about LaurieAnn , dancing with physical challenges , music for dance , rhythm
A dancing interpreter for the deaf is winning hearts across the internet with his heartfelt signing of musicians. It’s a great example of how to interpret music for those who can’t hear it. He is so fun to watch because he dances as he signs, his body movements feeling the music as his hands interpret […]
Continue readingdancing animals , dancing for joy , rhythm
[embedplusvideo height=”390″ width=”640″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/2f5qIEn” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/RKcks_4uLmA?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=RKcks_4uLmA&width=640&height=390&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep3328″ /] I’ve written on this subject before, the answer being that some animals really do dance in response to music (birds) and others are simply trained to go through the motions (dogs). Whenever I see a new example of musical intelligence in an animal, I’m inspired to […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , dancing for joy , Learning dance , rhythm , teaching dance
I recently saw a video that gave me another insight into why I so love teaching dance. It was a science experiment in which altruism was proven to be a natural instinct not only in humans but also in chimpanzees. You can check it out here: [embedplusvideo height=”390″ width=”640″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1831wKw” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/aS-QLB8ELyk?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=aS-QLB8ELyk&width=640&height=390&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep7421″ /] […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , Connecting Socially , leading and following , Learning dance , rhythm , social dancing , teaching dance
I’m not going to talk about specific students in this post, but rather the kind of people I most like to work with, and why. In other words, as marketing people like to say, my target market. I like to work with people who think they can’t learn to dance. This isn’t everyone, of course. […]
Continue readingDance History , dance videos , music for dance , rhythm , tap dance
Music and dance go hand in hand, but sometimes the dance IS the music, or at least part of it. The most obvious example of this is tap dance, where the dance creates the percussion. Tap is the perfect blend of music and dance because the dance is part of the music. Watch how […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , Brazilian Samba , dancing for joy , inspirational dancing , Learning dance , performance dance , rhythm , teaching dance
My last two posts were about two amazing dance teachers who are influencing me now. More than one person has asked me, since I’ve been teaching for more than three decades, am I still taking lessons. There are so many aspects to that question that I thought I’d address some of them here. Dance […]
Continue readinginspirational dancing , Learning dance , music for dance , performance dance , rhythm , teaching dance
Last week I wrote about my Samba teacher Jacqui Barnes. Today I’ll introduce you to my latin rhythms teacher, Yismari Ramos. Like Jacqui, Yismari is passionate about the music of her culture (Cuban) and the the way the dance feels. Her classes consist of complicated choreography that incompasses the various rhythms of Cuban dance. […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , Brazilian Samba , dancing for joy , dancing in the streets , inspirational dancing , Learning dance , Miscellaneous , music for dance , performance dance , rhythm , teaching dance
Dance teachers in my present I wrote a post a while ago about dance teachers in my past who influenced me. I’d like to write now about teachers who are influencing me now. Yes, dance teachers do still study. It never ends! Brazilian Samba I am lucky enough to be able to study Brazilian […]
Continue readingThank Rocky Jones for this delightful cartoon. And I also thank my friend and fellow dancer Shala Marie for bringing it to my attention. This is the best explanation of clapping on the 2 and 4 I’ve ever seen. The info about the snare drum was news to me. Dancers for the most part […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , Connecting Socially , Learning dance , music for dance , rhythm , teaching dance
I teach a lot of first dance lessons for weddings. Usually my students have a song picked out or they have several they are considering. Often they’ll say something like this to me: “I don’t know if this will work. It’s kind of fast.” “The music changes part way through. It’s slow at the […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , Dance History , dance videos , music for dance , rhythm , social dancing
I’ve written previous posts on White Man’s Clapping Syndrome, but even if you can clap to the beat, do you know on which beat to clap? Jazz dancers clap on the upbeat I’ve heard it said that black people clap on the upbeat and white people clap on the downbeat. Or that jazz dancers of […]
Continue readingLearning dance , music for dance , rhythm
Can’t find the beat? I’ve written before about people who can’t find the beat to dance to, and I’ve given my best guesses as to the cause. But today I heard about a new study of a rare neurological disorder that actually causes White Man’s Clapping Syndrome. The disorder was discovered so recently that it’s […]
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