A pretty necklace with a flirty tassel from the Knot-Cha-Cha!™shop:
A DIY pattern to make a snazzy dress:
Some tango shoe art:
Showing posts with label Dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dance. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Valentine Gifts For Tango Lovers
A pretty necklace with a flirty tassel from the Knot-Cha-Cha!™shop:
Monday, February 7, 2011
Dance and Knit or Crochet
Wow! Now this is my kind of event: a tea dance at a venue with a "great big shiny dance floor", a DJ playing music from the 20s, 30s, 40, & 50s, and a "knitting, crochet, and craft corner." You can read the announcement over at the Artyarn blog.
Leave it to the Brits to come up with an event featuring such a marvelous combination! If it were close by, Mr. Cha Cha and I would surely go. I could take both my dance shoes and a knitting project!
So, what would one where to this tea dance that has a craft corner? Something both crafty-fashionable and danceable. Something like one of the artsy, sexy items below would be just perfect.
Recycled crochet doilies dress are really hot right now:
I'm not sure you could easily dance in it, but this crochet tunic is pretty sexy:
Or, if you want to crochet your own very danceable dress, check out this Lily Chin pattern available through the Interweave store.
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Leave it to the Brits to come up with an event featuring such a marvelous combination! If it were close by, Mr. Cha Cha and I would surely go. I could take both my dance shoes and a knitting project!
So, what would one where to this tea dance that has a craft corner? Something both crafty-fashionable and danceable. Something like one of the artsy, sexy items below would be just perfect.
Recycled crochet doilies dress are really hot right now:
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| Recycled Doilie Dress by thewindowlady |
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| Cocoon Crochet Dress (Reserved for Martha) by Ruby Pearl |
I'm not sure you could easily dance in it, but this crochet tunic is pretty sexy:
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| Irish Lace Tunic by FlyingcowBG |
How about this not-only-for-weddings dress:
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| Peach Wedding Dress by subrosa123 |
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Thursday, June 24, 2010
Technicolor Interactive Ballroom of the Future
This was a dream in color that I had about an incredible dance space.
The fodder:
Reading about gesture technology
Seeing the cool HP tablets given to design contestants on Project Runway
Reading Cats that Paint
Struggling to learn to use Adobe Illustrator
15 years of social dance and addiction to every dance show on television
Holiday viewing of Avatar 3D on the curved screen of the Archlight Dome in Hollywood
The dream:
The large dance space has an interactive curved screen that wraps around 3/4 of the room. The fourth wall is painted black but has LED screens spots of various colors sort of like a collection of luminous eyeshadows mounted on the wall. Along this black wall the floor is bottom-lit plexiglass and has pool of colors at various locations. Think of this side of the room as the dance color palette.
Both professional and non-professional dancer-artists rent the room regularly. After paying in advance for the rental, they choose the colors for the dance color palette and determine the placement of the various hues on the palette wall and floor. They also choose the music to be played for their session.
The music begins and their act of dancing creates a painting on the screen as they move through various color spots of the palette. The natural dance movements, through gesture technology, apply colors and strokes to the wrapped computer canvas of the screen which becomes a painted memory of the dance. A waltz may have a totally different "painted" result than a hip-hop session. A single dancer might create a simpler visual than would a whole dance crew.
Your dance session is recorded, and you can purchase the 3D video of your dance and the development of its accompanying work of art and music when you leave. You can sell copies of your especially good dance sessions to collectors.
The hope:
That this dream comes true in my lifetime.
The fodder:
Reading about gesture technology
Seeing the cool HP tablets given to design contestants on Project Runway
Reading Cats that Paint
Struggling to learn to use Adobe Illustrator
15 years of social dance and addiction to every dance show on television
Holiday viewing of Avatar 3D on the curved screen of the Archlight Dome in Hollywood
The dream:
The large dance space has an interactive curved screen that wraps around 3/4 of the room. The fourth wall is painted black but has LED screens spots of various colors sort of like a collection of luminous eyeshadows mounted on the wall. Along this black wall the floor is bottom-lit plexiglass and has pool of colors at various locations. Think of this side of the room as the dance color palette.
