Tango Clothes

Tango is a dance of passion and ardour. That’s why style and elegance of the dancers must become its imprescriptible part. One should not forget that in the first instance the dancer should look good in order to make a good impression on the audience. The second rule of tango runs as follows. The given dance foresees the feeling of comfort and on account of this reason tango clothes should not hinder movements of dancers.

      As to clothes for women nowadays there is a wide choice of skirts and dresses. Usually skirts can have openings in order to make movements of the women more clearcut and efficient. However the clothes may be of short length. In this case the choice of such skirts also does not restrict the tango movements. From aesthetic point of view tango dresses are trimmed with lace and fringes. The tops of dresses may contain low neck conferring the feeling of sensuality. Women lay a great emphasis on the shoes which are made specially for this dance. One should not forget about some accessories that usually associate with tango. It is a famous fact that women have resort to the use of flowers that are attached to the hair. They also like to use fishnet stockings.

     The tango clothes for men are represented by silk shirts and straight cut trousers. The men dancers require tango dance shoes and some accessories like hats, vests and suspenders. All these accessories create an inimitable image of a dancer.

      The list of the following pieces of advice may be taken into consideration. They will make the process of dancing more pleasant and stirring.

1 The audience should concentrate their attention on the process of dancing, that’s it is advisable to give preference to one colour clothes which contain one asymmetrical hemline. 

2 Stretchy clothes made of fabrics guarantee freedom of movements and especially they simplify the footwork.

3 While choosing tango dresses women should take into consideration the feeling of comfort of their partners. Dresses studded with rhinestones may hamper the partner’s embrace.

4 The shoe’s buckle should not put the dancer to inconvenience. While performing some movements it is advisable to turn the buckle in such a way that it is well out of the follower’s range.

5 Men should give their preference to palazzo and gaucho pants. These pants emphasize the movements and look very attractive.

How to Dance Hula

Hula is considered to be the traditional dance of Hawaii. The roots of the dance penetrate deep into the ancient times when the native people of the Hawaiian Islands honored the goddess Laka by executing special figures and movements. Nowadays Hula dancing has taken on special significance being a form of entertainment. With the help of Hula dancing people who practice it express their feelings and meanings trough specific movements. Many people attribute to this dance one more function. In their opinion Hula dancing unites the universe spirit with the nature. The dancing contains a story, thus people who perform it can share it with the audience. In order to be successful while telling the story the dancers have to combine facial expression accurately with the fine and clearcut movements of arms, hips, fingers, knees and feet. Every single movement signifies nature and its manifestations. The following instructions and basic steps which are listed below will be very helpful for those people who wish to master the Hula dancing.

 

     The first step has to do with fingers, wrists, hands and arms.

    First the person should extend the right arm and hand to the right. Then one has to bow the elbow and to place the palms down. Fingers touch each other. In such position the person puts the left hand on the hip. Then the next complex of movements comes:

1 The dancer raises the wrist gradually bringing up fingers. The wrist has to be lowered.

2 The same movement of fingers and wrist is repeated. The only distinction concerns the forearms and hand. They are moved to the chest.

3 The second step is performed by the person. Further the forearm and hand are moved to the center of the chest. The person should not touch the body.

4 The right hand is placed on the hip, while doing it the fingers have to look down.    The same movements are repeated but this time with the left hand, fingers, arm and wrist.

     In the second step feet and knees are sprung into action.

     The person keeps the usual position. His/her feet are placed about four inches apart. Further the knees are bended and heels have to be raised an inch off the floor. On count 1 the person places the right foot at a short distance of eight or nine inches. On count 2 the left foot is placed to the side of the right one. On count 3 and 4 the same movements are repeated concerning the right and left feet. The following complex of movements is the same, but now the person has to switch over to the left foot instead of the right one.

     While dancing the Hula one has to pay a great attention to the hip’s movements. This is the third step. The movements should be smooth and gentle. On counts 1, 2, 3 and 4 the dancer sways his/her hip to the right and then to the left. The correct performance of these movements makes the Hula dancing very graceful.

