Trockaderos Give New Meaning to Partner Dancing

Posted on January 23, 2015 by WildBill

Yeah, we know that “partnering” in ballet isn’t the same as couples social dancing, but if you have never seen the all-male productions of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (affectionately referred to as the “Trocks”) you are missing some great entertainment. Before we saw them, we wondered if male ballet dancers (ballerinos) ever wore the pointe shoes that ballerinas do; were their greater weight too much? Not at all. But to see men in leotards (often with considerable chest hair sticking out) and tutus is a hoot. (Unfortunately, the performance we saw included a portion of Swan Lake, so we will never be able to see the real thing without laughing.) But, seriously, these guys have to be really fit, and to dance some roles as men and others as women takes a special body (strong but not too muscular-looking or too heavy to be lifted). All of this requires special training, as described in The Wall Street Journal.

Ballroom Dancing Is the Success Key for BeyondCore Founder and CEO

Posted on November 6, 2014 by WildBill

There are lots of routes to success in Silicon Valley. Data Visualization Company founder and CEO Arijit Sengupta took one that might be considered highly unusual … unless you knew how extensive the social couples dancing offerings were at his alma mater. (In fact, a key reason that the Clintons’ daughter Chelsea chose Stanford University was because of its extensive dance offerings. And the dedication and major contributions of of Richard Powers have kept Stanford famous for its dancing.) But what is interesting about Arijit Sengupta is that he has woven dance-inspired ideas—e.g., a “floating floor” for his office or favorite songs for his smartphone’s ringtones—into his business life, as chronicled in Fast Company. His only regret: he doesn’t have enough time to dance anymore because his company is so successful that he is in great demand to lead it and to speak on behalf on the Big Data industry.

Will Breakdance Replace Classic Ballet?

Posted on June 21, 2014 by WildBill

The spectators were drinking Red Bull instead champagne and the performers were wearing electic casual clothes not tutus and tights, but the dancing was incredible on June 20 at Chicago’s Opera House, on the opening night of the 2014 World Tour of the Flying Bach troupe. While there have for many years been interesting crossover music and dance combinations (jazz choral groups singing baroque songs come to mind), pairing the piano and harpsichord of Bach’s Well-Tempered Claviar with breakdancing (usually done to rap or Hip-Hop music) is a real stretch. Especially because the dancers, who usually have a straightforward beat to follow, now had to each follow a separate melody line of a fugue. And we wonder how much impact such performances will have on classic ballet. Ballet is more about women than men, but breakdancing is more of a male activity because of its demands on upper body strength. And to further add to the contrast, the 2014 schedule snubs New York and includes only Chicago for its 6 U.S. performances, but has 10 performances in Chile, 8 in Canada, 3 in Belgium, and 1 each in Azerbaijan and Qatar.

“All Men Must Dance” at Stanford’s Annual Big Dance

Posted on May 8, 2014 by WildBill

Friday, May 9 at 9 pm the fun begins, and lasts until 6 am on Saturday. We’re not sure whether this year’s theme is a promise or a threat to male dancers. After all, they will have to do a LOT of leading (i.e., thinking), as well as moving, during the couples dances, which all experienced male dancers can attest is very tiring. In any case, this will be the 21st year that Stanford’s amazing Richard Powers has led this event, and doubtless at 6 am there will be a lot of dancers who are 10+ year veterans.

Mountain Winery Names Featured Beverage Wilddancer

Posted on April 24, 2014 by WildBill

From the Saratoga, CA-based Mountain Winery you can see the whole South Bay. We couldn’t resist attending their April 18 Country Roadhouse event, because it featured a proven country-western band called WANTED) But when marketing director Katelyn Studebaker found out what Wilddancer does, she immediately named their featured whiskey sour after us. And she had the dance floor well set up, with a lane around the outside for the dances that moved (mostly two-step and cowboy cha cha on April 18) and the center for swing and other dances that don’t move.

Chinese Youngsters Complain Oldsters’ Dance Music is too Loud!

Posted on April 17, 2014 by WildBill

Chinese people love social couples dancing. They do it, along with numerous other fitness activities (tai chi, karate, hacky sack (yup!), …), in parks, usually early in the morning. Wilddancer has joined them in Shanghai and Beijing. We deemed ourselves too young to particpate in the “Seniles Disco” in Shanghai (lost in translation), but joined a group who had music that matched what we often danced to. And we had to dance with everyone in the group, essentially none of whom had ever taken lessons in western-style ballroom or latin dances. In Beijing it was on National Day, and our west coast swing made all our new friends watch (and applaud).

Creative Combination of Social and Competitive Dancing

Posted on March 31, 2014 by WildBill

Whether you’re already an enthusiastic social dancer, or just interested in an up-close look (from front row table seats) at world-class ballroom dancing, you might want to take advantage of a thoughtful “guided tour” during the San Francisco Open DanceSport Championships April 11-13 at the Marriott Hotel near the San Francisco Airport. Senior champs James Kleinrath and Melody Singleton, who have recently taken over the Imperial Ballroom in Redwood City (where Dancing with the Stars standout Anna Trebunskaya trained former San Francisco Forty Niners star Jerry Rice), will be the tour guides. Top dancers in all four divisions will be dancing Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, Rumba, Cha Cha, Swing, Bolero, Jive, Paso Doble, Mambo, Samba and more. Because the worlds of social and competitive dancing have recently grown apart, and because competitors are now being groomed (mostly outside the United States) to compete from an early age, these two worlds rarely overlap. Wilddancer believes taking advantage of local opportunities for promotion is all too rare in both the ballroom and country-western dance worlds, so applaud the creativity of James and Melody …who are exceptions, having started as social dancers, and are imparting their skills to social dancers. And if the past is a guide, there will be some opportunity to do social dancing during breaks in the competition, with a nice large floor and great dance music. The $50 tour will start at 8 pm on Sunday, April 13, and there is an optional dinner nearby starting at 5:30 pm. Contact James Kleinrath, at 650-591-6757 or jameskleinrath@hotmail.com.

Dance at a Nightclub, Have More Sex?

Posted on February 13, 2014 by WildBill

That should get some attention from men … perhaps enough to get them into dance lessons. Because they need to learn more than women do in order to make the couple look good, many men aren’t willing to make the effort. But the likelihood of more sex might be enough to get them into a dance studio. And according to the Wall Street Journal, it’s a good way to act like a teenager to make sparks fly.

Ice Dancing at the Winter Olympics: More Like Ballroom Dancing Than Ice Skating

Posted on February 13, 2014 by WildBill

Couples dancing needs a lot more promotion than it usually gets, but right now it may be getting a bunch of free advertising thanks to the growing list of household names sponsoring ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White. According to the Wall Street Journal, their sponsors include Airwave (a Japanese mattress company), AT&T, Kellogg’s, Procter & Gamble, Ralph Lauren, and VISA. “Dancing with the Stars” has apparently boosted interest in ice dancing, and its choreographer Derek Hough helped the couple with their routines.

UCWDC Worlds Championships: Best Country Western Dancers

Posted on January 22, 2014 by WildBill

Wilddancer attended the annual US country western dancing championships in Nashville (“Music City”) during the week starting with New Year’s Eve, where hundreds of slender, fit people vied for top honors in eight different couples dances plus line dances and team dances. These folks were all having fun and staying in shape at the same time.