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Becoming Ginger Rogers: How Ballroom Dancing Made Me a Happier Woman, Better Partner, and Smarter CEO
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
"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
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 6, 2011
8 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 18, 2014
This was a great book! I think I enjoyed it so much because I can connect to it, although I am not a CEO, dancing has definitely made me a happier woman! At one point in the book Tanaka asserts, "outside passion equals happier, more productive professional" I agree with this statement. Since I've started ballroom dancing I am more energetic and feel like I can accomplish more throughout the day (even when I am totally sore!). Tanaka also talks about how after she started dancing her relationship with failure has changed. Being a law student, I am a type A personality. I am hoping that I experience this same change as I progress dancing! I really wish I could find another book like this because I connected to it and it gave me hope!
January 12, 2018
Mediocre memoir of a business woman turned amateur dancer.
August 5, 2016
We first meet Patrice at her job. She is co-running a public relations firm in New York City, and the firm is working on a PR campaign for a Dyson vacuum about a year after 9/11. She hasn't stepped foot in a ballroom studio yet, but the need is there. She works endlessly to take care of her firm and the people who work there, and to care for her sick husband, while also making time for charity work. She's all give and no receive, and it's wearing her down.
Her first dance lesson comes as a result of meeting with an executive coach. It is a homework assignment of sorts, after the coach asks her what brings her joy and, without really thinking about it, Patrice blurts out "dancing!"
The book is a mix of stories from Patrice's work, ballroom and home worlds. And, as expected, the longer she dances ballroom, the greater impact it has on the rest of her life. The book is a little heavy on the work stories, as that part of her life is most impacted by dance. The stories are also nice marketing for her firm, as you read about the success they bring to their prestigious clients and how much effort and care they put into their campaigns. I'll admit I started to wonder what a PR firm would do for an author like me!
I love her description of her first competition. I laughed at the moments that only seem ridiculous the first time you experience them, like the 20 layers of makeup you wear to compete as a woman. I also appreciate that, throughout the book, she takes the time to explain some of the basic concepts of the various dances . Anyone reading the book who hasn't tried ballroom will still be able to follow along and understand what she's writing about.
It was fun to read another "life transformed by ballroom" story. Even her appearance changed drastically, as a "freer" version of herself emerged. As she writes about her ballroom experiences, she drops the names of coaches and judges that ballroom people will recognize. For the non-ballroom readers, don't worry, you don't need to know who the people are to appreciate their messages. My own ballroom experiences differ a lot in some respects, simply because I live on the other side of the country and I don't have the same financial means.
But there are universal truths - ballroom is life-changing, it will impact other areas of your life in ways you didn't imagine, and, as the book's subtitle indicates, you will become happier, better and smarter.
Her first dance lesson comes as a result of meeting with an executive coach. It is a homework assignment of sorts, after the coach asks her what brings her joy and, without really thinking about it, Patrice blurts out "dancing!"
The book is a mix of stories from Patrice's work, ballroom and home worlds. And, as expected, the longer she dances ballroom, the greater impact it has on the rest of her life. The book is a little heavy on the work stories, as that part of her life is most impacted by dance. The stories are also nice marketing for her firm, as you read about the success they bring to their prestigious clients and how much effort and care they put into their campaigns. I'll admit I started to wonder what a PR firm would do for an author like me!
I love her description of her first competition. I laughed at the moments that only seem ridiculous the first time you experience them, like the 20 layers of makeup you wear to compete as a woman. I also appreciate that, throughout the book, she takes the time to explain some of the basic concepts of the various dances . Anyone reading the book who hasn't tried ballroom will still be able to follow along and understand what she's writing about.
It was fun to read another "life transformed by ballroom" story. Even her appearance changed drastically, as a "freer" version of herself emerged. As she writes about her ballroom experiences, she drops the names of coaches and judges that ballroom people will recognize. For the non-ballroom readers, don't worry, you don't need to know who the people are to appreciate their messages. My own ballroom experiences differ a lot in some respects, simply because I live on the other side of the country and I don't have the same financial means.
But there are universal truths - ballroom is life-changing, it will impact other areas of your life in ways you didn't imagine, and, as the book's subtitle indicates, you will become happier, better and smarter.
February 14, 2013
Lovely memoir, like "Julie & Julia" (two mems in one) & "Eat, Pray,Love" but about ballroom dancing. A successful CEO experiencing personal loss & grief as her beloved husband battles terminal illness, gradually re-discovers ways to expand her creativity, joy, & personal relationships through ballroom dancing & applies those lessons to the boardroom & life. Each chapter of her story has an "intermezzo" in which describes lessons from various dances (waltz, foxtrot, tango, samba, mambo, etc.) that can enrich our relationships with ourselves & others. Author is a good story-teller with inspiring turns of phrases.
December 10, 2014
You'd think this would be right up my alley, but sadly no. I think the main problem would be the narrator and author. Firstly, she opens up with 9/11. Granted, this was a very traumatizing time for the USA as a nation, but other than the "we're all mortal/vulnerable" feeling everyone felt, there really was nothing to tie her back to the tragedy. Also her husband was dying and she wasn't getting that much fulfillment out of her very prestigious public relations firm. Truth be told, while she's not someone I would want to do poorly or anything, it's just a little difficult to root for her.
April 4, 2015
I loved this book. Interesting juxtaposition of a personal story with solid business advice/life changing choices. Inspirational story of how you can be successful on many levels yet not happy, and how happiness can come from changing your choices and putting yourself first with out being selfish or self centered.
May 21, 2012
This was a fun read for the airplane. The author, Patrice, was a keynote speaker at a conference I attended. She was a fascinating woman to listen to!
February 11, 2018
I liked the premise but there was too much material about how great her company was doing. It seemed more like a memoir of the company instead of her evolution as a dancer.
August 1, 2013
A fun book about ballroom dancing and how it can teach you things in the rest of your life. There was almost as much in there about PR as there was about dancing, which I liked.
September 28, 2013
Good. Made me stop and smell the roses a bit. Made me cry.
May 13, 2015
A "must read" for anyone who is a manager.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews