Connecting Socially , Dance History , dance videos , inspirational dancing , Lindy Hop , performance dance , same sex dancing , social dancing
I’ve often heard it said that in their dance routines Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did except she did it backwards and in heels. It’s a popular comment, except of course she didn’t lead and she didn’t choreograph the dance. She did, however, dance in heels and had the bleeding feet to […]
Continue readingdancing in the streets , Lindy Hop , Outdoor Dancing , social dancing
Out Door Dancing Around the World For the past 16 years I’ve been spending my Sundays dancing Lindy Hop in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Ours was the first regular outdoor Lindy event , and over the years many other versions have popped up in other parts of the county and around the world. […]
Continue readingConnecting Socially , social dancing
I heard this statement and I realized that in my experience it’s true. For 8 years I spent 4 weeks every summer at an international dance camp in Sweden with dancers from over 50 different countries. All we had in common was our love of dance. Most of the other students spoke enough […]
Continue readingConnecting Socially , Dance History , dance videos , fusion , Lindy Hop , Miscellaneous , music for dance , social dancing
Of all the fusion dances, Bal/Lindy is probably the most natural. Almost everyone who knows both dances has done them together on occasion if not regularly. Pure balboa is done in a close hold that never breaks, but almost everyone does Bal-swing and calls it Balboa. This isn’t fusion, but rather a street dance that […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , dance videos , dancing with physical challenges , inspirational dancing , leading and following , performance dance , social dancing , teaching dance , west coast swing
When my dance students are learning the skill of following, I often suggest they close their eyes. Closing your eyes takes away a lot of the urge to back lead, and it brings forward the senses you use to feel the lead. Even when social dancing, I often close my eyes because it’s relaxing and […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , Connecting Socially , Dance History , dance videos , leading and following , Lindy Hop , same sex dancing , social dancing , teaching dance
Switching the Lead and Follow in Partner Dance When both partners know how to lead as well as follow, dancers can switch roles during a dance. This is truly the ideal solution for people who are worried about sexism in the roles of lead and follow, but not everyone wants to learn both parts. Yes, […]
Continue readingdancing in the golden years , social dancing
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City recently completed a 21 year study of seniors, to measure the effects of various activities on brain activity. It was funded by the National Institute on Aging, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. They studied a lot of different physical activities […]
Continue readingabout LaurieAnn , Connecting Socially , leading and following , same sex dancing , teaching dance
A New Year’s Eve dance included a brief dance lesson for people who didn’t know how to do a basic waltz step. The instructor kept making a big deal about how the men should be leading even though he gave no instruction in how to lead, or follow for that matter. “Who’s the boss on […]
Continue readingConnecting Socially , Dance History , dance videos , leading and following , Lindy Hop , performance dance , social dancing , tap dance
In my last post about fusion dance I wrote about hip hop and swing. A friend of mine just posted a video of a fusion between Swing and Tap, so I wanted to comment on that as well as on the Swango phenomenon that I’ll address in another post. Lindy Hop has its roots in […]
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 […]
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