Becoming Ginger Rogers: How Ballroom Dancing Made Me a Happier Woman, Better Partner, and Smarter CEO

by Patrice Tanaka

Overview

What brings you joy?

"To devote yourself to the creation and enjoyment of beauty, then, can be serious business—not always necessarily a means of escaping reality, but sometimes a means of holding on to the real when everything else is flaking away." ~ Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

My femininity, creativity, and optimism had been flaking away, especially since 9/11. When I was dancing, I felt real and complete again. ~ Becoming Ginger Rogers, Chapter 4, "Samba Girl"

If you’ve spent most of your life pursuing your career, raising your family, and/or caring for loved ones who may be ill or infirmed, your own needs may have been neglected in the process.

Becoming Ginger Rogers is the story of one woman’s inspiring and uplifting journey to reclaim her life during the dispiriting days of New York City in the aftermath of 9/11, the unraveling of a successful business she co-founded with a dozen colleagues, and the death of her beloved husband after a long illness. Patrice Tanaka shares her very personal story of how at age 50 she started ballroom dance lessons to satisfy a lifelong dream of dancing like Ginger Rogers and, in so doing, found her way to unimaginable joy.

Becoming Ginger Rogers is, in part, a memoir of a young Japanese-American girl born and raised in Hawaii who fulfilled her dream of career success in Manhattan; it’s a voyeuristic glimpse into the world of competitive ballroom dancing; and it’s a business book about the lessons learned from ballroom dancing that made Patrice a better partner and a smarter CEO.

In this book, you will learn:

• How to reclaim, re-energize and re-excite yourself about your own life
• How to “reschedule yourself” back into your own life as the first step toward reclaiming your life
• How lessons learned in ballroom dance such as the importance of being fully present—mind, body and spirit—have applications beyond the ballroom floor in helping you achieve greater success in your personal and professional life
• How learning to be a good follower can be a winning strategy for business
• How visualizing your dreams is the way to manifest them
• How living every moment of your life in a way that is fulfilling in and of itself, and not dependent on some future you may not have, is the best way to live and to be prepared to die even if you have little advance warning like the nearly 3,000 people who perished on 9/11

Becoming Ginger Rogers shows us how we can revitalize ourselves even after years of woeful neglect so that our most exciting and joy-filled days are ahead of us. Plus it pulls back the curtain on ballroom dancing in a fun, educational way. Be transported to the world of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Whirl of Manhattan
Chapter 2: The Arabian Prince
Chapter 3: “What Brings You Joy?”
Intermezzo: Foxtrot
Chapter 4: Samba Girl
Intermezzo: Samba
Chapter 5: The Ballroom World and the Real World
Intermezzo: Tango
Chapter 6: Practice Failing—in the Ballroom and in the Boardroom
Intermezzo: Rumba
Chapter 7: Partnering for Success—with or without Chocolate
Intermezzo: Mambo
Chapter 8: You Must Be Present to Win: Going with the Flow and Celebrating Successes along the Way Intermezzo: Viennese Waltz
Chapter 9: whatcanbe: Leading with Your Heart
Coda: Cha Cha

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936661039
Publisher:	BenBella Books, Inc.
Publication date:	09/06/2011
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Patrice Tanaka is co-chair, chief creative officer, and whatcanbe SM ambassador for CRT/tanaka, an entity she helped co-found in September 2005. Her agency has been recognized as the “Best Agency to Work for in America,” “Most Admired Mid-Size PR Agency in the U.S.,” and “#1 Most Creative PR Agency in America,” among other accolades by various PR organizations and trade media. CRT/tanaka has also won more than 300 PR and marketing awards for client campaigns.

Patrice has been honored by many public relations, marketing, business, and civic organizations, including the Public Relations Society of America (“Paul M. Lund Award for Public Service”), The Holmes Group (“Creativity All-Star” Award), New York Women in Communications (“Matrix” Award), Association for Women in Communications (“Headliner” Award), Girl Scout Council of Greater New York (“Woman of Distinction” Award), Working Mother Magazine (“Mothering That Works” Award), and Asian Women in Business (“Entrepreneurial Leadership Award”).

