GFit Around the World Class Performance
Every Tuesday and Thursday at 4 pm, I have a class at Google called “Around the World”. I’ve long loved world dance, and I really enjoy this excuse to practice, learn, and choreograph lots of new dance styles. When it came to GoogleMela showtime, this class voted on which of the many dance styles they wanted to perform. The two that came out on top – cha cha and tango. We ended up doing cha cha (as it’s a little more performance friendly). We then had to pick from the four cha cha’s that we’ve learned this year. After much deliberation (actually just one class worth’s of dancing and voting), we ended up with this piece. It was originally supposed to be both guys and girls… I dunno why the guys didn’t have time to come to practice. But the class is open to guys! I swear! Please come!
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The song, “In These Shoes” by Kirsty MacColl has great lyrics. In fact the whole album, “Tropical Brainstorm” is great. Pretty rare that a whole album is good.
The ladies partner up for cha cha time – by the way, we do not do partner dancing in class. The class is meant to be fun and really good cardio workout.
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Shouts out to Karina, our costume lead, who shopped around for these great skirts. You know you’re a dancer when you dance around in the dressing room to see how the skirt will flow. =)
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A big thank you to our photographer, Rebecca Dowell Mashhadian, who knows when the crosssover break is coming. It helps to have a photographer who used to be a professional dance instructor!
We worked a lot on getting into character for this piece. I think Lei got there for this photo.
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The only problem with interns is that they go away. We miss you Kristin!
Tango steps for Around the World
Hey Dancers,
Are you ready to perform at Google? We have a chance to dance in the International Cultural Festival on August 13th. This will be a Googler based show on Charlie’s Patio, all are welcome to join in or watch.
I want Around the World to perform! We may even do this tango (or cha cha? or African?) We will meet for rehearsals on Wednesdays at 3:30 pm starting next week – email me if you have any questions.
In the meantime, here are your tango steps:
And the Gotan Project tango with music:
Wushu!
All Right Around the World class – it’s time to really burn those thighs up.
Wushu is a traditional Chinese martial art / dance form. It has many different styles, including work using staff or sword. This video gives a great overview of different styles (with some slow motion so you can see what they are actually doing!):
And of the course, the totally awesome “drunken” style:
Hope that helps put in perspective what we are doing, which is a simplified version to fit the music “I Don’t Know Cantonese” by Wilber Pan.
Here’s the movements we’re going to be doing in class:
Shouts out to Alex. and Audrey for their help in putting together this combo!
Show me your horse stance!!
Swing steps to Tolouse Stomp
First off, shouts out to Rob and Diane, two great swing dance teachers who used to the premiere swing champs in this area. Sadly for the SF Bay Area, they’ve moved down to Santa Barbara. However, while they were up here they choreographed some steps to this song, the Tolouse Stomp.
We’re doing a modified version in “Around the World” class:
And here are the steps with the music:
If you want to go out swing dancing here, check out the classes at Swing Central or Lindy in the Park. Swing Central offers traditional classes and parties in Redwood City, while Lindy in the Park is a free outdoor event on Sundays in San Francisco’s Golden Gate park. See you there!
Yeehaw!
Thanks to the various folks who have suggested that we use line dancing to represent America in Around the World class.
So grab your cowboy hat and get ready!
Here’s our brand new line dance to “All Things Considered” by Montgomery Gentry.
Here’s the steps:
And here’s the dance with music (it’s a lot more fun with the hits):
I love the line about “And the dog won’t let me pet him, he just lays around
And growls at my feet” – Awww = (
Shouts out to Rebecca Ahn and decadance for putting together the first version on this choreography! Make sure to check them out at their spring show coming soon.
New Irish dance to Siamsa
Here’s a little Irish Ceili dance – it incorporates some reel steps and some jig steps.
If you’re interested in doing more Irish Ceili there is a weekly dance in Alameda.
These dance steps are in the casual social style that they do there – lots of fun for meeting people and social dancing!
Here are the steps slow:
And here a little faster:
See you in class for more fun dances from Around the World.
Dance World Live – Bollywood Performance Class!
Lights… Costume… Dancing!!
If you’ve always wanted a chance to perform, join me for “Dance World Live”! This cool new class at the Decathlon Club will begin in June (you do not need to be a member of Decathlon to join us).
Each month the group will learn a new choreography in one style from somewhere in the world – specially choreographed just for you. We will start with Bollywood in June – a medley of top hit songs from famous movies. After 4 weeks of rehearsing it will be time to perform, complete with costumes!
Because we will have dancers at different levels, there may be chances for more intermediate / advanced dancers to learn special small group and solo sections. So beginning dancers – feel free to join the class, you will have simple but fun steps to master. More experienced dancers, join up too – you will have a special class time on Saturday June 6th (or various Thursdays) to learn your solo / small group parts!
In June we will meet on Tuesday nights at 8 pm. The performance will be on June 28th in the evening and will feature special guest bellydance stars as well as our performance!
The class will cost only $75 – and you will have access to special videos, music, and instruction notes. Costume costs are not included in the class fee. Please email “jrowe at courtsideclub.com” to register.
Each month will feature a new dance style from Around the World – bellydance, Irish dance, tango… it’s going to be very exciting. And you will certainly get your exercise while practicing and having a great time.
Feel free to bring friends to join the class – it’s much more fun performing with your friends. You will learn a lot and get a chance to show off with friends and family.
New Chinese Ribbon Dance
Hello Around the World dancers!
So as I mentioned in class… some people seem to have thought that the last ribbon dance was not tiring enough. Well we fixed that! This is such a cute song by Stephanie Sun – it makes you smile just to listen to it. I hope you come out to class Tues / Thurs at 4 pm to enjoy this dance – and hold on tight to those chopsticks!
Cinco De Mayo on Tuesday
Don’t Miss your Zumba class this week!
There might be special treats for Cinco de Mayo!
Around the World on Tuesday will be “All Around Mexico” (plus or minus) with some extra festivities before hand – so make sure to get to the gym by 3:30 pm.
For some history on Cinco de Mayo, check here.
I feel like we owe Mexicans A LOT for all of the contributions they have made to American culture, economy, and lifestyle. Mexico consistently gets a nasty rap in the media, and it’s good to check out some authentic Cinco de Mayo celebrations to realize that there is a lot of beautiful art and culture in this country that is so frequently disregarded.
New Israeli Folk Dance
Around the World peeps – we have a new Israeli folk dance to “Tikva / Hope” by Subliminal & The Shadow. The fun thing about Israeli folk dance is how casual and communal it is. In fact, you can give it a try at lots of places right here in the Bay Area. Because the style is casual, a lot of the arm motions and styling are up to you to make it your own.
There’s lots of bouncing in this dance to get your heart rate up – but the steps can be a little tricky if you aren’t used to them. I broke down the steps here slowly so you get a chance to practice before class:
Thank you to Kevin and Becky who were awesome enough to bring their two kids over to Google for an Israeli folk dance fest. I really enjoyed your break down of all the traditional Isreali steps – hope you don’t mind that I put them to a somewhat less traditional song!
