BlogBloghttp://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2013-04-08T15:58:36ZSquarespaceDancing with the KC Stars 2013http://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2013/4/8/dancing-with-the-kc-stars-2013.htmlMary Pinizzotto2013-04-08T15:42:10Z2013-04-08T15:42:10ZWell another year has passed and we've been so busy dancing that I've neglected the blog.  This year was another great year for the Dancing with the Kansas City Stars event and Cristo Rey. This year the event raised $680k and a good time was had by all. 

My partner, Phil Smith of Dick Smith Ford was a hoot to work and did a wonderful job entertaining the crowd.  Our costumes were made by our very own Lila Schultz.   

Phil is a real inspiration to me - watch this video to find out why:

]]>What a night!http://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2012/3/25/what-a-night.htmlMary Pinizzotto2012-03-25T22:39:02Z2012-03-25T22:39:02ZCristo Rey's "Dancing with the Kansas City Stars" Fundraiser was last night at the Sheraton Crown Center. 940 people were in the audience, seven couples were entered and $604,000 was raised. Marvin and I had a blast!

The Judges -- Trent Green - of Kansas City Chiefs fame, Teri Rogers - T2 Productions who also produced amazing videos for the event and Kansas City Mayor, Sly James, -- broke the rules to give us 3 perfect 10 scores. This is a video of our performance and the judges commentary. My favorite quote is the first thing Mayor Sly James says when it's his turn to critique, "Get down with your funky self"!

I figure when the Mayor of Kansas City says that, you've made a pretty good impression.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have been part of this meaningful and fun event. It's an honor to be able to help contribute to such an outstanding organization.

]]>Dancing with the (Kansas City) Starshttp://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2012/2/5/dancing-with-the-kansas-city-stars.htmlMary Pinizzotto2012-02-06T01:43:26Z2012-02-06T01:43:26ZI've been busy working with my "Star", Marvin Rollison of KCP&L to prepare for the upcoming fundraiser for Cristo Rey high School.  We've had a lot of fun so far and our intention is to win!  One of the ways to win is to raise the most money - votes are only $10 each and you can really support a great cause. 

Here is their Mission (from their website) "Cristo Rey Kansas City provides a Catholic, college prep education enhanced by an innovative corporate work study program to culturally diverse students with economic need."

What a great thing to help give kids a positive start in life!  Here's a bit of our practice so far...we might have hammed it up a little for the video :-)

 

]]>Healthy, Happy, Wholehttp://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2011/9/4/healthy-happy-whole.htmlMary Pinizzotto2011-09-04T23:32:37Z2011-09-04T23:32:37Z

Last Wednesday Dance Kansas City had the pleasure of participating in the "Healthy, Happy, Whole" expo, held at the Federal building for the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal employees.   

Nicole Hernandez was the organizer of the event. She called us because she loves to dance and wanted to offer the powerful benefits that learning to dance provides to the other Army Corps of Engineer workers.

 Ballroom Unlimited teachers: Perry Gingerich, Matt Schissler, Josh Thornton, Katie Moshier, Abby Vogels and my husband Mark attended the event. We met hundreds of folks and had a blast introducing them to the benefits of dance.

Every time I get the opportunity to share the physical and mental and social fitness benefits ballroom dance provides, I feel so priveleged.  I thank my lucky stars for the day someone invited me to their studio...I never stopped dancing! Hopefully, these folks will feel the same.  

 The new Monday night Beginner's Only group class will be full of these folks, so if you see them in the Studio, introduce yourself and give them a warm welcome. 

]]>Sit Less, Dance More! A simple _yet powerful_ message to bring to your organizationhttp://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2011/8/4/sit-less-dance-more-a-simple-_yet-powerful_-message-to-bring.htmlMary Pinizzotto2011-08-04T14:17:56Z2011-08-04T14:17:56ZWhen I began the Freebox Everyday Dance Project, the only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted a vehicle that would make me commit to dancing everyday because I know that dancing is physically, mentally and spiritually beneficial to me.  I discovered over the course of that year that _in fact_ there are many other people who feel the same. I adopted the motto, "Sit Less, Dance More" and made it my mission to share this simple,yet powerful idea with others. I am very happy that that mission is continuing to blossom!
A couple of weeks ago I got a call from Terrie Van Zandt-Travis, Executive Director at Head Start of Shawnee Mission.  She asked me to come out and energize her staff for the start of their school year on Monday, August 1.  She said she had saved the Kansas City Star newspaper article about The Freebox Everyday Dance Project since June 15, 2010 and was excited to have an opportunity to do a video with me.
My visit was a surprise to the staff, but they all were good sports and played along. We danced to ABC by the Jackson 5.  

