Waltzing

From ‘folk devils’ to ballroom dancers, Waltzing Through Europe explores the changing reception of fashionable couple dances in Europe from the eighteenth century onwards. A refreshing intervention in dance studies, this book brings together elements of historiography, cultural memory, folklore, and dance across comparatively narrow but markedly heterogeneous localities. Rooted in investigations of often newly discovered primary sources, the essays afford many opportunities to compare sociocultural and political reactions to the arrival and practice of popular rotating couple dances, such as the Waltz and the Polka. Leading contributors provide a transnational and affective lens onto strikingly diverse topics, ranging from the evolution of romantic couple dances in Croatia, and Strauss’s visits to Hamburg and Altona in the 1830s, to dance as a tool of cultural preservation and expression in twentieth-century Finland. Waltzing Through Europe creates openings for fresh collaborations in dance historiography and cultural history across fields and genres. It is essential reading for researchers of dance in central and northern Europe, while also appealing to the general reader who wants to learn more about the vibrant histories of these familiar dance forms.

In the 85 chapters of this guidebook, you will find many ideas about waltzing, dancing, and living. Dance descriptions and tips to improve your dancing are accompanied by down-to-earth ways to find greater fulfillment in your dancing and in your life. 25 different kinds of waltz are completely described, including: cross-step waltz, Viennese waltz, box step waltz, rotary waltz, polka, schottische, redowa, mazurka, hambo, zwiefacher, and more. In addition, you will find 85 waltz variations completely described, and a concise compendium of an additional hundred variations, accompanied by 50 illustrations of waltzing through the ages. Then beyond waltzing, much of this book applies to all forms of social ballroom dancing. You'll learn how you can be a better dance partner, how to develop your style and musicality, how to improvise more confidently, how to learn new dances by observation, and how to create your own social dance variations. You'll also learn about the many ways that the practice of social dancing can enrich our lives. Drawing on the latest research in social psychology, Waltzing includes chapters on the essential benefits of: music, physical activity, connection, play, mindfulness, acceptance, conditional learning, and many other topics.

“Fat with meaning . . . tastes oh so sinfully good.” —Washington Post Book World Ever since the publication of Cowboys Are My Weakness, Pam Houston's fans have clamored for more from the woman with a penchant for the laconic men of the West. Now, in eleven linked fictions featuring a peripatetic photographer named Lucy O'Rourke, Houston serves up once more her charismatic blend of relationships and adventure. This is the story of one woman's struggle for balance in a world that keeps pitching and rolling under her feet. Dislocated geographically and spiritually, Lucy is prone to the wrong decisions at all the critical times; what's more, natural disasters just seem to find her: an accident on a rafting trip in Cataract Canyon, a grand cayman attack in the Amazon, a hurricane in the Gulf Stream-not to mention a few natural disasters in the form of men. A surprise encounter with Carlos Castenada convinces her that she isn't living the right life, and his cryptic message sends her back to her beloved Rocky Mountains. There, on a ranch, she takes comfort in animals, the jagged landscape of Colorado, and the sage advice of women friends; she even gives a man a try. Most important, for the first time she reconnects with parts of herself she didn't remember losing. "Pam Houston taps into our souls," one reader has said. "She could write my diary better than I can."

'Cancer is an experience that should be avoided. These poems recount a journey through one man's experience of cancer and its care. I recommend it to all patients, families and friends of those who have similar experiences.'

This song that started as an accidental collaboration in outback Queensland in 1895 caused the death of a seven-year relationship and went on to inspire a nation during World War II, following Banjo Paterson’s death in 1941. Waltzing Matilda ─ Australia’s Accidental Anthem written by a criminal barrister, is a forensic history of the events, the people and the places that led to the writing of Australia’s internationally famous song. This evidence-based approach dispels many of the myths and historical inaccuracies that have become folklore. The facts about the swagman, the contribution of Christina Macpherson and Sarah Riley and the timing and the place of the composition are all revealed.

The Velociraptor was among creation's most ferocious predators, and its killer instinct lives on in the form of well-intentioned but deadly activist groups ready to shred and devour your company's reputation. Waltzing with the Raptors presents the cutting-edge concept of Reputation Assurance, an indispensable system for measuring a company's reputation and social accountability. Adhering to the belief that business has the power to build prosperous global communities, Glen Peters identifies the practical steps that any company can take to achieve, monitor, and maintain a solid reputation. Based on a global study of multinationals in North America, Europe, and Asia, Reputation Assurance is used by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global thought leaders. The first step in learning how to waltz is listening to the music, or rather, listening to the wishes of the wide constituency of institutions and people who inhabit the world market. As recently as the last decade, products were still being launched based almost entirely on the opinion of the R&D department. Today, a product launch without detailed market research would be considered reckless if not suicidal. Likewise, it is no longer safe for senior executives to take management actions and make decisions in the belief that they can interpret the wishes of their shareholders, employees, customers, and the society in which they operate. When Shell went ahead with plans to sink a defunct North Sea oil platform, it sought the approval of the U.K. government, but failed to acknowledge Greenpeace and the millions of Shell customers who forced a company U-turn. Civil rights groups, religious organizations, single-issue parties, and many others make up the stirring medley of people companies have to listen to, to keep waltzing. Reputation Assurance applies a framework of principles for business excellence across the company. The new paradigm ensures fair and competitive returns for shareholders, understands and meets customer expectations and guarantees, offers employees fair compensation, honesty, and openness in communication, and takes suggestions and complaints seriously. Finally, the framework promotes corporate accountability to society as a whole by contributing to the economic power of its citizens, promoting human rights, disclosing relevant information, and respecting at all times local culture and laws. Waltzing, after all, isn't just fancy footwork but an art. Once companies learn and practice the steps, they will find their reputations admired by all. "I have long believed that companies can only hope to operate successfully if they have an invisible 'License to Operate' from their employees, customers, partners, and shareholders, together with society as a whole. This excellent book points out that these relationships are under increasing threat from predators and require cohesive, coherent, and well thought out management if companies are to succeed. The company's reputation is no longer in the category of 'nice to have', it is now absolutely crucial for continued survival."-Sir John Harvey-Jones, former Chairman, ICI (U.K.). "Glen Peters's fine book focuses on the importance of the employees and the environment to a company's bottom line, in addition to stockholders. His recommendations fit with findings that large companies that pay attention to these factors historically outperform those that don't."-Jeff Seglin, Visiting Fellow, Center for the Study of Values in Public Life, Harvard University. "Waltzing with the Raptors cogently and engagingly shows how managers who actively listen and are responsive to their company's stakeholders, who monitor, verify, and report on performance, can transform powerful and feisty critics into partners, thereby protecting and enhancing their company's reputation."-Alice Tepper Martin, President, Council on Economic Priorities.

A story full of drama, word play and gentle satire on literary conventions, making it a delightful read for children and adults. In the first edition, the book was described as "Mr. Noel Langley's epic pastiche in the grand classic heroic manner, wherein he pays glowing homage to the nice sensibility and decorous passions that are the special elixir of the artistic temperament, whether it inhabit Heathcliff, Manon Lescaut, the Mock Turtle or Desbarollda the Waltzing Mouse."

Midwife Mildred Harrington is riding back home one evening after checking on one of her pregnant neighbors when she stumbles upon an injured stranger. She soon realizes it's her old sweetheart, Pat, from country school--and he may not be telling the full truth about how he was injured. Set in rural Montana in 1925, Waltzing Montana follows Mildred as she grapples with feelings for Pat while also trying to overcome the horrific abuse she suffered as a young teenager. Ultimately Mildred must decide whether to continue her isolated life or accept the hand extended to her. Inspired by the life of midwife Edna McGuire (1885-1969), who operated a sheep ranch in central Montana, Blew has turned the classic Western on its head, focusing on rural women and the gender and diversity challenges they faced during the 1920s.