When I was young, a very long time ago, I had a friend who pulled out the extra leaf of a dining room table and placed it on the floor so we could tap dance. He showed me how to shuffle, shuffle, tap, tap, and I thought I knew how to tap dance. Then I saw Bo Jangles dance with Shirley Temple in a movie and knew I had two left feet.
In high school, every October, there was a special festival and each class was assigned a new song and dance theme. Our class did "Alice Blue Gown", and we wore long blue dresses and carried round hat boxes which we put down beside us so we could dance around them. We thought we were fabulous until we went to the movies and saw "The Ziegfield Follies."
As a young teenager, when the jitterbug was in, we girls taught the boys all the steps and had a lot of fun. We listened to the Big Bands on the radio. We used to sing cowboy songs but when the boogie-woogie came to town our taste in music took on the beat, we bought the records ,which had the words written on the jackets, and learned them all by heart. Strange not one of us had a voice, but it didn't bother us a bit.
As a young married lady, my husband and I attended a dinner dance or two and enjoyed a dance called "The Paul Jones". The men formed a circle around the ladies and the band started to play, then stopped . . . to find ourselves with a different dance partner. It was always such fun as we circled around the room when the music started up again.
We danced the polka, the waltz; the fox trot; jitterbug; boogie woogie; then a huge change came about as The Beach Boys, Elvis and many others introduced us to "the swim"; "the twist" and the beat to "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog". The dancers didn't dance together anymore, but separately, standing before each other doing their own steps.
I'm not sure what is the dance of today. On television they have dancers doing the tango and other dances, reminding me of acrobatics. Some are beautiful to watch and some are ridiculous.
I always thought ballet was boring until I actually went to a theater and sat through a performance and it changed my mind and my heart for a world that is different and quiet, and beautiful. "The Nutcracker" has been playing for many years and signals Christmas is near. The story and the dancers are special.
I have seen folks do the Irish Jig; the Jewish Hora; the Greek Handkerchief dance; and I'm sure that every country has a dance which I have not been introduced to, but would love to watch them all, maybe even join in. The Russian kick dance is a familiar one. I wish I could think of more dances to add to my musing . . ."Do You dance?" I hope so.
In high school, every October, there was a special festival and each class was assigned a new song and dance theme. Our class did "Alice Blue Gown", and we wore long blue dresses and carried round hat boxes which we put down beside us so we could dance around them. We thought we were fabulous until we went to the movies and saw "The Ziegfield Follies."
As a young teenager, when the jitterbug was in, we girls taught the boys all the steps and had a lot of fun. We listened to the Big Bands on the radio. We used to sing cowboy songs but when the boogie-woogie came to town our taste in music took on the beat, we bought the records ,which had the words written on the jackets, and learned them all by heart. Strange not one of us had a voice, but it didn't bother us a bit.
As a young married lady, my husband and I attended a dinner dance or two and enjoyed a dance called "The Paul Jones". The men formed a circle around the ladies and the band started to play, then stopped . . . to find ourselves with a different dance partner. It was always such fun as we circled around the room when the music started up again.
We danced the polka, the waltz; the fox trot; jitterbug; boogie woogie; then a huge change came about as The Beach Boys, Elvis and many others introduced us to "the swim"; "the twist" and the beat to "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog". The dancers didn't dance together anymore, but separately, standing before each other doing their own steps.
I'm not sure what is the dance of today. On television they have dancers doing the tango and other dances, reminding me of acrobatics. Some are beautiful to watch and some are ridiculous.
I always thought ballet was boring until I actually went to a theater and sat through a performance and it changed my mind and my heart for a world that is different and quiet, and beautiful. "The Nutcracker" has been playing for many years and signals Christmas is near. The story and the dancers are special.
I have seen folks do the Irish Jig; the Jewish Hora; the Greek Handkerchief dance; and I'm sure that every country has a dance which I have not been introduced to, but would love to watch them all, maybe even join in. The Russian kick dance is a familiar one. I wish I could think of more dances to add to my musing . . ."Do You dance?" I hope so.
The picture shows that the apple does not fall far from the tree as you see my granddaughter, Erin and her partner posed to start a Salsa dance.
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