Born and raised in Hawaii, Patrice graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1974 and following that worked as an editor at Hawaii Press Newspapers in Honolulu and later served as PR Director of the Hotel Inter-Continental Maui in Wailea. In 1979, she fulfilled a life-long dream of moving to New York City. Patrice joined Jessica Dee Communications, a PR agency she helped to build, which was acquired by Chiat/Day Advertising in 1987. In 1990, she led a management buyback of a group of eleven colleagues to co-found PT&Co. and served as the PR agency’s CEO & Chief Creative Officer. In 2005, Patrice and her co-founders sold PT&Co. to Richmond, Virginia-based Carter Ryley Thomas to form CRT/tanaka.

A widow since 2003, Patrice lives in Manhattan. She devotes much of her free time to serving on the boards of non-profit organizations dedicated to helping women and girls, including the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, the American Friends of Phelophepa (the South African health care train), and Asian Women in Business. She also serves on the Past Presidents Council of New York Women in Communications and is a former trustee and member of the Women’s Forum New York. Patrice is a competitive ballroom dancer and avid tennis player.

Read an Excerpt

Becoming Ginger Rogers

How Ballroom Dancing Made Me a Happier Woman, Better Partner, and Smarter CEO

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By Patrice Tanaka

BenBella Books

Copyright © 2011 Patrice Tanaka
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9781936661039

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Intermezzo
The Samba

The American rhythm samba, which Tony so skillfully choreographed for my samba showcase, captivated me in the musical Flying Down to Rio long before I knew the name of the dance. The ballroom samba evolved from the wilder Brazilian version that can still be seen today, when thousands of dancers—some nearly naked, others in elaborate costumes—frolic their way through the streets of Rio during Carnival. Ballroom samba attempts to keep the spirit of the original while translating it into patterns the average social dancer can learn and enjoy.

If the American rhythm version of samba were a character from literature, it would be the irrepressible Tigger: bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, and fun, fun, fun! The timing and coordination of the flexing and straightening of the knees gives the dance its characteristic bouncy motion, which looks and feels very different from all the other rhythm dances. Yet the infectious bounce must be quarantined to the lower half of the body. No bobbing heads or rocking shoulders. Stillness but not rigidity upstairs: picture a fluidly moving showgirl balancing a spectacular feathered headdress, and remember that a wobble up top will bring everything crashing. Downstairs is where you throw the party. In the early stages of learning samba, you may feel that your knees and feet should be thrown in the slammer for disorderly conduct, for going a little too crazy and always being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In more advanced stages of learning, the party really takes off, as your feet and knees cooperate and you also roll the hips and flick the pelvis back and forth. (No side-to-side motion allowed!)

The rhythm of samba follows a “one-a-two” syncopated count. Beginners can find it difficult to process that each step taken does not correspond to a single beat of music. The first step, “one” of the count, occurs over three quarters of a single beat of music. The second step, “a” of the count, takes a quarter of a beat of music. One beat of music, two steps. The third step, “two” of the count, requires a full beat of music. One beat of music, one step. None of the steps takes the same length of time. Samba is a very lively dance, so it’s important to master the rhythm before trying to learn a lot of patterns.

While all the other rhythm dances cover a limited patch of the floor, the samba travels. The Latin or pop music is playing fast, and the dancers smile and bounce as they make their way around the entire floor. With all the hip-rolling and pelvic-ticking, samba is also unabashedly sexy and looks most natural when the dancer feels earthy and vibrant and does not hesitate to show it. Yet perhaps because of the foot speed, rapid coordination, and upper-body stillness required—all of which demand a lot of physical control—samba does not look raunchy or vulgar, it simply exudes the joy of being alive. Alma Guillermoprieto, a former pro dancer and current journalist, sums up the samba this way: “There is no point to samba if it doesn’t make you smile.”


Continues...

