Fringe

I finally got hold of a fringe dress to practice in! I was very scepticle about me being able to dance in fringe, I've heard some awful stories about the weight of the dress and making a person look fat.

I was pleasantly surprised by this dress that I bought online (One size really does not fit all!). I got to wear it for the Vaudeville Circus show a few weeks ago. In the process I learnt a lot. Fringe on a diagonal are rather flattering, thin fringe is very light, and you need a lot of it to get the full effect.

Thanks AM Photography for the awesome photos :)

Adeventures in Sewing: Batwing Top

For the UCT Vaudeville Circus, one of the dances I did was a Tango to fit into a medley of the Phantom of the Opera music. The colours were red and black, a colour I don't own in a ballgown.

Thankfully I had some red fabric stashed away for a rainy day and red stretch lace, the result, a batwing top with lace insert in the back and lace basque. I paired it with my ballroom practice skirt and a some improvised floats made from the scraps. The best part was it only took an hour and 4 seams!

I now have a batwing top to practice in for Latin while my new dress takes shape :) 

Evolving into Dancers

I saw this on the Boogie Back Dance Co.  facebook group today and it made me smile, we have evolved into DANCERS!

UCT Ballroom Vaudeville Circus

The UCT Ballroom Vaudeville Circus show was a great success, especially since it was put together in a few week by amateurs and on a tiny budget.

The 6 Acts were littered with guest performances and a number of solo and groups dances by members of the UCT Ballroom and Latin Dancing Society. I performed in 2 Ballroom and 2 Latin solo numbers.

I haven't been doing much Ballroom recently so it was quite crazy doing a performance Quickstep and Tango with so little training time (4 days!). But we survived, as always :)

Thanks for the sneak peak photo from AM Photography! Haven't had a chance to wear my ballgown in a few years.

Adventures in Sewing: Crystal Designs

Every Latin outfit needs to be bling, the word opulent springs to mind, and the best way to do so is to apply a LARGE number of rhinestones to a dress, but cleverly, to suit your design.

I have a Hotfix applicator wand that heats the crystals and the glue on the back of them. Each crystal is applied by hand, following a design of some description.




Some advice I followed for the large crystals  "Make sure you glue AND sew your large sew-on stones! The larger Swarovski stones are now available in a wonderful variety of shapes and colours, and they can really add a great look to your stone design on your dress. But be sure to remember that these stones will stick the best if you glue AND sew them."


My dress half way through stoning:

Latin Bangle Bling

I've been experimenting with making various bracelets and bangles for dancesport competitions (Latin) and following advice from the wonderful interwebs and Pinterest, I have finally got a set of 4 bangles.

The set of 4 bangles are made from (plastic) boning and crystals. The plastic makes the bangles lightweight and the thinness of the boning means it is not ungainly to dance with. Boning is also hard enough not to break, but not stiff enough that you cannot bend it into a shape (secured obviously).

I vaguely followed this tutorial. I didn't wrap my fabric around the boning and glue it, but made lycra tubes and threaded the boning into it. Seems to have worked out, especially since the threads can't rub against my skin.

Each bangle took about 130 SS20 Swarovski Crystal AB Hotfix crystals. I prefer the Hotfix, as the glue takes ages to dry and the crystals can fall off. I've never lost a Hotfix crystal yet (I've probably jinxed myself).

I tend to use a cork board (or anything heat resistant and not fabric) to layout all the crystals to make it easier to pick them up with the applicator wand.

The first 3 that I finished

Latin Jewellery

I am going to attempt something this weekend that I have little experience in doing: creating Dancesport jewellery that sparkles.

Materials needed:

• Flesh coloured stretch material
• Swarovski hotfix crystals (or glue on)
• Fabric glue
• Vilyn 
• Elastic
• Hooks and Eyes
• Clear press-studs   

The first dilemma is that flesh coloured stretch fabric is not abundant in Cape Town. The stuff that is around is about 3 shades lighter than me and I have to still tan that 'wonderful' orange colour for competitions.

