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jolenemac7
Songs that Get You Dancing
Published February 8, 2012 | 
Have you ever noticed that certain songs just make you want to dance around or even wiggle some part of your body? You can’t seem to sit still and whether you are in your car or sitting at your desk at work you just have to move some part of your body. I am the same with with certain songs. One of those is the Maroon 5′s hit – Moves Like Jagger featuring Christina Aguilera. Every single time that song comes on the radio I have to at least move the top part of my body while I’m driving and sing along. I finally had to go online and order that song. That would be a great song to work-out to at the gym or keep you bouncing along while walking. I don’t really recommend the shaking all over thing while drive though.
We all like to tap our feet to our favorite songs and if you don’t like to dance in front of anyone that is fine but there shouldn’t be anything stopping you from dancing in your living room, family room or even your own bedroom. All you have to do is buy some songs that get your body moving, if you don’t already have them, put them on a playlist on your MP3 player or burn them to a CD and get going. It really doesn’t matter what steps or moves you start out with only that you do it. Cheers and Have fun dancing!
Summer Dance Programs
Published May 8, 2011 | If you are looking for a program for your kids to learn about dancing this summer you should check out the local dance studios. Each of the studios have a variety of different dance classes for the kids this year including ballet, tap and much more. You have to do a little research to find one that suits your schedule and budget but giving the gift of dance to your kids is a great way to get them out of the house and learning new and fun ways to get exercise, interact with a different set of kids, learn a new skill and just to have fun!
Here you will find links to the North Florida Dance Studios that lists summer programs on them. You should always check out companies and teachers that are going to be teaching our children. There is a wide variety of programs throughout our area and different price ranges.
http://academyofdancejax.com/summerclasses11.htm
http://artofdancejax.com/Summer_Schedule.html
http://balletartscentre.com/schedules.php
http://dansationsjax.com/Enrollment.html
http://www.destinydancecenter.com/#!summer
http://fascinatinrhythm.com/schedule/schedule.htm
http://jacksonvilleballettheatre.com/summerclasses.html
http://eastcoastballet.org/www.eastcoastballet.org/Summer.html
http://holliesdancindream.net/
http://nancydancestudio.com/NancyDanceStudio/Summer_Camp.html
http://www.o2bkids.com/Summer-Camp.aspx
http://studio1014.net/1014_summer_dance_camp.html
http://switzerlanddanceschool.com/index.php?option=com_docman&Itemid=94
Dancing Will Keep You Young
Published April 10, 2010 | We were cruising the website for this month’s post and we came across several articles about how dancing is beneficial for older individuals as well. Dancing may be able to keep feeling young and possibly staving off early onset dementia. If the New England Journal of Medicine believes it then maybe we should get an early start and learn how to dance. This quote from the Senior Advocate News website confirms it: “Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City studied 469 people over age 75 and found that ballroom dancing was associated with a lowered risk of dementia. The mentally challenging aspects of dancing — following complex dance steps, moving in time and staying with the rhythm of music — is believed to be responsible. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.”
Granted some of us are not up to the more intricate steps involved in most of the ballroom dances but starting today and trying something new each week is a great way to start. You don’t need a partner right away. I mean Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly danced with chairs, broomsticks, coats and whatever else that came in handy. So, GET OUT THERE AND DANCE TO THE MUSIC!
Bookstore Offerings
Published February 16, 2010 | If you haven’t had a chance to look over the learning materials offered in the bookstore you should give them a try. We have bookmarked books and videos about dancing, learning different dances and much more. We all have our reasons for wanting to learn to dance and buying some materials to have on-hand will get your started in the learning process. Click on the page above or click here: http://allaboutdancing.info/wordpress/dancing-bookstore/.
As I was cruising along the internet I thought I would find other sources of information on the web about dancing. Here are a few that I came across that I thought you might want to look at:
http://www.learntodance.com/
http://www.learning2dance.com/
http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/video_store.htm
These are a few of the interesting ones I found in the google search engine. The each offer some good information, some free stuff and some stuff that you need to buy. But as we are just getting started with this dancing blog and it is just for beginners some of the above sites are sponsored by professional dance studios. Use their information and enjoy the free stuff. And of course, we do appreciate any purchases that you would make from our bookstore.
Dancing is for everyone!
Line Dancing
Published December 22, 2009 | Line Dancing to me is all about FUN! Your out with your friends and the music starts and you jump up to a place in the line and you begin to move to the beat and the steps of the other people in the line. It is also great exercise as you move back and forth, stomping, clapping and shaking your bootie. The formal definition of Line Dancing can be found, of course, on wiki: Although line dancing is associated with country-western music and dance, it has a similarities to folk dancing. Many folk dances are danced in unison in a single, nonlinear “line”, and often with a connection between dancers. The absence of a physical connection between dancers is, however, a distinguishing feature of country western line dance. Line dances have accompanied many popular music styles since the early 1970s including pop, swing, rock and roll, disco, latin (Salsa Suelta), and Jazz.
Popular Line Dances:
The Time Warp, Poco-Poco ,Electric Slide, Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart), Cha Cha Slide, The Hustle, Cupid Shuffle, Boot Scootin’ Boogie, Achy Breaky Heart, Alley Cat, Macarena, Chicken Dance, Cotton Eye Joe, Soulja Boy, Copperhead Road, Catfish, Charleston, Tennessee Twister, Pensacola Slide, Power Jam, Blue Boy, Cripple Creek, Jose Cuervo ’97, Booty Call, Mustang Sally, Wild Wild West, Cruisin’, Tulsa Shuffle, Cleveland Shuffle, Play Something Country, Good Time (as seen on the Alan Jackson video for the song Good Time), Hoedown Throwdown.
Some of the ones that I love to watch besides the Boot-Scoot-Boogie is Michael Jackson’s Thriller. You just have to watch the video to enjoy it as well as participate in it.
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Here is one of my favorite songs “Achy Breaky Heart” and the country line dancing troup!
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If you want to See something that really looks like fun to participate in check out Alan Jackson’s Good Time Video:
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Ballroom Dancing
Published November 20, 2009 | Ballroom dancing to me is one of the most elegant of the couples dance styles. Besides the different ballroom dance styles such as the Fox Trot, Waltz, Tango, Viennese and Quickstep.
Others dances sometimes placed under the umbrella “ballroom dance” include Nightclub Dances such as Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, Nightclub Two Step, Hustle, Salsa, and Merengue. The categorization of dances as “ballroom dances” has always been fluid, with new dances or folk dances being added to/removed from to the ballroom repertoire from time to time, so no list of subcategories or dances is any more than a description of current practices. There are other dances historically accepted as ballroom dances, and are revived via the Vintage dance movement.
But to me the main thing about Ballroom Dancing is the clothes. The formal dress and style is very beautiful and lends to the dances a very vintage air of civility. I don’t watch “Dancing With the Stars” but I do love to watch the movie with Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez, “SHALL WE DANCE”. Just watch the video below to see the elegant costumes, moves and style of the dancers.
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Posted in Partner Dancing, Types of Dance | 
Ballroom Dancing, Shall We Dance, The Waltz | 
Leave a commentFolk Dancing
Published September 12, 2009 | Do you remember in Middle School in the Gym with all the girls grouped together to learn how to do social dancing? I always believed it was because the weather was crappy outside and that was on the list of things we were to learn that semester. Kind of like Health one semester, team sports another. There we were all grouped out in 5 or 6 girls to a circle and were told we had to learn how to “Swing Your Partner” or the Virginia Reel. I can’t remember exactly what all we had to do but mostly it was embarrassing. When I think back on it, it is still embarrassing but I would hope that today’s teenagers are still getting to do them. Square Dancing is great exercise even if the music is kind of corny and the moves are as well. Dancing teaches us coordination and cooperation as well as a little bit about our culture.
“Folk dance is a form of dance developed by a group of people that reflects the traditional life of the people of a certain country or region. Folk dancing originated in the 18th century to distinguish dance forms of common people from those of the upper classes. The steps of folk dances are passed through generations, rarely being changed. Folk dancing is usually associated with social activities, although some folk dances are performed competitively.
Many children’s games are traditional folk dances, such as “The Farmer in the Dell” and “London Bridge.” Today, popular folk dances include square dancing, clogging, contra dancing, highland dancing and Irish jigs.”
So if your teenager comes home complaining about the dumb square dancing he or she had to do in GYM that day call up the school and tell them THANK YOU! It may seem kind of silly but it is a great way to get kids to interact together in a positive way as well as learn a little something about our culture.
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Posted in Group Dancing | Folk Dancing, Middle School Dancing, Square Dancing, Virgnia Reel | Leave a commentTypes of Dance
Published August 18, 2009 | There are over 460 different types of dances listed in wiki at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dances
The list is probably not complete so if you see that the dance that you do in your area is not listed participate with wiki and add it to the list!
