"No pissed off debutants...": were the last words of the deb mistress as the debutants and their escorts were about to go to the Plaza Hotel's Grand Ballroom for the presentation at the 53rd annual Piarist Ball organized by the Hungarian group called the Piarist Alumni Association.

Some of my friends from the Quadrille Ball were escorting the debutants as part of the ball's tradition. I went over to the parlor where all of them hanged out before the appearance at the ball. Several of the escorts and color guards were from a naval academy, so I got to try out their head pieces which were quite popular among the others too. At around 10 o'clock, the deb mistress gave them the aforementioned words of wizdom and they went off to perform their show.

Compared to other balls that I've been to at the Plaza this one was kinda boring. The attendance was very poor, the decorations were mediocre. Except for the debutants, their escorts, and a couple of my Quadrille friends, everyone was old. Since this was our last ball at the Plaza because of its closing, Kerrie and I explored every single parlor on the floor and took pictures. Some of them I put in my Plaza Tribute album. When we went into Kerrie's favorite room where she likes to take naps, we discovered a secret compartment in the middle bench. It was full of notes from women that have come to the powder room over the years! Many of them claimed that they were princesses. Hmm, something tells me they were a little nuts...

All Photos

Today I went to the Chinese New Year Global Gala held at the Madison Square Garden Theater. About 5,000 people attended this show of music and dance performances celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year. The show was televised to an estimated 200 million people around the world on New Tang Dynasty TV.

The reason I attended the show is because Kerrie was performing in one of the acts. She had joined a Chinese dance company - Tianjiao Performing Arts Troupe - to perform in this show and has been rehearsing for two months. She was part of a dance routine performed by 26 girls with handheld Chinese fans. The piece was called "The Unblemished Lotus". In Chinese culture, lotus flowers have been known since ancient times to be a representation of extraordinary character and beauty despite unfavorable surroundings or adverse circumstances. This dance routine shows how these flowers express purity and spiritual elevation. Choreography by Elly Xu. Here is the video:

and here are the video frame captures.

Article About Rehearsal.

Besides Kerrie's performance, the show featured many other renowned artists from around the world. The presentation was a mixture of traditional Chinese and Western cultures. Here are the photos from the event.

Streaming Video Of The Entire Show:
From Chinese newspaper "Epoch Times" (English Translation)

