2:56 PM
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Ballroom spruced-up while closed during pandemic
4:07 AMThe Ballroom might have been closed for public events during the Covid crisis,
but activities continued to keep it looking at its best!
Before refinishing, the entrance to the Ballroom showed wear from the footsteps of many dancers.
Chip Greenfeld sands the floor in the entrance to the Ballroom.
Both Chip Greenfeld (foreground) and instructor Paul Huston help to sand the large dance floor of the Ballroom.
Al Espinoza repaints the walls of the Ballroom.
After much work, the floor is starting to look like new again!
The Ballroom entrance area has a refinished floor and freshly painted walls.
The Ballroom is looking better than ever!
Bobbie Fries, Rest In Peace
1:16 PM
The original Hollywood Ballroom owner, Barbara (Bobbie) Fries, passed away June 16, 2020. Bobbie is pictured above. The photo at the bottom of this post shows Bobbie with her long-time friend, John Nesler, who passed away in 2009.
Bobbie’s granddaughter, Samantha posted the following on Facebook:
Tonight (6/16/2020) our family said goodbye to the most strong-willed, intelligent, and incredible matriarch, Barbara Fries (Bobbie). At the age of 88 years old, she passed away peacefully of natural causes in her home in Burtonsville, Maryland, surrounded by her loved ones. She was made to be as comfortable as possible in her final days, and we are blessed that she was able to leave this world from her own home as she always wanted. All of her surviving children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were able to spend time with her over the past few days to say their goodbyes. She was preceded in death by her son Gregory Fries.
As the original proprietor of Hollywood Ballroom from 1991-2012, she was also well-known and loved by many in the dance community. We plan to host a celebration of life dance in her honor in the future once the COVID-19 situation has resolved (possibly Spring 2021) and it is safe to do so. In the interim, we will be organizing a virtual celebration of life event via Facebook where friends may post their memories, photographs, and condolences.
As a former educator in the Montgomery County School System, Bobbie cared greatly for children and education in addition to dance. In honor of her memory, and in lieu of flowers, donations can be made tohttps://usadance.org/donations/donate.asp?id=18647 for their K-12 fund to bring ballroom dance to children across the country.
Zoom Tips
4:25 AMWe have learned that the first-time Zoom experience can be a bit confusing. A number of factors come into play, such as whether your computer is a MAC or Windows, type of tablet, and what browser is used.
Ideally, when you click the link for the zoom meeting, you will be directly connected to the meeting. However, you might run into a pop-up instruction to install the Zoom client. That is not necessary.
After clicking the link, the Zoom screen may show “If you have Zoom Client installed, launch meeting.” Click the words Launch Meeting.
Zoom will then respond with “If you cannot download or run the application, join from your browser. Click on the words “Join from your browser.”
Enter your name (first and/or last name), then enter the meeting ID and password (contained in the invitation, beneath the link).
Participate in a Test Meeting to check your Audio and Video at zoom.us/test .
Virtual Dance Knowledge Party ~ Sunday, June 7, 2020, 8 pm
7:08 PMHollywood Ballroom Dancers! We miss you!
This is an invitation to attend our first ever Zoom party and donation quest. hosted by Dancers Carl Pavetto and Gary Varano.
Many of our customers have encouraged us to actively seek financial donations during this difficult time of inactivity. Carl and Gary came up with this idea, to combine a virtual dance activity with the act of donating. Here are the details.
The party will take place on Sunday, June 7, 2020 ~ 8 pm.
You will receive a link to Zoom (make sure you are on our mailing list)
Carl will walk you through a series of questions, designed to test your knowledge of dance history and little known facts.
The party will last less than an hour. It is intended to be a totally fun, no-pressure, honor system affair. If you aren’t in a position to donate, or have already donated, that is fine! We won’t be publishing test results or collecting answer sheets.
Before Sunday, print a blank Answer Sheet (below). A few minutes before 8 pm Sunday, click on the link you will receive in the Highlights invitation, see all the familiar faces, record the answers to the questions on your Answer Sheet, tally your results, and send your donation to
Hollywood Ballroom
2126 Industrial Pkwy
Silver Spring, MD 20904
Here is the blank Answer Sheet:
If you are unfamiliar with Zoom, you might find these Zoom Tips helpful.
