#social dance

[honey-bri-books]

Did/does anyone else take ballet or jazz and relate so much to Henry here? Like, I cannot do social dance. CANNOT. I tried some ballet and jazz steps at a school dance in junior high, once. It did not go well, for me.

#dancer probs #henry fox mountchristen windsor #alex claremont diaz #first prince #red white and royal blue #new years eve #new years party #nicholas galitzine #taylor zakhar perez #social dance #parties #introverts unite #ballet class #jazz class #dance #trained dancer at parties

[clove-pinks]

Typical 1840s problems: Your upstairs polka party is raining destruction on parties below.

An illustration by John Leech for The Adventures of Mr. Ledbury and his friend Jack Johnson, by Albert Smith (1844).

#Eighteen-Forties Friday #1840s #illustration #polka #albert smith #john leech #the adventures of mr. ledbury #1844 #victorian #early victorian era #social dancing #social dance

[lucybellwood]

Day 9:

I'm still a dancer even if I haven't been able go to an actual social dance since 2019. Even if I only managed to attend three classes at the start of 2022 before having to drop out. Even if I only dance in my studio before starting work, if I move nothing more than my hands, if it's clumsy or repetitive or rusty. Even if no one can see me.

I am still four years old in a home-made ribbon skirt. Ten in a pair of jazz flats. Sixteen learning my first swing out. Twenty-one stumbling into the Tango House on SE 17th and Morrison. Thirty-three in the kitchen in close embrace with an old friend.

This is still a part of me.

#What she knows #The 100 day project #100 day project #Wise self #Social dance #personal work #oracle deck

[desktopdisko]

Desktop Disko's B-Rotation Top 50 (2024 #03)

Youtube Musicvideo Playlist: DD's B-Rotation Playlist 2024 #03

01 Goat Girl: ride around 02 Social Dance: Sometimes 03 Angus & Julia Stone: Cape Forestier (NEW) 04 Juliet Ivy: We're All Eating Each Other 05 Maya Hawke: Missing Out 06 Lauren Eve Scheff: Nothing to Prove 07 DIIV: Brown Paper Bag 08 Warpaint: Common Blue 09 Sevana: Lowe Mi - 2K24 Re-Release 10 Ibibio Sound Machine: Pull the Rope (NEW)

11 Janelane: Love Letters (NEW) 12 Khruangbin: May Ninth 13 Hurray for the Riff Raff: Hawkmoon 14 Aili: Fashion 15 Grandaddy: Long as I'm Not the One 16 Holly Macve: 1995 17 Saya Gray: AA Bouquet for Your 180 Face 18 Kevin Holliday: I Want You (NEW) 19 Freeze the Fall: Glitch 20 Jade Bird feat. Mura Masa: Burn the Hard Drive

21 Elbow: Lovers' Leap 22 Dahlias: Ella 23 Suki Waterhouse: OMG 24 Jordan Rakei: Freedom (NEW) 25 Kirsten Ludwig: Sunbeam (NEW) 26 Waxahatchee: Bored 27 Norah Jones: Paradise (NEW) 28 Richard Hawley: Two for His Heels 29 The Smile: Friend of a Friend 30 OMD: Kleptocracy

31 Skunk: 2 Wicky 32 lotusbliss: Tear Me Apart 33 The Church: A Strange Past 34 Alycia Lang: Bad Luck 35 Ariana Grande: we can't be friends - wait for your love (NEW) 36 Pearl Jam: Dark Matter 37 The Indien: How Many Nights (NEW) 38 Royel Otis: Foam 39 Keaper: Alone 40 Mooneye: Too Fast

