Atlanta Ballroom Dance Club
Promoting Ballroom Dancing in Atlanta
Atlanta Ballroom Dance Club holds monthly dances at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 2620 Buford Highway NE, Atlanta, GA 30324
Announcements
We need more board members
The Atlanta Ballroom
Dance Club, one of the oldest, most successful and prestigious dance clubs in
Metro Atlanta is seeking a few good men and women to join our Board of
Directors. Contact us via e-mail at
or better yet, join us on the 3rd Saturday of the month at our dance and speak
with one of our Board members.
Lost and Found
Eve Preetorius, 77, ballroom dance devotee
by Holly Crenshaw
published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on April 15, 2005
Eve Preetorius caught
the dance bug in college and didn't shake it for the rest of her life.
At sorority and fraternity parties at the University of Georgia, where she graduated in 1949, it was big band music that first lured her onto the floor. As an enthusiastic member of the Atlanta Ballroom Dance Club, she was equally susceptible to rumbas or waltzes, tangos or sambas.
"She was always a ballroom dancer and always loved it from the word 'go'," said her daughter, Lee Kerger of Tucker. "You could just see the happiness reeking from her every pore when she was out there."
Eva Weir Preetorius, 77, of Atlanta died of lung cancer Tuesday at Piedmont Hospital. The body was cremated. The memorial service is 2 p.m. today at St. Anne's Episcopal Church. Cremation Society of Georgia is in charge of arrangements.
The Atlanta native, whose husband died in 1979, taught English and reading in the Atlanta public school system for 36 years before retiring in 1985. That same year, she became a board member of the ballroom dance club. For 15 years she helped decorate its dance parties, took money at the door and kept perfecting her dance skills at regular lessons -- with plenty of trophies to prove her talent.
"Back in those days, we tried to dance four or five times a week because it becomes such a passion," said her friend Ann Smith of Atlanta. "Eve was quite tall -- about 5 feet, 8 inches -- and I'm about 4 feet, 10 inches, so we had the name of 'Mutt and Jeff' within the dance world."
A word connoisseur with an extensive vocabulary, Mrs. Preetorius also loved traveling to Europe, especially Greece. She continued to listen to the classical music she had learned to play on the piano in childhood and planted azaleas in her back yard that exploded with color every spring.
"She was a party animal -- very talkative and truly the most sociable person you'd ever meet," her daughter said. "She could be really goofy and had a killer sense of humor, and ballroom dancing was a very good social outlet for her."
Survivors include two sons, Mike Preetorius of Carrollton and Mark W. Preetorius of Canton; a brother, William Weir of Lake Jackson, Texas; and one grandchild.
Memories of Eve by Bobbye Hightower, another founder of our club:
Additional note: The Atlanta Ballroom Dance Club board of directors voted to donate a scholarship in Eve's name to the USABDA competition in October here in Atlanta.
Gift Certificates now available
We've had several inquiries about buying gift certificates for our lessons and dances. Now they're available in any denomination you wish. or ask about them at our next dance.
We Need Your E-Mail Address
As mailing costs rise and more people get Internet access, it becomes more economical to send out monthly dance notices by e-mail. Please sign up for our email list here on our web site. We do not share our list with anyone else so you won't get spam (unwanted e-mail) from joining this list.