3-time Canadian and 2-time North American Amateur Ballroom Champions, Beverley Cayton-Tang and Robert Tang, make a guest appearance on Slice Network’s hit show, “Til Debt Do Us Part”.
Now in its third season, “Til Debt Do Us Part”, follows host and financial wizard Gail Vaz-Oxlade as she helps debt-ridden couples examine the root of their spending problems, and come up with a plan to get them from red to black.
The next episode, entitled “It Takes Two to Tango” airs five times in the next two weeks (Thursday November 1 at 9:00 p.m., Friday November 2 at 12:00 a.m., Saturday November 3 at 3:00 p.m., Thursday November 8 at 9:30 p.m., and Friday November 9 at 12:30 a.m.) and features DanceScape’s Robert and Beverley as invited Tango Instructors.
Each episode of the series focusses on one couple; Robert and Beverley were brought in to help Cheryl and Richard re-balance the “lead and follow” in how they deal with money, and with their relationship in general.
Ballroom dancing is enjoying a strong resurgence, especially with such recent Hollywood hits as “Shall We Dance?”, the recently released documentary, “Mad Hot Ballroom” and the new reality Dance contest on ABC Television, “Dancing with the Stars.” While Ballroom dancing may not, at first glance, relate directly to financial success, the intention behind asking Robert and Beverley (who have been invited as guest instructors and etiquette experts for other TV shows, including “Groomed”) was to help the couple translate the skills they used on the dance floor to the cheque book.
“Cheryl and Richard had never danced the Tango before,” says Robert, speaking of their experience with the couple, “so in many ways it was a typical first dance lesson. What became clear to us was that they were both passionate people, which works well for Tango, as it is such a passionate dance.”
Beverley adds “in their financial relationship, Cheryl took the reigns the majority of the time. Gail’s vision for the couple was to rebalance the responsibility, and make Richard equally accountable for their finances. In the Tango, the woman’s role in the dance is to follow. Not only does she have to give up ‘control’, she has to trust that her partner knows what he’s doing, and things will work out alright.”
“The life lesson for Richard was to be more assertive in the relationship, and be more active when it comes to dealing with their finances.” Robert continues, “as a man, in the Tango, there’s no room for hesitation. You really have to, pardon the expression, ‘take the lead’.”
Do Robert and Beverley share Cheryl and Richard’s struggles over control? “Not at all,” laughs Robert. The two started out as dance partners, fell in love and got married, and then became business partners. “Each of those three kinds of partnerships is difficult”, says Beverley. “One of the most important things in any relationship is communication. The connection, trust and synergy that we have on the dance floor extends into every aspect of our partnership.”
It seems to be working. The Tangs’ own “For Absolute Beginners Only” Social Dance workshops continue to sell out. They have recently released a new 2-DVD Video Set entitled “For Absolute Beginners Only” Ballroom Dancing – for couples who want to ‘get in step’ with each other in the comfort of their own home. It’s available for purchase online at www.dancescape.com/dvd and covers the Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Cha Cha, Rumba, Salsa, and Jive.
For local couples and singles looking for a more ‘hands-on’ approach, DanceScape is having Holiday Open Houses at their studio (located at 2077 Pine Street, at Pearl) on Thursday, December 13, Monday, December 17, and Thursday, December 20 with information on new classes starting the week of January 21, 2008.
Will Cheryl and Richard find that learning to Tango helps their financial life to become a better duet? Tune in to Slice find out.
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About Robert Tang and Beverley Cayton-Tang
Beverley and Robert are former 3-time Canadian and 2-time North American Undefeated Amateur Standard Champions, having represented Canada at five World Amateur Standard Championships. They were consultants to the author of a book about competitive Ballroom Dancing entitled, “Ballroom Dancing: The Rhythm, Romance and Style” and were also featured in it. They are the founders ofwww.dancescape.com and www.dancescape.TV, the largest Dance communities on the Internet with over 2 million hits a month.