41 Jane Weaver: Romantic Worlds 42 Madison Galloway: Love Like Yours 43 Faye Webster feat. Lil Yachty: Lego Ring 44 Rosegarden Funeral Party: Doorway Ghost 45 The Black Keys: I Forgot to Be Your Lover 46 Samantha Savage Smith: Wholesomely Made 47 The Marías: Run Your Mouth (NEW) 48 iomfro: Sammenbidte Tænder (NEW) 49 Miakie & Ethan Jupe: Want the Goosebumps (NEW) 50 Fan Club: Westbound (NEW)

#pop #indie #goat girl #social dance #angus & julia stone #juliet ivy #maya hawke #lauren eve scheff #diiv #warpaint #sevana #ibibio sound machine #janelane #khruangbin #hurray for the riff raff #aili #grandaddy #holly macve #saya gray #kevin holliday #freeze the fall #jade bird #elbow #dahlias #suki waterhouse #jordan rakei #kirsten ludwig #waxahatchee #norah jones #richard hawley

[nottmlindyhop]

Sun 25 Feb - Swing Dance Practica

Good news! I’ve gone ahead and booked the hall for an end of month práctica on Sunday 25 Feb from 5-7pm. This is for those who’ve attended our classes in Jan and Feb this year. If you’re a brand new dancer, who hasn’t been to our classes yet, please join us for our new level 1 block on Sunday 3 March. It’ll be an all levels facilitated session recapping class material in Jan and Feb and…

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#adult dance classes #authentic jazz #Charleston #Classes #Dance #Dance classes #Dancing #Jazz Roots #Learn to Dance #lindy hop #Lindy Hop classes #Nottingham #Nottingham Lindy Hop #Partnered #practica #practice #Practice Session #Sneinton #Social #Social dance #Social Dancing #solo jazz #Solo Jazz Roots #St Christopher&039;s #Sunday #Swing #Swing Dance #Swing Dancing #Swing Music

[nimuetheseawitch]

Random question but how did you get into social dancing and where did you do it? I've wanted to get into that kind of dancing for so long but I don't know how to find a good venue :(

This is an excellent question, and I hope I can help! Quick disclaimer: all of this is based on my personal experience as someone who has mostly lived in urban areas in the US (I mostly consider myself a blues dancer but have danced a lot of swing and fusion).

I got into social dancing because a friend invited me out swing dancing in high school, and then I joined my college club. It's a really easy way to get into it, but not one available to most people outside of university. But since then, I've moved around plenty and had plenty of time out of the scene, so I've had to research ways to get involved, and there are a few ways to start:

Do an online search for the kind of dance you want in your area (I'll do some brief descriptions of those too) and find a place nearby that has a dance at a time you can make it. Most places give a free half hour lesson beforehand (with the cover charge for the evening), and plenty of experienced dancers join in (they often schedule them between the more advanced classes and the open dance). You don't (usually) need to bring a partner, people are usually very welcoming, and I've found you can learn a lot about what you enjoy from even just one evening. And the free lesson usually includes the hosts telling everyone what the proper etiquette is around asking people to dance (usually it's just go up and ask and respect people's no's). If that dance doesn't work for you, try another one, or a different theme night (if they have them)

Do an online search for lessons. Group lessons are great, and most social dances don't require you to come with a partner. This can be a great way to learn without the social pressures of an open dance. Look for one that emphasizes learning social dance and not a routine, if that's what you're interested in. This is more of a commitment (usually 4 or more sessions) and usually a little pricier than trying put one free lesson and an evening of dance, but it will give a more solid foundation. I recommend lessons attached to a regular social dance or a dance studio as opposed to a university just because the university classes are all over the place on quality and intent.

Go to places that have the kind of music you want to dance to and ask around. I’ve never tried this because I’m terrible at talking to strangers, but I know people who do this.

Not a place to find a venue, but you can start with lessons on YouTube - this is also a great way to practice skills.

