National Geographic Article

In July 2006, National Geographic did an article on dance titled Shall we Dance? It's a quick read, I think four paragraphs, but most of us pick up National Geographic for the pictures anyway. Take a look. It's inspirational to see other people dancing their way through life. Makes me glad that Kelly and I started our trip around the dance floor and ready to strike up the band again.

The Adagio

In our quest for vintage dance moves I found this video. Yeah, it's slowed way down, but still very wow.

Belated Happy Valentine's Day

I'm way behind in my writing. That's my way of saying sorry for being MIA from the blog. It's a good thing I've got Kelly to take up the slack or people would figure I'd dropped off the face of the planet! So, that said, I'd planned on writing something for Valentine's Day. I mean it's a dance holiday what with all the romance and making googly eyes at one another. With dance being the social lubricant and introducer of couples it is, there's no better excuse to pen a few words on the subject of getting out on the floor with your significant-whatever! Unfortunately, work (the woe that it is) has been preoccupying me of late and I let the day slip by without writing anything (mind you I didn't forget it, that would just be foolishness!).

Anyway, here is something I found on Shorpy. A creepy little cupid roundup.

Clave and Surf

Nope, not a new seafood dish. :-) Gary and I finally found something to dance the clave to that we both really love...surf music! We've been having some trouble with this dance...we know the clave pretty good, but not good enough to dance it to the rocket fast salsa songs played at Latin clubs. And besides, we like to dance the clave to a more romantic, dreamy Latin sound...which we found in surf music.

You might be thinking surf? And Latin dances? Really? It does seem weird at first. But I've always heard a whiff of the Latin in surf tunes; even the Beach Boys have it if you listen closely. Then I discovered the king of surf, Dick Dale, had an Uncle who introduced him to Latin and middle eastern music.

So there you are. Latin infuences. Even in the Beach Boys. However, although I do love the Boys (you can't be sad listening to their music), I prefer my surf with a bit more of that exotic flavor. There are many good surf bands out there, my favorite one is the Aqua Velvets. The clave (along with the rumba and tango and I'm sure many others) fit this music perfectly.

Listen to the video below. You can almost hear the palms swaying on some distant shore. I imagine myself dancing with Gary in a Moroccan nightclub at the edge of the sea bathed in moonlight...

Valentine’s Day

Gary and I attended two dances over the weekend, the Brickyard Boogies and the Continental's weekly Sunday dance. Of the two, the Continentals put on the one specifically labeled as a Valentine’s Day dance, although many people were dressed in red on Saturday, too.

There’s something very sweet about seeing most folks in red for this holiday, and dancing to valentine-inspired music just makes you want to stare into your partner’s eyes even more, sigh. We had a wonderful time. The Continentals can be counted on for giving a dance for every holiday, which we like. It’s fun to dress for the occasion; it's special and old-fashioned.

Here’s a picture of people doing a Greek number at the Continetal dance. It’s not exactly valentine-ish, but the flaming outfits are.



Have a happy, happy day.

Raleigh Community Dance Club

We're in the news! The Knightstown Banner did a story on the Raleigh Community Dance Club. They interviewed us, filmed us dancing, and took some pics (we are in the little one the left and in the middle in the bigger one). The video is below, a couple of photos, as well as the link to the paper. Wow!

http://www.thebanneronline.com/

Triple Two and Foxtrot, Too

I was thinking of Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too for this post. :-)

Gary and I have been moving along nicely with our 1920’s foxtrot. It's very adaptable. You can use many timing combination for the basic step...the ballroom slow slow quick quick, or slow slow quick quick quick, or slow quick quick, anything you would like that fits the music. In 1920’s foxtrot there is no side step in the basic, which sounds easier but we’ve found it harder, because you don’t have that “square up” step at the end.

So anyway, we’ve been going along when I realized that the slow slow quick quick timing is exactly the same as the Texas two step. We’ve always known these two dances looked very similar, and now that we are playing around with foxtrot the same way we play around with other dances, it’s been fun to put Texas moves in the foxtrot, and vice versa. Who knew we were getting two dances for the price of one when we switched to 1920’s foxtrot?

In my quest to find Texas two step moves on You Tube I discovered a variety called triple two step. The basic is exactly like triple EC swing only it moves…triple step, triple step, one two. Here’s a video of it. We both think it’s fun and really beautiful, and will further spice up that foxtrot. Yee HA!