thousands of Americans like them all over this country continue to pour billions and billions of their dollars into the pockets of those who we're supposedly trying to combat, while at the same time, very little is done in this country to stop the users years in advance of their final plummet into submission. Submission which comes only after they’ve finally reached the bottom of the barrel in their individual lives. And that bottom of the barrel is usually highly associated with reaching the bottom of the financial barrel. With more money available where that came from there's little reason to bite the bullet and make any kind of change.

It's a known fact that addicts have to individually WANT to kick the habit before any proposed treatment is ever going to be effective. And what more often than not makes them WANT to kick the habit is being at the bottom of their existence before that desire ever kicks in. I can't think of anything that would speed that process up more than their being made dirt poor and practically out on the streets years before it would happen naturally under today’s laws and circumstances.

If the drug possession laws were made to be serious and if the courts would take a major portion of everything a drug-user owns every time they're caught (except for maybe the first-time offenders) we might have something left over after all is said and done to support and rehabilitate them once they hit rock bottom. Instead we let them send most of the money from everything they've ever owned; from selling their swimming pools and Mercedes and million dollar homes right into the hands of the drug dealers and terrorists after which we (the tax payers) have to come up with more money to fight those same drug lords. This all happens as we eventually spend still even MORE money for the users' rehabilitation and care. Is it any wonder why we haven't made and never will make any progress concerning this problem?

I guarantee there would be a lot of us (in the U.S.) who would think twice about our actions if we might be stripped of much of what we own upon conviction of drug possession and use. And if we didn't change our ways, at least the government could use what used to be our belongings to pay for the ultimate drug treatment and room & board down the road before they have a chance to dump it into the hands of the cartels.

But then that would be politically incorrect and much more demanding of us (U.S.) than the present practice of standing by and watching millions of dollars being spent and millions of pounds of drugs being brought into this country every year while we blame those who produce them instead of those are really responsible. Namely those of us (U.S.) who buy and use them. It's easier to spend billions and billions of dollars running around fighting the Columbians and Brazilians and Mexicans as opposed to leaving that money right here in this country and using it to crack down on the real culprits, namely us (U.S.), for our involvement in what could easily someday destroy this wonderful country of ours. For politicians to get serious in this dilemma, for instance, they may have to confront the possibility that many of those drug users vote....and DONATE TO CAMPAIGNS!...in which case it may be better to think of someone else to blame than to possibly alienate part of their own source of funds and voting constituency.

Another problem in America is that too many of us (in the U.S.) would be determining the fate of too many of us (in the U.S.) whom we know to be drug-users and who we don't have the intestinal fortitude (in other words, the guts) to address the problem to. It's so much easier to just keep spending the tax money and keeping the drug wars "Over there" so we won't have to face the real problem head-on "here". We'll supply the money and let the Columbian drug squads get shot and killed over the problem. That way our little once-in-awhile use of drugs or those of our cocaine-sniffing friends can go unnoticed and we (U.S.) can live happily-ever-after. Regardless of the fact that every ounce purchased by us (U.S.) and our drug-using friends will continue to fill the coffers of "those who are supposedly to blame"...Which is certainly not US (U.S.)!

To be honest, we really don't have to be users to be susceptible to blame. We're just as guilty when we sit on our hands and know friends and relatives who openly use drugs in front of us as we look the other way, instead of doing what SHOULD be done. Namely, making it instantly known that we either expect such actions to stop and they will get help or the authorities will be involved much sooner than anyone ever thought possible. That is referred to as "Tough Love", and sometimes it has to be shown, regardless of how difficult it might be. How many of us have sat and heard people bragging about how high they got on cocaine the other night, only to look the other way and ignore the remark. Or worse yet, laugh at their actions as though it was cool and totally acceptable even when we feel undoubtedly that it is wrong? I guarantee you...none of those who really know me personally and my feelings on this matter ever gloat about drug use in my presence. And if they ever do, it only happens once. I'm not bragging about that, it's just a fact. I have never been shy about offering my opinion on such matters. Especially when I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my opinion is right, fair and just to everyone. And that such actions will eventually be devastating to the well-being of all of us in this country if they continue. I wish more people in America, including and especially our politicians who can have an effect on this problem, would accept such a responsibility on a much more regular basis.