When all three steps are mastered the dancer brings them all together by carrying out the movements in turns.

How to dance cha-cha-cha

The well-known dance Cha-cha-cha is a Latin American dance which first appeared in Cuba. The dance is applied widely because its music enjoys wide popularity in such genres as country, funk, hip-hop. The enumeration of the music genres can be even continued. The main feelings that the Cha-cha-cha dance may cause are joy and gladness. While hearing its rhythms and tunes it is difficult to control oneself in order not to come under its influence and not to throw oneself into the dance. The music for this vigorous and energetic dance was written by Cuban composer Enrique Jorrin in 1953.

     The Cha-cha has some similarities with rumba and mambo. The main features of the dance are the following: spot turns, the cross-body lead, fifth position breaks, crossover breaks, back spot turn. The back spot turn is also famous as the natural top.

     The key part of the dance and namely the function of the leader is assigned to the man. The man takes a checked forward step with his left foot. The main rule consists in the fact that the knee of the right leg must be straight. It must stay close to the back of the left knee. On order to receive part weight the left leg remains straightened. Further the right leg receives the full weight when the dancer makes the second step. This movement is called beat three. The fourth beat includes two steps. Thus the count of the next three steps is 4 and 1. They also make up the Cha-cha chasse.

     Then one of the partners makes the following movements. The dancer takes a step backwards on the right foot. In this case the knee taking the full weight must be straightened. The other leg may also remain straight. While carrying out beat three the weight goes to the left leg.

     Each partner has the possibility to dance the bar which has been previously performed by the dancer.

     It is noteworthy that the classical construction of Cha-cha-cha consists of two bars.

The following tips can be very helpful in order to avoid some mistakes:

1 While taking the steps the dancer should always shift the complete weight.

2 Dancers should not take too large steps.

3 Men should keep their heads up and should not look straight.

4 A good Cha-cha-cha dancer has to practice counting.

5 It is advisable to avoid shaking or twisting the hips.

     These golden rules may be very helpful for dancers who want to obtain great results.

Top 10 Greatest Dance Movies

Producers and filmmakers have brought to our attention a great number of films that open an amazing world of dancing for the audience. Mainly majority of the films tell about the talents and skills of some definite characters and the work which is being done in order to achieve great success. The films which are listed below are considered to be one of the best about these motifs.

·        Saturday Night Fever (1997). The film narrates about a young man who decides to follow his vocation and to dedicate his time to dancing. Meanwhile the place and the way of living do not afford him pleasure. So he finds the refuge from his problems at the discotheque. Here he becomes the best dancer. His talent, style and potential are inimitable among the other disco dancers.

·        Dirty Dancing (1987). The main character of the film Baby makes the acquaintance with the dance instructor Jonny Castle. Jonny opens a new world of dancing for Baby, world of dirty dancing. Baby being a good pupil masters the new style. What is more she is guided by love towards Jonny and now she is able to display this feeling with the help of the dance.

·        Chicago (2002). Roxie Hurt is not happy with her family way of life. She wants to achieve a dream of becoming a celebrity. Her lover promises Roxie to help in realizing this dream. However his promises were groundless and hollow. Roxie does not want to accept this situation and she kills the lover. Soon she finds herself in prison. Due to some casual circumstances Roxie’s idol – singer Velma- is put into the same prison.

·        West Side Story (1961). The film represents a modern “Romeo and Juliet”. A Polish boy and a Puerto Rican girl fall in love with each other. However their families disapprove their feelings as they are considered to be rivals.

·        All that jazz (1979). This film narrates about creative career of Joe Gideon, about his interrelations with women including his ex wife Audrey and daughter Michelle. Being an egomaniacal workaholic he drives himself to the heart attack.

·          That’s entertainment (1974). The documentary film tells about the conception of musicals. The world famous stars comment upon brilliant musical scenes from great films produced by MGM.