Regardless of which route you go, think about what you're looking to get out of it: are you looking for a fun workout? Making new friends? A specific type of music? Learning a new skill? Social dance is great for all of these, but different events might have different foci. I also just want to warn that every community is different, and sometimes you might have to travel farther to find a different type of dance or just a different vibe. I’ve been places where the local dance is a little too advanced for my skills, places where I just didn’t like their music selection, and places where I just felt awkward and didn’t make any friends, but I’ve also been places where I was actively welcomed, where people met me at my level, and where I heard music I fell in love with. If the first place you try isn’t great, try another!

Cost can also be prohibitive - sometimes venues will have a beginner’s night where it’s cheaper than usual, or you can look for a place with a sliding payment scale. If you’re a student, there are usually also student or local discounts. If distance is an issue, you can try to find friends to carpool with. When I was in grad school, we had a small local scene, and then sometimes people carpooled to go to a bigger dance in one of the bigger cities a few hours away.

Because this has become a long, long post, I’m putting a break here. After the break is a description of some common social dance conventions (what does follow/lead mean? do I need to come with a partner?) and some types of social dance.

A lot of social dance is partner dancing, but usually there are opportunities for some solo dancing, and sometimes there are semi-choreographed line dances you can learn and join in on (Shim Sham, Big Apple, Tranky Doo). At most social dances, you don’t need to bring a partner, and it’s expected that even if you do come with a dance partner that you’ll dance with others (but you’re welcome to say no to anyone who asks). Dancing with lots of different partners helps you learn new moves, practice the ones you do know in different ways, and meet new people.

Most partner dances have two roles: a leader and a follower. Both are a lot of fun and allow some improvisation. The leader leads the dance by guiding what steps and moves you’ll dance through different signals depending on the type of dance (body movements, changes in the connection point (hands, shoulder, waist, etc.), guidance from a hand, etc.). The follower follows the motions of the leader. How this happens depends on the dance itself as well as the individual dancers, and will be taught in the lessons. You can choose which role you want to dance for the evening, or even switch between them (although I recommend choosing a role for an evening and trying it out your first time). Some lessons will have you choose one role for the lesson and some lessons are taught ELEF, or everyone leads, everyone follows, where you switch off to learn both parts. Plenty of people choose one role and stick to it, but plenty of people switch regularly or every once in a while. I started as a follow and then started leading when there weren’t enough leads and then started doing beginner classes as a lead and intermediate classes as a follow to strengthen both.

There are also lots of different types of social dance. Here is a list of some of them with a few notes from my personal experience (I am definitely biased):

Swing dancing: swing dance is a huge group of dances that are often under one umbrella. I recommend looking up some videos of each, but here's some basics:

East Coast swing is what a lot of people learn first in swing dance, and it’s sometimes taught as a kind of basic dance, but really it’s just a 6-count swing, and it’s very flexible. There are a lot of variations and cool moves and it melds really nicely with a lot of other varieties of swing.

Lindy Hop is the kind that a lot of people associate with throwing people around and stuff (like in Hellzapoppin’), but it’s also increasingly one of the more common varieties of swing on the social dance floor (without the aerials - it’s impolite to do that on a crowded dance floor). It’s an 8-count swing, and a lot of places have started doing it in their beginner lessons. Can be combined with moves from East Coast and others, like.

Charleston, which has a few varieties and is usually (these days), is not done much on it’s own in social dance but as part of East Coast or Lindy, or as solo dance.

West Coast swing is a bit different. While many “swing dances” will include East Coast, Lindy, and Charleston in a big mish mash (usually done to big band swing or similar music), West Coast is either it’s own event or connected with fusion or tango, and can be done to more classic swing music or something more modern (not that you can’t Lindy to modern music). It was born out of crowded dance halls and is danced more along a narrow line of space rather then around in circles, and features smoother, more languid movements.

Balboa is very popular in California, especially in Southern California, where it comes from. It’s a lot of fancy-looking footwork and is danced much closer than most other swing.

