Archive for the ‘Book’ Category

Announcement from the Historical Committee in the Educational Department of the WDC&AL

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

We are pleased to let you know that the new website is almost ready to launch. We will keep you posted and share the link as soon as it is up. This new site has multiple purposes; We will gather information, pictures, scans and film/video/YouTube materials of the historical development related to our dance form and […]

Read entire entry »

Ballroom Icon Rudi Trautz recieves Germanys’ highest honor

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

German professional ballroom dance phenomenon Rudolf Trautz recieved the German Cross of Merit in a festive ceremony last week. Will anyone in his country hold as many titles ever again? — Probably not. His influence at the time was immense, particularly on the Latin dance style, which was still evolving. In 1964, he and his wife at […]

Read entire entry »

Jazz: From Ragtime to Swing

Monday, December 5th, 2011

Ragtime Before we can go into the swing we need to look a bit further back and just briefly check out the rag/ragtime since a lot changed with that music style! Ragtime was composed for solo piano. A lot of inspiration was taken from marches and other European musical forms; It’s basically a derivative of dance […]

Read entire entry »

Elsa Wells (Bakstansky) and The International

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

© Original Text from Ballroom Icons by Brigitt Mayer The goddess of dance – beautiful, elegant, regal, warm and generous, and a lady with immense energy; this is how her contemporaries described Elsa Wells. She “gave birth” to one of England’s largest championships which has been running since 1953, The International at London’s Royal Albert […]

Read entire entry »

And the award goes to…

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

…Brigitt Mayer-Karakis and U.H. Mayer for Ballroom Icons. For 15 years, the Independent Book Publisher’s Awards, or IPPY Awards, have recognized the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers, and bring them to the attention of booksellers, buyers, librarians, and book lovers around the world. For the 2011 awards, some 4,000 […]

Read entire entry »

DSI has event special in Blackpool

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

Blackpool is just around the corner, so don’t forget: DanceSport International (DSI) carries Ballroom Icons at a special price at there booth. If you did not have a chance to look inside the book yet; there you can! Also, DSI is our wholesale distributor for the continent. European vendors interested in carrying the book should contact DSI and […]

Read entire entry »

On the development of the North American dance business/industry

Friday, May 20th, 2011

Excerpts from Ballroom Icons:   “…Vernon and Iren Castle were the first big international exponents of “modern dancing”. The Castle Walk is named after them and they helped to popularize the Foxtrot, Hesitation Waltz, Maxixe and the Tango. At Castle House they taught New York society the latest dance steps by day, and greeted guests and […]

Read entire entry »

Ballroom Icons wins Gold medal at 2011 IPPY Awards

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

For 15 years, the Independent Book Publisher’s Awards, or IPPY Awards, have recognized the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers, and bring them to the attention of booksellers, buyers, librarians, and book lovers around the world. For the 2011 awards, some 4,000 entries in a number of categories were judged […]

Read entire entry »

Is Ballroom Icons up for an Award?

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

Ballroom Icons is in the race for the Independent Publisher Awards and Best Book Arts Craftsmanship. The Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs) honor the year’s best books from independent and small press publishers in 69 categories, 11 regions, and 12 Outstanding Books of the Year. Judging is well on the way and results will be published […]

Read entire entry »

The newly formed Historical Committee within the Department of Education of the World Dance Council (WDC) has set forth some bold goals

Monday, April 18th, 2011

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”, Spanish-American philosopher, poet, and humanist George Santayana once stated. Brigitt Mayer, head of the new historical committee and author/publisher of Ballroom Icons believes that the past has to be remembered and recorded actively, not only to prevent instances like this, but more importantly in the case at hand to […]

Read entire entry »