I know what you're thinking..."It's really none of your business. We don't have the right to depict to other people what they can and cannot do".......wrong!... We "DO" have the right "AND" the responsibility to show our disapproval. Especially when it involves people breaking the laws and doing what we know will accomplish the eventual demise of this magnificent country that we are so fortunate to live in. A demise which is imminent if this problem continues at the rate that it now is. If someone is committing pedophilia or extortion or domestic abuse, we DO have the responsibility to do something about it. If not, we're just as guilty as the perpetrators. Drug use is no different.

Sooner or later each one of us is going to have to take more responsibility and demonstrate some effort in the rampant problem of drug use in this country before it's too late. But if we aren't going to accept that responsibility then we need to at least quit sending all of the money that we send to other countries and quit pretending like it's ever going to do anyone but the hard-core drug world any good. Because it isn't going to do anyone else any good until we get our heads out of.........the sand.

The sad truth is that too much of that anti-drug money ends up in the hands of corrupt politicians in the receiving countries who play the anti-drug role, but who are just as involved in the incredibly lucrative drug trade as those on the street. (Again..it's .incredibly lucrative only because of us [U.S.]).

In her book "Until Death do us Part" once Columbian Senator and Presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt was living in fear and constant danger because she persisted in revealing that too many in the Columbian government were also involved in the drug trade; thus making it impossible to prevent much of the American assistance from going right into the coffers of the enemy. In an interview with Matt Lauer much earlier this year, Mrs Betancourt openly pleaded with the U.S. to continue sending financial assistance to curtail the drug industry in Columbia. I couldn't help thinking as I sat there watching the interview how she must've been fighting within herself not to make the politically incorrect, but obvious plea "And just as importantly, could you please take some responsibility in this country to stop the damned selfish American drug use that is destroying many of the less fortunate countries on this earth?". That would have truly alienated those whose assistance she was begging for, but at the same time would have hit the nail of reality right on the head.

Let's face it; there's so much money in this (thanks to who?...U.S., no less) that in these countries, you're either going to be involved "or else". Contracts are easy to take out on people in Columbia and Brazil and Mexico when you have that much money and power. Contracts which they often did take out on Ingrid Betancourt quite often. The courageous woman actually sent her children to New Zealand with her husband’s family to prevent their possible assassination over 6 years ago in '96 because of her constantly exposing the corrupt Columbian government in it's involvement in the drug trade. And once again, so that we don't forget, whose fault is that?...The real fault that they have all of that money and power belongs to no one but the ones who buy the drugs in the first place. Not those who produce the drugs, but the ones who buy them....us (U.S.).

All of those poppy fields in Columbia and Brazil used to be family farms once upon a time; raising grain and chickens and pigs and milk for family use. No longer...thanks to us (U.S.). Family farmers can no longer afford to keep such property even if they did want to farm it because the drug cartels can make so much more money in the drug trade. And once again, whose fault is that? Not the once-upon-a-time family farmers whose land was stripped from them; not the general population of Columbia, many of whom are all but destitute and couldn't afford to buy drugs even if they wanted to. No the blame for all of this belongs to no one but us (U.S.). But those in control in this country continue to point the finger to everyone else in other countries all over the world while we continue to completely shirk our responsibilities in dealing with the matter right here at home the way we should.

If we stopped pretending that everyone else is to blame for this problem and if we decided to put some teeth in our American drug laws by stripping those who are abusers until they do something about it, and keep that money here in the United States to fight the problem at its core, we would not only save enough money to be able to pay for aggressive actions against drug use in this country (once we have the guts to pass the necessary laws), as well as rehabilitation of abusers, but we could also save enough money to pay for the much needed prescription drug relief for senior citizens, social security for the next ten generations, education in ALL of our public schools, health care for the poor and any number of other programs with the incredible amount of money we throw away on the drug wars elsewhere.

I cannot help bringing up a classic statement made by retiring Senator Fred Thompson (R-Tenn) as he played the character of Arthur Branch on a "Law and Order" episode. In response to the suggestion of ending the drug wars Senator Thompson stated "Without a war on something, people wouldn't get elected". How true that is. But still we continue to fall for that same tactic by our politicians generation after generation, instead of demanding that they do what is necessary to eliminate some of these obvious problems. Which in this case are to admit that the drug war is here at home and that this is where we need to address it. Instead, however, of addressing the one real issue that may very well cause the demise of this whole country, we're too busy fighting over who can and can't get married to each other, what sexual practices they're allowed and whether the cultivation and use of amoeba-like stem cells (which are no closer to ever being human beings than the man-in-the-moon) are more important than the hundreds and thousands of people who might ultimately be cured of their debilitating diseases from stem cell research. These are the rediculous things that we spend our time on in the courts, in spite of the fact that they should all be no-brainers in the first place. This country needs to get away from the problem of certain groups and individuals trying to control everybody else and what they do in their own lives and start dealing with the real issues that we're too conveniently ignoring. Issues that require nothing less than good common sense to resolve. Those are the practices that will affect us all, over time. And they're ignoring them because it's easier to ignore them and not have to point the finger and risk making enemies of those right here at home who are often the very wealthy abusers who fill our re-election coffers (another major problem in this country, campaign finance reform which I don't even have the time to even begin to address without about a month or two) and give us power and keep us in office.