Blues dancing has a lot of connections with swing in most places - I learned it as the dancing you do when you’re all tuckered out from a night of Lindy, but I’ve come to appreciate it more on it’s own. Like blues music, there is a huge variety of blues dance, from slinky and sexy closed position dancing to athletic blues with lots of swings and dips to solo dance. Blues is my favorite, and I could talk about it for forever. It’s about connection and improvisation and the music (like a lot of social dance), and it’s the kind of music I like best as well as a style of dance with a lot of options and a lot of history.

Fusion is a term that covers a lot of things and is exactly what it says on the label: a fusion of dance styles and music genres. At fusion dances I’ve done everything from blues to West Coast to tango to salsa to contact improv with a whole bunch of moves stolen from other dances thrown in, and I’ve danced to all sorts of music. It’s a grab bag and can be a great intro to social dance and/or a little overwhelming.

Tango/Ballroom I put together because I’ve never gone to either a Tango or a Ballroom social dance, and most of my Ballroom knowledge is Tango stuff that I’ve learned from Blues and Fusion dancers. I don’t know much about the scene or the terminology, but I know social dances often offer free lessons beforehand. Since there are so many dances that are part of Ballroom, I think they sometimes call out what kind of dance each song is.

Salsa includes a lot of variation I don’t know about, but is a fairly common dance to find. There are lots of clubs and bars that have salsa dancing, but not all of them have lessons, so find one with a beginner lesson. There’s several different dances that usually fall under salsa as well as different types of music (like swing) and different dance events might focus on different styles, so it’s worth trying out several.

Country Line Dancing is very common in bars depending on where you’re at (at least in the US), and sometimes involves lessons. It’s more likely to be routines to specific songs, but there is also partnered dancing involved. I’ve never done it myself, but it looks like fun.

Contra/Square Dancing is usually done to folk music and is done in pairs/groups of 4 in big lines. The moves are called out by a caller over the music, and they usually do a basic lesson beforehand. There is lots of spinning, and unfortunately, even when I was in great shape, it was terrible on my bad knee because apparently I can’t spin like that for an extended period of time. It’s very fun though and my friends wear lots of spinny skirts.

I’ve linked some videos in this post, and I recommend checking out more at your leisure, but you might want some terminology. I also caution that a lot of videos out there are either lessons or competitions or showcases, so it’s a lot of professionals or very good amateurs showing off, and that’s not really what a social dance usually looks like. But here’s some terms (mostly from swing and blues):

Jack & Jill - a competition format where people enter as individuals (either as lead or follow) and are paired randomly. They may have danced together tons of times before or never before. They’re usually given a bit of a warm up to get a feel for things before the judging begins, and they don’t know the music ahead of time.

Strictly - a competition format where dancers enter as pairs. They are usually regular dance partners. They usually don’t know the music selections ahead of time.

All Skate - In many dance competitions the pairs will start and or end with everyone dancing on the floor, more like a social dance, and then each pair gets a chance to show off.

Open/Invitational/All Star - open is open to everyone (sometimes at different skill levels), invitationals are by invitation only (so usually a higher level of skill), and All Stars are usually the pros/semi-pros. Sometimes they’re instructors at an event or just big names. The levels help keep the different competitions a little more fair.

Showcase - usually a choreographed routine

I...wrote a lot. I hope that was helpful! I am happy to talk about dance at any time, and I can definitely point towards more specific resources if you want. I’m happy to DM about it too.

#social dance #advice #long post #swing dance #blues dance

[reasondetredancekathleenrea]

My Entire Body Shook: Experiences of a Woman Leading a CI Dance Jam

TRIGGER WARNING: refers to physical aggression and sexual violence towards women contact improvisation leader. This post is from a woman CI Jam facilitator who has chosen to remain anonymous. I run a jam. And I have run this jam for a long time. There have been many moments of joy and satisfaction and support from my community, but what follows is also part of my story. These incidents are in…

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#Contact Improv #Contact Improvisation #Leadership #Me Too #Power imbalances #Social Dance #woman&039;s story

