For my friends from the Backspace Conference--
Think about joining me at a contra dance tonight. You'll enjoy the music of a terrific band, Nightingale, and one of my favorite contra callers, Rick Mohr, calls amazing dances. Dancing starts at 8:00, following a beginner workshop at 7:15.
The Church of the Village
201 West 13th Street, NYC
$16 (you'll get a pass to come back for free)
No partner required, but wear lightweight clothes. And bring clean, soft-bottomed shoes for dancing--no high heels allowed.
For additional information visit www.cdny.org or
call the Dancephone, 212-459-4080
SOME NEARBY RESTAURANTS
Cho Dang Gol (Korean) is known for its excellent home-made tofu dishes. 55 W. 35, 212-695-8222.
If you can't get good Chinese where you live, try
Szechuan Gourmet (21 W. 39 St., 212-921-0233) for some of the best Sichuan cooking in Manhattan,
or
Grand Sichuan (229 9th Ave. at 24th St., 212-6205200), which offers food from other regions as well. I'm especially fond of dishes like pork with chestnuts from the Mao's Home Cooking section of the menu, and Green Parrot with Red Mouth (cold spinach).
Showing posts with label Where's the dance?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Where's the dance?. Show all posts
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Join the Dance Parade!
Rain or shine, but I'm hoping for shine, on Saturday you'll find me at New York City's third annual Dance Parade.
Beginning at 1 pm on 27th Street, some 4,600 dancers--doing everything from African to ballroom to Bulgarian to ecstatic to hip-hop to Middle Eastern to Zydeco and then some--will step, swing, shake, leap, and boogie their way down Broadway. We'll end up at Tompkins Square Park for a dance festival with free performances, lessons, and dance party (3-7 pm).
I'll be contra-dancing in the parade with Country Dance New York (cdny.org).
To find a group you might want to dance with, check out
http://danceparade.org/EE/
Beginning at 1 pm on 27th Street, some 4,600 dancers--doing everything from African to ballroom to Bulgarian to ecstatic to hip-hop to Middle Eastern to Zydeco and then some--will step, swing, shake, leap, and boogie their way down Broadway. We'll end up at Tompkins Square Park for a dance festival with free performances, lessons, and dance party (3-7 pm).
I'll be contra-dancing in the parade with Country Dance New York (cdny.org).
To find a group you might want to dance with, check out
http://danceparade.org/EE/
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tango in Two Cities
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Two cities, two tango lessons, two very different teaching philosophies:
Denver
Wandering around the People's Fair at City Center Park in Denver this June, my boyfriend, Jim, and I happened upon a performance by a group called Tango Colorado. We liked what we saw enough to come back for the lesson that followed.
To begin, we walked in a circle in time with the music. Then we partnered up and moved together in ballroom position but without touching. It's a bit of work holding one's arms in the air without a partner's to share the weight, so I was looking forward to getting fully into position. First, though, the instructor had us switch roles; now I was leading, arms still in the air. When we finally were allowed to touch, the instructor emphasized that you don't have to be pressed tightly against your partner to tango, but can maintain a distance you feel comfortable with.
So this lesson was all about conquering one's fear of enforced intimacy, of being brought excessively close to a stranger. Not a bad idea, I thought, remembering dance classes in which one or two couples would refuse to change partners, perhaps not wanting to end up in an unwanted clinch.
New York
A few weeks later on a Friday at Chelsea Market in Manhattan, I took a very different sort of class--alone this time. As recorded tango music played faintly in the background, we were drilled at length on footwork in all directions--forward, back, left, right--then on arm positions, before pairing up.
Once we did, we were urged to press our stomachs together, then to put our hand over our partner's heart. "Can you feel your partner's heart beat?" asked our teacher. Solemnly we nodded. "Tango is all about the heart," she told us. I nearly gave in to an attack of the giggles, though I'd tangoed this closely before.
We changed partners frequently, sometimes after what felt like only a few seconds, so by the end of the lesson each follower or leader had a chance to feel heart and belly of every opposite number.
There was a brief break after the lesson ended. The tango regulars drifted in--high-heeled women, guys looking around for familiar partners--then the band began to play. Few of my fellow students stuck around for the dance. It may be that all that passion on display had been a bit intimidating.
Footwear
Ah, those heels . . . . I'd been tempted to boo when the Denver instructor opined that women like to tango because it gives them an excuse to wear sexy spikes. Are there any milongas around that cater to wearers of sneakers and flats?
Where to Tango
For tango events and classes in Denver, see http://tangocolorado.org/calendar.aspx
You can tango in New York City any day of the week; see http://www.dancetango.com/calendar.html, or call the tango hotline: 212-726-1111.
The last tango evening at Chelsea Market, 9th Ave and 15th St., takes place August 22, beside the waterfall, with a lesson at 5 pm, and milonga with free champagne, 6-10 pm. Through the end of September, there's a free milonga in Central Park Saturday evenings, rain (in the Dairy) or shine (at the Shakespeare Statue), 6-9 pm, with a beginner lesson at 7.
Denver
Wandering around the People's Fair at City Center Park in Denver this June, my boyfriend, Jim, and I happened upon a performance by a group called Tango Colorado. We liked what we saw enough to come back for the lesson that followed.
To begin, we walked in a circle in time with the music. Then we partnered up and moved together in ballroom position but without touching. It's a bit of work holding one's arms in the air without a partner's to share the weight, so I was looking forward to getting fully into position. First, though, the instructor had us switch roles; now I was leading, arms still in the air. When we finally were allowed to touch, the instructor emphasized that you don't have to be pressed tightly against your partner to tango, but can maintain a distance you feel comfortable with.
So this lesson was all about conquering one's fear of enforced intimacy, of being brought excessively close to a stranger. Not a bad idea, I thought, remembering dance classes in which one or two couples would refuse to change partners, perhaps not wanting to end up in an unwanted clinch.
New York
A few weeks later on a Friday at Chelsea Market in Manhattan, I took a very different sort of class--alone this time. As recorded tango music played faintly in the background, we were drilled at length on footwork in all directions--forward, back, left, right--then on arm positions, before pairing up.
Once we did, we were urged to press our stomachs together, then to put our hand over our partner's heart. "Can you feel your partner's heart beat?" asked our teacher. Solemnly we nodded. "Tango is all about the heart," she told us. I nearly gave in to an attack of the giggles, though I'd tangoed this closely before.
We changed partners frequently, sometimes after what felt like only a few seconds, so by the end of the lesson each follower or leader had a chance to feel heart and belly of every opposite number.
There was a brief break after the lesson ended. The tango regulars drifted in--high-heeled women, guys looking around for familiar partners--then the band began to play. Few of my fellow students stuck around for the dance. It may be that all that passion on display had been a bit intimidating.
Footwear
Ah, those heels . . . . I'd been tempted to boo when the Denver instructor opined that women like to tango because it gives them an excuse to wear sexy spikes. Are there any milongas around that cater to wearers of sneakers and flats?
Where to Tango
For tango events and classes in Denver, see http://tangocolorado.org/calendar.aspx
You can tango in New York City any day of the week; see http://www.dancetango.com/calendar.html, or call the tango hotline: 212-726-1111.
The last tango evening at Chelsea Market, 9th Ave and 15th St., takes place August 22, beside the waterfall, with a lesson at 5 pm, and milonga with free champagne, 6-10 pm. Through the end of September, there's a free milonga in Central Park Saturday evenings, rain (in the Dairy) or shine (at the Shakespeare Statue), 6-9 pm, with a beginner lesson at 7.
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