Dancing has come to mean a lot to me over the past 12 years.
It’s brought me joy – the joy of movement, the joy of music, the joy of completing some tricky choreography, the joy of winning a competition, the joy of performing.
It’s brought me a huge circle of friends and acquaintances all over the world.
It’s taken me to places on the globe that I would never have otherwise visited.
It’s given me the opportunity to teach and share my love of dancing with others.
It’s given me the chance to write choreography myself – something I never thought I’d do.
With all of that in mind, I wanted to share some of the videos that make me smile – think of it as my Christmas present to you. :0)
First up, a video that I have watched a LOT over the last few weeks. It saddens me that these two geniuses of dance did not perform together more often. I love the steps, the choreo, the execution and the humour. Just brilliant and never fails to raise a smile from me… and I love showing it to other people
Second up is a video taken at the Swing Patrol Christmas party in Melbourne last year. This group contains such a talented and passionate bunch of individuals, all of whom I’m proud to call friends.
Next is a video that was taken at this year’s Melbourne Swing Patrol Christmas Party.
Another video that I love to watch is this next one. It features two world-class dancers – Bobby White and Kelly Arsenault – competing in a Jack & Jill competition. I’ve written about those before but basically you are randomly paired with a partner just before you go on, so it is testing your leading and following skills. I just love the musicality that they both extract from this piece of music, all the while continuing to do their jobs of leading (him) and following (her). Great stuff!
Finally, this is a video of the first piece of choreography I have ever written (with some extensive help from my dance partner John, who figured out who to turn “I want them to do this” *wavey hands and cheesy movements* into something actually workable).
This was performed at the Swing Patrol Performance Ball at the end of October this year and is our level 1, 2 and 3 students.
We had some last minute problems on the night which meant we had to do some quick partner changes just before we went on, but everyone handled themselves beautifully, despite the changes plus the usual nerves and just got on with the show. So proud!
I hope this post brings a smile to your face and maybe even inspires you to seek out a local dance class or hire a DVD or even just put on a favourite track and bounce around the room for a few minutes. Personally, I can’t dance and be in a bad mood – I might start out that way, but the feeling just goes away. I hope that’s the same for everyone.
Season’s greetings everyone – may your December be full of love, happiness, music and dance!
Cheers,
Denise
One of the most amazing parts about dancing is when you share the talent that you have. It feels so fulfilling to teach people who also have a passion for dancing but don’t know how to shape the talent that they have. Through teaching, you inspire people to continue their dream as a dancer.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Henry. It's an amazing feeling. I especially love seeing that "a-ha! moment when someone 'gets' something they have been working on.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you teach, Henry and what form of dance?