Ryan Woodward’s dance animation

So beautiful. Pure art.

Nike convention 2011

I did manage to attend this years Nike aerobic convention. It was 15th in a row and it is only fair to say it has outgrown itself in this 15 years. The venue was packed, the instructors wisely chosen as always, everything was perfect. The only negative side was probably the morning delay (only guessing), cause 900 people showed up at the same time and the door were probably to small to let them in all at once But luckily I wasn’t there in the morning, so for me everything was flawless.
Being 3 months after birth I did experience, what I was most afraid off. My shape has crashed the ground. A year ago I was on my peak probably, but now I’m starting from scratch. Which obviously means I can only go up. So the motivation is here, all I need now is time
Thank you Nike for another great experience, for bringing Tony Stone, Tom Wall, Nikkie Riozzi and others to Slovenia again. Can’t wait for the next year.

Phillip Chbeeb – Rhythmic Anatomy

Crrrrazy!!
“Phillip Chbeeb’s solo performance in Dance Houston’s FUSE Hip Hop Dance Festival on February 22, 2010 at the Wortham Theater Center.”

Vlado and Daniela’s delightful show

Everybody is talking about this year’s Sarajevo salsa congress. Apparently it was not just another congress, cause it gave the participants that little something more, the real vibe and the feeling of “I think I’d rather stay here and dance than go for the delicious famous portion of Cevapi”.  I saw this really really likable clip on Facebook of Vlado and Daniela‘s show and wanted to share. Did I mention I really really liked it? Especially the parts with pachanga. Mmmmm, pachanga…. “she” has that little something more for me.

http://www.facebook.com/v/499901338890

West coast swing

Boy, would I like to dance this genre… Love it!

Benji, still one of the best. In a likable, smoother version with Lacey:

All that “Adidas commercial”

When love for dancing and video editing meet…

Kyle Hanagami at his best

Simona Atzori – an inspiration

Simona Atzori is a young woman who was born with no arms. Yes, without either of the two! And apparently she is living a very happy and rich life. She loves to dance and she is extremely good at it. I read an interview with her (only in slovenian language) in which she describes her path, which of course was no rose garden and she had to go through a lot of obstacles and disappointments, yet she always found some inner strength to go on. Amazing spirit, will and determination. She lives her life with her feet only. Not only she dances with them, but also eats, draws etc. Her hips apparently have no limits.
I must say the interview touched me deeply and seeing a clip of her dancing made my pregnancy hormones go even wilder. Simona is a true inspiration for she never asked or wanted pity, she just wanted to dance, move and be happy. And she has all that now. Way to go.

And here is a clip of her dancing. Wow! I love the fact how this handycaption is used in the dancing. It’s not hidden, it’s there for us to see and learn from it.

Mr. Mambo King – a legend

Having so much time to kill, while waiting for my baby to come out, I ran into some clips of recent Eddie Torres shows and remembered what a privilege it was to attend his classes a couple of years ago. You believe it when you see it. The name Mambo King does him justice and when you take his pachanga class, you know you’ve been inspired for good.
Even the shows are pure pleasure for the eyes. Though you know it’s not about the story, not about the lifts and tricks, not about the spins and styling… it’s about the groove, the feel, the soul… OK, and his TM costumes .
All I can say is “Thank you Mr. Eddie Torres!”

His bio tells us an interesting story on how and why he started dancing. Quoted from his website: “He was merely 12 years old when he caught the dancing bug. Just back in New York after a two year sojourn in Puerto Rico, he developed a puppy-love crush on a girl from the hood. Shyly, he asked her to the movies and she made a counter-offer: why didn’t he come to her house? That Saturday, when Renée opened the door, Eddie was surprised to see a tall, good-looking guy sitting on the couch. Renée whispered apologetically, “He’s my ex-boyfriend. He’s looking to make up with me.” Then, in an attempt to break the tension, she asked Eddie, “Do you know how to Latin?” She wanted to know if he knew how to dance Latin. Fresh from Puerto Rico, his confidence emboldened him. Renée leaned over the record player and dropped the needle on the groove of Eddie Palmieri’s Azucar Pa’ Ti. Not knowing a thing about leading position or about timing, the young suitor started jumping around, then glanced over to collect looks of approval. But his rival on the couch sat clamping his jaw closed, holding back a burst of laughter. Two minutes into the number, Renée retired her inexperienced partner, pulled her ex-boyfriend up and explained in a professorial manner, “Let me show you the way WE do the Latin.” It was plain to see that there was a lot of coordination, plenty of moving together and all sorts of turns. The more they danced, the worse Eddie felt. After the dance demonstration, his love interest pulled him to one side and explained, “He really wants to make up with me.” From that moment, Eddie made himself a promise, “This is never going to happen to me again. I’m going to learn how to dance.”

I’m sure someone can somehow relate to that . Although his determination led him far. He learned and learned and learned, he worked with Tito Puente, competed, developed NY on2 style of dancing and also started teaching. He did all this in the era when Latin dance was not as popular. That is why I said the nickname Mr. Mambo King does him juste. One can read even more about him on his website.

Below, I am attaching some clips from this years Hamburg salsa festival, which took place in July.

With Melissa Rosado in Remember the time / and yes I do remember the time when I took those classes

His solo show:

Melissa’s solo show:

And many more…

7th Salsa Power Festival

Last weekend was in the name of magical number 7. The traditional Slovenian Salsa Power festival took place in Ljubljana, unfortunately this time completely without me . My big belly did not find its place in it . But from what I hear it was once again a great event, with quality classes and parties in the beautiful hall of Festivalna Ljubljana. The organizer of the festival, Buba center, celebrated it’s 5 years of establishment at the same time, which gave the Friday evening party a special touch (there was a cake! ).

Here are some clips of the shows seen on Saturday’s gala party.

Nuno & Vanda:

Jazzy & Alexistyle:

Mark Anthony & Susie:

Mambo en Clave: