As we head toward the end of May, and summer starts ramping up, we have a calendar brimming with fun events for you to sample! Carolina Shag plays a starring role in the summer line-up along with lots of old friends and new faces.

We hope all of you, our wonderful dance community, are enjoying the brand new events, and as well as the repeating ones, as much as we are enjoying hosting them. You hope you have noticed our efforts to try new things and new formats, and that you have tried them along with us. Please keep the feedback coming on what we are doing and what you would like to see in the future.

For now, get out your datebook and make plans to come to the new (and old) stuff we have for you this summer!

Dates to remember:

Saturday, May 30 - Sapphire Dance Center’s Spring Recital
Monday, June 1 - WCS Whips and Fox Trot Stepping Out Workshops at Sapphire Studio
Tuesday and Wednesday, June 2 & 3 - Group Classes Begin in Blacksburg
Saturday, June 6 - Shaggin’ @ Sapphire
Monday, June 8 - Level 4 Waltz begins at Sapphire Studio
Saturday, June 13 - Vinyl Vibe Dance Party with Hustle Lesson
Monday - Friday, June 15 - 19 - Teen Dance Camp : Latin Styles!
Monday, June 22 - Cha Cha debuts on the Monday night line-up
Friday, July 3 - CTAM Beginner Workshop canceled for Debbi’s Birthday, I mean 4th of July
Saturday, July 11 - American Made Dance Party with Country Two-Step Lesson
Saturday-Sunday, July 18-19 - Sam and Denise Miller visit for a weekend of Workshops, Lessons, and Dancing

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Did you grow up grooving to music on you family record player? Motown. Classic Rock. Disco (admit it - you love it as much as we do). 80’s Pop. Southern Rock. All of it, rockin’ dance music!

Come start the night with a 4-Count Hustle lesson at 7:30p and plan on being taken back in time to the time of the Vinyl Vibe. More information available at http://www.sapphiredance.com/events.php.

PS - If you’ve got something retro-tastic hanging in your closet, put it on and add to the cel-e-bration (did anyone else hear Kool & The Gang just now?).

Check here for events and Dance Parties.

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What’s the hardest part about joining a group class? Choosing!

Which class will suit your fancy this summer? Cha Cha, Night Club 2 Step, West Coast Swing or Waltz? Or all of the above?

All these styles on the calendar for the first session of group classes at the Blacksburg Community Center, starting the first week of June - before you know it!

And the rumors are true - there is a Level 2 Salsa & Merengue (on Tuesdays) and a Level 2 American Tango (on Wednesdays) fulfilling your requests in the “Class-by-Request” slots. Feel free to jump into these classes, if you already have the foundations in the these dances.

Check out all the details about these classes at http://www.sapphiredance.com/groupclasses.php.

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What do you do with a kid during the summertime? Send them to camp, where they will have the time of their lives! Or, at least, lots of fun while learning lots of great dancing with their friends.

Sapphire's Teen Dance Camps, the first of which starts June 15, run Monday through Friday, for an hour and a half, and will get your teen dancing at least a few different styles by the end of the week. The Latin Dance Camp will include popular dances like Salsa, Merengue, Bachata as well as fun and sassy Cha Cha and sweet, slow Rumba. Ballroom will have classic smooth dance styles like Waltz, Fox Trot, American Tango, and maybe Viennese Waltz. The Swing camp will be rocking the whole week long with styles to choose from like Single Time Swing (similar to Jive and Jitterbug), Hustle (the king of the Disco era), and Carolina Shag.

On the last day of each camp, lessons will be exchanged for festive Dance Party, where students will get the chance to dance all their new moves, socialize with their friends, and (if they need to) ask questions.

Don’t worry if your child doesn’t have a partner - we encourage changing partners frequently in class to help build community as well as learning dance-floor etiquette. This is intended to be a beginner class and will feature basic and fun figures in these energetic dances styles, appropriate to both the age and skill level of the students.

Check out all of the Teen Dance Camps offered this summer at http://www.sapphiredance.com/TeenCamps.htm

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This is just a friendly reminder not to miss out on one of the hottest summer events around - Shaggin’ @ Sapphire on June 6th.

With both beginner and intermediate workshops to choose from, it doesn’t matter if you are just now sticking your toes in the sand (beginner shagger) or an official beach bum (intermediate shagger). Then we top off your learning experience with a BBQ dinner from Hethwood Market and a Shag themed Dance Party to show off your smooth moves.

Come to some or all of this day devoted to the Swing of the South! Check here for full event details, http://www.sapphiredance.com/Shaggin.html.

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As we move through the schedule of Upper Level Workshops, it is always exciting to see what dance styles will appear next.

Right now we have some attitude packed dances filling our Monday nights! The feisty West Coast Swing, the strutting Fox Trot, and the flirtatious Cha Cha workshops will certainly spice up your dancing. Fox Trot and Cha Cha are both still at very approachable levels - so if you’ve never tried a Monday Night Workshop, pull out your swagger and join us.

Check the schedule and plan accordingly!
You can see the full line up of June-July workshops at http://www.sapphiredance.com/int-adv-wksp.php.

If you see something you like and are not sure if you have the experience needed to get the most out of it, there may be a class that is right for you or private lessons to can help you prepare. Don’t hesitate to ask an instructor about the many options.

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What happens when you combine a hundred years of tradition with a challenging syllabus, enchanting music, and a fantastic teacher? You get the 4-week class featured on Upper Level Mondays in June: Level 4 Slow Waltz. Lane will be taking you on a journey filled with grace, elegance, and smooth flowing steps (and probably a few drills, too).

If you’ve taken through Level 3 Waltz or worked in Private Lessons, join us for this sure to be lovely class.

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They were here in April, and so many of you came out. But a few of you couldn’t for one reason or another. And afterwards many of you, the ones who came and the ones who didn’t, started saying “more!” and “again!” and you said “please!” How could we say “no”?

So, the details have not been set, yet, Sam and Denise Miller are returning Saturday and Sunday, July 18 & 19, and the basic idea will be the same as last time: Workshops to rock your world, Private Lessons to skyrocket your skills, and a killer Dance Party where you work out the kinks and show it all off.

Look for a new schedule in Mid-June on-line at http://www.sapphiredance.com/Millers.htm. In the meantime, check out the pictures from their April visit on the Sapphire Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.884656828266534.1073741866.100867479978810&type=3

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Summer is here, the time when even the most studious of students take things a little more slowly. So if you're tired of studying Medevel Literature, Quantum Mechanics, or Agriculture Economics, take a break and try a different kind of learning: one that involves great music, fun people, and lots of cool new skills.

To make life a little easier, Sapphire is offering all Full-Time Students (Spring, Summer, or Fall semester of 2015) $10 off the price of any 4-week group class through August. This includes Blacksburg and Christiansburg Group classes, high-school and university students, beginner and experienced dancers.*

So, check out the list of classes at http://www.sapphiredance.com/groupclasses.php and make plans to boogie this summer!

*Discount does not apply to Teen Dance Camps - we assumed everyone participating the camps would qualify and included it in the price already. :)

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