Part 1 (30 min 15 sec) "Magestic Thunders" - By the New Tang Dynasty Flags and Drums Troupe & YingTang Lions and Dragons Troupe. Choreographer: Yu-Min Wan. Gala begins with thundering drums and a dynamic formation of flags bearers. A show of strength to shake off the darkness and awaken a new dawn. "Legend of the Lunar New Year" - By the Fairy Dance Group. Choreographer: Chian-Rong Guo. This is a story about how the tradition of celebrating the Chinese New Year (Nian) started. A long time ago, a monster named "Nian" used to come out and attack people at the same time every year. One year, a monk came and he used firecrackers, a couplet on a red banner, and light to successfully subdue the monster. Since then, these same activities have become traditions of the Chinese New Year celebration. "Little Blue Flowers" - By Tysan Dance. Choreographer: Ty San. This dance uses a Western style to express a Chinese girl's hopes in life. The rotations in the dance represent teh motions of the universe. "Longing for My Homeland", "Ode to teh Plum Blossom" - By soprano Min Jiang, piano accompaniment: Changzi Ma. "Longing for my Homeland" reflects on the ups nad downs in the ever-changing world and yearns for an eternal home. "Ode to teh Plum Blossom" - Northerly winds blow and snowflakes fall, but the will is stronger than steel and does not yield; its everlasting pure nature dispels delusion, its fresh fragrance ushers in the spring. "Dai-Style Dance" - By National Taiwan University Of Art. Choreographer: Lin-Lin Yang. A rhythmic, unique and cheerful dance depicting teh Dai ladies' intimate connection with nature. Part 2 (29 min 55 sec) "Dai-Style Dance" continued. "You'll Never Walk Alone", "I Believe" - By bass vocalist Christian Bischoff, piano accompaniment: Changzi Ma. "You'll Never Walk Alone": When you walk through a storm, keep your chin up high, and don't be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm, is a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark.... "I Believe": I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows; I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, a candle glows... "Turning Iron Rod into Needle" - By Tysan Dance. Choreographer: Yungyung Tsuai. This mini theatrical act tells a riveting tale of perseverance behind a well-known Chinese proverb, whereby a self-cultivator in ancient times is devastated by failing a test. But Bodhisattva, in her compassion, transforms herself into an old lady and lets him know that the path to enlightenment is like making a needle from an iron rod - a long and sometimes difficult process. The cultivator is given new hope. "Simple Gift", "Ode to the Lotus" - By the Dessoff Choirs. Conductor: James Bagwell, piano accompaniment: Steven W. Ryan. "Simple Gift": The simple beauty of this song reflects the life of it's creators, the 18th century Shakers, whose lives were materially simple but spiritually rich. The song's lively rhythm vividly captures the Shakers' dances during their worship service. "Ode to the Lotus": In Chinese culture, the lotus flower symbolizes the qualities that enable a person to go above and beyond the mundane to achieve an unearthly beauty. Part 3 (30 min 15 sec) "Simple Gift", "Ode to the Lotus" continued. "Buddha's Light Shines On Us" - By Lian Hua (Lotus) Arts Group. Choreographer: Tia Zhang. For thousands of years, the Chinese people have had a tradition of worshipping the divine on Chinese New Year's Day, seeking answers in life and expressing gratitude that they are being watched over. "Song of Celebration", "Like a Dream" - By the New Tang Dynasty Global Gala Chinese instrument Ensemble. Conductor: I-Yu Wang. "Song of Celebration" - Celebrations among the Chinese are often graced with music. This piece contains all the classic characteristics of a festive musical piece. "Like a Dream" - The Chinese title of this piece is the title of a traditional Chinese tune, which has inspired many poems over the centuries. in a poetic style, this piece contemplates the meanings behind the mundane world and takes us to a different realm. "At This Unforgettable Moment", "The River Runs Red" - By Tenor Guimin Guan. "At This Unforgettable Moment": The singer/composer expresses his wish to share with the people of his homeland his belief about life and the universe. "The River Runs Red": Written by the well-known General Yue Fei (1103-1141) of the Southern Song Dynasty, expresses the general's righteous indignation about not being able to drive the northern enemies as a result of the emperor's selfish decision. The lyrics were matched with the present tune in 1925 and became a patriotic song. Part 4 (29 min 49 sec) (Kerrie is in this one at 05:40) Magic Act: "The Chinese Linking Rings" - By Robert Torkova. One of the classics of magic, The Chinese Linking Rings has long been a fascination of the West after its introduction from the East in the latter part of the 19th century. A feat of pure sleight-of-hand, many famous magicians have performed it with great success. Watch Torkova interpret this enduring masterpiece of magic with his own unique style and presentation! "The Unblemished Lotus" - By the Tianjiao Performing Arts Troupe. Choreographer: Elly Xu. In the Chinese culture, lotus flowers have been known since ancient times to be a representation of extraordinary character and beauty despite unfavorable surroundings or adverse circumstances. In this dance, we see how these flowers express purity and spiritual elevation. "Song From A Prison Cell", "Push-Back Diagram - A Chinese Prophecy" - By alto vocalist Jiansheng Yang. Piano accompaniment: Changzi Ma. "Song from a Prison Cell" expresses the inner peace, hope and resilience of the songwriter, a Falun Gong practitioner, who has been wrongfully imprisoned. "Push-Back Diagram - a Chinese Prophecy" is a famous 7th-century book of prophecies from the Tang Dynasty. Many of its prophecies are regarded as having accurately predicted major events in contemporary history. It is a reminder that "the rises and falls of societies are not random". "Amazing Grace", "Carnival of Venice" - By Empire Brass Quintet. "Amazing Grace" - On May 10, 1748 John Newton was in danger, trapped at sea by a storm. As his ship was about to sing, Newton prayed; the storm disappeared, and so did Newton's disbelief: "Thro' many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come." Who wrote the pentatonic tune of this famous hymn remains a mystery. The tune first appeared with Newton's lyrics in the 1831 Virginia Harmony. The "Carnival of Venice" theme and variations (op. 10) was composed by the legendary violinist Paganini in December 1829. Since then, it has remained one of the most popular works of classical music and has been adapted for different instrumental ensembles. Variations also continue to be written for the theme of the piece. Part 5 (30 min 15 sec) "Amazing Grace", "Carnival of Venice" continued. "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" - By Ying Tang Dance Company. Choreographer: Pi-Chuan Chen. The Eight immortals are extremely popular in Chinese folk traditions representing male and female, young and old, rich and poor. They each have their hallmark appearances and amazing prowess. Since they were committed to punishing evildoers and helping the good, they are often associated with bringing salvation to the world and hope to the underprivileged. "Warm Wishes For The New Year", "Sending Blessings To My Homeland" - By soprano Bai Xue. "Warm Wishes For The New Year" - This song expresses the singer's deepest thoughts and wishes for her loved one in her homeland. "Sending Blessings To My Homeland" - This is a message of fondness and hoe when distance keeps us apart at this special time of the year. Part 6 (29 min 36 sec) (A very impressive dance with long ribbons) "A Dreamful Dance of Grace" - By the National Taiwan University Of Art. Choreographer: Ying-Hsiu Lee. According to legends, a dance like this was dreamed of by an emperor in the Ming Dynasty, and it was an exquisite dance by the fairies in heaven. It is an expressive, profound and classic Chinese dance that requires superior skill to maneuver the ribbons. "Dragons Soar to the Drumbeat" - By YingTang Lion and Dragon Troupe & Tianjiao Performing Arts Troupe. Choreographer: Ying Tang. In the Chinese culture, dragons are auspicious beings in heaven, and lions are a sign of strength. In addition to dragon and lion dances, which are often performed during festive occasions, this dance incorporates Tang-style drums and formations of flags to bring this New Year celebration night to a spectacular and rousing finale.

