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MSDC teaching

Foxtrot in November

If you’ve been waiting for your chance to join our ballroom class at Madison Studio, November is your chance. We’ll be doing a short session of 2 classes (90 minutes each) in November focusing on the foxtrot. The dates are Sunday, November 3 and Sunday, November 10, 4:00-5:30 p.m. Learn a new dance and show it off at your Thanksgiving dinner! The cost is $45 per person for the session. You are welcome with or without a partner and with or without previous dance experience.  Please contact us by Friday, November 1 to confirm your participation and reserve your spot in the class.

More dance event announcements coming soon, so stay tuned!

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dancing in the media in other news MSDC

“Translocal”?

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 with training and competition in stride but actually expect it and rely on it as part of the overall dance experience.  Travel, Marion argues, is a sign of belonging to the competitive dance culture for dancers, instructors, judges, and the retailers who serve all of them.  The article is easy to follow, not too long, usefully illustrated with graphs and diagrams, and includes a great picture of Iveta Lukosiute with a huge pile of suitcases.  Good stuff.

While you’re up, this is also a fun read.  Makes me wonder if the Macon State dance club knows what they’d be getting into by entering the world of collegiate competitions!

Categories
dance events dancing in the media Dancing Stars of Central Georgia exhibitions & performances MSDC Uncategorized

Instrument Petting Zoo!

Daniel and I had to stay busy between meeting our Dancing Stars partners and finding out the dances we’d been assigned, so last Sunday we spent the afternoon at the Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences’ “Instrument Petting Zoo” event.  The event is an annual collaboration between the Museum and the Mercer/Macon Youth Orchestra and it’s designed to introduce young children (preschool/early elementary) to classical music and musical instruments.  This year, small ensembles from the orchestra played some dance selections (a pair of “Renaissance dances,” a waltz, a sarabande, a tango, and a samba) and the manager wanted to showcase some dancing along with the music.  She contacted Ms. Madison who put Daniel and me on the case as well as choreographing a number herself.  We rallied the troops from our group class and from Got Dance? Move It! so there was plenty of participation.

The Madison Studio’s junior performance ensemble performed beautifully to the “Renaissance Dances.”  Daniel and I danced the waltz; then Daniel partnered our student Megan and two of the GDMI dancers joined them for the tango.  Another GDMI member choreographed a gorgeous contemporary piece for the sarabande, and all of us closed out the program with some audience participation to the samba.  We did 3 performances over the course of the afternoon with an almost-full house for every one.  Got effusive compliments from the orchestra manager (Hi Connie!  Thanks!), a few museum higher-ups, and some audience members.  Most of all we were incredibly proud of the GDMI dancers.  They are so game and energetic and up for anything.  We salute them!

Categories
dance events MSDC social dancing

Spring Formal at Macon State College

It used to be the case (18th-19th centuries, after the invention of partner dancing as we know it) that “older” and/or married people didn’t dance at parties or balls.  Dancing was for the young people and those who were courting.  I’m glad that’s not true anymore or Daniel and I would not have had as much fun last night as we did!  Macon State College hosted its first Spring Formal and we attended as “chaperones.”  Actual chaperoning was unnecessary but we got some good dancing in and some excellent publicity for the dance club.  The club members tried out their new tango steps to the Glee version of “Bust Your Windows,” experimented with the rumba (which Daniel taught them at last week’s meeting after I left: very sneaky!), and we saw some swing, merengue, and hustle happening as well.  Not to mention the panoply of non-ballroom dances that we all participated in.  Club president Minwoo Kim helped me remember how to do the Wobble; Daniel and I did the Cha-Cha Slide right on the edge of the floor because it was so crowded, and we saw a slightly funkier version of the Electric Slide called the “G Slide.”  As for the “Stanky Legg”. . . I’m going to have to practice that one at home.  In dark of night.  And maybe leave it at that.

A total of about 160 students and guests attended, all dressed in their best and ready to have a good time.  Everyone was shy about getting on the floor at first but once the ice was broken, the floor was never empty.  By the end of the night we were all wishing the floor were bigger!  After the tango, I grabbed a microphone from the DJ and gave a little plug for the dance club.  Nothing like trying to speak to a crowd when you’re out of breath from dancing.  Whew.  The whole event was an unqualified success and we’re glad we could be there.  I took a few videos and still photos with my phone, we had a professional photo taken, MSC-TV had cameras there, and someone was taking candids, so I should be able to post some media soon.  So great to see our students looking elegant and having fun DANCING!

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MSDC

For the Macon State Dance Club: Dancing makes you smarter!

A tip of the hat to Sadie for sending this video clip my way.  It fits right in with this past Wednesday’s first meeting of the Macon State College Dance Club, for which I have the honor to serve as faculty advisor.  We had an incredible turnout of around 20 students, all full of good ideas and ready to start building a very active organization.  Daniel came to the meeting to receive the semi-official title of “Dance Consultant” and help me teach the student members a few steps in the tango.  Our new tangueros and tangueras made us proud from the start and we can’t wait to see what’s in the future for the club.

You can also check out Macon State Dance Club on Facebook!

Categories
MSDC

Introducing the Macon State Dance Club

After a lot of “We should” and “Why isn’t there” and “How do we,” I am excited to announce that Macon State College is finally starting a dance club! This project fell into my lap a few weeks ago already half done; the students who wanted to start the club came to me with the initial paperwork done and a Facebook group started. When I went to join the FB group myself, I was excited to see that it already had over 50 members. And while I was loafing on my parents’ couch last week, the club’s most dedicated members were cutting rugs at Mambo’s. So today’s organizational meeting with the officers-to-be was practically just a formality. Our first full-scale meeting (general interest/business meeting with a side of dancing) is on its way to being scheduled for January 25. Stay tuned for more from this great new group, represented today by Neil, Minwoo, Danielle, and Amanda!

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