I’m a big fan of Dancing with the Stars (go Gilles!). But the thing about the show is that the stars aren’t really learning how to ballroom dance. They are learning specific steps to a certain song, but if they ever found themselves in a ballroom with a cha cha playing they would not know what to do. What they are doing is admirable though, and very hard and it goes a long way to prove that ballroom dancing is not for wimps.

Now here is a proposition for you, how about Dancing with the Poets? Rita Dove, former poet laureate and the winner of a Pulitzer, has been taking ballroom dance lessons with her husband for the last seven or so years. Her book, American Smooth, includes poems about dancing. I read it back in 2005. If you want to get a look into what learning ballroom dancing is like away from the glitz of the TV show, check out Dove’s videos (I see from my old post I knew about her videos but I had forgotten about them so completely that when I “discovered” them today I was thrilled). Her tango video is very beginner, but her international foxtrot is quite good. Too bad it is the last video she has up because it is dated 2005. I would like to see how much more she has improved.

I don’t have any videos of me and my Bookman for a Dancing with a Blogger show, but here is a photo from our dance studio Halloween party, proof that a cat and a dog can get along. I don’t think there are any other photos of us, but if you are interested in watching ballroom dancing, our studio has a YouTube channel.

I have managed to veer wildly from dancing poets, but thanks for allowing me to indulge.