Photos My Photos Professional Photos

Videos:

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Viennese Opera Ball in New York. As always, the ball took place in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel. This year's proceeds went to Special Olympics. The founder of the Special Olympics in 1968, Eunice Kennedy Shriver was present at the event and was honored by the Austrian Government.

I was the part of the 15-couple ensemble who performed Viennese waltz choreography for the opening of the ball. Our dress rehearsal took place the day before and today we were back in the hotel to get ready for the show. It was a long day. I got to the hotel at around 5 PM running straight from the office. All women had scheduled the appointments with the professional hair stylist starting from 2 PM! Then they had to put on their makeup with the help of a professional makeup artist. The dinner would not be served until 9:30 PM, so good thing we had the usual snacks in the ladies' dressing room. The men's dressing room had a different kind of snacks that some of the men were consuming while the ladies were getting ready. I enjoyed hanging out in the ladies dressing room watching them getting down to the funky music coming from an I-Pod with portable speakers.

At around 6:30 PM we went to the Grand Ballroom, which was still undergoing the setup, to run through our performance with the live band. The music played live was quite different to the recording that we all got used to. It took some time until Teddy was comfortable with what the band was doing with the music. After running through the routine couple of times, we went back to our dressing rooms to put on the gowns and tails.

At around 8:15 we were all dressed up and took a final group photo before the performance. Then we went to a corridor behind the ballroom to wait for our turn to come out and do our performance. The dignitaries marched through the ballroom, the Austrian and American national anthems were played and then the ballet dancers performed their number. After they were done, we said our last prayers and marched out on the dance floor to start our performance.

The performance itself was a blur for me. After running through the routine so many times, it was on auto-pilot. To the best of my knowledge I did not mess anything up. I wish I had my friends videotape the performance from the balcony so I don't have to wait until the professional videographer comes up with the video.

After our bow, the announcer invited the audience to join us in a traditional Viennese waltz. As soon as he did so, my partner and I rushed into freestyle waltzing to take advantage of the space on the dancefloor until it was completely occupied by the ball patrons with hardly any space to move.

We had been instructed to stop dancing at some point and the ladies were supposed to go back to the dressing room and change out of the performance dresses into their own gowns. The gentlemen were supposed to go straight to the dining tables on the balcony and sit down so that the waiters know to serve us dinner. So I went up to the balcony and hung out with some friends at the table. The dinner seemed quite tasty, maybe because it was around 9:30 and I have not eaten since lunch.

