Disneyland, the return to childhood...

"Yes! I do! :-) but only if you dare to waltz with me, here, in the crowd :-D !"
And so, I waltzed with my soul-mate (now husband :-)) in the crowd, in front of the beautiful show of light display and fireworks, projected on the Disney Castle, right after sundown and before closing time.

It was beautiful... the perfect ending of a pretty magical day...

Of course I'm aware of the strong contradiction between the idea of a "return to childhood" and "a wedding proposal", but that's just it! :-) Even as an adult, I did not loose touch with my inner child..
It's like a psychological bridge... when you go back to your childhood and then, at the end of the day, you have that strong feeling that now it's time to grow up! :-)  I sometimes believe that part of my soul never grew up and never will, thus loves to play board games, loves stories, loves to visit amusement parks and aqua themed parks and so much more...

This is why, he found the perfect place for us: Paris, one of the most romantic cities, still not a 'cliche'-place, but Disneyland - to show how well he knows me :-)

So, what is Disneyland all about? Kids would dress up as princesses, pirates, cartoons and would run around feeling part of the story :-)
Us adults must keep the "tourist" approach and avoid getting carried away by our childhood memories and dreams...

Still, we can get carried away... enjoy the mini-trains-rides that take you on a different journey for each story... feel like flying around in Neverland like Peter Pan; or find out Pinocchio's story from the paintings on the walls during another mini-train ride...

Then, after wondering on the magical streets of the park, you finally get to Alice's wonder land :-)

or take a crazy spin, in the Mad Hatter's Tea cups... if that's not suffice, you can take another crazy spin :D ... but have in mind that you have an entire park to see and you cannot do that when taking the same ride too many times!

When you are "sick and tired" of this dreamy and colorful display of fairy-tale (yeah, like that could ever happen!) take the road to Adventure Island... :-) and enjoy the boat trip

or - if you dare - just let the roller coaster take you for a spin, around Big Thunder Mountain!

Every corner of the park will surprise you with something new, something "Disney-authentic", every sight and every image of the park will trigger and will awake one or several childhood long-forgotten memories. 

Or, just to get you out of the comfort of your safe zone, make sure that the Haunted Manor is part of your Disney Park route :-)
Every gift shop, store, restaurant or fast-food is different... In Pirate's Cove you can enjoy an "in-door" restaurant, on the river-bank and see the river-trains scaring the tourists on the river falls :) or you can be on the other side, enjoying the Pirate's ride!

We chose a saloon for a coffee pit-stop, just because it sounds and looks fancy and glamorous ;;)

It's good to catch your breath from time to time :-) and fill your batteries... whenever there's enough energy left in your batteries, take a tour of the next-door park, Walt Disney Studios! Basically, this means jumping from the fairy-tale land to animated movies land :-) it's like jumping from one childhood dream into another!

Don't miss the opportunity to see the screaming tourists in the Tower of terror (the high tower in the picture above, seen from one side), or be one of them, if you dare! I basically turned around just before reaching the elevator and after I saw the whole picture from the outside, I kept telling myself that I had made the right choice :D

There are so many activities, games, short-movies, that will keep you busy for the entire day... what am saying, this will keep you busy for an entire week or even more! :-)

After we took a big big breath of Disney Park and a smaller breath of Walt Disney Studios (normally one day will only suffice if you run around from corner to corner :P) we came back to Disney fairy tale world, for the closing show...

There, in that 30 minutes show, with cartoons projected on the Disney Castle, fireworks and true shows of light, it was there where I really really found myself in the middle of a fairy tale love story... as I already confessed ;;) in the beginning. In my mind and soul, I felt like a Princess, like a modern Cinderella (that lost her sneaker :P), like a modern Snow White (dressed in jacket and jeans), but outfit did not matter, because what truly mattered was that, there, in Disneyland, I was enjoying that very special moment, with my Prince Charming :-) (also wearing jeans and a backpack :P)

Though we're nor prince nor princess... we can still think of ourselves that way ;;) because imagination has no boundaries... Imagination is what keeps us going and stories teach us to use our imagination and to know no limits... ;;) Leaving the Disney world magic... but still holding on to the magical world of fantasy and child hood fairy tales... below some pictures from our wedding dances...
The wedding was in real-land... but our souls where somewhere far far away, in a fantasy land where dreams sometimes come true...

Ballroom dancing, a "look back" in time...

Whenever I get the chance to watch a ballroom dance-competition, I admire the dancers, their great talent, appearance, the graceful yet very energy-full movements.
But, on the same level, what catches my eye, is the dancers' glamorous appearance, with the long and complex designed dresses; men wearing the elegant tail suits; outfits combined with the dancers' perfect looks: hair, makeup, great shape!

