Riot and Frolic

a mostly ballroom dance, but also a bunch of other stuff, blog

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about

I own and rock people’s faces off teaching ballroom dancing at Dancers Studio in St. Paul, MN. My husband and I compete professionally in American style and wrangle eight children in our spare time. I’ve been teaching and competing in ballroom dancing for over 25 years and have lots of opinions on it. I am an expert by any means, but there are quite a few dancers who are better than me and I have a solid knowledge of basic technique, so suck it.

Month: July 2014

  • Kitchen Crap I Can’t Do Without

    There are certain things in my kitchen I literally THANK GOD FOR every time I use them.   Here's they are: OXO Oven Mitt – This post might end up seeming like an ad for the OXO brand, and let me tell you, it is in no way sponsored.  I just really love their products.  I'm…

  • Q&A, and The Rules

    Hey y'all, happy Friday.   This is how you announce these things nowadays, right? Have a great weekend! Two years ago: Running Advice for Idiots, in which I give myself advice. One year ago: Going Bananas, in which I bribe nurses.  

  • Dancing On The Fringe

    Maybe if you were here a couple days ago, you remember how I was no longer populating my Comfort Zone.   Yeah.  That. Along with pushing my professional "I 'know' what I'm doing stuff" boundaries, our super amazing Smooth coach asked The G and I to be in her Fringe Festival show…  where she was…

  • Danger Zone

    To me, dancing has always been pretty tame.  The teaching, the performing, the competing; it didn't rate high on the fear factor scale.   Until recently.   The G and I have had a lovely reputation for being "clean", "technically sound", and "classic" as professional dancers.  AKA, boring. Tired of holding our teacups with our…

  • Farmers’ Market Challenge

    The St. Paul Farmers' Market season started in May and I actually went.  Not only did I go one time, but my friend America and I have GOTTEN UP EARLY every Sunday to fetch vegetables.   I've gone once or twice over the years, but this year it hit me.  I had just read Animal, Vegetable,…

  • What the Hell is Going On: Dancesport Registration and Program Literacy: Proficiency Levels

    I get a lot of questions [read: complaints] about the levels, age categories, dances, and general WTF-edness of dancesport competition entry forms and the ensuing competition printed program.   First, understand that the number of levels, the precise name of these levels, the ages in a particular age category, and the dances available CHANGE from…