The second dilemma is keeping ironing stiffener between lycra type material that melts with heat.

This shall be a experiment. Results to follow. If successful maybe I will add a few items to Purple-Gecko for others looking for similar items.

Dirty Dancing in Deutschland

As a ballroom dancer and a huge fan of Dirty Dancing the movie from before I even started dance classes, when I passed the Theatre Am Potsdamer Platz and saw the lumo pink sign proclaiming "Dirty Dancing...Das Original Live On Stage" I knew I had found my Friday evening activity. The show was a mixture of German dialogue and English songs (from the movie). Given that I can almost recite the original dialogue I could translate the German dialogue enough to follow. I had amazing seats level with the stage for 39.90 euros (R380) which is actually less than I'd probably pay back in South Africa.

The general cast dancers were amazing, good ballroom dancers and fantastic free-styling. Their lifts, spins and moves were executed with such precision. The leads were another story. "Johnny" was a very talented dancer but "Baby" was quite obviously not a trained dancer. I realise this is the idea behind the story, but she looked awkward even in the closing dance.

Lets hope the production goes on tour in English somewhere near me.

We are the dancers, we create the dreams

I can slowly feel my sanity slipping away everyday I don't dance. For those who know me well, I have been dancing since I could walk, it is not really an hobby, its a passion. I haven't been dancing at all since being in Vienna bar one evening of Salsa. This probably the longest absence since my last injury 6 years ago and I can feel it. It like compulsion gnawing away at me.

My favourite dance quote reminds me daily why I dance:
"We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams"

I'm actually very disappointed with the dance scene here or people's responses to me asking about it. Maybe its just the environment I currently find myself in. No-one seems to care to help. Every city I've been to has Ballroom socials open to the public (I'm not counting Jhb in this, they are weird), not closed to certain dance schools or partners only. For a city that is famous for its Viennese Waltz, they're terrible at welcoming individuals. I'm slowly resigning myself to hanging up my dancing shoes(and I bought some shiny new Supadance ones) til I get back to Cape Town. Thankfully CT has an amazing array of dance events in September/October for me to make up for the abysmal scene here.

The 3 Ss

Saturday was filled with the 3 Ss: Sight-seeing, shopping and SALSA. My day started with a trip on the U6 to Alser Strasse to visit a dance shop. I am now the proud owner of a new pair of Supadance latin 3.5 inch heels. I walked around the area a bit but its not that sight-seeing worthy.

My next stop was Naschmarkt for a stroll through the flea market. It was very warm yesterday so I promptly bought a Chinese fan to accompany my stroll. The flea market seems very chaotic and frankly a little boring. Its sort of like a Green Point stadium market from way back.

After a quick lunch in the market I delved into the Museums district of Vienna: The Natural History Museum and the Museums Quartier. It seems like every museum building in Vienna is a beautifully decorated architectural marvel. The Natural History Museum is yet another one. The foyer ceiling is worth mentioning and the decor on the walls of each exhibition room. I can't say I was terribly impressed by the exhibitions (Special exhibition: Darwin evolution). The elephant was actually the statue in front of the NMH. I'm Europe and I've been inundated with lions and now elephants.

The photo on the right is the Venus of Willendorf at 25,000 years old. Its kept in a dark room with only a little overhead light. It was found in the Danube valley and believed to be a symbol of fertility. No trip a NHM is complete without a dinosaur skeleton or three.

The Museums Quartier is a young trendy area to grab a drink nestled between lots of museums. I'll go back another day to wonder through the various on offer. They do have the strangest outdoor chairs though: bright pink.

My final destination of the day was Floridita, a Cuban salsa bar near Stephansplatz. Its a non-smoking club, which is fantastic given Austria's lax smoking rules and they have a bag check so you don't have to clutch a purse and try to dance. A couple of people joined me from IIASA and we danced for a few hours before catching various night buses home. The outing reminded me of why I dance, the fun, the energy and most of all the instant stress relief

Cossack's in CT

The Cossack dancers were in Cape Town and delivered a lively performance that required both stamina and strength. The guys were phenomenal with their spinning and the height to which they jumped. Definitely worth going to see.