·        White Nights (1985). The story is about a ballet dancer Nikolai Rodchenko who tries to find a refuge in the West in order to obtain full freedom. Though his planes collapse and he finds himself in his country again.

·        Moulin Rouge (2001). The action of the film is developing at the famous Paris club. It is a place where tragedy and comedy are combined and all this happens on the background of beautiful and luxury interior. The story is about a famous beautiful courtesan. Two men, one of them being poor and the other rich, try to win the courtesan’s favour.

·        Stomp the Yard (2007). A 19 years-old DJ moves to Atlanta where he enters a local university. In the city DJ discovers a new style of step dancing which is danced by Afro- Americans. The talent of DJ attracts attention of a dancer’s team whose goal is to score a victory at the major championship.

·        Step Up (2006). One of the main characters, Nora is a brilliant ballet dancer who attends Baltimore’s elite Maryland School. In order to begin a professional career she needs a dance partner who also yields to no one in this respect. Once the destiny brings her together with a street dancer. Together they begin to make a path to the world of success.

African Dance Styles

Africa, representing a rather huge continent, is a place where people of different cultures and tribes live together. Of course the role of music and dancing is of great significance nearly for all the countries that are situated in Africa. With the help of the unique dancing and music African people display a great variety of feelings and events. For instance, people resort to the dance when they want to praise or criticize somebody. In spite of such great significance of dancing in this continent it is interesting to note that there is not a definite word for the notion “music”.

      In Africa the dance can not exist without two main parts. These key components are voice and drums. African drums serve for the conferring of mood and for the evoking keen interest and lively emotions. The dances bear also a collective character and depend on the age and status structures. Usually African tribes form a circle where they can carry out the movements. Men perform more difficult and active motions that come to jumps and leaps. As to women they dance usually in a crooked knee position.

      In contrast to dances that originated in the other continents African dance represents a collective event where the number of dancers exceeds the number of spectators and observers. The majority of the words are replaced by the beats of the drums. The collective dances can be performed on different occasions like birth of children, marriages or reverence of Gods, celebrations of the transfer from childhood to adulthood.

     There are a great number of African dances. For example:

Dances of Love

     These types of dances are imbued with the feelings of happiness and gladness. Weddings and anniversaries may serve as an occasion for the dance performing.

Welcome Dance

     African people dance it when they have the possibility to receive guests. In such a way they show their hospitability and benevolence towards visitors. It is a good chance to display one’s talents and skills.

Coming of Age Dance

      Coming of age dance is a symbolic one that signifies the transfer of young men and women from childhood to the adulthood. The heroes of occasions are very proud of being congratulated in such a way as they wait for this event with impatience.

Summoning and Possession Dance

      This type of dance is performed in several cases either for “calling a spirit” or foreseeing the draught of a war.

      It is obvious that the African dances are very meaningful. They reflect the essence of every single tribe and nationality.

Bridal Waltz - How to Dance

The bridal waltz has a very symbolic character. It is a symbol of a close unity, harmony and the expression of the innermost feelings. Undoubtedly this dance was created specially for two loving hearts that are experiencing a new period of their relations, the period when their hearts and destinies are uniting. In order to make the bridal waltz a real decoration of the wedding party the bride and groom have to pay great attention to the performing of the dance. As almost any dance is impossible without music the first thing to do is to think upon it and then to choose the most appropriate variant. After completing the task the bride and the groom can get down to mastering the dance.

It should be mentioned that while dancing the bridal waltz the role of the leader is assigned to the man. The woman has to follow the partner’s movements and steps. The main thing for both dancers is to step at the same time. There are three steps that will make the process of dance performing successful.

1.     The fundamental part of the bridal waltz has to do with music. The music should correspond to the inner condition of both partners. Having chosen the suitable variant the bride and groom have to learn the technique of music counting. The main thing is to count the music in the same way; otherwise their efforts will be vain.

