Posts Tagged ‘Dance’

Photos from my feather fan dance performance in Seattle at the Jump Session Show for Camp Jitterbug a few weeks ago. The costume is new, with my corset and pointe shoes gathering more and more Swarovski crystals by the day!

I’m down in Buenos Aires right now, and can’t help but be swept up in the Tango here. I’m truly terrible, but thankfully my Lindy Hop skillz mean that the Tango leads can at least whisk me around the floor and let me pretend I know what the hell I’m doing.  Anyway, I stumbled across this heartwrenching animated short, entitled “En Tus Brazos” (In Your Arms). Set in the 1920s, it tells the tale of a famous tango dancer struck down by a tragic accident. The creators are actually French and it’s from way back in 2005. Directed by François-Xavier Goby, Edouard Jouret and Matthieu Landour.

The website, where you can also see the short film, is really gorgeous too: www.entusbrazos.fr

Enjoy!

I just posted about Irene and Vernon Castle on my jazz dance blog, and couldn’t help but post a few photos of Irene Castle here also. She was a fashion visionary and trend setter in the 1910s. She wore cutting edge designs, and – as a dancer’s convenience – shortened her skirts and even bobbed her hair in 1915, long before it became de rigueur.

If you aren’t familiar with Irene and Vernon Castle, here’s a compilation I put together, with footage of the Castles, as well as clips from Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers’ tribute to them, the 1940s film, The Vernon & Irene Castle Story.

Such a classic swing girl look from the early 1940s. I wear this combination all the time – striped top, high waisted skirt. I have a pair of dance shoes with a similar look:

They’re from Remix and my lovely boyfriend bought them for me!

A lovely shot of a bystander at the Summer Jamboree Festival in Senigallia, Italy. It’s one of the biggest rock and roll and retro-themed festivals in Europe, and it’s based in a gorgeous Italian seaside town, on the Adriatic coast. I was there a few years ago as a swing dance instructor for the dance camp that is part of the festival, and I’d love to go again just for fun.

The tiny town was packed with retro enthusiasts from across Europe and the globe, many of whom drove their retro cars, motorcycles and scooters into town. There was an enormous vintage market that just about destroyed my bank balance, and everyone was dressed vintage style head to toe (mostly 1950s), every moment of the day. Dita Von Teese was there that year, and I had the pleasure of meeting her backstage (she’s really tiny) and seeing her live show, as well as watching the myriad of rock and roll music legends that the festival brings in (Jerry Lee Lewis was there that year).

Recommended if you’re a fan of 1940s/50′s and rock ‘n roll. The dance camp teaches Lindy Hop, but it’s not really a swing event overall – more rock ‘n roll, rockabilly and boogie woogie. Anyway, everywhere you turned was a glamorous sight like the lady above. Drop me a line if you know who she is…