Connecting Socially , dance videos , fusion , leading and following , social dancing , west coast swing
In my first article about fusion dance I wrote about hip hop and swing. In the second, I wrote about Lindy and Tap. This one is about Tango and Swing. Unlike Tap and Hip Hop, which can be used to embellish or change the style of Swing, Swango is literally a combination on […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , dance videos , dancing with physical challenges , inspirational dancing , leading and following , performance dance
As many of you know, I have had the pleasure of teaching people with various disabilities to dance, having come to dance from a martial arts background where I taught self defense to people with disabilities. I’ve never taught dance to anyone in a wheelchair, but it’s a fascinating challenge. Just like anyone else, a […]
Continue readingdance videos , inspirational dancing , leading and following , performance dance , social dancing
Well, if it’s a good dancer we’re talking about, almost everyone. For many people the obvious answer is well, duh, what does weight have to do with dance skill? But for a lot of people there is a huge prejudice against even a few extra pounds on a dancer. Even today where fat people are hardly […]
Continue readingleading and following , social dancing
I know a dance teacher who feels strongly that the whole concept of leading and following is sexist. She is trying to teach Lindy Hop as an equal partnership where no one is in charge of the dance. It’s an interesting subject, and I have very strong feelings on the subject as well. It is […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , Connecting Socially
There are many strategies a shy person can use to help start a conversation. On my way home from the farmers market with my new pitcher plant in tow, no less than 5 people stopped to comment on it. One possibility is definitely walking around with a strange plant. My friend Juan is a snake […]
Continue readingConnecting Socially , Dance History , dance videos , leading and following , music for dance , teaching dance
Blues dancing has been around for decades in one form or another. It’s one of my favorite dances because it is so open to interpretation that it can look drastically different from one dancer to another. As long as the character of the dance remains intimate and, well, bluesy, you can trade on pretty much […]
Continue readingI’ve mentioned before that one of the most challenging things about being a leader on the dance floor is remembering your repertoire. Unless you have a photographic memory, you probably don’t remember everything you’ve learned as you add more and more new steps. Advanced dancers tend to retire some of their moves to make room […]
Continue readingConnecting Socially , leading and following , same sex dancing
Leading and following are very different skills and most people are either natural leaders or natural followers. Not unlike the rest of life, you have about a 50/50 chance of falling into the category society has assigned to your gender. If you’re heterosexual, you won’t have much opportunity to dance if you choose the non-traditional […]
Continue readingConnecting Socially , leading and following , teaching dance
Back leading is a term for the habit of some follows to lead themselves through dance moves the leader has nothing to do with. If the leader has any skill, this is the kind of behavior that causes him to mark that follower off his list for future dances, or hire a dance teacher for […]
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