2.     The man begins dancing with the left foot, by taking a step forward. Then he directs his steps to the side with the right foot, next he moves the left foot to the right one. The following thing to do is to step backward with the right foot. The left foot goes to the side and then the dancer has to step backward with the right foot. So both the right and the left feet have to be together. One should take into consideration the fact that all the movements are repeated. We should not forget about steps and the bearing that should be majestic and graceful. It is advisable for men to repeat the following words while dancing: “front, side, together, back, side, together”

3.     The woman’s steps are the same, she has only to follow or even to mirror the dance partner’s steps and to start to the back. The bride can repeat the words: “back side together, front side together”

      While dancing the partners face each other. The woman keeps the left arm on the partner’s upper left arm. The man in his turn puts the right arm on the partner’s left shoulder and he has to hold her right hand in his left one.

      The couple goes round the dance pavilion counterclockwise.

Greatest Dancers of all the Time

      People who know much about music and dancing can enumerate a great number of dancers of all times in the whole world. Their skills and talents can be observed during major dance championships, they can be seen in films, clips, musicals, at concerts. In this article the examples of such great artists as Michael Jackson, Michael Flatley and Isadora Duncan are given.

        Michael Jackson entered the world history not only as a sensational singer but also as a great dancer. He arrested the audience’s attention thanks to his unique and incredible dance technique. The very first success in this walk of life came to Michael Jackson after the performing the song “Dancing Machine”. The singer invented a new move which was called “robot”. This innovation was a very great success and after the releasing of that song many people began to imitate this move. Nobody could assume that it was only beginning. Even a greater sensation was caused by appearing of the so called “moon walk”. The “moon walk” was represented by steps up which created the illusion of back motion.

      In 1983 Michael Jackson created a real commotion by performing his great songs and dances. It was obvious that the rhythm of music coincided with the motions which were performed by Jackson. Everything was interconnected including songs, music and dances. Michael Jackson’s fantastic turns and rolls, his staggering “moon walk”, the ability to feel every single tone of the music and to respond to it with movements brought the artist the fame of a genius dancer. While watching his performances people had a feeling that Michael Jackson had no bones as the moves were so precise and supple. At the present moment Michael Jackson has a great number of imitators who try to master his unforgettable techniques.

        Michael Flatley can be also considered a great personality who dedicated his time and even the whole life to the art of dancing. One of the greatest dancers of all times gained the first victory at the age of 17. It is difficult to imagine but it is a real fact that Michael Flatley received the world titles in dancing for 120 times in 13 countries of the world. In the course of many years Flatley invented a new style of dancing which represented a mixture of the Irish and American step and flamenco. His first show “Riverdance” was a colossal success. It was the first time when the large audience got acquainted with the Irish dancing. In 1996 a new show appeared which was called “Lord of the Dance”. Michael Flatley showed his worth in this performance as dancer, choreographer and musician. Nearly 14 years have passed since the appearance of the show “Lord of the Dance” however nowadays the performance also enjoys wide popularity.

       Speaking about great dancers of all time we should include another famous dancer of the previous century Isadora Duncan, who was born in 1877. Isadora Duncan gave preference to the modern style of dancing. She was among the first dancers who began to introduce brave and bold ideas into the process of dancing. Duncan’s famous saying concerning the dance runs as follows: “To dance is to live. What I want is a school of life.” While performing Isadora put her whole soul and energy into it. The worshippers of Isadora Duncan remembered her as a great dancer who was performing the beautiful motions in free-flowing dresses and bare feet.

Salsa Dancing Instructions

Salsa is characterized through a diversity of styles. The dance itself can be performed differently depending on the country and geographic area. By origin Salsa refers to Cuba. Later it became widespread in Puerto Rico and on the Caribbean Islands.

     One of the most distinctive features of Salsa is represented by the beats in the music. The beats in the music should be always accentuated. It is worth mentioning that Salsa is a partner dance. The man takes the role of the leader and consequently the woman has to follow him. The man sets the tone and the rhythm of the dance and at some definite moments he lets his partner understand with the help of pushes and checks how to step and how to move further.

