Preview 2022

Sapphire Ballroom News - December 2021

We're wrapping up more than presents.

As we kick 2021 to the curb, and hop on board 2022, I’d like to shine a light on what’s coming next year. There are going to be significant changes in some of our programs. I hope you like the new approaches and that you’ll find something exciting to look forward to.

We only have a few events left this month - Happy Hour and Cookie Exchange on Dec 17, a couple of WNW workshops on WCS and CaShag, as well as a Monday Night Line Dance Workshop… I think that’s it until January. I hope you enjoy whatever you do to send the old year out and bring the new one in. I hope we see you on the dance floor!

Meanwhile, if you are interested in lessons over the break, think about private or semi-private lessons. We’re here and ready to dance with you, even if group lessons are taking a break. In this issue...

- Holiday Headlines

- Schedule Highlights - Next Level Classes, December Happy Hour, FBWs in 2022, and What’s New in WNWs

- Change is coming to Friday Beginner Workshops and Date Night Dance Classes

- Festival of Trees

- 2020 Holiday Playlist with Updates - Let's celebrate!

- Upcoming Dance Classes and Events 

Holiday Headlines - Specials, deals, and opportunities just for the holidays

Give Smiles, Give Dance

Do something unique this year and give the gift of dance! It’s a gift that can impact a person's life in so many good ways. It’s great for co-workers, teachers, friends, parents, and (especially) sweethearts. Don’t get us wrong, we all love a good Christmas sweater, but good dancing won’t go out of fashion next year!
Please place gift orders by 12/15 if you want a paper gift voucher, mailed or picked up. Place orders for an electronic gift voucher (which you can print at home, if desired) by 12/22.

Cookie Munch and Happy Hour Dance - Friday, December 17

Looking for a mellow meeting of dancer-people ... with cookies? While the weather blusters and blows, the traffic stresses and strains, we'll be cool and cozy inside dancing to our favorite tunes. There's no alcohol at this happy hour, just awesome dancing to fun music. It's not quite a Dance Party, but it is a nice, relaxed chance to practice some of your favorite dance moves.

Bring your favorite cookies to share and a tin or Tupperware to bring some home in. (Large cookies will be cut into pieces.) How many cookies should you bring? About the same number you want to take home, or eat there. I plan to bring a bunch more than I will take home, so don't worry if you can't find the time to bake - you're covered.

Reservations required, details on our website: http://sapphiredance.com/GroupLessons.php#296

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Schedule Highlights

The complete schedule is available at SapphireDance.com/GroupLessons.php or at the end of this newsletter.

Level 3+ Carolina Shag Workshops - December 19, 4:30pm, and January, too

Because of Schedule issues and trying to make this class as convenient as possible to as many people as possible, we tried treating this class as a series of workshops in November and December, and it worked beautifully.

There’s still one workshop left this month on Dec 19, and we’re going to carry on at this level into January on the 9th and 23rd (dates are tentative - check our webpage for most current information). Attend when you can, skip when you can’t - it will all work out. Just be sure to register by noon the day of the workshop.

Level 3+ West Coast Swing 4-week group class

Although the date for this class is not completely set, yet, we know it’s going to start in January. It will probably be on Monday evenings at 7pm. I promise we will get it settled soon!

This class is for people who have learned the material taught in levels 1-3, and want to do more with the moves they already have. We’ll be working on stringing moves together, transitions, and variations without increasing the difficulty too much from Level 3. If you’re a long-time Westie and need to knock the dust off, or a kind of in-the-middle West Coast dancer, this class will be great for you. Talk to a teacher if you’re not sure if it’s right for you.

Friday Beginner Workshops (FBWs) are back the first Friday in January with Hustle!

Are you missing the FBWs while they take a vacation this month? You're not alone! Look for the FBWs to start back up (with some exciting changes) the first Friday of 2022: January 7. Details below.

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Change is coming

Friday Beginner Workshops (FBWs) - still on Fridays, still the perfect introduction for beginners. But now with a new approach to the lineup of dance styles, based on your feedback.

Starting in January, instead of switching the feature style every week, we are going to repeat it for 3 consecutive weeks, giving you more of a chance to practice and repeat material before moving into a new style. Every week, each workshop will still start from the beginning, making it easy to drop in whenever you can and giving the repeat students a chance to review.

Each FBW will also offer a taste of a second dance - a preview of a style to be featured later in the season. These tastes make this program a great place to sample styles without having to commit to anything and we didn’t want to leave them out of the new format.

So the first 3 weeks are all about Hustle - a fantastic party dance that will get you grooving to those fast pop songs at weddings, office parties, concerts, and in your living room.

Jan 7 - Hustle + a taste of Waltz
Jan 14 - Hustle + a taste of Triple Time Swing
Jan 21 - Hustle + a taste of Rumba

Next we invite you to find your romantic side with Rumba. Rumba is relatively easy, slow without being crazy slow, and works to a huge number of love songs. Valentine's Day is right around the corner (hint, hint)...

