This is a Latin dance and is a mix of different Cuban dances. There are many different regional versions of the Salsa, most of which are North American.
In Salsa, weight shifts are done in the hips with arm and shoulder movements incorporated.
With the New York style, the dancers remain in front of each other while in the Cuban style they circle around each other.
Performed on the night by Marcus and Maria to “Mas Que Nada” by Sergio Mendes and Black-Eyed Peas.
Charleston is a harbour city in South Carolina. South Carolina is known as the Palmetto State due to the fact its main fort was built on spongey palmetto wood which helped repel a British attack as the cannonballs simply bounced off the fortress. Perhaps it is no surprise the Charleston dance is characterised by its bouncy rhythmic movements.
The Charleston made its debut to the wider world in 1923 in the Broadway show Runnin’ Wild. It is comprised of the African dance Juba and consists of fast footwork with twisting, bouncing heelwork and swinging arms.
Performed on the night by Aoife and Harry to “Pencil Full of Lead” by Paolo Nutini.
and
Susan and Paul to “Happy” by C2C.
Swing dancing was born out of the jazz movement of the 1920s in the USA. As the sound developed, so too did the dances and this involved incorporating the popular dances at the time like the Charleston and Foxtrot. This would eventually become the Lindy Hop, a dance many credit as the genesis of Swing.
There are many forms of swing and the most popular include Lindy Hop, jive, the Jitterbug and West Coast Swing. Swing is an exciting fast-paced dance and the participants hold hands.
Performed on the night by Úna and Michael to “Do You Love Me?” by The Contours.
The Jive is a dance formed from African-American dances in the 1930s. It’s a more uninhabited version of the Jitterbug. Cab Calloway was an early proponent and it brought it to the attention of the wider public.
It is a very happy and ‘boppy’ dance with the lifting and bending of knees and rocking of the hips commonplace. This dance is usually performed to Swing or Rock music.
Performed on the night by Sharyn and Przemek to “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins.
and
Máire and David to “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.
On January 22nd, the Active Retirement Group took a trip to the historic Abbey Theatre. We were given an exclusive and in-depth tour of the theatre, stage, and backstage. We were shown how the special effects worked and how the character wigs were made. We grabbed lunch at Wynn’s Hotel before setting back to the Abbey to see ‘Drama at Inish’. It was a great day filled with laughs!