      The initial position of Salsa assumes face to face contact. The man holds his partner’s right hand in his left hand. His right hand is placed on the woman’s back. As to the woman’s basic position she has to put her left hand on the man’s shoulder. Both partners look each other in the face.

      The next basic moves run as follows. The dancers have to take account of four beat measure. During each four beat measure three weight transfers (steps) are performed. The duration of the “break step” exceeds the other weight changes. Having performed six weight transfers, the partners set about the next step cycle. A great attention is paid to the position of the arms. The position of the arms can be open and closed. In open position the dancers hold the hands in order to perform moves which include turns, going around or rolls. The close position represents face to face contact.

      As it was mentioned above Salsa can be performed differently which means that there are a great variety of styles like Los Angeles Style, New York Style, Cali Salsa Style, Miami Style Casino.

       As Los Angeles Style regards it has some common features with Mango, Swing and Argentine Tango.

      While performing it the dancer pays attention to two main aspects. These aspects are forward or backward basic. The man begins the performing by taking a step forward, and then he steps with his right foot turning 90 degrees counter-clockwise. The woman takes a step forward, and further she makes a turn. During this time her partner turns again 90 degrees counter-clockwise. This is the main principle of performing Los Angeles Salsa Style.

      Thanks to its vigorous and inflammatory rhythms nowadays Salsa is famous not only in the Latin America where it appeared but also in the whole world.

Dance Styles

Electronic Dance	1 2 3 4 5	Electro Dance Jump Style Hip-Hop Dance House Dance Breaking	1     2         3       4           5	Electric Dance represents a kind of street dance performed to Electro House Music. In Jump Style the great emphasis is laid on the legs. On the tones of music Jump Style dancers execute forward and backward swings of the legs. The main elements of Hip-Hop Dance are free styling, chippers and battles. The dance is performed to Hip-Hop music. The House Dance was created by Afro and Latino Americans. House Dancers perform fast and complex steps. These elements are combined with movements in the torso. Break Dance was created by Afro-Americans. Later the dance was widespread among Latino Americans. The most important components of Breaking are toprock, downrock, power moves and freezes. Very often it is performed to Hip-Hop music.
Ballroom Dance	1 2 3 4	Waltz Tango Foxtrot Quickstep	1     2             3         4	Waltz is a dance which is performed by two partners in closed position. Tango was created in Argentine. It is danced in closed position, however American style allows the tango dancers to include open position in order to perform moves, turns and to dance apart. Foxtrot is a style of ballroom dance. The basic figures include three step, feather step, natural turn reverse turn, closed impetus. Quickstep has got some similarities with Fast Foxtrot. The style of performing is very energetic, however the dance itself is considered to be very elegant.
Latin Dance	1 2 3 4 5	Mambo Rumba Cha-cha-cha Samba Salsa	1   2     3       4       5	Mambo was created in Cuba. It corresponds to mambo music. Rumba is an energetic dance. The main emphasis is laid on the hip movements. Cha-cha-cha is a dance of Cuban origin. The dance may be performed either to authentic Cuban music or to Latin Pop.  Samba is a Brazilian Dance. The dance movements are influenced by Afro-Brazilian traditional dances. Salsa is a fast Latin American Dance which is influenced by jazz music.
Swing Dance	1 2 3	Blues Dance Lindy Hop Charleston	1       2                 3	Blue Dance is a modern Term to describe a series of historical dances that were performed to blues music. The basic step of Lindy Hop is swingout. The dance includes the usual eight-count system which is used in European partner dances. However the Lindy Hop may be performed by a single dancer. The dancers have resort to the motions and improvisations of black dances. Charleston enjoyed wide popularity in the 1920’s. It may be performed solo, with a dance partner or in group of couples. The basic step gives the dancers the possibility to have a great number of variations and improvisations.