"For Filipinos in Toronto, the latest dance craze is nothing new. They've been gathering to enhance community ties and practice their own blend of ballroom styles for decades."
Today’s Sunday Edition of Toronto Star features the already on going craze among The Close Knit Filipino Community long before the popular show Dancing with the Stars became a hit show.
For the complete torstar articles and more pls. Click:
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/178089
“He is suave in a grey suit and tie. She is glittering in jewels and a black-and-white number. And they are both ready and waiting when the doors open at 6:30.
Moments later, Eddie and Rosa Ferareza are twirling and gliding like swans across the gym at Garnet A. Williams Community Centre in Thornhill.
With their heads high and smiles that cross their serious expressions from time to time, the Filipino couple, married for 42 years, focus on the intricate ballroom steps and sequences learned when they fell in love with ballroom 17 years ago.”
A few months back, during our regular get together among town mates to celebrate our annual town Fiesta, we talked about the idea of learning ballroom dancing. Every time we had a party, we just go on the dance floor and just sway and swing to the music and most of the time, we don’t know which foot go first and which one is the next and sometimes we end stepping our partners or other dancers and the most embarrassing part is to run out of steps on the middle of numbers.
No Problem, one of our town mates was agog to the idea to get hubby do the exercise to reduce the excess baggage and an excuse to get those nice dancing shoes and someday when we are ready to swing in the public ballrooms those nice Cinderella dresses. We guys just have to settle for formal dark pants, shirt as much as possible a body hugging type and maybe in some instances a nice matching coat (amerikana) and we are just about prep and ready for the attire.
Our DI, a fellow Filipino with almost 20 years of dancing in his shoes is eloquent as the one you would see in the Championship Dancing, and with an equally "expert" partner, they are just as good as any couple in the Dancing World. And slowly, but surely he is imparting all those moves and steps to us, and the only problems is do we have the patience like him to be like him or close to it? Well, we’re all in for it for fun and camaraderie and any thing further will be a great bonus.
With Heads High and Smiles and that expression ala Valentino, someday we will be dancing along with Eddie and Rosa and the Hundreds of others not just for fun but also to raise funds for some very needy charity works here and at our native country... Let go cha-cha-cha , the slow and romantic Rumba (quick, quick, slow), the sexy and earthy merinque, the wide rise and fall of the Strauss waltz and the most romantic of all, the Tango, now snap that head, back over the other side. Let’s take a break and have a good slice of Pizza, DI.