As I was looking over the listing I didn’t recognize half of them. But I know that dance types can also be categorized in styles as well. For the purposes of this blog we will say that Types are the names of each one of the dances where as Styles is the grouping of those types.
Ballet: Ballet is a formalized type of performance dance, which originated in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century French courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form. Classical ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles; it adheres to traditional ballet technique. There are variations relating to area of origin, such as Russian ballet, French ballet, and Italian ballet.Neoclassical ballet is a ballet style that uses traditional ballet vocabulary but is less rigid than the classical ballet. For example, dancers often dance at more extreme tempos and perform more technical feats. Contemporary ballet is a form of dance influenced by both classical ballet and modern dance. It takes its technique and use of pointe work from classical ballet, although it permits a greater range of movement that may not adhere to the strict body lines set forth by schools of ballet technique.
Ballroom dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Its performance and entertainment aspects are also widely enjoyed on stage, in film, and on television. Under the umbrella “ballroom dance” include Nightclub Dances such as Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, Nightclub Two Step, Hustle, Salsa, and Merengue.
Belly Dancing: Belly dance is a Western term for traditional Arab dance styles, especially raqs sharqi. It is sometimes called “Middle Eastern Dance” or “Arabic Dance” in the United States, or by the Turkish term çiftetelli. Belly dance is a misnomer as all parts of the body are involved in the dance, the most featured body part in raqs sharqi being the hips. Different regions have different styles including Egyptian Belly Dance; Turkish Belly Dance; American Belly Dance; Australian Belly Dance; Canadian Belly Dance and Belly Dance in the UK.
Folk: The term “folk dance” is sometimes applied to certain dances of historical importance in European culture and history; typically originated before 20th century. For other cultures the terms “ethnic dance” or “traditional dance” are sometimes used, although the latter terms may encompass ceremonial dances. Types of folk dance include clogging, English country dance, international folk dance, Irish dance, Maypole dance, Morris dance, Nordic polska dance, Ball de bastons, square dance, and sword dance.
LATIN: Latin dance includes a wide range of dances originating in Latin America and Cuba. Examples include the Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, Samba, Salsa, Mambo, danza, Merengue, Tumba, Bachata, Cumbia, and Bolero
Street: Street dance is also commonly used to identify the many hip-hop and funk dance styles that began appearing in the United States in the 1970s and are still alive and evolving within hip-hop culture today. These styles include breaking, popping, locking.
There are more styles and each styles has it own set of rules and of course, costumes! We will be addresses each style and providing videos for each. Check back often.
Cheers!
jolenemac7
webmistress
What is Dance
Published July 15, 2009 | “Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music,used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting.”
To me, dance is moving your body to the music. But there are many different types of meanings for the word dance. It is a verb as in “to dance about” and it is a noun as in “we’re going to the dance”. It is a form of exercise as well as a way to socialize. We learn how to dance when we are little and some of us go on to be professional dancers. And sadly, some of us refuse to dance after Middle School because we were too embarassed about our abilities. HOWEVER, if anything we hope to encourage everyone to dance.
I like to dance in my living room to whatever music is going on with my grandchildren, my children are too embarrassed to watch me now, but my grandkids thinks its fun. Of course, when driving down the road listening to my favorite tunes I’m doing a little jig with my hands and feet. Dancing is a right of passage and does not require any formal training just the ability to sense the rhythm in the music and moving your arms, legs and body to the beat!
Have fun and dance a little everyday!
New site Updates
Published June 9, 2009 | As we begin our journey on learning how to Dance I have added a bookstore. I am by nature a book learning however I am trying to learn by doing. To cut down on the embarrassment I am looking for some videos I can plug into my DVD player or videos to download on my computer. So, I found this amazon bookstore to create and hope to be able to buy instructional books or videos as I can. I hope you will find these useful as well. Buying them from our bookstore will give us a little bit of change to keep the blog going.
If you have some free resources for us to post then please feel free to post a comment or sign the guestbook if you don’t want to become a member. Becoming a member does have an advantage of getting a update on the site in your email. The feedburner feed works right now so you can sign up for them as well or instead of.
We look forward to you joining in on our conversations or becoming a contributor. If you would like to lead your own lessons then become a subscriber and email me your user id with a request to change your sign-on to contributor at: jolene.macfadden@allaboutdancing.info
Cheers
jolenemac7
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