Leslie and Lee: Competitive Amateur Ballroom Dancing
Cast of Characters - 2010 Dancer's Studio Winter Showcase
by Leland and Leslie Whitney on 12/30/10
December 18th, Leslie and I participated in the DancersStudio.com 2010 Winter Showcase. Bob Guy from CatchACandid.com published many photos from the Showcase. We have ordered for purchase several photos from Bob.
Leslie with her newest dress:
Leslie and Gordon Bratt, teacher and ProAm partner:
Lee and Kate Bratt, teacher and ProAm partner:
Lee and Maria, "solo" partner (see our blog post on 11/26/2010: Test Tube Baby):
Lee, Erika and Kate: Erika is a dance friend. Kate is trying to straighten me out. Erika and Lee are going to dance "Mixed Proficiency" at the 2011 Star of The North Amateur Competition (see our blog post on 12/9/2010). I hate all this attention.
Lee's 1st Custom Made Smooth Costume
by Leland and Leslie Whitney on 12/14/10
After Leslie's wonderful last post about her custom dress, I thought I should do the same. I sent Marsha the following sketch and she made it for me.
Leslie's 1st Custom Made Dress
by Leland and Leslie Whitney on 12/12/10
Lee started to compete a good year before I did. A big roadblock to my entering competitive dance had to do with the ball gown issue. I didn't even want to try one on and what about the price?
My first gown was bought here in St. Paul when the USA Dancesport Nationals were staged at the Civic Center. This was a used gown, burgundy with the back cut so deeply I felt compelled to continually hike it up to keep decent. We paid too much money and I never felt beautiful wearing it, although I was so anxious about dancing in public I didn't think any gown would have helped me to feel lovely.
Kate suggested that I visit with Marsha Wiest-Hines who has her own business called Made for Movement. I phoned Marsha and she advised me to go through magazines and visit ball gown websites to get an idea of what appealed to me. She asked me to bring in pictures of what I liked about any detail on a dress. It could be a certain neckline, cut of the bodice, color or pattern, sleeve length, adornment, - any little thing that pleased my eye. I did as she asked and arrived with many pictures. Marsha's warm welcome helped to ease my nerves. Marsha is so unassuming and it is takes a long time to realize how amazingly talented she is.
As I remember this first visit, Marsha asked me, "What do you want to portray on the floor? Strength? Feminity? Fun?" I hadn't thought about this so she helped me to voice my thoughts. I knew that I didn't want to stand out with a bold color, silhouette, pattern, adornment or ANYTHING. I wanted to look pretty, dance pretty and then glide off the floor. Marsha understood my need to be understated; this was my first custom ball gown and I was just beginning to compete.
First off was the decision about color. I have always liked the color of peach. Marsha had many color and material samples. We decided upon a champagne satin. We discussed the cut and silhouette as Marsha sketched a ball gown upon a drawn figure. Suddenly this collaboration was given a delightful image. I was able to imagine myself in this lovely gown. Before I left Marsha's studio we had a detailed idea of the finished dress. We added a wide bias binding along the 3/4 length sleeves, hem and neckline.
This was enough for the first visit. It was intense, exciting and I marveled at how Marsha could shape a small spark of an idea into a full blown, waltzing, twirling image of beauty. Now I needed to work on the dance, hoping to honor this image.
In the following weeks I met with Marsha three more times for more detailed fittings. In my second visit she had the leotard, which serves as the foundation, (no bra and underwear is worn under the gown), ready to try on. We went back to the picture she had drawn to discuss the neckline and fall of the dress over my butt and thighs. Marsha was able to pin and drape the material to give me an idea of several options.
If you refer to the picture I brought with me 
you can see how Marsha incorporated my love of the brown patterning on the model's dress to my champagne ball gown. She suggested stoning in a definite pattern to imitate that on the model's dress. I enjoyed looking at the many stones of various quality and color. I relied upon Marsha's expertise in the matter. I had looked at gowns Marsha had sewn and realized that she would adorn this gown beautifully.
I can't express how much I love to dance in my first custom made ball gown. It is a gift and I thank Marsha and my husband who urged me to go ahead with this adventure.
Pleasant Surprise
by Leland and Leslie Whitney on 12/09/10
Leslie and I were surprised today to find a photo of us on the cover of a SOTN 11 Flyer:
Back to the Basics
by Leland and Leslie Whitney on 12/09/10
Leslie and I fall into repeating patterns. When we focus over a period of time on dancing as a couple our individual dance skills tend to decline. When we focus on our individual dance skills over a period of time, our dancing as a couple gets trickier.
This happened to us over the last few weeks. Our teachers, Kate and Gordon Bratt, have been out of town for a couple of weeks. We focused our coaching and practice on dancing as a couple.
Tuesday this week, we had an hour with Kate and an hour with Kate and Nathan Daniels (one of our coaches).
Both Kate and Nathan were put off somewhat because we did not dance well. Kate reminded us that it is time, once again, to focus on our individual dance skills. We will take lessons one-on-one with our individual teachers for a while.
But, when we start practicing and taking lessons as a couple again, we will have to put the puzzle parts back together.