[clemsfilmdiary]

Lambada (1990, Joel Silberg)

2/5/23

#Lambada #J. Eddie Peck #Melora Hardin #Adolfo Quinones #Leticia Vasquez #Dennis Burkley #Rita Bland #Cannon #90s #dance #L.A. #latino #teachers #high school #nightlife #nightclub #teacher and student #social dance #geometry #students #inner city #dreadful #bad acting #bad writing #accidental surrealism

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Video: Marseille's Social Dance Shares Upbeat and Funky "Sometimes"

New Video: Marseille's Social Dance Shares Upbeat and Funky "Sometimes" @heygroover @romainpalmieri @DorianPerron @LisbonLuxRec

Formed back in 2020, Marseille, France-based electro pop trio Social Dance — Faustine, Thomas and Ange — are best friends and former roommates, who craft uninhibited and absurd pop inspired by their common experiences and complementary music tastes. Their debut EP 2022’s Rumeurs featured material that was featured in the Netflix series Emily In Paris. As result of their music appearing in the…

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#dance punk #Marseille France #music #music video #post punk #Social Dance #Social Dance Rumuers EP #Social Dance Sometimes #video #Video Review: Social Dance Sometimes #women who kick ass #world music

[p-a-c-i-f-i-s-m]

#social dance #Youtube

[somanythings2021]

2023TALKINGHEADS

#Social Dance #KEXP #live #Youtube

[clove-pinks]

La Cachucha

1837 caricature print by Jules Joseph Guillaume Bourdet (Paris Musées).

The caption reads:

Madame, savez-vous si Mademoiselle Lili dansera ce soir la Cachucha? — Non Monsieur elle a la coqueluche et sa mère est en train de la sevrer.

(Madame, do you know if Mademoiselle Lili will dance the Cachucha this evening? No Sir, she has whooping cough and her mother is weaning[?] her)

Ignoring the odd choice of words, La Cachucha is a dance of Spanish origin that was a big deal in the 1830s, and I found a delightful video:

Although the quality is not the best of the several cachucha videos on YouTube, the dancer's movements look like they're right out of 1830s social dancing illustrations!

Her costume is modeled on that of Fanny Elssler in the 1836 ballet Le Diable boiteux, which made the cachucha wildly popular:

#Eighteen-Thirties Thursday #1830s #la cachucha #romantic era #dancing #social dance #fashion #fanny elssler #le diable boiteux #fashion history #is there some archaic sense of 'sevrer' that means 'nursing' (i assume?). because that's not what the french dictionary said.

[aotdblanks]

Social Dance - Rumeurs

I watch a lot of KEXP videos and I’m usually pretty quick to click away. You’ve basically got 30 seconds and if I hate your vocals, it’s over. Of the ones I like, their records are usually not my thing. Too many guitarists out there who use way too much chorus. (Looking at you Alvvays and Los Bitchos...) Social Dance really isn’t my thing. They’re a little too happy and there’s a little too much synth for me. But they’re like a modern, French Talking Heads, without the coked out 80s production style. And the EP is as good as their KEXP set. Highly recommended. 

#aotd #new music #social dance #kexp #album of the day

[desktopdisko]

Desktop Disko's B-Rotation Top 50 (2024 #04)

Youtube Musicvideo Playlist: DD's B-Rotation Playlist 2024 #04

01 ISE: Goodbye Letter (NEW) 02 Kacey Musgraves: Too Good to Be True (NEW) 03 Night Tapes: Every Day Is a Game (NEW) 04 Benni: Make Me Blind (NEW) 05 Juliet Ivy: We're All Eating Each Other 06 Angus & Julia Stone: Cape Forestier 07 Goat Girl: ride around 08 Queenie: Not Divine (NEW) 09 Camden Cox: Another (NEW) 10 Ibibio Sound Machine: Pull the Rope