Imperial Russian Ballet

The Imperial Russian Ballet visited Cape Town last week after much hype of their new piece Carmina Burana. I honestly did not like the piece, the ballet dancers are too classically trained to truly move freely as the choreography required. The piece was too contemporary I think. When they move back to the classical pas de deux and solos you could clearly see their strengths and confidence. I actually quite disappointed with the overall performance.

Tango Nights

I have been a ballet lover for years and have now seen Tango Nights twice. I am not sure I could see it a third time though. The dance music has an interesting mix of Tango and Argentine Tango but the music isn't blended together nicely, the changes sometimes come as a big surprise. The choreography is very modern and athletic but the females look unsure when doing various lifts, you can see the split second hesitation going into each lift. This makes me slightly nervous while watching the show. That said, if you enjoy modern ballet that isn't all tutus and tights, Tango Nights is well worth the time.

Danscape 2009

Jazzart produce some exceptional dancers every year and this year is no different. I attended Danscape 2009, a student exhibition from the first year trainees and school outreach programs. The program was varied and displayed some interesting blends of African, Spanish and Asian influences. It is well worth the effort to see this performance every year and at R20 (for a block booking of 20 or more ticket are reduced from R50) its cheaper than a movie!

A Dash of culture

Mixit was an interesting experience. Put together to literally show a mix of dances, the pieces didn't gel or flow into a seamless show. I was intrigued by the music choices and how the dancers expressed what was essentially electronic music with a slight melody. Definitely not my favourite show.

Salsa @ Deluxe

For those who love to salsa or are keen to learn, beginner and improver classes at Deluxe on Long Street is ideal. Its a mixture of ages and levels of competency and has a wonderful vibe. Classes are R40, 8-9.30pm on Thursdays and you can stay for social dancing afterwards to put into practice what you just learnt.

Sadly from next week I cannot make it to classes due to UCT Ballroom lessons, but I will hopefully pop in occasionally to social dance (if silver lessons don't kill me). See everyone on the dancefloor!

In other news, if anyone is keen to start ballroom and latin, UCT Ballroom has free beginner lessons for the next two weeks for everyone to come try, 5-6pm Tuesday and Thursday.

Ballet for All

Sunday dawned nice and gray, but not raining. This is important for all intrepid explorers of London. Warrick went to tennis and I wandered trough Covent Garden properly this time, looking at all the shops and watching the acts. Jubilee Market was packed.

Wandered down through Chinatown for lunch and then on to Trafalgar Square to grab a seat for the ballet. BP have this summer program where they set up big screens throughout the country with a live feed from the Royal Opera House. Sunday's was Romeo and Juliet. The organisers handed out inflatable pillows and rain covers. Beautiful performance, all 2 1/2 hours of it. Trafalgar square was packed to capacity for it. Needless to say I was late getting back to Oxford and dancing.

Latin flavour

I have obviously passed some sort of test of the dancesport team and have been inducted into the group. This includes nights out and different lessons with actual technique. Apparently I have made friends with the 'in' part of the team; the current team captain, current latin champ, latin teacher and top ballroom dancer. Man can these guys move their hips. I would kill for that hip movement.

Turns out wednesday night is Salsa night in Oxford. We went to Anuba, a cocktail bar on the clubby side of town (think claremont area), which is a whole 2 minute walk from the shop side of town :) Anuba has a dance floor the size of the outside area of Mojo and there were maybe 15/20 couples on the floor. Bumper cars ahoy! 10 points if you manage to cause extensive bruising. Cover charge is 3gbp, which was less than expected, by cocktails were 6gbp. Good thing the guys bought them otherwise my bank balance would be crying right about now. Definitely a repeat experience.

One question though. Do I really look that sweet and innocent? Honestly... and if so how do I can change it?