Again, addressing the situation is not an easy task. WE (the U.S.) would have to make an honest effort to step on certain people's toes and do the things that must be done right here on our own turf to put an end to this incredible problem. Not just insisting on spending a bunch of money for what is nothing more than a front for avoiding the real situation in this country. WE (the US) are the problem and WE (the US) know it...and someday if it is ever going to be brought under control, WE (US) will need to face the facts and deal with them. In the meantime, we refuse to even acknowledge ourselves as the actual cause of the problem...and under such circumstances I am convinced that it will NEVER EVER change.

...But then that's just my opinion...

 

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B. To Teach Well or Not To Teach Well...That is the question...By Terry Shakespeare Chasteen.

(The following is a three-part article in it's entirety, written by Terry Chasteen and published in the Amateur Ballroom Dancers Magazine, The official publication of the Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association (now USA Dance), in 2002).

Terry Chasteen, Washington DC
TerryChasteen@hotmail.com
202-462-0870
www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com

Part I of III: Finding a Compatible Teacher

As we travel throughout this "Wonderful World of Dance", that we have all gotten ourselves so deeply involved in, one commonality that we all realize very early in the process is that we all need and require training. Training that ultimately will enable us to do the many fun and wonderful things that we have made up our minds that we want to do. This brings up the complication right from the beginning of where and from whom should we get that training.

Choosing the right teacher, for most of us who are really serious about this magnificent sport, is initially an important dilemma, just as choosing the right doctors or dentists or other professionals who affect our lives. It involves a whole lot more than just reading a list of accomplishments in an ad or seeing someone perform in a competition or exhibition. The doctor who may have graduated summa cum laude may not necessarily be the compassionate, empathetic person who is going to take the necessary measures to listen to and understand our medical needs. Likewise, the accomplished performers may know how to perform, but may not have the knowledge or ability to project that ability to their students. You want an individual who will take the time and make the effort to really click with your individual needs. The choice of a dance coach requires that same level of attention if one really wants to continue to be inspired and motivated to continue the often hard work that dancing really is.

The positive motivations that a person has to teach dance (or to teach anything for that matter) is often an important consideration in how good a coach really is. These motivations can be very important in choosing a teacher and likewise, such motivations can be as varied as the types of subjects that are available to be taught.

For some people, teaching is an art. These people are not much different than the artists who take a rough, insignificant lump of clay or a piece of canvas and with time and concentration are able to gradually take that rough, unbalanced, insignificant and not so extraordinary piece of dirt or canvas and mold or transform them into masterpieces with balance and timing and animation and an over-all beauty that could hardly in the slightest degree be seen in the original product. Much of this motivation is that of successful mutual achievement.

These transformations take time and concentration in relaying minute technique and styling procedures again and again. Many good teachers take great pleasure in taking brand new students who are originally very insecure and unsure of why they are even attempting this intimidating dance thing in the first place and transforming them into highly confident and passionate beings. Beings who are particularly passionate when it comes to their newly discovered talent for interpreting and responding in a brand new way to the music that they have loved for so many years.

This, in addition to witnessing the incredible increase in enjoyment of life in general for those students who have taken the dance plunge, is in itself quite a pay-back for whatever time such teachers have spent in the process. It's quite a determining factor regardless of the financial return in all cases, of whether one is a true professional in this field or one who merely teaches for the money. There are many motivations in most occupations other than instant financial gratification, which by itself is a pretty shallow means of judging someone's success or personal satisfaction in any profession.
--------------------------------------
Next issue, Part II of III, "Other Motivations to Teach."

To Teach Well or Not To Teach Well...That is the question....by Terry Shakespeare Chasteen (A three-part article published in the bi-monthly Amateur Ballroom Dancers' Association Magazine in 2002. For issue #141 of The Amateur Ballroom Association Magazine).

Terry Chasteen, Washington DC
TerryChasteen@hotmail.com
202-462-0870
www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com

Part II of III: "Other Motivations to Teach."