The ball gowns, with their very rich history during the 18th and 19th centuries have been re-edited in today's ballroom dancing dresses, used in shows and competitions. I'm sure the dress designers have a very interesting job, of combining the materials into shapes, the corset-like tops, with the rich multi-layered skirts, adding of course the modern touch to create true "pieces of art"...

It is then, in the middle of the Waltz, that my imagination flies away... far away... in a land of Fairy tail; where a ball takes place... and the pairs are floating on the dance-floor so peaceful, graceful.

Slow waltz originates from Germany and was refined by the English school. Wienner waltz was originally an austrian folk dance. Only in the 1900s it became known and danced by the upper class, gaining it's well-deserved position next to the slow waltz [more info here].

It's a pity people don't dance any more, in a real meaning of the dance... Less and less people are interested in learning the "classical dances". Some, just try to make an impression and rehearse or learn for their Big wedding day something that tries to resemble a waltz but looks more like a fake moment they managed to "pull off" ... I admire that intention also, but I'm so sorry that we've all 'missed' the times when people used to dance... as a culture, as a social act, a high-class social act...

Let's now enjoy some fragments of the past eras...

Special delivery from Argentina: Tango!

Did you also notice that Argentine Tango has spread all around Europe!?!
That' great because Dancing makes people better, on so many levels... from the top of my head: more beautiful, more open-minded, less stressed, less introverted, more communicative, more assertive, more sociable, thus, so much happier!

In my location, the first School of Tango opened in 2010. Now, there are at least 5 schools and I deeply believe the number will continue to grow.
All the people that met and fell in love with <tango>, have grown into a very numerous and classy community of "tangueros" (tango dancers). Being a social (saloon) dance, people easily interact with each-other, not only during the tango-classes or seminars but also during the Milongas (the Parties focused on Argentine Tango music).

The dance is pretty much based on improvisation, based on the on-the-spot inspiration of the music.
Unlike Dancesport for example, where you rehearse the same choreography over and over, with the same partner, in order to achieve a high technical and musical performance (for competitions), in social dancing the goal is not to be technical and sportive, but to have a nice time, to interact with other people, to be able to dance "with everyone at the party".

However, improvisation does not mean that you don't need to know anything, just listen to the music. During the tango classes, people learn the musicality of the dance, various tango figures and rules on the tango dance-floor (e.g. moving direction, to avoid collision with other couples :)) - if you ever practiced any ballroom dance, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about!).

The improvisation stands in the way the tango-figures are combined and lead by the leader (the man), according his inspiration and feeling of the music. The follower (the woman) knowing the "routines" is able to perform the figure that the leader expects, thus, creating an- every-time unique choreography.

This is the beauty of every social dance, the variety of people interaction and that's why it became very popular in a very short time. The tango society is not only local, but there's a strong connection between the tango schools and dancers, all around Europe. In almost all the weekends, you can find and least one Tango Event, somewhere in Europe.
Tango a like a natural communication language - anybody who attended tango-classes should be able to dance with other tango dancers even though he / she may have never even met before.

Two strangers that don't speak the same language, may dance together at a Milonga Party, because, they do speak the same language: Tango :)
If you ever attended of plan to attend Tango events, you know - or will find out - that anything connected to Tango Milongas is "language free" :-) I somehow find this very mysterious, but very attractive and exciting: the leader will invite the lady to dance - with a look - if she wants to dance, she will meet him on the dance floor; if she doesn't she will act like she didn't catch the look. During the dance itself, the tangueros don't make conversation, they just enjoy the dance and the music.

Even though we became familiar with Argentine Tango a few years ago, we did not attend so many tango classes and parties, because we were more focused on Sportdance and some other social dances. So I guess it's not fair to say that we are part of the local tango community, but what I can say for sure, is that I've truly enjoyed every Argentine Tango event, attended so far.
Below some picture we took, when we attended great tango show.

.

What I loved most and what I still remember with great pleasure, is a show dance that I like to call "a special delivery from Argentina". An Argentine Tango show, performed by a couple of genuine Argentine Dancers, that were invited, as part of an international Tango Festival.
Their performance was so incredibly intense, that even when I look at the pictures, I can still feel the passion and intense emotions that were floating in the air, while they were performing: the vibrant colors of their dance; the strong passion they were able to deliver; the mixture of feelings and the authenticity of spirit.
That was not only the "cherry on top" of that event - but, for me personally - that was the "cherry on top" for my entire idea of Tango Dancing :-)
Here are some pictures we took, but I must say it once more, there was so much more going on in the atmosphere :) much, much more than the pictures can show:

It doesn't matter why you dance, where you dance, what you dance and whom you dance it with,
as long as it makes you happy, keep dancing! Dance with passion!