Jonathan Marion, whom I can pretend to know because he is a frequent flyer on Dance Forums, published this interesting article about “the translocal culture of competitive ballroom dance” in Journal for the Anthropological Study of Human Movement. The article does a nice job explaining that competitive dancers not only take the extensive travel associated …
Category Archive: in other news
May
19
May
15
Who takes the lead?
My Twitter-mate Caitlin Doran posted a link earlier today to this article in Canada’s National Post. The article reports an incident in which a woman was asked to leave a jive class after trying to switch to the leader’s role and “lead her male partner.” The instructor contends that the student was asked to leave …
Apr
28
How to Buckle Ballroom Shoes
Last night at our dance a young lady asked me how to buckle ballroom shoes. ”I Googled it,” said the young lady, “and I couldn’t find anything!” She had a pair of shoes that had been sitting in her closet for at least a year, unworn, because she wasn’t sure how to operate the buckle. …
Apr
20
WE R FAMUS SHAG DNCRS
Say it with me: Not really! But last night Daniel and I went to the Macon Shag Club (motto: “It’s Not What It Sounds Like”) for the first time and were very warmly welcomed. Shag is a much-loved dance in the Carolinas and the South more generally; we have not yet begun to learn it …
Apr
13
One month till showtime
Well, sports fans, it’s spring break at the Madison Studio and my parents are in town this week (Hi, Mom & Dad! See you again in June!), so not much dancing going on here at DLDancers HQ. Nevertheless, because I am just that kind of hard-working bloggiste, I am bringing you some updates. With Dancing …
Apr
03
How the other half lives
Dear readers, I have a secret. I am not a professional dancer. In fact, because of USA Dance’s rules about amateur competitions, I am explicitly, stridently, and vocally Not A Professional Dancer. But lately I’ve been impersonating one for a couple of days each week and here’s what I’ve learned: being a professional dancer is …
Feb
22
D and L, Dancers
Monday night we learned that one of our dancers is fluent in American Sign Language, a topic in which Daniel and I share a real but largely hypothetical interest. After comparing notes on some signs (the ones we’ve picked up from watching ABC Family’s Switched at Birth are correct, but utterly random–”Ferris wheel”?) and learning …
Feb
02
Black Swan: WHAP!
Last night, thanks to the mysterious appearance of the HBO channels on our cable lineup, I finally watched Black Swan. I approached the movie with extreme trepidation: because I get creeped out really easily and I don’t like to be startled, several people had told me I shouldn’t see it at all. But I had …
Nov
30
PowerPoint or DANCERS?
John Bohannon, creator of Dance Your Ph.D., presents a modest proposal at TEDxBrussels:
Sep
17
The Beat
Here, these should keep y’all busy for a few minutes till I have time to write a proper post. “Hip Hip Chin Chin” became one of my favorite songs because of this: . . . and now this is popping up on Twitter: Twitter also says it’s National Ballroom Week. Around here that is EVERY …