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Excerpted from Becoming Ginger Rogers by Patrice Tanaka Copyright © 2011 by Patrice Tanaka. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Whirl of Manhattan
Chapter 2: The Arabian Prince
Chapter 3: “What Brings You Joy?”
Intermezzo: Foxtrot
Chapter 4: Samba Girl
Intermezzo: Samba
Chapter 5: The Ballroom World and the Real World
Intermezzo: Tango
Chapter 6: Practice Failing—in the Ballroom and in the Boardroom
Intermezzo: Rumba
Chapter 7: Partnering for Success—with or without Chocolate
Intermezzo: Mambo
Chapter 8: You Must Be Present to Win: Going with the Flow and Celebrating Successes along the Way Intermezzo: Viennese Waltz
Chapter 9: whatcanbe: Leading with Your Heart
Coda: Cha Cha

Editorial Reviews

Five months after 9/11 and distraught from the loss of life, the shaky economy, and her husband's brain tumor, Tanaka, a 50-something cancer survivor and highly successful PR executive, began to see a life coach who urged her to take dance lessons as a means of rediscovering joy and purpose in her life. After one lesson, it turned into a passion, and Tanaka gradually blossomed into a competitive ballroom dancer who fell in love with herself—the person she had avoided for so many years while tending to the needs of others. Tanaka details her many triumphant PR campaigns: for Dyson during New York City's Fashion Week (topless models walked the runway pushing vacuum cleaners), and by helping the aging Liz Claiborne brand regain its innovative edge by adopting the issue of domestic violence. Tanaka says ballroom dancing gave her more poise and confidence when making business presentations, which she now leads with joy and passion.) Although not sufficiently gripping to garner a widespread audience, this is an absorbing, inspirational memoir of a gutsy woman navigating through crises toward self-fulfillment. Photos. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"...an absorbing, inspirational memoir of a gutsy woman navigating through crises toward self-fulfillment."
— Publishers Weekly

"Becoming Gingers Rogers is a timely exploration of the problems faced by high-flying modern women, as well as a persuasive manifesto for the real-world applications of ballroom—and for the sheer joy of dance."
— Dance Today

“Tanaka's toe-tapping tale of how she awakens to the rhythms of her body and learns to dance through her mistakes — at work as well as in the ballroom — shines with inspiration. It may even send you off to buy a sequined dress and some Ginger Rogers shoes of your own.”
— Alice Schroeder, best-selling author of The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

“In her compelling Becoming Ginger Roger: How Ballroom Dancing Made Me a Happier Woman, a Better Partner and Smarter CEO, she reports how she reached stardom in her newfound hobby while morphing her into a more effective manager and boss. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop!”
— Harold Burson, Founder and Chairman, Burson-Marsteller

"If you’re a “Dancing With the Stars” fan, you'll love this book about ballroom dancing and how it transformed Patrice Tanaka's life and made her a happier woman and more successful CEO."
— Edyta Sliwinska, Ballroom Champion, “Dancing With the Stars” Seasons 1-10

"This is such a great analogy … how performing fearlessly in the ballroom world can impact one's courage and perspective in the business world. Patrice Tanaka's inspiring memoir about the lessons she learned on the dance floor and how she applied them to her life and career is a joy to read."
— Nina DiSesa, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, McCann New York

“Becoming Ginger Rogers is about performing full out and fearlessly in the ballroom world and adopting that approach to great success in the business world. As her client of more than a decade, I can vouch for that being the case. Patrice has written a joyful and inspiring memoir about the lessons learned from competitive ballroom dancing that have helped her to a richly rewarding business and personal life.”
— Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, President, Charles Schwab Foundation

“If you’ve ever thought about learning to ballroom dance, this inspiring book by Patrice Tanaka will convince you to run, not walk, to your nearest dance studio.”
— John Kimmins, President, Arthur Murray Studios

“Through [Tanaka’s] courage and sense of purpose she makes us see what love and determination can achieve."
— Madeline DeVries Hooper, Founder, DeVries PR

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