Desperate times call for desperate measures. Desperation stakes = honest advert: The best over 35 year old Latin male in the country now seeks a ballroom partner: 6ft tall, 39 year old male, seeks 5’7”ish (170cmish) ballroom lady with her head screwed on and who recognises an unbelievable bargain, for practise, competition and fun in and around London area (single would be ideal - if you don’t ask you don’t get). Are you willing to make sacrifices to get results (the previous one is not included in this sentence, I mean in dance)? Would you prefer to dance regularly with an independent thinker rather than pay to dance with a professional for £60 an hour? Are you a young over 35 year old lady (not senior 2) that wants to compete in Senior 1 and realises that you can’t do it solo and that a paid partner is no partner at all? I know the answer to that last one from experience (£1500 down the drain – I know that’s peanuts compared to what most spend, but I called a halt to throwing good money after bad). I will dance with you for nothing except your open-mindedness and effort. But don’t take my word for it. Just have a read of what my Latin partner says about me that I wrote for her:
‘I cannot believe how lucky I am to have him as my partner. It’s like all my dreams came true at once. I’ve improved and learnt so much from him in the short time I have been fortunate enough to have him as my partner as his knowledge and expertise is so vast. Each practise session is like a free two hour long lesson. He travels more than an hour to come and dance with me so I don’t have to and he doesn’t even charge. I am so lucky! What a bargain! No longer do I have to pay out stupid amounts of money just to get a pro who doesn’t give a damn about me to give me a run out; he provides the service for free! He puts in 100% time and effort into my dancing. He really does deserve a ballroom dance partner as brilliant as he is. I only wish I were a couple of inches taller so I could dance ballroom with him as well. I could not have wished for a better partner – not even in my wildest dreams! I don’t know what I did to deserve him? But you don’t have to take my word for it, just take a look at our results to date and let them speak for themselves 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st and that’s all because of him and his hard work! You would have to be out of your mind to let this great opportunity slip. I would, of course, naturally assume he is a great lover too (I can only assume as I am married and he is a gentleman)!!!’
You see?! Those are her words that I wrote for her. You must understand irony. You must have a good sense of humour - you are going to need one to put up with me. You should have the relevant experience of being able to dance basic and advanced syllabus (or just basic beautifully, but preferably both) on time, correctly, solo; without a leader, like I can: independence of a dance partner to dance correctly makes a strong partnership: two halves make a whole - relying on a leader for you to do your steps and make you on time is not a partnership but a free ride where one does the carrying and the other is carried. If you can answer yes to these questions and requirements, then send me a response with a video of your dancing to plus35ballroom@yahoo.com If you haven’t got a video - make a video. If you haven’t already videoed your own dancing, maybe you are not serious enough about your own dancing. Don’t just send a photo and expect that I will be head over heels and want to meet. What use is a photo to me? This is dancing, which is movement, not modelling, which is stationary. Er, unless you are a model, in which case, send a photo. If you are only interested in dresses, your hair, getting your photo taken and being carried round the floor, as opposed to sweating in a musty old community hall with 1960’s toilets, then we won’t work. It would be good and matching if, like me, you had put your life on hold for the past ten years in order to achieve things in dance from late in life. Like me, checking on here and dance sport UK every day, just in case, in the vain hope that there might be someone else on the planet who shares the same sensibilities as you (I did say it was a vain hope), someone who puts dance before moving forwards with their life, because it is their life and has had their life ruined by dance. Like heroin, it gives you everything and takes it all away - I’d have been better off playing golf for ten years. In my weakened state I have mastered Salsa (that took all of ten hours). I’ve already mastered Argentine Tango (which is only one above Salsa, which I hate!). If I don’t get a ballroom hit I might start Bachata, which is even worse. Don’t let me hit rock bottom and go to seed and make me do Kizomba – I would rather give up completely! I am already scraping the bottom of the barrel. I won’t relocate – that would be mental, but I am worth relocating for – if you are mental. God knows 10 years working to get this far and still be reliant on someone else – I must be. The mountain must come to Mohammed. Best response wins; in more ways than one. Good luck!
