Quick Before The Music Stops

Janet Carlson's newly published memoir, Quick Before The Music Stops, describes her midlife renewal through dance, and how her newfound empowerment transcended the dance floor and became immediate and relevant in every aspect of her life. Carlson, the Beauty & Health Director at Town & Country magazine, has written articles for O the Oprah Magazine, Elle, Redbook, and Departures, among other publications, and she blogs for the Huffington Post Living Section. In her book, she describes how taking ballroom lessons allowed her to rediscover the joy, passion, and confidence that had been missing from her life.

"There is no time for regret in dance. You have only now, this moment, for your performance, your glorious movement. Whatever you're going to do, do it now, quick, before the music stops."

"This new period is rich - as rich in some ways as having my two children because it has been a kind of birth - but it has also been extraordinarily painful thanks to the self-examination that dancing has provoked in me. And so, because of dance, I can say, unequivocally and gratefully, that I am alive at last."

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Special Note: The Fred Astaire Dance Studio on Manhattan's Upper West Side (174 West 72nd Street) is having a book signing and practice party on July 17. Contact the studio for more information at (212) 595-3200.