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s there really any such Ilhing as a free lunch? 1 wouldn‘t normally think so â€" especially on the Interâ€" net. I‘m always cautioning people not to fall for eâ€"mail scams or believe everything they read on a Web site. It seems like evervone wants a piece of your pocket book on the net. But recently 1 came across a Website that doesn‘t want your money. It actually promotes giving things away â€" with no strings attached. Started in Austin. Tex. last year as a way to proâ€" mote waste reduction, Freecycle has grown to have groups in over 1,000 cities across the globe. The dance hall now sits in the former CIBC building located at 139 Union St., in Waterloo. Black said she had been looking for the past five years to relocate, and this spot was the most conveâ€" nient. "The location here is perâ€" fect with the parking. It‘s not that we had issues in Kitchâ€" ener," she said. "We had a beautiful studio in downâ€" town Kitchener, but a lot of people don‘t want to go downtown." Cora Black‘s voice resâ€" onated across the dance floor of Moree School of Dance on Saturday morning as a group of young girls practiced their jazz dance moves. "You‘ll have to stretch your legs girls," Black instructs, as she joins in the dance. Black‘s dance school is the newest in Waterloo, after a recent move from its preâ€" vious Queen Street, Kitchâ€" ener, location of 25 years. 66 ere we go girls, Hagain,from the top please, lift from your hips and your tummies." Moree School of Dance makes graceful move into new Waterloo surroundings The main Web site is By Tim Mureiy For The Chronicle www.freecycle.org, which serves as a base for finding a group of "Freecyclers" in your area {including 111 Canadian groups at the time of writing. and one in Camâ€" bridge). It should be noted that this is not an auction or trading site, and it is not a form of barter. Members of the group list what they have available that they would like to give away. No money changes hands. No favours are asked. To save the cost of hosting a Web site, Freecycle promotes moderators to start new local groups facilitated hy "Yahoo! Groups" (a free serâ€" vice} employed to handle the messaging between Black has danced since she was three years old, when she was put in lessons by her mother. _ Those lessons many years ago inspired a love of The newly renovated 4,400 squareâ€"foot building, which opened its doors Oct. 3, holds dressing rooms for the dancers, a lunch room, three dance rooms and an office, which sits in the vault of the old bank. $ No free lunch on the Internet? BUSINESS OVER 20 TAURUS®‘ TO CHOOSE FROM YW; group members. It seems like a good idea to me. I‘ve tried my hand at eBay and have had only a little success. Each time I‘ve Black decided to open her own dance studio in Kitchener, in partnership with her sister, Eva Domâ€" browsky, who had also recently completed her uniâ€" versity education. dance, which carried on throughout high school and into university, as she now holds a BSc in dance and kinesiology from the Uniâ€" versity of Waterloo. "We decided to take the CHRONICLE . amaa The concept of Freecycle seems to pretty simple. The FAQ lists a few basic tenets such as keeping all items free and keeping politics and SPAM out of the discusâ€" sion list. It took me a bit of time to think of an item I would want to list on such a group. The geek in me has accumulated some computâ€" er hardware that I wouldn‘t posted an item for sale, I‘ve had to pay a listing fee and was offered a myriad of other options for additional fees available to increase my potential for a sale. It‘s hard to gauge what people are willing to buy online, but it‘s pretty easy to guess what they might be willing to come and get if it were free. "At that time it wasn‘t that difficult, but now is a different story," she said. "Now there are 13 or 14 schools in this local area, so it‘s a different scenario." plunge, and it was a little scary at that time," Black At 22, and with no busiâ€" ness knowledge, Black was competing against three other dance schools in the region. | 1999 FORD TAURUS SE power h iz 6 .i group â€" m@ 4 m moonroof s7, 95 tax give to my father for fear that he would immediately complain that it was too slow, but the more I thought about it, the more 1 realized that there might be someâ€" one out there that could make some use out of it, perhaps just for parts or maybe to replace a failed system of similar specificaâ€" tions. What 1 might be able to sell at a garage sale for $20 could just as easily be listed on a Freecycle group and have it out of my house, making my wife a bit happiâ€" er not to mention the recipiâ€" ent. With a bit of thought. even charitable and nonâ€" profit organizations could benefit from the grassroots And with that attitude, Moree School of Dance has grown from its humble roots to a new location with six "There was a lot of presâ€" sure to get involved in comâ€" petition because students wanted it and parents wantâ€" ed it," she said. Black said comradery and team building are just some of the benefits to dance competition. "We really try to promote a family atmosphere at our school," she said "Even though competition can be somewhat cutâ€"throat, we try to promote that students are always supportive of each other." "A lot of students in the dance world end up quitting when they‘re 15 or 16 because there isn‘t anything for them to follow anyâ€" more." She said in the past 15 years, competition has become more important amongst dancers. She said the technique building is designed to allow students to dance for any teacher, not just at her stuâ€" dio, so they can pursue a profession in dance. Black said what sets her apart from the other studios is a focus on strong techâ€" niques and ballet. concepts encouraged by the site. Perhaps items obtained though a Freecycle list could be used directly by the orgaâ€" nization or be recycled or rebuilt for a later sale. If you volunteer and know that your local chapter/group needs a new couch or a pair of skates, you could watch the list for such an item or post a "WANTED" message. If your organization has been given an item they cannot use, maybe someâ€" one else could make use of it. Now that I‘ve extolled the virtues of a giftâ€"giving cul ture, I want to be sure that I‘m not leading people and Sherri Schmidt, 18, of Kitchener, has been training at the dance hall for the past six years, in lyrical, jazz, modern ballet, musical theâ€" atre, and she also teaches Acro. Two of Black‘s longtime students are currently dancâ€" ing under the instruction of Michelle. Black said she enjoys watching the children grow up as they pass through her school, to the time they graduate and pursue a career in dance. "The nicest thing for me is coming to the point of celâ€" ebrating 25 years and havâ€" ing my older students come back and wanting to particiâ€" pate," she said. __"You watch them grow and develop, and that is just an amazing thing." Her daughter, Michelle, is currently studying for her degree in dance at Ryerson University. She is also in the room next door, instructing a group of the older dancers ranging in age from 15 to 18 in a fast jazz piece. teaching staff, volunteers, assistants, and nearly 80 classes per week with more than 170 students enrolled. Acro is a combination of Continued on page 19 Continued on page 19