Social dancing is an amazing way to relieve stress and be stay in shape, thus it is no surprise that we all love dancing. However, there are many who lack the necessary skill and confidence to execute perfect dance moves and they take dance classes, but just like learning something for the first time, taking your first dance class can be quite the challenge. This book aims to show you exactly what to expect in social dancing and how to get the most out of it, and soon you would be giving social dancing a try - if you are not already doing so. For huge fans of partner dances like the Salsa, Bachata, Zouk and Kizomba dances, this book contains vital information on them and is an excellent guide for beginners. Upon reading this book, you would receive the confidence and clarity you need to easily navigate through your dance classes, social dance nights and dance festivals

It doesn't matter what you dance. Couple dance or solo, salsa, hip-hop, tango or contemporary. It doesn't matter what level you are - beginner or advanced. If you are a dancer and you want better musicality - this book is for you! Musicality can seem a bit of a mysterious art. What is it, really? In this book we break it down into nine different skills, with focus on the two core elements of musicality, perception and expression. How we hear the music and how we express it. These skills are: Dancing to the Beat Dancing to Different Tempos Finding the Dominant Feeling Expressing Specific Sounds Dancing to the Silence Prediction & Preparation Dancing to the Vocals Breathing with Musicality Putting it all Together There are exercises for each skill, but there is no silver bullet, no ready made recipe you can just follow. If you want better musicality you have to do the work. You are the one who have to interpret the music. But you get the tools. You get a lot of tips on what to listen to and how you can interpret it. Music is a universal language we all understand. And dance is just another language. We only have to practice how to translate it the best way possible. So that it keeps all its beauty.

This book describes the terminology, dancing and teaching techniques used for modern line dancing. It describes the skills and competencies required for participants in all facets of the line dance industry, from dancer and instructor, through to choreographer, event coordinator, DJ and stage performer. For anyone writing up a line dance dance-sheet, this book should be essential reading. Way too many dance sheets do not consider the consumers of the dance sheet and are far too brief and ambiguous. The information in this book will assist in producing a much clearer sheet, enabling the dance to be more likely to be understood and adopted. I have attempted to capture what works for me and my organisation over the past quarter century. I have proposed a lot of things that work for us, that are likely to be very different from what others are doing. If this book makes people think about what they are doing, and commences a standardisation process across the world, then I will have achieved my major goal.

Bachata is one of the hottest and sexiest Latin dances in the world. This amazing book will show you step by step how to dance Bachata. Starting with the important basics of how to hold your partner all the way to dance move combinations & sexy Bachata dips.This book is jammed pack with... -389 color photographs and tips, tricks, and pointers to help you learn this sensual dance.-28 different Bachata dance moves so that you can wow your partners on the dance floor. You'll discover... Mans & Ladies Turns, Hammerlocks,Walks,Combos,Wraps, & Sensual Bachata Dips and more! Plus it also covers arm styling for ladies, Hip action, and important lead & follow secrets for both the man and lady. And a bonus section on 7 keys to being a desirable dance partner.

This 387 page handbook includes a compendium of 68 salsa dance positions illustrated with 330 figures, an annotated curated list of 84 links to free online lessons from expert instructors, and a comprehensive dictionary of salsa dance terminology. A salsa dance combination is comprised of two or more salsa dance patterns, each pattern covering two bars of music. Every salsa dance pattern begins and ends in a dance position. One can view the salsa dance pattern as the artful transition from a start position to an end position over eight beats of music. Because salsa dance is made up of combinations, and combinations are made up of patterns, one can view salsa dance as an aesthetically pleasing progression through a series of dance positions over the course of a song. Expert salsa dancers know how to get into and out of myriad salsa dance positions in interesting ways. Knowing how to do this can help increase your salsa dance repertoire. This is facilitated by knowing your dance positions. Learn how to break down elaborate salsa combinations into individual components by name. This allows you to pick up new patterns more quickly. It also makes it easier to remember a pattern or combination you learned previously. This will help you to learn from other dancers. The second book in this series shows how to break down combinations into patterns. To best understand combinations and patterns, first know your positions. To truly know your positions, be able to identify them and call them by name. This handbook will show you how to do that. The key insight is that every pattern begins with a start position, and finishes with an end position. This handbook enumerates those positions and teaches the names. Once you learn the position names you will be able to write down a combination in terms of its patterns, by giving the start and end position of each pattern in the combination. This handbook will help you identify common elements of LA Style salsa dance by name. When you have the vocabulary to describe the building blocks, you can understand what you see on the dance floor. You’ll be able to break down a combination into component patterns. You’ll be able to identify the positions that make up a pattern. Then you will then be able to compose new patterns of your own. Salsa dance elements covered in this handbook include steps, handholds, turns, combs, arm and leg stylings, positions, patterns, and combinations. Handholds covered include left to right hold, right to left hold, parallel hold, handshake hold, reverse handshake hold, cross hold, and reverse cross hold. Turns covered include cross body lead, reverse cross body lead, single right turn, single left turn, inside turn, outside turn, and enchufa turn. Positions covered include apart positions, open position, closed position, half open position, handshake hold, hammerlock, half Hammerlock, cross hold, reverse cross hold, neck loop, arm hook, cuddle, butterfly, sombrero, and wraps.