11 Social Dance: Sometimes 12 Maya Hawke: Missing Out 13 Warpaint: Common Blue 14 DIIV: Brown Paper Bag 15 Aili: Fashion 16 Still Corners: Crystal Blue (NEW) 17 Freeze the Fall: Daughters of Witches (NEW) 18 Kevin Holliday: I Want You 19 Jade Bird feat. Mura Masa: Burn the Hard Drive 20 Holly Macve: 1995

21 The Marías: Run Your Mouth 22 Charm of Finches: Middle of Your Mess (NEW) 23 Saya Gray: AA Bouquet for Your 180 Face 24 Samantha Savage Smith: Wholesomely Made 25 Dahlias: Ella 26 The Indien: How Many Nights 27 Gisèle: Distant Rain (NEW) 28 lotusbliss: Tear Me Apart 29 Hurray for the Riff Raff: Hawkmoon 30 The Blinders: While I'm Still Young (NEW)

31 Alycia Lang: Bad Luck 32 Janelane: Love Letters 33 Norah Jones: Paradise 34 Madison Galloway: Love Like Yours 35 Fan Club: Westbound 36 Rachael Chinouriri: What a Devastating Turn of Events (NEW) 37 Alice Merton: Pick Me Up (NEW) 38 The Lemon Twigs: A Dream Is All I Know (NEW) 39 Fabiana Palladino: I Can't Dream Anymore (NEW) 40 Abigail Rose: Wake Me Up (NEW)

41 Tessa Dixson: Heaven (NEW) 42 Reinel Bakole: Silver Armour (NEW) 43 Khruangbin: May Ninth 44 Skunk: 2 Wicky 45 Keaper: Alone 46 Pampa Folks: Foolish as She Goes (NEW) 47 iomfro: Sammenbidte Tænder 48 Rosegarden Funeral Party: Doorway Ghost 49 Agathe Plaisance: Locked Up (NEW) 50 Luna Shadows: stay mad (NEW)

#indie #pop #ISE #norah jones #kacey musgraves #night tapes #benni #juliet ivy #angus & julia stone #goat girl #queenie #camden cox #ibibio sound machine #social dance #maya hawke #warpaint #aili #diiv #still corners #freeze the fall #kevin holliday #jade bird #mura masa #holly macve #the marías #charm of finches #saya gray #samantha savage smith #dahlias #the indien

[nottmlindyhop]

Sun 17 Dec: Our Christmas Tea Dance and Fuddle

Yay! It’s our Christmas Tea Dance and Fuddle this Sunday 17 December from 5pm to 9pm. Only 2 more sleeps! Come and join us for our last Sunday of NLH in 2023 and celebrate a fabulous year of happy Lindy Hop and Jazz dancing returning to Sneinton, Nottingham. 🥰 All swing dancers are very welcome regardless of experience or where you usually dance. No partner necessary. 🎟️ £10 per person (card…

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#adult dance classes #Charleston #Christmas #Classes #Dance #Dancing #Fuddle #Jazz Roots #Learn to Dance #lindy hop #Lindy Hop classes #Nottingham #Nottingham Lindy Hop #Shim Sham #Sneinton #Social #Social dance #Social Dancing #solo jazz #St Christopher&039;s #Sunday #Swing #Swing Dance #Swing Dancing #Swing Music #Tea Dance

[reasondetredancekathleenrea]

Part Two In "Dancing in the Land of Spiritual Bypassing": Sally’s Story

Published January 17 2023 Hello. This is the third part of a three-part series called “Dancing in the Land of Spiritual Bypassing, ” written by three anonymous authors Dorit, Kate, and Sally, who have all practiced contact improvisation. All the stories in the series are based on incidents that occurred within the last two years. I thank this author “Sally” for the gift of her writing and her…

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#Contact Improv #Event Guidelines #Me Too #Power imbalances #Social Dance #Spiritual Bypassing #woman&039;s story