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I know that it doesn't make much sense to go ballroom dancing with a smashed-up toe, but I've skipped Zumba this week and taken funny, peg-legged walks, and I just couldn't help myself, so I went—climbed the stairs to DanceSport, opened the door, donned my un-girly shoes, and risked it.

I don't think there are enough words for dancing. The ones we use are too often used, and they are rather stultifying. Swirl and twirl—like two bad-hair day sisters. Sashay—if you are doing that, are you really dancing? Twist and roll—sounds painful. Gliding—a fine bit of self-puffery, me thinks.

Maybe all it is (for me) is that I'm being myself—that I'm being happy and not necessarily useful and nobody stops me. Yeah, sure, so maybe Jean rolls his eyes at my spastic reprieves, and maybe somewhere deep inside his elegant Belarussian self he's thinking, Lord, this is some way to make a living. But if this is the case, he doesn't let on—doesn't make me feel old, ugly shoed, sleep deprived, disappointing, academic, too intense, over-the-hill, or elsewise. For those 45 minutes, I'm dancing, and that's the only word there is.

Oh, to be this boy among girls. To have access to their riffling suspicions, their percussive dreams. To know when they mean what they say, and also what they would say, if only asked. At the dance studio last week, Jean claimed, "Every story a woman tells about a man is the same."

"Can't be," I said.

"Oh, yes. Believe me."

(And I pictured this ballroom dance instructor day after day, hour after hour, women in the hold of his cha-cha, his rumba, confessing and declaiming and wanting and hoping.)

"Every. Single. Story. The same?"

"One story," he said.

"So what is the story?"

"The story is simple. The story is this: Men and women are two separate species."

The new season of "Dancing With the Stars" is upon us. On Monday, the popular ABC show will spotlight the ups and down of amateur dancers from all walks of life. For a more realistic look at what it takes to learn how to dance and win, check out The Year of Dancing of Dancing Dangerously by Lydia Raurell.

Boomer Cafe has an excerpt from The Year of Dancing Dangerously, Lydia Raurell's inspiring story of her journey in to the world of competitive ballroom dancing.

A profile of Lydia Raurell, author of A Year of Dancing Dangerously, has splashed across the pages of the Palm Beach Daily News. Lydia's inspiring journey to become a ballroom dancer is documented in this new book, which also includes full-color photography, dance tips, and a complete listing of amateur dance competitions. A Year of Dancing Dangerously was also reviewed this week in Story Circle: "This inspirational and educational book, beautifully written by a dancer who is also a writer, will motivate anyone who reads it. . . Anyone who has a dream will be encouraged by Lydia's effort, determination, and courage."

In her new book, A Year of Dancing Dangerously, Lydia Raurell takes us on a whirlwind adventure through the world of pro-am ballroom dancing. At 51, Lydia decided to answer a small dance studio's ad in her local paper. Within one year, she reigned atop the national leader board—a first for a newcomer. Click the video below to watch Lydia tell her inspiring story and see clips of her ballroom dancing.



Full-color photographs document Lydia's journey through the glitz and glam, the sequins, sweat and tears, making this intimate and up-close memoir a perfect gift this Holiday season.

Lydia Raurell, pictured here with Overlook publisher Peter Mayer, has written an amazing story of her journey through the world of pro-am ballroom dancing in A Year of Dancing Dangerously, a new book coming out in November. Beautifully illustrated with full-color photography, this inspiring volume chronicles Raurell's improbable rise from a beginnner to winner, culminating in her first place finishes in the DanceSport Series in 2005 andf 2o07. A Year of Dancing Dangerously is the perfect gift for all those who dare to dream and live to dance.