It seems like we are always saying this, but this time we mean it…..This is an incredibly, wonderfully eventful month! September is a month full of dance opportunities culminating with Karen Jaffe joining us for an entire weekend of Argentine Tango September 25-27. Be sure to check out the details below and on our website because we will be sharing Main Street with the delicious Food Truck Rodeo, and we’ve made special arrangements for parking for our students...and then come dancing!

Dates to remember:

Friday, Sept 11 - Junior Ballroom @ Sapphire Fall Session begins
Saturday, Sept 12 - Lucky Draw Dance Party with Cha Cha Lesson
Tuesday, Sept 15 - Fall Sampler: FREE Intro Lesson
Monday, Sept 21 - Waltz 4.5 begins at Sapphire Studio
Tuesday & Wednesday, Sept 22 & 23 - Group Classes begin in Blacksburg
Friday-Sunday, Sept 25-27 - Argentine Tango with Karen Jaffe
Saturday, Oct 10 - Monster Bash Dance Party with East Coast Swing Lesson

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Sapphire Ballroom is bringing back the teen-oriented program that many of you may remember from year and a half ago, and we'd like to invite you to check out the new face of Junior Ballroom @ Sapphire.

To help accommodate busy schedules, there will be three sessions this school year, each 10 weeks long on Friday evenings at 5:00. Each session will cover 2-3 different dance styles and focus on social dancing skills as well as preparing a routine for a performance at a Sapphire Dance Party.

For our first session, starts this Friday, September 11, and will feature Waltz and Hustle.

More details are available on-line at http://www.sapphiredance.com/juniorballroom.html.

And if you want to help us promote this great program, download and share this flier - let’s get those teens dancing!

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Who doesn’t love the excitement and the grandeur of a casino? The lights, the sounds, the fun! You can get all that AND dancing at our Lucky Draw Dance Party….without the gambling of course. :-)

We will start the night off with a Cha Cha lesson at 7:30 and keep the party going with a fun list of music including Ballroom, Latin, Swing, and more. Check out our Facebook page to get a preview of some of the music that will be played and check again next week to see pictures from the dancing.

Don’t gamble with your Saturday night - make it a sure bet by coming out to the best dance in town! When everybody dances, nobody loses.

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Come and see (and dance!) for yourselves what we are offering this Fall at the Blacksburg Community Center by joining us for our FREE Fall Sampler. We will be there on Tuesday, September 15, at 7pm to introduce you to a few styles, demonstrate some more, and to give you an idea of what Group Classes are all about.

Not only is this one-night class free, everyone who attends will also get a $6 discount on any Sapphire Group Class. You can even get a discount on multiple classes. Don’t miss it!

For more information, visit http://www.sapphiredance.com/events.php

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Do you like learning with friends and like repetition? Want to make your dance lessons feel like a party and focus on one dance style at a time? Or just need a budget-friendly option for learning? Group Classes, my friend, are the way to go. These four-week classes give you the chance to make friends, really study the moves, and make progress in that one style.

This session in Blacksburg, we’re offering two “off the beaten path” styles to go with the classics: Bachata and Paso Doble. Both have a Latin flair to them, but the styles couldn’t be more different. Bachata is a beginner-friendly dance you’re likely to find in most Latin dance clubs alongside Salsa and Merengue. It is danced to medium speed music and has a very approachable basic motion which can be as sexy (or not) as you want it to be.

Paso Doble is a favorite on TV shows and in movies because of it’s big frame, powerful music, and over the top dramatics, but what they don’t show is that it can be a really fun social dance, too. It has simple rhythms, and straight-forward, march-like music, and so can be approachable for a beginner and exciting for experienced dancers as well.

Waltz, Cha Cha, and West Coast Swing round out the schedule with introductory levels in all three. Waltz is the most beginner friendly of them, but Cha Cha can be a great fit for folks with a little dancing under their belt or who feel ready to tackle a new challenge. West Coast Swing is most appropriate for dancers who have already learns some swing dancing.

Complete details are available on-line for all these classes at http://www.sapphiredance.com/groupclasses.php

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There is a little bit of everything in the Monday Night Schedule this month! Ok - maybe not everything, that would make for a very long month, but lots and lots to choose from.
In the next few weeks, Monday Night Dancers will see the completion of the Country Two-Step series, as well as Samba. A new Level 4.5 Waltz class will get started and both Swing and Night Club 2-step will join the workshop schedules. If you count the High Powered Rumba class, which has it’s last hurrah on Sept 14, that is 6 different styles! I think make our dancing very spicy. ;-)

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Coming up at the end of September is a full weekend dedicated to exploring the world of Argentine Tango with Karen Jaffe of Ashville, NC. You are invited to attend both beginner and intermediate workshops, private lessons, and a practilonga tea dance! http://www.sapphiredance.com/Jaffe.htm

On Friday night we will be reserving parking for students attending Karen’s “Path to Tango”: a two hour workshop designed to introduce beginners to the dance and refine experienced dancers. The parking will be on the corner of First and Hickock, in the Christmas Store parking lot. Main Street will be jumping as Downtown Christiansburg Inc is having their popular Food Truck Rodeo. Come early and get some food, but give yourself plenty of time because the trucks can get busy!

Be sure to register so we know how much parking to reserve!

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Sapphire teachers are having a busy month, traveling around the NRV and beyond. Check out these excellent programs and events where you will find Sapphires teaching and performing:

VT Ballroom

We are thrilled to be back on campus with the Ballroom Club @ Virginia Tech starting Thursday, September 17. We get the pleasure of working with the members of the club every Thursday throughout the semester. It is generally at 7pm and the location changes periodically. Become a member and stay in the loop about how to get a weekly lesson with Sapphire and these great VT students.

Also, new this semester, we are inviting all active club members to attend our monthly dance parties for free. That’s right, become a member and get in for FREE...every month! (Special events excluded.)

Salem

Dancing at the Salem Senior Center is gearing back up on Friday, September 11. Liz will guide the group through a lesson starting at 7 and then have open dancing at 8. She'll be there during the evening to dance with everyone and help with what was covered in the lesson.

Dancing with the Valley Stars

Our very own Dennis Williams is at it again!! For the second time he will knocking off socks in Dancing with the Valley Stars...this year dancing with Rachel Lucas (weekend anchor, WSLS 10). This is a unique and exhilarating annual fundraising event, which benefits The Salvation Army Turning Point, the only secure center in the Roanoke Valley for adult survivors, and their children, who are in imminent danger from Family and Intimate Partner Violence. Check it out, buy tickets and donoate: https://valleydancing.com/.

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