 

So what do you think, could your organization use some energizing? How might your staff benefit from being encouraged to let their hair down a bit and get their blood flowing? Do you, like Terrie, have the vision to see that this can nurture happier, more creative employees?  Get in touch with me and let's talk about how I can help energize your organization today!

]]>Amazing Inspired Dance photoshttp://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2011/7/30/amazing-inspired-dance-photos.htmlMary Pinizzotto2011-07-30T22:46:27Z2011-07-30T22:46:27ZI came across this trove of dance in everyday life photos. They are amazing. I especially like the one with the red dress.  Which ones do you like best?

http://thumbpress.com/dancers-among-us-amazing-pictures-of-dancers-brightening-mundane-situations/

]]>Resources too good not to share....http://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2011/5/9/resources-too-good-not-to-share.htmlMary Pinizzotto2011-05-10T00:53:37Z2011-05-10T00:53:37ZAs part of building a sustainable business as a solo-preneur, I did a lot of research early this year on how to get my accounting and finances under control.  I found two great resources that I am happy to share with you.

Mark and I are both independent contractors, so every receipt is important when it comes time to do our taxes. I always have felt pretty stressed out about what to do with those receipts and how would I find them when I need them. My research led me to Shoeboxed - an affordable and extremely useful service that scans and digitizes receipts. I just stick my receipts in an envelope and send them off to them and they handle the rest. In a few days my reciepts show up online and I can categorize them to my heart's delight.  There are lots of great features, but they can explain them better than I can - just go to Shoeboxed.com and check out their plans.  They even have a free plan if you like to scan the receipts yourself. I had a back stock of them so I opted for a yearly plan that included an initial scan of 300 receipts (or a combination of receipts, business cards and even documents!)

I was searching for an accounting software solution that I could use on both my Mac and Mark's pc.  I found several good programs that were much more affordable than Quickbooks and easier to set-up and use but most had a fee of some sort and limitations that I wasn't totally happy with.  Then I found Waveaccounting.  I am in love. Wave is absolutely free, connects to all our bank accounts and lets us see our personal and business finances all in one place. (Disclaimer - you must be ok with having all your financial data in the cloud.)

The customer support was phenomenal. I know they're a fairly new business, but they have quite a subscriber base already in place and every question I asked via the support interface was answered thoroughly, courteously and with a real sense that my questions (read I) mattered to them. I hope they build a much more rich FAQ and/or support forum in the future, but I had no problem getting the answers I needed from Ehab - my main support contact.  They also love getting user feedback and suggestions - which I enjoy - I feel like I actually get to have a voice in the way the product is shaped. It's the solution I've waited a long time to find!  To find out more go to: www.waveaccounting.com

]]>Getting the word out!http://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2011/4/14/getting-the-word-out.htmlMary Pinizzotto2011-04-14T13:13:03Z2011-04-14T13:13:03ZCheck out my ballroom and social dance instruction listing on Thumbtack.  I think it looks great and I hope to get some new business from it. If you have a moment and feel inclined, I'd love if you'd leave a positive review of my teaching on their site - you can do so here.  It will help me get ranked higher and hopefully attract more wonderful students like you!

]]>Good dancing is always in fashionhttp://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2011/2/23/good-dancing-is-always-in-fashion.htmlMary Pinizzotto2011-02-23T20:40:48Z2011-02-23T20:40:48ZThe Surgeon General Recommends Dancinghttp://www.dancekansascity.com/blog/2011/2/5/the-surgeon-general-recommends-dancing.htmlMary Pinizzotto2011-02-05T14:37:59Z2011-02-05T14:37:59ZI came across this article in the New York Times Magazine. Turns out the Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, agrees with me - at least on this one point!

What sort of exercise do you recommend for people who don’t love it?
I want exercise to be fun; don’t want it to be work. I don’t want it to be so routine that you’re bored with it. We used to jump rope a lot and double Dutch and went to a disco to have fun and enjoy ourselves. We didn’t go to the disco because somebody said, Go dance for 30 minutes.

When was this? When did you go to a disco?
When I was younger. I want us to get back to doing things because they’re fun.

Maybe we need to dance more as a nation.
Yes, I love to dance, and whenever I’m at events and places with music, I will dance. That exercise is medicine. It’s better than most pills.

Read the full article on the NYTimes website.

I particularly love that last comment. I've long wondered how to communicate to people that dancing is the best anti-depressant there is. Music, movement, social and physical contact are all to credit. And when you're dancing all those factors are coming together at the same time. 

Dont' take my word for it, ask the Surgeon General!

Source: Doctor's Orders (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/magazine/09FOB-Q4-t.html) by DEBORAH SOLOMON

]]>