It's official...

This weekend, March 25-26, we will be filming the remaining footage for our Smooth Variation DVD, as well as the syllabus footage for the International Latin dances on the website (Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Jive, and yes, Paso Doble).

When we're finished filming, we'll be just weeks away from finally releasing the long-awaited "Strictly Smooth Variations" DVD. Most of the editing is already done, the artwork and menus are in their final phase of production, and there are just a few missing clips waiting to be filled in. This weekend's filming will fill those gaps and allow us to finish up production.

The Latin syllabus will be performed by Mark & Viola Weiss. We'll be able to release the first handful of Latin clips within just a couple of weeks. Look for Mark & Viola's Beginning Bronze Paso Doble very soon!

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com

So it's the end of day one of our Latin film shoot, and I'm exhausted. Today we filmed Mark & Viola dancing all of Bronze Cha Cha & Rumba, including all basic figures, some close-ups on feet, and a handful of combinations. For the first time, we filmed some of the combos to music.

Also for the first time, we had a camera mounted on a scaffolding near the ceiling, so I was able to get some pretty cool semi-overhead footage. I even got a couple of straight overhead shots of the Natural Top, which was fun.

In addition to Mark & Viola's footage, Melissa and I spent an hour filling in some footage that we missed when we did our basic syllabus series last year. We ran out of time and I didn't get everything I wanted, but I got the most important stuff. We'll have to finish filling in those gaps next time.

Tomorrow we will continue with Mark & Viola, and shoot Samba, Paso Doble and Jive. Melissa and I will finally fill in the missing footage from the Smooth Variation DVD. It's looking like it will be a very busy day, so wish us luck!

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com