Jan 28 - Rumba + a taste of Single Time Swing
Feb 4 - Rumba + a taste of Bachata
Feb 11 - Rumba + a taste of Tango

After that comes Tango, Salsa, all your favorites...

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Date Night Dance Classes at the Blacksburg Community Center

Looking for that perfect date night experience? The group lessons at the Blacksburg Community Center are now easier than ever. We are offering four 2-hour workshops during the coming season on a variety of evenings and at different times. Each workshop will introduce you to two dance styles - one fast and one slow, and give you the tools to enjoy your time on the dancefloor with your sweetheart. The material will change from one class to the next, so take as many as you want. And there are no prerequisites for any of these classes, which means absolute beginners are absolutely welcome!

Miss the old format of 4-week classes that "level up"? Those will be held at our studio in Christiansburg, now. Let us know what you're interested in learning and we'll get it on the schedule. It only takes 2 couples to make a group class happen - get your friends involved and let's get dancing.

NRV United Way Festival of Trees is going on now

Visit the Old Town Mall in Downtown Christiansburg to see a party of Christmas trees decked out in their holiday finery. These beautiful, fun, and sometimes silly trees are all decorated by local businesses including us! There is a tree with doves, a tree with boxing gloves, one with computer circuits, an other one has eyeglass snowmen, and (of course) a tree with disco balls. I just love that Mockingbird Cafe's tree is covered with little birds.

Vote for your favorite tree or trees at the link below to support United Way NRV and their 22 Partner Agencies.

Voting ends at 9 p.m. on December 15th, but you can visit these wonderful trees in person until January 3rd. Old Town Mall is right across Main Street from the studio with entrances next to InVision and Macado’s.

Votes are $1 and you may vote as many times as you like at their website: https://e.givesmart.com/events/o6G/
The webpage has pictures of the trees, but they are so much more fun in person.

A huge thanks to Liz, Adam, and Kayla for providing and decorating our tree - it's disco-tastic!! Voting ends Dec 15 - don't wait, choose a tree and support a local charity.

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2020 Holiday Playlist with Updates - Let's celebrate!

Last Christmas, I gave you a playlist, and the very next day I added updates. This year, to save me from tears, I'm gonna share with you more music…
No - don’t close your app - I’ll stop singing now! Truely, I still adore the playlist from last Christmas and, just as true, I did start adding to it the day after sending the newsletter out. So here are some highlights from the updated 2020 Holiday Playlist. They are still still quirky and fun, still (mostly) not the songs you’ve already heard five million times.
You can find last year’s list at http://www.sapphiredance.com/Email/2020/2020-12.html#playlist
and both years together at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGEmFFdzKkkbGboz_LX217GJHSSTAus9_

	Christmas Dance by Darren Criss Quickstep or Swing (probably Single Time, but you can choose) https://youtu.be/hqrPIHPC62I
	Santa's Gotta Dirty Job by Rich & Rowe Country Two-Step https://youtu.be/49dCobL213M
	Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You) by Kelly Clarkson This is a hybrid song - parts are without doubt Swing, other parts would be better suited to a Rumba or a light-hearted Tango (Weird, I know, but try it - you might like it!) https://youtu.be/7nLU5i5Ec7g
	Last Christmas by Rodrigo Ace Bachata - Love the dancing in this video!! https://youtu.be/owPHNWN1oPE
	Mittens by Train West Coast Swing https://youtu.be/m7xemPzITlM
	Stretchy Pants by Carrie Underwood Cha Cha https://youtu.be/Eo5ZLdbcZsk
	Zat You Santa Claus? by Buster Poindexter Triple Time Swing https://youtu.be/k4oAgYjyGMM

If you read our newsletter frequently, you know by now that we publish a playlist of dance music every month, usually with some kind of quirky theme (like songs about rivers). But do you know we also have a large library of music just for you to practice to?

Visit our YouTube Channel “Songs for Practice” and you’ll find 20+ playlists organized by dance style. There’s one for Waltz, one for Bachata, a big one for West Coast Swing, one for almost every style we teach.

See all of our YouTube Playlists at https://www.youtube.com/user/SapphireBallroom/playlists. They are always growing and improving. We'd love your input - if you have a suggestion, let us know by email at info@sapphiredance.com or Facebook message!

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Upcoming Dance Classes: online and in-person

Events are hosted by Sapphire Ballroom & Dance Center: online, at our studio in Christiansburg, or at the Blacksburg Community Center. Please check locations before traveling!

All group classes now require registration by noon on the day of the class. To register, call 540-382-8782, email info@sapphiredance.com, or pay for your class and register at the same time at SapphireBallroom.square.site.

More information available on our webpage or Facebook page.

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Thanks for reading; we hope you found something you liked.
Until we see you again, happy dancing!

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