After we ate, Kerrie and I came back down to the dancefloor to dance the waltz and amazingly the Peter Duchin and his Orchestra seamlessly blended various songs non-stop for 11.5 minutes. Phew... it was exhausting. They really should have more defined breaks between songs so that people could stop and take a break from dancing. Otherwise it's awkward to stop dancing in the middle of the song.

After some general dancing the announcer told everyone to take their seats for the performance which is open the same way every year - a horse driven carriage with opera singers. This year they were Alyson Cambridge, soprano and Dimitri Pittas, tenor - members of the Lindermann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. They sang three arias after which dancing resumed.

At midnight Heinz Heidenreich, artistic director of the Vienna State Opera who flew in to New York just for the ball, conducted the Quadrille dance that was performed by the patrons of the ball. It was a very confusing experience because no one really knew what they were supposed to be doing. But it was fun nevertheless.

At some point later there was a performance by Dr. Ronan Tynan and the Special Olympics Chorus. Mr. Tynan had a very good voice that could be heard from the loudspeakers, but the microphones next to the chorus members appeared to be off...

At around 1 AM dancing in the grand ballroom stopped and everyone went to the afterparty called Tanz Bar that was held in the rooms across the corridor. There was a live swing band in Jade Room, DJ Music in Astor Room and coffee house in Basildon Room. They were serving some authentic Austrian food as well. The party went on until 4 o'clock.

Links:

Ball Program Pages Ball Program Message from Arnold Schwarzenegger Message from the Mayor Of The City Of New York Michael Bloomberg Viennese Opera Ball History News Daily News 25 Hours Magazine New York Sun - Out and About with Amanda L. Gordon Other Balls Opera Ball in Dubai - officialy endorsed by the Vienna Opera Ball, Austria New Opera Ball - Yet another Opera Ball that was endorsed by the Vienna Opera Ball. It was held in the Plaza Hotel, New York City in March 2004 Viennese Opera Ball 2001 Related Websites VienneseBall.org 360-degree panaramic views of the Opera Ball in Vienna Articles Article by Teddy Kern about the 1995 Viennese Opera Ball Waltzing In Vienna - Article in Amature Dancers magainze

On Friday, January 28, 2005, I will be performing at the Viennese Opera Ball in New York. I will be part of a 15-couple choreographed group waltz. The choreography is very beautiful and fast-paced, whipping around the ballroom with lots of turns and twirls in costume. Besides our waltz performance, there will also be opera singers, and ballet dancers. Our waltz performance was choreographed by Teddy Kern, the co-owner of Dance Manhattan Dance Studio. She's been the choreographer of the Viennese Opera Ball in New York for 27 years. To participate in the performance one needed to audition for the Viennese waltz skills. The audition took place on November 7th, 2004. Since then we had rehearsals on weekends lasting from 2 to 4 hours.

The day before the ball the dress rehearsal took place at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The actual ball will take place in the Grand Ballroom, but the dress rehearsal was held in the Astor Room because the Grand Ballroom was occupied by another event. The dress rehearsal was open to the public free of charge. It was supposed to start at 8:30 PM, but we had to arrive to the hotel by 7 to have plenty of time to put on our costumes.

Although Kerrie and I were not partners for this performance, we killed some time by practicing in the hallway and videotaped us to see what it would look like:

As usual, the guys were dressed before the girls and while waiting Mike told us about the performance back in 2001 when both American and Austrian couples were dancing together. BUT... they only rehearsed together on the day before the ball at the dress rehearsal. Before that the Austrians were practicing the choreography from a video tape that was sent to them. Here is an excerpt from the narrative: Finally the girls dressed in "marshmellow" dresses came out and we proceeded to the Astor room for the rehearsal:

First the opera singers did their number, followed by the ballet couple and then it was our turn. While we were waiting out in the corridor there were a bunch of photographers who were assigned to take photos at the event in the Grand Ballroom, but they found it much more interesting to take photos of us dressed up in gowns and tails. Several of us showed off our moves infront of the cameras.

The Astor room was full of spectators. There were even not enough chairs for everyone. Both the ballet couple and us ran through our routines twice. Here is the video of our performance: Then we hung out for a little while with our friends who came to see us. At the end we took a group photo of everyone in the cast.

Photos

Related Links:

• Viennese Opera Ball In New York 2005

These beautiful collages were designed by Erin. Thank you so much!

