"There are two means of refuge," said Albert Schweitzer, "from the misery of life — music and cats*.” To this I can attest. The cuddling my cat Grizzy gave me — when I got home from a trip last week to see my mom and stepdad, Don, in Florida — was an uncommon comfort...

How can we facilitate fun and dynamic physical conversations when partner dancing? Lisa Vegas does a commendable job enumerating some techniques in her blog Building Trust and Communication on the Dance Floor. Vegas breaks it down into three sections:...

I had an amazing triple-header last week, starting Thursday with running the Dancing til Dusk event featuring The Long Ovals at Lake Union Park. What a party! The setting was lovely and the band and crowd — an estimated 400-800 revelers throughout the night...

I'm not sure choking down leafy greens is the best metaphor for dance, but the article Is Dancing the Kale of Exercise? (NYT, 30-Apr-2019) made me laugh and brought up some sweet memories of Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, two beloved superheros of the...

It's no secret dancing creates connection, movement, joy, and community for its practitioners. New to me was this study (National Institutes of Health, 16-Aug-2022) concluding ballroom dancing increases our empathy, i.e, "the ability to share someone else's...

I was privileged to participate in two celebrations this past weekend, which both happened to involve couples celebrating their 40th Anniversary. Both were extraordinarily joyful occasions, and I realized no significant celebration, to me these days, would feel...

Hardly a week goes by, it seems, without some local article or radio show rehashing the trope of the now-mythical "Seattle Freeze." I lived all over the country before landing in Seattle, and have never experienced people being so remarkably more unfriendly here, as...

I've felt copious gratitude through the years, both specific and general, for this body that allows me to dance. I've never delved quite as deeply into the particular physiology, however, as does Tova Forman (Designed to Dance? Here’s What Science Says, July 14,...

The bad news is, "Dancing with Sharks," billed as "the world's most dangerous dance competition," seems awfully ridiculous. The good news? Well, the annual Shark Week (this is the 37th season) series on Discovery Channel attempts to raise awareness of ocean issues,...