In the last issue, the benefits and some of the positive motivations of an attentive, professionally competent teacher were discussed. However, there are other motivations for wanting to teach.

Some people just like the idea of the personal control that goes along with teaching. It's an ego trip and it gives the one in charge the opportunity to demand everyone's attention, even if for only a short period of time. For some people, they just need that boost to their personal sense of well-being. We've all had them at one time or another in classes. They speak way above the necessary volume needed for anyone to hear, they talk down to everyone like they're a bunch of rowdy kids or misbehaving pets and they remind you of an out-of-control drill sergeant who has just finished 3 months of boot camp. You usually don't find such a motivation to teach in small classes, however, because small classes don't provide the sense of power and controlling people that such a motivation for bothering to teach requires.

Another all-too-common motivation for becoming a dance teacher is that it gives one a chance to "Grand-stand" and show off in a personally controlled environment at least once or twice a week. Again we've seen this phenomenon in certain dance classes. It's most obvious when you hear the statement "look at me", "look at me", "watch me" far too often during the short span of the class period. Or the teacher who not only demonstrates the material being taught (which can definitely be effective in getting the amalgamation across), but who goes way overboard demonstrating drops, aerials, lifts and other figures that are much more difficult than the present group of students are ever going to attempt for at least the next decade. Such activities may provide a short-term feeling of amazement, but they also make the brand new beginners want to run in the other direction at full speed for fear that someone will expect them to attempt such a thing if they stick around. Or worse yet, condemn them for rightfully "not" attempting it.

The above two examples are obviously not indications of a true professional in the field of teaching, but rather of someone who really has controlling, egocentric and attention-getting ulterior motives for taking on this endeavor in the first place. Consequently when we run across individuals who display such characteristics, it is probably best to keep looking.

Lastly we need to discuss one of the most important aspects of teaching and that is whether teaching is a profession or a hobby.

Far too often those who claim to have all the answers in this world of dance are not at all professional in the field, but rather have their 9 to 5 jobs elsewhere. Their car payments and living expenses are covered whether they insult or disenfranchise or offend or scare half to death those who attend their classes or not. They are often only out for the big once-a-week events that take advantage of the dance community that's already out there. They have little interest in going beyond the call of duty to make some of the less lucrative, but necessary efforts to help "create" a dance community. Such "teachers" don't realize (or care) that some students don't always want a larger more social event. They are not concerned that many brand new students are often intimidated by such an environment for awhile and need the smaller, more intimate studio environment before they would ever get involved in dancing to begin with.
---------------------------------------
Next issue, Part III of III, "Part-time or Hobby Teachers."

To Teach Well or Not To Teach Well...That is the question....by Terry Shakespeare Chasteen (for issue #142 of The Amateur Ballroom Association Magazine).

Terry Chasteen, Washington DC
TerryChasteen@hotmail.com
202-462-0870
www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com

Part III of III: "Part-time or Hobby Teachers."

In the last issue, we considered several different motivations for anyone wanting to become a teacher in the first place, as well as some problems concerned with teaching on a part-time, non-professional basis.

Students definitely have a need for both an intimate studio environment as well as a more lively social environment, ultimately. Those teachers who have never really taught professionally, however, have a more difficult time understanding this. Again, they're all-too-often more concerned about milking the larger crowd that's already there and picking up and moving on to "greener pastures" (my farm background is beginning to show) once the original crowd becomes tired of their tactics and disappears back down to nothing.

Of those students who want the extra attention of a small class and not necessarily the larger, louder, less intimate night club environment; for many of them the objectives in all of this (believe it or not) is to actually LEARN as much as they can about their new sport before actually going out and using it in public. Such learning does not necessarily require a large number of others in the class. In fact, the smaller, more intimate classes afford those present a lot more individual attention. Individual attention which for brand new beginners can mean the difference between night and day as to whether the first experience is a positive one.

Too many of the "once-a-week wonders", however, have a hard time understanding this. Their objective, once again, is to cash in on the big social events and not necessarily to provide the optimal learning experience that is often needed to truly promote the dance industry.

Let me interject one thing, however, before I give the wrong impression. And that is that there are also a number of very good teachers out there who do make the bulk of their living outside of the teaching industry and may only teach on a part-time basis. That in itself is not necessarily an indication of the professionalism of the person involved. I, myself have been teaching since I began with the Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Columbus, Ohio back in 1974 (before many of you were born, I might add) and have taught for a major part of that 28 years on a part-time basis. I feel that I have conducted myself in as much of a professional manner as I was trained for during that time.