Photos
Videos:
Raphael and Kerrie

Links:

Daily News Article New York Sun Article More Photos Quadrille Ball Official Website Quadrille Ball 2006 Quadrille Ball 2004

Well this has been the last Quadrille post-rehearsal party for this ball season. The ball is this Saturday.

More info in my Dance Blog.

Don't be fooled. This is not a photo taken at a ballroom dance social. This is actually the Quadrille Ball post-rehearsal party, but it was quite a unique one indeed. Throughout my 5 years of being involved in the Ball, if there was any dancing at the weekly post-rehearsal parties, it was generally booty shakin' to house and hip hop music. But the beginning of this party was unbelievable. Someone put on the CD of Strauss, and before you know it the floor was full of people dancing waltz... Wow, I did not know that Kerrie's waltz lessons would provide such an influence. After about 10 minutes though, people snapped out of it and got back to the regular post rehearsal party dancing. Here is the video: The cool thing about this party is that it was held in a large art gallery, which at the same time was a private residence. The host of the party gave us a small intro where he mentioned that he on purpose did not have any dividers in his "apartment" to provide as much open space as possible.

Today was the Quadrille Ball all-day (10 AM - 5 PM) rehearsal at The Plaza. All girls were wearing the hoop skirts that go underneath something that looks like this.

Here is a short video clip of the waltz practice to the accompaniment of Emery Davis with selected members of his orchestra.
The 45th Annual Quadrille Ball will take place on January 22nd, just 13 days left!

Can't believe it's already 2005!!!

Click on the photo for more photos taken at the New Year's Eve celebration.

Well, even the good things have to come to an end at some point. Today was my last day in Florida. I had to catch a 3PM flight back to the cold New York. Actually Florida weather was not too cooperative with my vacation. It was raining during all but my first day there. But on the day after my departure, the forcast promised sunny skies.

Following breakfast, Joanna and I did something we forgot to do during the morning gift exchange, which is to fire the Christmas crackers. The funny thing was that we had 3 crackers and I won all three times. However the gifts inside were not meant for me: a lipstick case, earings and a bracelet. So I gave the first two to Joanna and the bracelet to her Mom.

I am very greatful to Joanna and her mom for letting me stay at their house during my stay in Florida. I really felt like at home! They even put a picture of a Russian church next to my bed!

Here are the photos taken just before my departure.

On Christmas morning I woke up at around 8:30 in the morning because I had to go pick up Kerrie to go to M. family for the Christmas brunch. But we still have not had a gift exchange at Joanna's mom's, so we had to do it before my departure. Stu made delicious breakfast of home fries and eggs. He said that he normally does not cook breakfast, so I felt special that morning. James and Joanna slept through it though, cause they are not early risers. In fact throughout most of the gift exchange procedure James looked like this. Since I had to head out to pick up Kerrie, I was the only one dressed up. Everyone else had their robes on, except for Stu who wakes up at 5 AM everyday.

The photos from the gift exchange are in the first 20 photos of this album.

After the presents opening at Joanna's mom's house, Kerrie and I went to the M. family for Christmas brunch. We got there a bit late after everyone has finished their food. Nevertheless Marge gave us some waffles with coffee/tee. Marge and I played on the piano 4-hands. She was reading the sheet music and I was playing along on the high section of the keyboard. It was fun, especially the Scott Joplin's Entertainer. Then, contrary to what we expected, Marge told us that the Christmas gift opening will happen after dinner, not after brunch because one of her daughters Joanne had to work during the day. So Kerrie and went to go visit her grandparents before coming back for dinner.

As you can see from the photo on the left, Kerrie managed to inherit many more genes from her grandfather than from her grandmother... Just kidding :), that's her grandparents' dog on the right and her granddad that she calles "Paw Paw" on the left. Kerrie got them quite a few gifts which she proudly presented as I was videotaping the the process on my digital camera capturing the witty comments from Paw Paw as they were opening the presents. One of the gifts actually was picked by me. It is a recent model of a DVD player that can play all kinds of DVD formats, so that Kerrie's grandparnets could watch the DVDs with the videos of her that I make for them. The first DVD we watched was Kerrie's Santa Baby performance. Their second DVD I made right on the spot using my laptop. It was the video of them opening their presents.

