Frances Landrum, one of the original 36 Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, decided to take her talent in performing and combine it with the art of teaching. Thus the Landrum School of Dance was born in 1948. It is among the first few original businesses that started in Whitestone, drawing students from all five boroughs. [...]
BY SHAWN BYFIELD If you are thinking about taking a plunge into the world of hip hop dance there are some things you should know. Hip hop class is a great outlet to release the everyday stress of life and learn a bit of history. The class is a great physical activity and excellent exercise [...]
BY SHAWN BYFIELD Learning to dance actually improves your love life. “If you’re looking to spice up your love life, learning to dance is a sure-fire way to attract the opposite sex” says Shawn Byfield, a leading expert in dance instruction for adults. Besides the obvious ability to show off your new dance moves, learning [...]
BY KETI SHARIF www.ketisharif.com Belly dancing originated in the Middle East and parts of Africa. Therefore, specific moves are culturally intrinsic to various countries. For example, Egyptian baladi is very earthy and the important base movement is the downward hip drop. Turkish dance uses a lot of hip lifts. There have been many cultural and [...]
BY SHAWN BYFIELD For many performers in the dance industry, the word audition can bring feelings of excitement, clarity and a world of opportunity. For others, it can bring feelings of anxiousness, confusion and unnecessary tension. Like it or not, dance auditions are a way of life as a performer. But unfortunately, many dancers are [...]
BY SHAWN BYFIELD For most of us, a Pickup (also known as pull backs) is a light, hopping step that has two sounds, done on the ball of the foot. For standard pickups, both feet take off with a brush back. Then you land on the balls of your feet at the same time. With [...]
Elijah Strauss hovered over piles of equipment stacked behind the DJ booth in the lightless back room of the UC Lounge, a nondescript bar on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Pressing his headphones to one ear, Strauss twisted a shiny, silver knob, bringing Rihanna’s voice slowly into focus. The crowd is minimal — a group of [...]