Both professional and non-professional dancer-artists rent the room regularly. After paying in advance for the rental, they choose the colors for the dance color palette and determine the placement of the various hues on the palette wall and floor. They also choose the music to be played for their session.
The music begins and their act of dancing creates a painting on the screen as they move through various color spots of the palette. The natural dance movements, through gesture technology, apply colors and strokes to the wrapped computer canvas of the screen which becomes a painted memory of the dance. A waltz may have a totally different "painted" result than a hip-hop session. A single dancer might create a simpler visual than would a whole dance crew.
Your dance session is recorded, and you can purchase the 3D video of your dance and the development of its accompanying work of art and music when you leave. You can sell copies of your especially good dance sessions to collectors.
The hope:
That this dream comes true in my lifetime.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Dreaming of Tango Shoes
The only thing better than a ruby slipper reverie is to dream about tango shoes, especially the sexy red ones.
Or dancing tango in red light:
Tango fashion is just as much fun as tango dancing, and tango shoes are a key element in a milonguera's wardrobe. Would that my middle-aged feet could still wear some of these sexy stilettos which are often found in 3 1/2 to 4 inch heel heights.
A good tango shoe, with a very high heel placed straight at the very rear of the foot bed really helps you to maintain the forward position that is characteristic of Argentine tango. This shoe is different from a traditional ballroom shoe in which the shoe's heel is placed in a central position under your heel and in which the heel is not usually as tall.
I can wear 3-inch heeled tango shoes, if they are well padded and fit my feet perfectly, for about an hour and a half. Then I start walking like a sailor on shore leave because my feet ache so much. This is a serious limitation to taking intensive tango workshops. Nevertheless, a girl can dream!
(Even milongueros can have this dream.)
If you would like to dream of dancing tango in sexy shoes, here are some Comme Il Faut tango shoes featured in a video that will show you the allure of a night spent dancing tango.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Ruby Slipper Reverie
Thanksgiving dinner turned out pretty good, but I may not want to go through all that work again next year. It surely made a shambles out of the kitchen. Fortunately Mr. ChaCha was a big help with the cleanup detail. The leftovers are great, though. Hmmm . . . let you know next year whether it will happen again chez nous.
While cooking the turkey, I lapsed into a little musing about Thanksgivings and other family traditions of the past. That naturally led to remembering annual childhood TV viewings of the Wizard of Oz, which always was featured on television between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
My sisters and I would be so excited and would sit close together to keep from getting scared when the wicked witch cackled on screen. We sometimes brought our favorite dolls along to the showing and even the dolls would get mightily frightened seeing the flying monkeys and hearing that witch.
There were so many fun things about the Wizard of Oz. The Cowardly Lion was a favorite because we all were very shy and felt great empathy for his stuttering speech. The Lollipop Guild with their singing and dancing ways were enchanting, and Glinda, the good witch, was so pretty!
Two more things stand out for me:
As a child, spinning was a favorite thing to do, and as a dancer today, who still loves spinning, this print of an imaginative painting really captures my heart.
You can get these exact replica shoes from Cybertosh, a film student and costumer, and you may want to wear them to go out dancing, but I think the intention may be more for them to be displayed.
redbloodedwoman by WolandandMay
And if you want to take the grandchild along to the dance, these cute as can be booties are the way to go.
After you click on the red slipper items, you might want to check out this irreverent YouTube video. For us adults, a late night television skit on an alternate ending to the Wizard of Oz was aired by MadTV. (Click on the link only if you love sick humor.)
Dear readers what affect did the Wizard of Oz have on you? What were your favorite parts? Did you ever desire ruby red shoes?