We also put Paw Paw through vigorous training on how to use the new DVD player using some of the DVDs that they had. We tested him by turning off the TV and the DVD player and having him exit the room and come back and try to push all the necessary buttons to be able to watch a DVD. Kerrie kept stopping me when I tried to give him hints on what to do. She said that he has to do everything himself because after we go back to New York they will be left to their own devices.

James and Sharath arrived later. James brought 3 quarts of ice cream. Inspired by them, Kerrie's grandma pulled out 3 more gallons from her fridge. So we sat around the dining table and proceeded to devour the ice cream.

This was my second time visiting Kerrie's grand parents. The first time was during my trip to Florida for the New Year's Eve. Back then James, Sharath and I took turns Swing dancing with Gran Gran. This year Kerrie insisted that we do the same. So I cued up one of the many Swing songs that stayed on my laptop from Kerrie's birthday party and started the chain dance with Gran Gran. Here is the video: James and Sharath took their turn as well. Then Kerrie convinced Paw Paw to dance with Gran Gran to the sounds of my accompaniment on the organ. Kerrie and I also demonstrated our dancing abilities dancing impromptu foxtrot. Here is the video:

After visiting Kerrie's grand parents we headed back to the M. family for dinner and gift exchange. Kerrie was very close friends with the kids of the family back in high school. When we got there, there were many more people than in the morning. I proceeded to hook up my laptop to their fancy flat-panel TV for karaoke. Allthough in the beginning, everyone was not that enthusiastic about karaoke, later it turned out that all of the members of the family were pretty good singers and were very creative in their performances. Here is the video: After karaoke we proceeded to have Christmas Dinner. Before we started dinner Chuck, the father, gave as a brief sermon and then we proceeded to the turkey.

Following dinner we proceeded to the present opening ceremony. Prior to opening the presents, one of the kids of the family Nathan read a poem that he wrote about the family. He got so emotional reading it that he burst into tears and could not finish reading it and had to have his father, Chuck, finish reading it.

It was a "Secret Santa" gift exchange, where several weeks before Christmas certain people were randomly selected to get the gifts for certain people. Everyone was supposed to describe what kind of gifts they wanted, but they did not know who will end up getting them. Since I had the most appropriate attire, I volunteered to be the Santa Claus for the evening handing out the gifts. As usual everyone was making witty comments about every gift that was open. The theme of the gifts that I got was music. I got Piano suspenders, Piano cufflinks, socks with a treble clef, and a Christmas bell that looked like a sixteenth note. Very appropriate gifts! I love them! Thanks Chuck! I also got a touch of Florida with a Manatee Cookies mix.

I am greatful for M's hostpitality and a chance to whitness a very strong and happy family during the Christmas time.

Here are all of the photos taken there.

On Christmas Eve Joanna, James, Steven and I went for a short trip to Barnes and Noble and Best Buy to get some last minute Christmas shopping done. Then we came back home and decorated the Christmas Tree to get ready for the Christmas Eve Karaoke Party. Kerrie and Sharath as well as several Joanna's mom's friends came over. The party started as a chit chat among the guests, but then I stepped to the mic and invited people to start singing Christmas Carols to the accompaniment of my karaoke system. Everyone joined in singing the Christmas classics, but later we shifted away from the Christmas theme and sang various pop hits. Joanna's mom was one of the most enthusiastic singers. She kept requesting more and more songs.

Here are all of the photos.

Kerrie and I went to the Victorian Christmas Stroll held at the Henry B. Plant Museum which was located in the former Tampa Bay Hotel. We took Gavin and Alaina's boyfriend with us. This was the first time I had a child car seat in a car that I was driving. After spending some time trying to figure out how to attach the car seat, every one was happy to depart to the museum.

We strolled through the historic hallways and exhibit galleries and absorbed the atmosphere of another age. Object labels were kept to a minimum to help maintain a sense of time and place, but signage outside each room and near the Christmas trees revealed interesting historical notes. In one room they had a 20 minute video that talked about Henri B. Plant and the Tampa Bay Hotel that he founded. Kerrie had a Marylin Monroe moment.

Here are all of the photos taken there.

The first day of my vacation in Florida was the only day when it was not supposed to rain, so Kerrie and I decided to take advantage of the favorable weather to go to her favorite theme park of all times - The Cypress Gardens. It was shut down about two years ago after 62 years of operation. People were lobbying the state to buy it, but finally some rich millionair bought it and opened it again two weeks prior to our visit.

