DECATUR - "Dancing With Natasha" may be about learning ballroom dancing in a studio in Dayton, Ohio, but there's plenty of Decatur in it.

Decatur native Gregory Causey, the author, relates a story his uncle, singer and guitarist David Causey of Decatur, told him. They were starting a new band in a time when people went out dancing, said David Causey. The band leader explained that if they couldn't play music to which people could dance, they wouldn't be very successful. So they all took basic dance lessons.

Causey was born in Decatur and though the family moved to Rantoul, then St. Joseph, there were regular visits.

"I remember my Grandmother taking me downtown on the bus, the old Transfer Station, the colored fountain at night. Of course there was always fishing for crappie on the lake and watching the ice boats in the winter. And I thought the Staley building was the biggest one I'd ever seen," remembered Causey.

Q: Did you begin your music career in.;Decatur?

Causey's music career began in St. Joseph where he played drums in the school band. That turned into a life-long stint of drumming and guitar playing. And one of his early musical influences was his uncle.

It was through him that Greg Causey discovered.;many of the early blues artists and when he brings his father to Decatur for visits, "We often pull out the guitars and play," said Greg Causey.

Q: So, is "Dancing" a how-to book or what?

In 2006 my wife and I took up ballroom dancing and "Dancing With Natasha" came from that experience, he said.

"It's a 'how I overcame my fear of dance and discovered the power of dance' story. I had a severe dance performance phobia," admitted Greg Causey, though he'd never had problems being on stage as a musician or speaking in front of a group doing a management presentation

"But.;the dance floor was a place of sheer terror that I avoided at all costs."

Not only did Causey meet his fears, he learned dancing could be fun and saw that dancing has the power, literally, to change people's lives.

"At the end of the book I tell the stories of some of my fellow students at the dance studio. Each has a real-life story about how dancing has been a powerful force that improved their lives.

Causey wrote a chapter from the student's perspective, then Natasha Yushanov (the dancing instructor) comments on the same topic from the instructor's perspective.

"We intentionally edited her pieces less to capture that wonderful Slavic feel and language. The reader may well be able to imagine her Russian accent as she intones: 'Gregory, where is line of dance?'

"At the end of the book I list many of Natasha's lessons on dance and life such as: 'Two … it comes after one;' 'Love the floor, love the woman, love yourself.'

"I'm very grateful to.;four-time United States Professional Theatrical Arts Dance Champion Barbara Haller for writing.;the foreward for the book," Causey added.

Q: Would you recommend both writing and dancing for everyone? And why?

"Writing? I don't know; it can be very challenging and a lot of work. You need to be able to stand a lot of rejection and criticism. But if you have a book inside you, it's best to sit down and get it out."

"Dancing?" he continued. "I'd recommend that people at least give it a try.

"It really does have a lot to offer: exercise, entertainment, the chance to meet other people, the ability to express one's self, the chance to learn new skills and keep the mind and body active and fresh, the wonderful rush of achievement when you do that newly-learned back-spot turn in the cha-cha and it works."

Q: And I have to admit, the title of your other book certainly grabs one's attention. Would you care to address that?

"Ah, since you did ask about my first book, 'Quality Sex: The Sensuous Side of Process Improvement,'" responded the member of the American Society for Quality who is a certified quality technician and a certified quality improvement associate.

Causey believes that quality is an important concept in business, organizational, even personal lives.

"But have you ever read a book about total quality management?" he asked.

"B-o-r-i-n-g!

"So I decided to do something to make the subject - admittedly a dry and tedious one, no matter how important - more accessible and fun for the lay-person to read.

"There's really less 'sex' in the book than you'll encounter on prime time television. I simply use sex, or more to the point perhaps, relationships as the examples to illustrate the standard quality tools and concepts.

The book includes subjects like brainstorming, decision making, flow charts, run charts, affinity diagrams, scatter diagrams.

Arlene Mannlein can be reached at amannlein@herald-review.com or at 421-6976.

About the book

TITLE: "Dancing With Natasha" by Gregory Causey with Natasha Yushanov

TYPE: paperback, 236 pages

ISBN: 978-1-934446-00-3; 1934446009

PUBLISHER: Romance Divine, Springboro, Ohio

LIST PRICE: $16

AVAILABLE: Autographed copies available from www.romancedivine.com; amazon.com; barnesandnoble.com; booksamillion.com.

NOTABLE: Causey is also the author of "Quality Sex: The Sensuous Side of Process Improvement," ISBN 1-4137-6745-1, available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and booksamillion.com with an autographed copy available from www.insaneworkshops.com, Causey's Web site.

He is also working on a third book which he described as a fiction/action/adventure thriller set in Germany called "Hitler's Will."