When do we stop considering ourselves to be dancers?

I recently participated in the Eat, Taste and Dance - What Fun! event at Orrs Bailey Yacht Club.  The occasion called for ethnic food, wine and dance.  The cultures of choice were Greek, Italian and Jewish.

I had the opportunity to chat with several club members, and was especially inspired by a lady named Helen.  Having spent thirty years as a school teacher, she is now a reading teacher in Sanford.  She asked, when do we stop thinking of ourselves as writers?  You ask a room of adults who considers themselves to be a reader, and nearly everyone raises their hands.  When you replace reader with writer, unless there is an author in the room, no one raises a hand.  As children, we are storytellers, writers and authors.  At what point does this change?

That got me to thinking, the same question can be applied to dance?  Since the beginning of recordable history, dance has been an important part of culture, celebration and worship.  If you watch a young child when music comes on, they move with reckless abandon.

As adults, when do people develop that fear of dancing?  Dancing is believed to be therapeutic; cleansing of the soul and mind.  It burns calories.  It brings you closer to your partner.  With all these good properties with dance, why do adults not consider themselves to be dancers, unless they are innately talented?  You'll notice this is a reoccurring theme with me, that it is never to late to learn to dance.  Even before learning, just have fun and move how the music tells you to move.  We care too much what other people think about us. 

I'm off to go learn some moves from my toddler son.  "See you on the dance floor, Maine!"

To learn more about OBYC, please visit their website at www.obyc.org

Tango - Let's have a Milonga

I had the opportunity this weekend to learn the Argentine Tango with the amazing Alla Lakov and Peter Simoneau.  I feel as human beings, it's important to continue to learn new things in order to grow.  So often, specifically in dance, we get really comfortable doing the same choreography over and over again.  We owe it to ourselves and our students to mix it up style-wise.

The tango is an incredibly romantic and technically challenging partner dance.  It is not considered ballroom, though most ballroom studios will offer lessons and practicas.  While modern tango will have a male and female dancer, the dance first originated in bordellos, and only men danced the tango, no ladies.  Even today at milongas, you will actually see ladies dancing with ladies, and gentlemen dancing with gentlemen.  Unlike most partner dances, which one person is always the leader, and the other always a follower, in Tango people quite often switch it up.  That is pretty amazing!

The embrace is extremely close, as you can see.

What is different about the frame/posture is that unlike other styles of ballroom, where we are pulled back, with tango you are connected by the chest.  The leader will cue through the direction of his (or her!) chest.  This takes a lot of getting used to, as the balance is completely different.

The culture of tango is also pretty interesting.  At tango dances, or milongas, the dance continues around the room counter-clockwise in a circle.  There are many different rules and etiquette, which you will learn more of if you take class with us.

Send an email if you are interested in hearing more about the Argentine Tango.

What is it with sequins?

 I don't even want to think about how many occasions I have left the house with some sort of apparel or accessory adorned with a little sparkle.  It may be trendy these days, however I rocked that before it was cool.  Is it a diva thing?  A dancer thing?  For me, if it doesn't sparkle it's for the library. 

Which brings me to my (well, my fiance's) #DIY success story.  I wanted something to punch up the colors in the bedroom.  I really liked the idea of fabric headboards because it seemed relatively easy and convenient if you decide to change up the scheme, why not?  And of course, it included some tasteful sparkle.

What you'll need:

Wood strappings for frame
Staple gun
Fabric - I used a really amazing shower curtain I found at TJ Maxx in the clearance section
Wood glue
Fasteners/anchors for wall

You'll use the wood strapping to make a frame, then you'll reinforce with two pieces going perpendicular.

Use wood glue as needed, and let sit overnight.

Next, stretch the fabric over the frame, and staple.  Cut any excess fabric, and add wiring and fasteners to the frame and hang.

A close-up of the fabric, sequins and all:

And the big picture:

DanceSport Introduction

Adult Enrichment Students

Well here goes!  Much like new nervous students approaching their first class, I have the same fears about blogging.  It's new, puts me outside of my comfort zone and challenges me.

I was recently asked how a wife/girlfriend/spouse can convince her husband/boyfriend/significant other to take a ballroom class.  Let's face it, not a huge amount of men run are looking to learn Tango.  Back in the day it was a part of New England culture for girls and boys to learn partner dancing.  Today, not so much.  The Gene Kelly's of yesterday are gone, and boys have fewer role models outside of music, entertainment and sports.  That is slowly changing, but for generations growing up in the sixties thru the nineties, we can understand the hesitation.  Part of the solution is changing stereotypes; dance isn't just for ballerinas.

With younger male students, I explain to them how ballroom footwork will help them become better athletes, skateboarders and musicians.  From the very beginning, they have fun learning about the music, about different Latin dance cultures, and how to keep a beat.  The emphasis is not placed on foot placement and frame, though they are learning the techniques anyway. 

With my adults, I try to get a feel for what the do for a living.  An engineer will probably learn differently than an English teacher, though maybe not.  I have learned from observing other teachers where the guys begin to get discouraged during class.  Commonly, it is purely frustration on not being taught in a way they can learn.  Also, I find by allowing class input on what songs to play helps a lot.  Classic rock can pair amazingly with East Coast Swing!  I have found several alternative rock songs that go with the Waltz like you wouldn't believe. 

It comes down to the teacher.  It's really important for students that have trepidations, to find classes where the instructor takes the time to understand the class.  It's as simple (and complex) as that.

If that still doesn't work, I remind the guys that men that can dance and spin or dip a lady are set for life.