There was an indoor butterfly pavillion where the temperature was much warmer than outside, which Kerrie found very comfortable. There were several kinds of butterflies. One of them looked like a zebra. Here is the special video report by Kerrie:

Due to the recent hurricanes and the fact that the park has been closed for more than a year, there were not as many plants as there used to be. But still it was great to see some exotic plants that I have not seen before. One of them is the Banyan Tree which is quite huge. Parts of the tree's branches came down to the ground and became new roots! On certain parts of the tree, other plants found a home.

There were some other interesting trees that seemed to be happy to grow right out of the water and some preferred to grow sideways instead of upwards. Some parts of the park looked like wild jungle.

There were various shows in various sections of the park. One worth mentioning is the moving statue with fountains of water coming from its the head and hands. It actually was a real person dressed in an amazing costume through which the water was going through to the head and hands. Have a look at the video and see several pipes coming from behind the dress as the woman came down the stairs after the show:

The biggest show of the park is the ski show. When first Kerrie mentioned this to me, I thought that was some ski show on artificial snow, but later she told me that in Florida skiing implies water skiing. Here is a video clip of one of the acrobatic moves: Also as part of the show there was a hang glider who was launched by a tow boat and was able to fly up pretty high. He was cruising in the sky to the sound of music and was able to land on the beach right when the music ended. Amazing timing! Check out the video of his landing:

The latest addition to the park was the rides. They were not as thrilling as the ones in Great Advanture in New Jersey, but still were fun. The great thing was that there were almost no lines and you could go on a ride twice without getting out. Some roller coasters were not designed to fit someone of my size, but I found out about that after I came down from the ride. Kerrie cannot tolerate roller coaters for an extended period of time and I was ready to protect her precious dress from an accident. She did find her ultimate ride though - the one that made her look like a princess in a palace.

Here are all of the photos taken at Cypress Garden.

After the Cypress Gardens we came back to Kerrie's sister Alaina and went out to eat in a Greek restaurant in Ybor City with her son Gavin and several of her friends. Gavin is an amazing kid. Being only two years old he is very smart and funny. Whenever someone would point the camera at him and say smile, he would put on the biggest smile on his face posing for the camera.

After the dinner we went back to Alaina's house for some karaoke. On the way there we drove through a street where the neighbors went out of their way to show off their creativity in outdoor Chrismtas Lighting.

Once we started karaoke, Gavin opend up the show with his performance of Rudolf The Red Nosed Raindeer. When I gave him the microphone, I told him not to lick it the way he does other things like cell phones. But, to my surprise, he took the microphone in his hands and put it to his mouth ready to sing - not to eat it! Below are the videos of various acts:

Here are all of the photos.

I went to the Colonial Christmas Ball with several Quadrille Ball dancers. The ball was held at the Tennis and Racquet Club located at 370 Park Avenue. This was my first time going to this ball and to this club. The club interior was not as nice as some other places I've been too. The walls had green color which I am not crazy about and the ceiling was just plain white. The rooms did have antique furniture which made the place look nice. There was a large parlor with plenty of seating to relax in. There was an open bar all night, so many people were quite tipsy (to say the least). Dancing was to the sounds of Alex Donner Orchestra in a separate ballroom. The dancefloor was fairly big, but parts of it were occupied by people standing around holding a wine glass. Unfortunately the band was not playing much traditional ballroom music when we got there. Instead they played renditions of pop hits like YMCA, Raining Men, etc... Those songs just sound pretty bad when performed by a live band with the instruments ment to be used for jazz music. Also dancing to them in a formal attire is a waste. Probably earlier in the evening they did play some foxtorts and tangos, but we did not get there until around 10:30 PM because we had a pre-ball dinner at my apartment and the food did not arrive until 8:30 PM. Next time I will email the menu to people so we can order in advance. Also took us forever to catch cabs to go cross-town. The cool thing was that I got to hang out with some of the new Quadrille dancers this year and got to know them better. Here are all photos.

The Quadrille Christmas Party is put together for prospective ball dancers every year. But this year it was special, thanks to the surprise appearance of Miss Santa and The Elves. Click on the photo for more pictures. Here is the video: