Want to learn ballroom dancing?
Samba (the best rhythm and music) +
With a partner (the best way to dance!)
=
The best ever!
Starting this Thursday (October 1st) I’ll be offering a ballroom dance series at the Decathlon Club in Santa Clara. It will be 4 weeks of how to dance samba with a partner. If you’ve never done samba or never danced with a partner before that’s fine, we will start at the very beginning. But over the course of four weeks you will progress through the basic patterns and into some fun and exciting variations.
You do not need to be a member of Decathlon to join, just email “Jenny Rowe” <jrowe at courtsideclub dot com> to register.
Every week we meet from 8-9 pm for lesson, and then we practice, I answer questions and work individually with people, etc. from 9-9:30 pm. It’s generally a nice, small group so you get all your questions answered!
You do not need a partner to join, we generally have both singles and couples in class.
See you soon!
Anna
Partner Salsa dancing videos
Hey Salsa Dancers!
Hope you’ve been enjoying our classes so far – you guys have learned a ton in just two classes! We’ll do lots of review to make sure it all sticks. Here are some videos from the first class – hope they help with review. I’ll make sure we tape the other steps this week in class.
Here’s a walk through of the basic steps:
And here are the steps with some music:
See you Thursday at 8 pm for more salsa – and remember next month is tango, so sign up now to save your spot!
Google Bollywood Series Success!
Teaching Bollywood at Google was a huge success!
Everyone keeps asking if we are going to have more Bollywood classes – for now all I can say is come to my other classes at Google!
Dance classes are offered every day:
Monday and Wednesday at 7 pm we have Hip Hop dance. These days there is so much hip hop in Bollywood – it almost feels the same! I even use some Hindi remixes in the music I play, so if you liked Bollywood you’ll probably like this class.
Tuesday and Thursday at 4 pm we have Around the World class. This class always features at least one Bollywood or Bhangra. We also do dances from China, Russia, Africa, Ireland, Brazil… everywhere! It’s a great workout and lots of fun.
Fridays at 5 pm we have Zumba, which is cardio latin dance (salsa, samba, cha cha, etc). Start your weekend out right with this healthy dose of exercise, great music, and fun steps. Check the internal groupfitness link for more information.
I was so impressed at the turn out that we had at Bollywood. We had between 50-85 dancers in each class, 230 dancers in all came out to class at some point. Everyone had such great energy it was like a party! It was great to see dancers of all ages, genders, races, etc. coming out to enjoy this little taste of Indian culture.
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We danced to songs from various hit movies, including:
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Twist from Love Aaj Kal
Mauja hi Mauj
Nagada, Nagada
Nach Baliye,
Khwab Dekhe
Latoo
Dance Pe Chance
Love Mera Hit Hit
Desi Girl
Raahe Raahe by Jasi Sidhu (Bhangra)
Dhoom Machale
Dard E Disco
Deewangi Deewangi
It’s hard to believe that we did all that in just 6 classes! That was a lot of
steps that everyone learned.
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A big round of thank yous to my fabulous teaching assistants who came out weeks before the class to learn all the steps. Due to them it was possible for people even in the back of the room to see someone who know what was going on and have a good time participating. Thank you to Katherine, Karina, Minya, Lan, Jatin, Sugeeti, Finnegan, Merry, and Lauren for showing up early, helping with setup, learning all those steps, and helping to make this all possible.
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I would also like to thank the IGN for working with us to throw a little afterparty after every class – you guys are awesome! Of course a big thank you to John Thomas (my contact at the IGN) who helped me week after week to arrange tasty food for everyone. We had samosas, mango lassis, a special tea tasting, Indian sweets – all different things on different weeks! I hope everyone enjoyed the party as much as I did. Also big thank you to Anuj, Neha, Angeli, Vamsi, Amit, and other IGN helpers who came out to help with food and recruiting.
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If you’d like to join the IGN head to go/IGN – they have a neat blog and lots of information on what’s coming up next.
And of course, thank you to GFit that was responsible for this class. I am so glad that the managers at GFit are flexible and enthusiastic about such crazy ideas as having a huge dance class in a Tech Talk room. Thanks to Sue Hutchinson for being so supportive of all the off-the-wall endeavors, and thanks to Sue, Josh, and Newton for helping with set up and check in.
Too bad my most favorite-est AV specialist wasn’t there for all the classes. But thank you to Heraldo for the classes that he could make before he went to Japan. It was so good to have you there to balance the mic and music and video etc. etc.! And a special thank you to Rebecca and Dave and Debra who came completely of their own good nature to move chairs, check people in, help with food setup, and general moral support. You guys are awesome.
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See you all soon in all the other GFit dance classes!
Have thoughts on what else you want to see at Google? Email sueh@google.com
Anna and Ruchita on dress up day – Thank you to Ruchita for arranging costumes for the GoogleMela performance!
Anna with two super teaching assistants – Lan and Minya – go Group Shimmy!
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Anna with the finance team (we’re in the money, the skies are sunny…) Thanks to Anuj for awesome recruiting skillz and to Karina for being a great T.A.!
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.Bollywood dancers, concentrating hard!
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Anna with the Scott, Ruchita, Prachi and Aprajita who were some of the performers at GoogleMela representing the GFit Bollywood Dance Class! They performed Love Mera Hit Hit from Billu Barber and were a grand opening to the show.
Bollywood at Google!
Bollywood has finally come to Google!
Get ready to shake it with our series of 6 classes held in Maxwell Tech Talk in Crittenden 3.
Every Class is free standing – don’t worry if you missed one, you won’t be “behind the class”.
We are working on a video setup / a stage / portable mic / more visible T.A.s so that you will be able to see me (and the T.A.s) better in next week’s class. As well, we will have fans to keep the room cooler!
*Please note the unusual schedule!*
Come Dance and Party with us on:
- 7/13, at 6:00 pm
- 7/23, at 6:00 pm
- 7/30, at 5:30 pm
- 8/5, at 5:30 pm
- 8/12, at 5:30 pm
LOCATION: Maxwell Tech Talk Room, Crittenden 3
Register at go/bollywooddance
Bollywood is a nickname for films from India that contain dazzling musical song and dance numbers. Bollywood dancing is a mixture of traditional Indian folk forms such as Bhangra with contemporary movements from jazz and hip hop. But really – anything goes as long as it’s fun!
We’ll be dancing fun and simple steps to hit songs from recent popular Bollywood movies such as Dostana, Billu Barber, Om Shanti Om, Jab we Met, and others. No dance experience necessary, anyone can do these steps. Please wear comfortable clothes that you can sweat in – and shoes that provide some cushion when you jump (high heels are not recommended). As well, please bring your favorite re-usable water bottle – good for the planet and good for you!
Even better, we will be following each dance class with a party sponsored by IGN (Indus Googler Network). The IGN will keep the music and dancing going, and you can snack on some tasty Indian treats and chat with new friends. If you are available to volunteer with the IGN to help us with set-up, food, etc. for this dance party, please volunteer here.
LOCATION: Maxwell Tech Talk Room, Crittenden 3
WHEN: The dates and times for this class vary widely. We apologize for any confusion this may cause.
Class will be held on:
- 7/13, at 6:00 pm
- 7/23, at 6:00 pm
- 7/30, at 5:30 pm
- 8/5, at 5:30 pm
- 8/12, at 5:30 pm
Party will directly follow each class.
We know the scheduling is non-ideal, but this is what was available given the parameters we’re working under.
COST: The classes and party are free, but for the class dancers must be registered with the GFit group exercise program. If you are not already registered please click here to register.
QUESTIONS? Please email sueh@google.com
EXTRA BONUS! Dancers who participate in the classes will have a chance to perform a Bollywood routine at the International Cultural Event on August 13th! If you’ve been waiting for your chance to Shakalaka Boom Boom, this is it!
