Any serious dancers out there who lives in the Western New York region. I've currently been taking lessons since February 2006 - love it, it's my passion though I find that the only person right now that I can dance with is my teacher. I've gone to pratice parties that the studio holds each month though find it difficult to dance with other men as they just don't move like my teacher. I would love to find that someone special who also has the passion for this art. Looking for under 50 older than 36.

It is great to have a regular partner. You might want to try dancepartner.com as well.

But don't wait until you find one to go social dancing. Another amateur won't move like your instructor either. Part of learning to dance is learning to follow different partners. You haven't been dancing very long, so it will take some time to learn to read other men's leads. But the only way to learn is to do it. Most dancers I know are patient with beginners, if you have a good attitude and let them know you are relatively new.

I have one primary dance partner and a few others that are my favorites. If you go often to social events you will usually get favorites.

I was romantically involved with my partner for about 4 years and for the last two years we have been uninvoled romantically. It's weird but dancing or friendship is stronger than love or romance. We are still dancing together. I actually tried to break up several times, but to no avail. She doesn't have another romantic boyfriend yet and neither do I, but I am sure that when that happens we will probably stop dancing together socially. We still compete and take some lessons together. But most of all we discuss dancing on the telephone often and in detail. And we keep improving and do a total of about 16 or so dances together. Guess that I am sort of a dance host for her and vice versa. It's strange how friends can evolve over time. A combination of love and dancing can be very intoxicating, but like everything else---there is always an expiration date.

Not always.