"Dance With Me" - On DVD

Left: Rick Valenzuela rehearses with Vanessa Williams.


I wanted to dance down ballroom dance nostalgia alley, so I rented 1998's "Dance With Me", starring Vanessa Williams and Chayanne.

Back in the day, I bumped into several of the people involved with making this film, and so there's an emotional connection as well.

In college, in the late 70's, I was vice president of the University of New Mexico Ballroom Dance Club, which meant I was the DJ at our Friday night dances. We held workshops and brought in outside choreographers, twice including Australian ballroom dance coach Roy Mavor, whose stentorian voice became well known in the U.S. in the 80's and 90's as the MC at the various national ballroom dance competitions hosted by Juliet Prowse and televised on PBS.

Roy Mavor once halted one of our workshops because of some flaw I couldn't divine. I heard him approach from behind me, and I began to get nervous. He then folded his arms around my chest, heaved me into the air, and set me down in the formation where he wanted me, rather than where I was.

His daughter Natalie was heading into professional ballroom dance. We had her and her partner perform once at our Friday night dance, and when I saw her in her elaborate competition gown and exotic makeup, I thought "Omigod, how old IS she? She could be anywhere from eighteen to thirty years old." (In fact, she was just fifteen). In the mid-90's, I saw her perform at a dance competition in San Francisco.

In any event, Natalie Mavor was a dance coach in "Dance With Me".

In 1981, I started attending Desert Terrace Dance Studio in Tucson, AZ, under the tutelage of Margaret O'Hanlon and her partner, Lonnie Mitchell. With all its affluent retirees, Arizona is a natural home to ballroom dance enthusiasts, and Desert Terrace was a real odd hothouse environment for the sport. Rich women (including one heir of the Marriott Hotel fortune) cavorted with various cads, layabouts, fashion horses, and athletes. It was an odd place for a penurious science graduate student like myself, but it was sure a lot more interesting atmosphere than the campus usually provided.

Margaret O'Hanlon was a natural dancer. Once, she said "I was watching ballerinas on TV, and how they go up on toe, and I thought, I can do that too!" She then proceeded to take her shoes off and, barefoot, sprang up on toe. My outside voice said "Wonderful!" but my inside voice said "Ouch!" There are very few people who can do that without some kind of ballet-toe-shoe help. Margaret could also do the splits from a standing position, bounce off the floor, and come back to a standing position, which served her well in competition.

Then, Liz Curtis was in the movie as well, playing the role of "Kim". In the early 80's, Liz Curtis, and her partner Ron Montez, were the reigning world ballroom Latin champions, and endlessly popular as well. They won top honors five years in a row, and I believe they eventually retired as champs, having exhausted the audiences and demoralized their competitors with their charming invincibility.

After a competition held in Phoenix (Ron's hometown), Liz and Ron joined Margaret and Lonnie in their hotel suite. I happened to be there too. Liz said "they featured the competition on the 10 o'clock news on TV!" I stammered, "was the coverage favorable?" She looked at me with those electric-blue eyes, carved her name in my heart with her smile, and said "Yes!"

I haven't been the same since.... Liz Curtis said "Yes!"

Then, chief of all, was Rick Valenzuela, who played Vanessa Williams' bickering competitive ex-husband "Julian" in the film. In 1981, Rick, and his then-wife Sandy, were the charmed professional couple of Desert Terrace Dance Studio. Margaret and Lonnie aspired to Rick and Sandy's status and frequently accompanied them in competitions throughout the Southwest. I sometimes tagged along too, and watched Rick's intense focus and competitive zeal with awe.

What an amazing dancer Rick is in this film!

I wonder what all these folks are doing these days?