Dancing!!!

[Mole]

So to speak

I think dancing love me. It is always kind to me - more than kind, it lifts my spirits.

And dancing is generous - not only does it give me euphoria, it give me a wonderful metaphor - which I use liberally and promiscuously.

Poetry, for instance, is a kind of dancing with words.

And I like very, very, slow dancing - so slow, I am almost not moving. I like slow dancing because it puts me in a delightful trance.

I also like very fast dancing - it is almost as though I am floating - my feet and my body almost seem to have a life of their own - carrying me along on a cloud.

And in styles of dance, I particularly like natural dance - where I let my body find its own way.

But most of all I like dancing with a partner where we respond to each other - in a way, we dance to each other.

And of course you can dance not only to a partner but to music or even to a tree.

And anyone can dance - you don't even need to stand - you can dance sitting down.

At the moment I am exploring a dance meditation alternating between dance and euphoria and sitting and relaxation.

And here we are dancing, so to speak, in the noosphere.

Victor.

 

[Mole]

My Favourite Dance Video

My favourite dance video is -

YouTube - Mambo Dance.

'cause they are just having fun.

Victor.

 

[RDF]

^ wanna sign your wife up for it?

My wife's a sporting gal, and she might well investigate the class on her own initiative just for fun or with a friend. But I don't think she would appreciate me suggesting it to her.

But I approve the creativity of that kind of dance class. Dance is good for a number of reasons: A good work-out, coordination, body awareness, etc. So any way that they can keep the dance classes fun and interesting is good. I think it's a great idea that they're bringing back some of the old "burlesque" dances -- pole dancing, belly dancing, stripper classes, etc. The "fun factor" alone is a big attraction.

 

[elfinchilde]

^ they say installing a pole in the bedroom does wonders for the marriage.

victor: great to know your definition of dance encompasses more than mere physical movement.

 

[RDF]

My favourite dance video is -

YouTube - Mambo Dance.

'cause they are just having fun.

Victor.

I'll have to check that video out at work too. Mambo's a blast. Mambo and Salsa are pretty much the same dance; but Salsa is the popular version danced in clubs, while Mambo is the higher-level version danced in ballrooms and competitions.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

^ they say installing a pole in the bedroom does wonders for the marriage.

So...many...dirty...jokes...at...once...cannot...process...

 

[elfinchilde]

^ it isn't dirty!! i meant it seriously!!! :steam: they don't call 'em marriage life-savers for nothing, ya know. it takes some romance to keep a marriage alive.

besides, like i wrote on met/sword/my blog (sometimes, i can't differentiate): pole dance isn't easy. Try pulling yourself up one with only your hands, and look sexy while you're doing it. oh, and smile, not grimace.

 

[RDF]

So...many...dirty...jokes...at...once...cannot...process...

 

[elfinchilde]

^ ....so it's true...men lose their brain functions once the half below the belt takes over.

*wanders off disconsolate*

 

[RDF]

besides, like i wrote on met/sword/my blog (sometimes, i can't differentiate): pole dance isn't easy. Try pulling yourself up one with only your hands, and look sexy while you're doing it. oh, and smile, not grimace.

My wife and I are in our 50s. I think clambering up and down a pole would be a prelude for a heart attack rather than romance.

But for you younger gals: By all means, carry on!

 

[Mole]

An Ordinary Person

^ they say installing a pole in the bedroom does wonders for the marriage.

victor: great to know your definition of dance encompasses more than mere physical movement.

Rather than dancing for performance, I prefer dancing with my inner life.

After all, we dance for joy.

And joy is a full and spontaneous expression of our inner life.

Also, I forgot to mention, I like dancing in my imagination.

I can dance in my imagination just as I am walking along the street.

And dancing in my imagination, I can dance anywhere - I love to imagine dancing on the bonnets of moving motor cars - or I like imagining dancing from tree top to tree top.

Sometimes I imagine dancing around the people nearby.

Of course no one knows what I am imagining - I am just an ordinary person walking along the street.

Victor.

 

[elfinchilde]

Ah, Fineline, i see what you mean. Yes, it certainly would be a good idea to have the paramedics in on the private performance.

How about the rhumba, or the tango? The argentine tango! If you've learnt for 8 years and can do the mambo, a slow tango shouldn't be a problem.

YouTube - Professional Argentine Tango - Strictly Come Dancing 2006 (minus the leaps and swirls upside down in this vid, of course. )

victor, a quote for you: "As always, we dance the dance of life alone."--An ancient Sikh saying


edit: if a slow tango is more appealing: YouTube - Walter Perez NYC Tango Lesson V.125 Slow tango 3

 

[Mole]

victor, a quote for you: "As always, we dance the dance of life alone."--An ancient Sikh saying

Quite so. But I do love dancing with a partner.

Victor.

 

[white]

Aw, Fineline, never too old, I've had ladies of 50s in my classes, and it is wonderful to see their self-confidence.

The young have figures, but no self-assurance. They tend to dance to prove something. Not for the music, nor for the partner. Older dancers have experience, and from there, a better sense of self. The moves are more real then, less show.

salsa!

I do the club version though - as in social salsa, because I don't have a partner. I typically dance LA style, though if the lead is good, I can follow on 2 (NY) and cuban.

Other club dances which are fun are the merengue and bachata too, though I avoid sleazy men for the latter, as it is a close contact dance. The latter is a dance from the Dominican republic, by the blue-collar classes. Was a way of escape from the weariness of daily life. The music tends to speak of passion, love, loss. Much rawer and more sensual vs the stylised lines of latin ballroom. One of my favourite videos here: Solo por un beso (For a single kiss.. sorry to those who've seen it before )

FM, c'mon, NT, get up... your processing speed.


Victor, yes. That's why I love dance. It is a catharsis for me. For the things beyond words. For those hours, it is just the studio, me, the floor, the music. And that's all that matters. How I can write the music into form and life with the body.

 

[alcea rosea]

My wife and I are in our 50s. I think clambering up and down a pole would be a prelude for a heart attack rather than romance.

But for you younger gals: By all means, carry on!

 

[Mole]

Dancing for Performance

I am mildly extroverted so I do enjoy dancing for others. But the problem I have with performance dancing is that you are concerned about how others are seeing you. Rather I would prefer to focus on the dance and my partner and how we are feeling.

Victor

 

[RDF]

Ah, Fineline, i see what you mean. Yes, it certainly would be a good idea to have the paramedics in on the private performance.

How about the rhumba, or the tango? The argentine tango! If you've learnt for 8 years and can do the mambo, a slow tango shouldn't be a problem.

Wait a sec--we're back out of the bedroom and on the dance floor again, right? (I don't think there's room in the bedroom for a proper tango.)

Actually, my wife and I do a pretty solid intermediate-level ballroom Tango. It's one of the more dramatic dances, with lots of direction changes, dips, sweeps, and sudden change-ups. Lots of movement around the floor. The wife likes it a lot. And the music is fun--you can always tell when the band strikes up a tango.

Argentine Tango--we don't do that one so much. It's more poised and requires a lot of fine muscular control. My wife fights it a bit, so we've never gotten much beyond the basics.

 

[white]

Argentine Tango--we don't do that one so much. It's more poised and requires a lot of fine muscular control. My wife fights it a bit, so we've never gotten much beyond the basics.

You mean your lead is not definite enough for her It takes two in a dance....

Yes Victor, not performance for me. I've never performed salsa. Only performed exotic dance once, and that was at the request of my teacher. She basically threatened to stop teaching me unless I get out there to perform . You take your dance to a new level when you dare show to a crowd.

 

[Mole]

Dancing Hands

Another interesting way to dance is by massage.

And the massage may just be the head and throat of your partner.

And rather than following a routine, you can let your hands dance to the person you are massaging.

So your hands follow the tension and relaxation in your partner's head and throat - your hands follow the slight movements of your partner's face - and most important your hands may follow the breathing of your partner.

So essentially your partner is leading the massage dance and your dancing hands are following.

This can lead to a very close reading of your partner's immediate feelings.

I do think it is a mistake for the masseur to try to lead the partner - it tends to not work very well.

But dancing hands following the breathing and feelings of your partner hit the spot.

Victor.

 

[RDF]

Aw, Fineline, never too old, I've had ladies of 50s in my classes, and it is wonderful to see their self-confidence.

The young have figures, but no self-assurance. They tend to dance to prove something. Not for the music, nor for the partner. Older dancers have experience, and from there, a better sense of self. The moves are more real then, less show.

I wouldn't object, myself. But I don't really see the wife getting on board with the idea of a brass pole installed in the bedroom.

Who knows though. Like I say, if she takes an interest in a class on her own initiative...

salsa!

I do the club version though - as in social salsa, because I don't have a partner. I typically dance LA style, though if the lead is good, I can follow on 2 (NY) and cuban.

Other club dances which are fun are the merengue and bachata too, though I avoid sleazy men for the latter, as it is a close contact dance. The latter is a dance from the Dominican republic, by the blue-collar classes. Was a way of escape from the weariness of daily life. The music tends to speak of passion, love, loss. Much rawer and more sensual vs the stylised lines of latin ballroom. One of my favourite videos here: Solo por un beso (For a single kiss.. sorry to those who've seen it before )

I don't know the bachata. We haven't been doing the club dances much. I'll definitely check out the video--I'm curious. But the merengue is included in some Latin/Ballroom protocols, so we actually dance the merengue pretty frequently.

How about Hustle--anyone still doing that in the clubs these days? We dance it in the ballrooms pretty frequently. It's a fast-paced turning dance; it's not the old original Hustle from the 70s, which had a lot of arm-waving and toe-tapping.

FM, c'mon, NT, get up... your processing speed.

It's the wife's computer. I tell her to get DSL or whatever, but she keeps procrastinating. She mostly just uses it for email.