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SHOES: After you have been dancing for a while, you may want to buy some more appropriate apparel. Any hall would prefer that you carry in the pair of shoes you will be dancing in. This is so dirt and gravel from outside the hall won't abrade the floor. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR DANCE FLOORS!

Carrying in a pair of shoes works well provided, of course, that the shoes don't already have abrasives stuck on their soles by outside use. And many of us prefer special dance shoes--usually some variation of jazz shoes or boots--for contra dancing.

There's a Capezio store in the Cleveland area (5658 Mayfield, in Lyndhurst's The Greens shopping plaza) and the Yellow Pages lists several others under "Dancing & Exercise Apparel and Supplies." I had problems finding them in size 12 (for a men's size 10 shoe size) and got mine online. In Northern Akron, the Stage Center (908 N. Main St.) has a large selection of appropriate men's and women's shoes.

SKIRTS: Most of the women (and some few men) dance in skirts. Other than a normal store, an alternate source of these might be: www.alamostyles.com. They carry shoes also and a lot of other apparel.

BOOKS: Becky Hill has a couple neat dance books available through her site at http://go.to/beckyhill.

CDs: Local band "Strings and Things" has a couple high-energy CDs available. See them. Other CDs can be purchased through Contracopia.

more to come...