The London Lindy Exchange

Dance Today - London Lindy Exchange Jul12

Dance Today – London Lindy Exchange Jul12

May started a bit cold, but the lindy hop crowd had a great way to warm up for the summer on the bank holiday weekend. On May 4–7, the London Lindy Exchange (LLX) took place, with over 400 people getting together for four days of dancing and socialising in great venues around London.

Follow this link to see the PDF: Dance Today London Lindy Jul12

The Art Of Teasing

The art of teasing - Dance Today - By Geny Caloisi

The art of teasing - Dance Today - By Geny Caloisi

Burlesque is currently undergoing a huge revival with clubs all over the country hosting dedicated nights. Geny Caloisi took a closer look at the trend and discovered a new way of gaining confidence and having a little “boudoir fun.”

burlesque_jun10

Shoes, glorious shoes

DanceToday - Shoes, glorious shoes May10

DanceToday – Shoes, glorious shoes May10

A new scientific study from the US reports that running barefoot causes less collision force to the feet than running in cushioned shoes. Shoe-lover Geny Caloisi explores whether the report has any relevance for dancers and their footwear.

Follow this link to see the PDF: DanceToday Shoes May10 page 1 page 2

Get fit to the beat

From zumba to disco, “dancercise” is the new fashionable way to get fit. Geny Caloisi went to try out some classes.

DanceToday - Get fit to the beat April10

DanceToday – Get fit to the beat April10

It all started at my gym, Bannatyne Fitness, when instructor Chris Jobling came up to me in my first step class (halfway through the series of classes) and said: “Hi! It’s great you are here, but I must tell you that this is a highly choreographed routine and we are almost at the end of learning it.” I thought, “I’ll be ok, I’m used to dancing and I’ve done step before.” I was wrong.

Follow this link to see the PDF:  DanceToday Get fit to the beat page1 page 2

A hop, skip and jump away

Dance Today - A hop, skip and a jump away Feb10

Dance Today – A hop, skip and a jump away Feb10

If you enjoy combining your holiday in the sun with some fabulous dancing, then put Buenos Aires in your diary for January 2011 to take part in the Lindy Hop Argentina International Festival (LHAIF). Now in its fourth edition, this year’s LHAIF welcomed over 100 people from Argentina and neighbouring countries – and I had the good fortune to go to this festival for the second consecutive year.

Follow this link to see the PDF: Dance Today LHAIF Feb10

Candombe Tango’s African Flavour

Dance Today - Candombe Tango's African FlavourDec09

Dance Today – Candombe Tango’s African FlavourDec09

A testimony to the African roots of Tango, Candombe’s warm and upbeat rhythm gives an earthy feel to this beautiful dance. It has a drum-based musical style based on Bantu African drumming and first appeared in Uruguay, Montevideo in the 18th century. It was brought to the shores of the Río de la Plata (which translates as River Plate) by Africans who arrived in this Hispanic “New World” as slaves and it’s believed that the Candombe rhythm is the basis for all black dances of the time.

Follow this link to see the PDF: Dance Today Candombe Dec09

Putting Canchengue on the Map

DanceToday - Putting Canchengue on the map Oct09

DanceToday – Putting Canchengue on the map Oct09

Geny Caloisi explains why canchengue is the essence of the tango now declared by UNESCO as part of the world’s cultural heritage.

UNESCO has declared tango music and dance “part of the world’s cultural heritage”. But there is, perhaps, a secret part of tango that has not been acknowledged. Argentines know that there are different types of tango. Show tango has bigger moves, more kicking and a less predictable use of the floor than you’d expect for exhibitions, salon tango has the subtlety of moves and consideration you’d expect when many people are on the dance floor at the same time and then there’s canchengue – a type of tango it’s quite difficult to appreciate without a bit of a background in Argentine history and culture.

Follow this link to see the PDF: DanceToday Canchengue Oct09