Kraus' Recreation and Leisure in Modern Society provides a detailed introduction to the history, developments, and current trends in leisure studies. The Twelfth Edition focuses on the challenges and opportunities impacting the profession—including dramatic demographic changes, new technologies, and innovations in marketing—through an array of pedagogical features, including engaging sidebars and case studies addressing contemporary issues. Focusing on ten different types of organizations—ranging from nonprofit community organizations and armed forces recreation to sports management and travel and tourism sponsors—the Twelfth Edition is an invaluable resource for students considering a career in the recreation and leisure industry

One woman embarked on a dance journey around the world, finding out how each dance tells a story of its country and learning how beautiful life can be when you take the lead. If you could do anything you wanted, what would it be? Aliénor Salmon was working as a happiness researcher in Bangkok when a friend asked her the question that turned life as she knew it on its heels. A novice dancer but experienced social researcher, the Franco-British Aliénor headed west from Bangkok to dance her way through Latin America. As she learns eighteen dances, each native to the countries she visits, she engages with esoteric customs, traditions, and cultures. Through conversations and arduous studio hours, she learns that every step, pivot, and shake thrums with an undeniable spirit of place. And that in a world where we are over-connected but increasingly disconnected from one another, dance offers an authentically human experience. One that allows her to develop tolerance, kindness, truth, and love by holding the hands of a stranger and gazing into their eyes for the time of a song. With her fearless and candid approach, Aliénor will inspire you to take the reins of your own life—and have some fun along the way. In this dance-travelogue, you’ll learn the history and steps of dances like salsa, samba, and tango, enjoy a resplendent meditation on happiness and wanderlust, and receive a life-affirming answer to the question: How do I take the first step?

Cross-Step Waltz is one of the newest social dance forms, spreading quickly because it's easy to learn yet endlessly innovative, satisfying for both beginners and the most experienced dancers. It rotates and travels like the original waltz, but the addition of the cross-step opens up a wide range of playful yet gracefully flowing variations. In this comprehensive dancer's guide to Cross-Step Waltz, you will learn: ● How to dance more than 250 variations of Cross-Step Waltz, including basics, turns, grapevines, pivots, Tango-inspired figures, variations in cradle and shadow position, and ways to conclude a dance with flair. ● How to become a better dance partner, whether you dance as a Lead, a Follow, or both. ● How to dance more musically, and how to create your own Cross-Step Waltz variations. ● How to dance Cross-Step Waltz to a wide variety of music, and how to transition between Cross-Step Waltz and other dances. ● Finally, in a series of essays by our students, you'll learn how dancing Cross-Step Waltz can change your life! In addition to being fully described in writing, each of the 250+ variations is illustrated by a demo video on a companion website.

This set covers all aspects of international hip hop as expressed through music, art, fashion, dance, and political activity. Hip hop music has gone from being a marginalized genre in the late 1980s to the predominant style of music in America, the UK, Nigeria, South Africa, and other countries around the world. Hip Hop around the World includes more than 450 entries on global hip hop culture as it includes music, art, fashion, dance, social and cultural movements, organizations, and styles of hip hop. Virtually every country is represented in the text. Most of the entries focus on music styles and notable musicians and are unique in that they discuss the sound of various hip hop styles and musical artists' lyrical content, vocal delivery, vocal ranges, and more. Many additional entries deal with dance styles, such as breakdancing or b-boying/b-girling, popping/locking, clowning, and krumping, and cultural movements, such as black nationalism, Nation of Islam, Five Percent Nation, and Universal Zulu Nation. Country entries take into account politics, history, language, authenticity, and personal and community identification. Special care is taken to draw relationships between people and entities such as mentor-apprentice, producer-musician, and more.

A step-by-step guide to learning five different social dances including the swing, cha-cha, fox-trot, waltz, and polka, with illustrations that show proper technique, suggestions for detecting and correcting errors, practice drills, and checklists for evaluating progress; includes a music CD.