Likewise I have also known numerous other part-time instructors who continually show a tremendous amount of professionalism and passion about this art of teaching. For this reason I don't mean to indicate that those who teach part-time necessarily conduct themselves in an unprofessional manner. Regrettably, however, some of them do (as do some of the full-timers).

Knowing and realizing the many different reasons that people teach in the first place, as well as understanding that the best "Dancers" don't necessarily make the best "Teachers" can possibly make this process of who to train with a little easier. My suggestion, more than anything else is to keep your eyes open and be aware of whose students are continually motivated and challenged in their progress. Choose the teacher who really puts out a consistently superior product.

And don't necessarily be influenced to stick to only one. Sometimes we have to try several, just as we try several doctors, to determine which one (or ones) might be right for us.

...But then that's just my opinion....

Terry Chasteen, Washington DC
TerryChasteen@hotmail.com
202-462-0870
www.PleaseDanceWithMe.com

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C. I just LLOOOVVE teaching my wedding couples..and here's why....

Some of those who have been teaching for three decades or more as I have, only enjoy working with our more advanced students who after years of training and drilling are now ready for the big time. Not quite Broadway, yet, but close. They often get somewhat bored with starting over and teaching brand new beginners from scratch. Naturally it is fun to take students that you've worked so hard with over the years and now go on to showcase all of that hard work and put it on stage. But I have to say that I also LOVE teaching beginners and especially the unending line-up of wedding couples who come through the door each month, most of whom are almost always brand, brand new beginners and who have rarely, if at all, danced in a structured manner with their partners before.

It’s great to see the young couples drag each other through the door for that first meeting, kicking and screaming (usually it’s the guys who are doing most of the kicking and screaming) wondering why they have to go through this torture as part of the marriage process. But they reluctantly agree to do so, knowing full well that having no advanced preparation at all could result in a major disaster right there in front of all of their friends and family, God And Everyone! Since the grooms-to-be have often not had the ballet, jazz, modern or tap training that most of the brides-to-be have had growing up, this to them is just another example of having to face head-on one of those both horrifying and frightening journeys into the unknown. The fun part begins when the bride-grooms discover that with just a little preparation, this could possibly not only be much easier than they ever thought, but they also realize that it can actually be FUN! And in no time at all it becomes apparent that for the first time since the relationship began, they are now all-of-a-sudden completely “IN CONTROL”! A phenomenon that they had never before (and probably never will again) experienced where their future bride is concerned!

And once this process begins, everyone soon gets eagerly into the excitement of making what was feared as being another one of those frightfully boring performances of “The Sway” into an extremely fun and entertaining little exhibition that is personalized to a "T" for those choosing the music and dancing to it. A performance that each couple soon realizes that all of their guests will not only appreciate, but will probably remember for years and years to come. With just a little professional experience and guidance and some ideas to fit their chosen music, the most dreaded part of this whole wedding process, The "Honor Dance", has now become one of the most fun and often ultimately the most memorable.

I’ve always said that after the wedding, most of the guests will never remember the decorations, or the flowers, or the color of the bride’s maids’ gowns or what was served for dinner, etc, etc, etc. But they will “always” remember the “First Dance”. (And if they don’t, there are plenty of photographs and videos to remind us of how fun [or not-so-fun] it was).

This is also what makes these little projects so much fun for me. For some of us, teaching is an art. And the art of a teacher is not much different than the art of those who take a rough lump of clay or a piece of canvas and with time and concentration and a little professional experience and input are able to gradually take that rough, unbalanced, insignificant and not-so-extraordinary natural resource and transform it into something with balance and timing and animation and an over-all beauty that could hardly in the slightest degree be recognized in the original. Which is why I look forward to and LOVE working with all of the brand new beginner wedding couples. Especially when they take on this task early enough so that we don't have to rush through it within a week or less in time.

Almost every single weekend out of the year, I and my associate teachers (who sometimes cover for me when I get behind in being able to schedule everyone in) have wedding couples who spread out all across the US and often around the globe to perform their "First Dance" together and to demonstrate what they've worked so hard at in preparation for this incredibly important celebration in their lives. The biggest reward for me comes after the event is over and I receive an Email or message on my voice mail of how much fun their guests had watching them and how much everyone really appreciated their performance. How it was almost like a gift to them from the bride and groom. A response that always makes me laugh and one that I've received time and time again and will never tire of.