02/23/2021
To All Our Dance Friends
We Are Writing a Book — and we want you to be a part of it !!!
In many conversations with friends over these past months, we realized that for most of us any thought about loss, pre-coronavirus pandemic, usually had to do with losing a person, someone we loved. When COVID-19 struck our world quite suddenly, we began suffering losses we had never even imagined.
With that in mind, we envision writing a book, a Dance Family Scrapbook of sorts. It will be a compilation of our stories—about how we first arrived on the ballroom floor, on the ways in which Ballroom Dancing changed our lives, and on the way in which COVID-19 has now changed that.
All of us Ballroom Dancers know that the benefits of ballroom dancing extend well beyond the dance floor. Much more than a hobby, for many of us, it has been a lifeline, a source of connection, at times even a healthy escape from the troubles and stress away from the Ballroom. While we may have initially looked to ballroom dance lessons simply to learn to dance, not one of us could deny the treasure trove of lessons we have learned about ourselves, our own lives and, of course, about the lives of others.
And so, without warning, when this beloved pastime of ours, which had always been a source of joy, connection and, yes, escape, virtually disappeared overnight . . . when our lives were changed suddenly and drastically in ways that continue to reveal
themselves . . . when we were no longer able to safely grab our dance shoes and head out to the ballroom to feel the comfort of our community, no Ionger able to safely take a partner for the next dance and lose ourselves completely in the joy of dancing . . . what were we to do?
ln fact, what did you do? That is what we want to know and that is in part what inspired us to collect your impressions and record them. Although any book about a ballroom dance community would be a worthy endeavor, this one will be all the more so, given that we will all be telling our stories looking through the lens of COVID-19.
So, we are asking you, our dance family, if you would like, to share those thoughts with
us. Submit your “story” in a Word or PDF document, and email to us. We would also like a photo of you to accompany your input. ldeally, we would like to acknowledge your contribution by listing your full names, but we will respect the wishes of the participants. Each participant will receive a copy of the book.
lf this undertaking is of interest to you or if you would like more information, please email us at:
[email protected]
Thank you,
Robin & Ed
