Have you ever gone through a month of intense reluctance to attend your dancing lessons? You just did not feel like going. You have not gone social dancing for a while, and you were losing the excitement you once had for learning how to dance. Something that used to keep you up late at night is not all that it used to be. That is perhaps when inspiration needs a little butt-kicking! CONTINUE READING
The Out-Of Syllabus Dancesport Competition
In the syllabus levels of a Latin and Ballroom dance competition, there is a series of dance steps that couples must adhere to and dance only the steps that are appropriate for their level. Having been competing in the pro/am (teacher/student competitions) syllabus levels for the past 2 years, there had not been a single competition where I did not spot at least 1 out-of-syllabus incident. Is there someone on the floor monitoring this? For most competitions, it looks like there is not sufficient oversight.
Most would agree that couples often need to grab the judges’ attention in order to get noticed and place well in Dancesport competitions. Couples that incorporate dance steps from the higher levels will often have an advantage because they will be more visible on the floor. They would be performing the faster, more intricate, some would say more interesting dance routines. This is not fair to the couples who stick to the rules. One of my competing students had also spotted couples dancing “all these cool” moves in her category and began implying that I should be letting her do them as well. “No one cares for the rules, Leon”, she said. Here I am, a professional dance instructor who teaches his students stick to the syllabus and I found it hard to justify why the syllabus rules matter (other than that I stick to it for myself as a teaching method). Mind you, these pro/am students pay very well in competition fees to at least expect a fair competition system in place. CONTINUE READING
2009 World Super Stars Dance Festival (Latin)
The World Super Stars Latin Dance Festival is a yearly event held in Japan that hosts the best dance couples in the world. All the couples do about 5 solo show dances. This year was particularly amazing in the quality of shows. Perhaps, aside from the only new partnership of Slavik and Anna (who were still quite amazing for being so new), all the couples seemed to have gelled together really well.
This year’s line up included:
1. Michael Malitowski and Joanna Leunis
2. Riccardo Cocchi and and Yulia Zagoroutchenko
3. Slavik kryklyvyy Anna Melnikova
4. Sergey Surkov and Melia
5. Franco Formica & Oxana Lebedew
6. Maxim Kozhevnikov & Beata
Here are some of my favorite dance performances from the 2009 Latin World Stars Dance Festival:
Michael Malitowski and Joanna Leunis – Samba:
Danny’s Awesome Social Salsa Dancing Video
This dance video should remind everyone why they started dancing in the first place– to have fun! Danny (No, I don’t personally know him) and his partner are having so much fun together that it seems as though they are about to crack up at any given second. In addition, their dancing here is pure lead and follow. Notice how they are not thinking about anything, they are FEELING each others’ movement and interpreting the music. This is the way dancing was always meant to be. I challenge you to go out dancing next time and have as much fun as these two. Enjoy!
Slavik & Anna’s First Rumba Show Video
Slavik Kryklyvyy is, without a doubt, one of the best male dancers on this planet. He had just recently teamed up with 
Anna Melnikova (who used to dance with Stefano Di Filippo). This is the first video made public of their Rumba show dance. The song is called “I Finally Found Someone” by Bryan Adams & Barbara Streisand, and I think it makes a lot of people wonder whether Slavik has really finally found the one? CONTINUE READING & WATCH VIDEO
Results Not Going Your Way?-Dance For The Following Reasons Instead!
The subjectivity of Dancesport competitions can cause the results to vary greatly. As a dancer, you can only 
control how you dance. The resulting placement is in the judges’ hands. Therefore, being attached to results is quite futile and may lead the dancer to feel drained and frustrated.
It may even make him/her question whether or not to continue dancing at all. For instance, doing well in one competition makes you feel ecstatic. However, at the next competition you do not make the finals and you cannot help feeling miserable. Your emotions swing from one extreme to the next, leaving you feeling unfulfilled and disappointed. CONTINUE READING
Learning To Social Dance Is Never Too Late
Do you want to learn how to dance but have doubts about starting too late?
Latin and Ballroom is a great dance style to pick up for people who are in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and even 80s (And beyond!). Yes I said 80s! I know an 82 year old woman who takes 3 lessons a week and loves it… CONTINUE READING