While cooking the turkey, I lapsed into a little musing about Thanksgivings and other family traditions of the past. That naturally led to remembering annual childhood TV viewings of the Wizard of Oz, which always was featured on television between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
My sisters and I would be so excited and would sit close together to keep from getting scared when the wicked witch cackled on screen. We sometimes brought our favorite dolls along to the showing and even the dolls would get mightily frightened seeing the flying monkeys and hearing that witch.
There were so many fun things about the Wizard of Oz. The Cowardly Lion was a favorite because we all were very shy and felt great empathy for his stuttering speech. The Lollipop Guild with their singing and dancing ways were enchanting, and Glinda, the good witch, was so pretty!
Two more things stand out for me:
- I just loved those ruby slippers that Dorothy wore and seeing them and all the glorious costumes in the film may have helped to start my love of accessories.
- I first started imagining leaving my home town after seeing this film, and kept imagining it fervently until it finally happened.
As a child, spinning was a favorite thing to do, and as a dancer today, who still loves spinning, this print of an imaginative painting really captures my heart.
You can get these exact replica shoes from Cybertosh, a film student and costumer, and you may want to wear them to go out dancing, but I think the intention may be more for them to be displayed.
redbloodedwoman by WolandandMayIf you're getting a little older, but still want to dance in style, these great ruby oxfords are the way to go!
And if you want to take the grandchild along to the dance, these cute as can be booties are the way to go.
After you click on the red slipper items, you might want to check out this irreverent YouTube video. For us adults, a late night television skit on an alternate ending to the Wizard of Oz was aired by MadTV. (Click on the link only if you love sick humor.)
Dear readers what affect did the Wizard of Oz have on you? What were your favorite parts? Did you ever desire ruby red shoes?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Completing Work and Continuing the Tango
With Amelie as a taskmistress, you can see how progress will be made around the studio. Remember that she told me to complete two projects for every new one that I started? Otherwise she wouldn't keep coming to do all the organization stuff that I hate so much.
Amelie is brutally tough and not shy about speaking her mind, but she may be on to something because yesterday I finished two projects that had been in progress and then started and finished a third one.
This scarf for next winter was hand knit from 5 strands of yarn: two slender yarns in a camel-colored alpaca, two strands of a space-dyed rayon in gold, browns, olive, and grey, and one strand of a nylon eyelash yarn in tobacco. All but the eyelash yarn came from Yarnia, a make-your-own-combination-of-yarn store here in Portland.
Yarnia is the same place where I bought the yarn last year for the Oregon Beach Scarf. (BTW you can still get the free pattern for the Oregon Beach Scarf and read the pattern notes in this post.)
The second unfinished project was to restring and re-knot a necklace of amethyst beads that I love and which had been lying all busted on my dresser for over six months. Here you see the necklace right before I finished off the last knots.
With two previously-stalled projects now completed, I rewarded myself by making a belated birthday gift for myself. Citrine has been calling to me, so when I bought the silk cord for knotting the amethyst, some lovely yellow beads came home with me from Village Beads as well.
Following is a photo of both the finished necklaces.
Because I had been so productive, Amelie came by and put 165 things away, including the 40 or so things that I got out yesterday in my path through the studio, and including emptying the dishwasher for me. Then she updated my check register and paid a few bills. What a gal!
Today won't be as productive. I just got home from the day job, need to finish this post, prepare dinner, and then we're off to a tango class tonight.
Tango, by the way, is getting very interesting. Last month we worked on boleos which in their most fun form involve a whipping in the air of the follower's leg as a result of a quick change in direction by the leader. (We all learned the importance of knowing that no one was behind you when you start legs flipping all about.)
This month the class is working on sacadas. A sacada, which can also be called a desplazamiento, is a displacement of the partner's leg or foot using one's own leg or foot. Sound's equally thrilling, doesn't it?
Here's an excellent demonstration for your viewing pleasure:
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