Move of the week: Learn the Charleston

Learn the classic moves from the Roaring 20s with MyCharleston. Each week we will teach you a signature step in less than 2 mins.

Our move for the week today is the 1920s Charleston with Elena.

The Charleston is the founding move of the the genre and essential to any Charleston Routine.

It is a small step kept underneath us where we tap one leg forward then tap the other one back.

In the tutorial Elena is tapping forward on the right and then bring her weight back to the centre then tapping back on the left.

You could start that with either leg tapping forward first or backwards depending on preference.

Once you have mastered the basic moves have a play with swivelling your feet on each count.

Try the Charleston step to music starting on both your left and right leg.

How we became entrepreneurs by accident

MyCharleston was an idea that came about after performing together at a 1920s show in Brighton. From that moment, we fell in love with Charleston dancing and decided to collaborate to make a video showcasing the dance talents of our home city, Brighton and Hove.      

To get film participants we began running Charleston dance classes in January 2014. This was a nine-month passion project squeezed in between Elena’s full-time job and Fiona going through IVF treatment. However, it paid off. The film was a huge success and within two weeks was featured by the Evening Standard and received 40,000 views. As the video went viral the demand for the classes grew and each new course sold out. At that moment we realised we had stumbled across a gap in the market - nobody in the local area was running Charleston classes and there was a huge demand for it.

Pooling together our dance backgrounds and individual skills our hobby turned into a lifestyle business. After three years of running the company in-between Elena’s full-time job as a Marketing Manager for an events company, Fiona giving birth and two house purchases, we joined the NatWest Accelerator in 2017 to gain the skills needed to scale the company. Over the past year, Elena has quit her job, and this has allowed the business to undergo a complete transformation. We are no longer restricted to working on the business in the evenings or weekends. Within six months, the company rebranded, launched in five cities, four teachers have been trained and the business became sustainable. Our goal is to franchise the brand and empower other women to run their own businesses.

Elena and Fiona at Firle Vintage Fair.

The business was born from our passion to dance and perform but also, we also wanted to create something which gave us a sense of fulfilment and a connection to people in the community. MyCharleston fulfils us by enabling us to teach adults new skills, help improve people’s mental and physical fitness along with providing exciting and fun social occasions to transport people back to the 1920s. Ultimately, we make people happy which is incredibly rewarding. 

As individuals we also have our own personal goals. Elena started collaborating with Fiona when we she 26. Although at the time she had a good career in marketing, she was influenced by successful female business owners and always wanted her work to be a true reflection of herself. The business drives her to be the best version of herself. She has proven she has great business skills by turning an idea into a great service which has had meaningful impact on the community. Elena has danced since the age of three and turning her lifelong passion into her work is a dream come true.

Fiona's passion for dance motivates her to create the best possible dance experience for all our customers, ensuring every product is inspiring. She is driven to deliver excellent customer service wanting each student to experience the many benefits of dance. Together, we want to grow the company because we believe dance is a joyful experience which can be shared by all.

Elena and Fiona in the studio

Elena and Fiona performing with Savoy Kicks

What’s on this September

Our brand new Charleston courses are just around the corner and we have put together a brief for both our level one and level two courses so you know what to expect.  

Level one - Everybody loves my baby  

Everybody loves my baby is a simple mid-tempo routine with classic moves such as The Charleston, Black-Bottom and Knocky-Knees. The tune is taken from the TV series Broadwalk Empire. It uses simple chorus-line patterning at the start then breaks into lines for the body of the dance. The routine includes a Charleston variation sequence and a line switch before it repeats. If your class needs more of a challenge there are other variations from the Level 1.5 course you can make use of. 

Level one in Portsmouth - Shimmy like my sister Kate

For those who have not already taken part in Shimmy like my sister Kate, Mel will be teaching this great little routine to our Portsmouth Beginners on Wednesday at 6.30pm and we love this version of the song also from Boardwalk Empire. 

Level two - Tailspin

Tailspin is a fast tempo tune, although it was written in 1934 it has all the traits of a classic twenties Charleston tune. The choreography is fast, dense and twenties inspired riffing on classic moves. The Charleston is the foundation of the choreography with embellishments such as helicopters, kicks, side shuffles and side to side Charlestons. The choreography uses simple, strong patterning to create lines which travel forward and to the side so the dancers weave around one another. There is lots of cross phrasing, repeating segments and some quirky character moves making this a funandfast routine. 

Vintage Musicals - Hot Honey Rag

Get your tommy gun at the ready as we take on Hot Honey Rag, the iconic closing scene of the epic musical Chicago.  

Using props and patterning you will oozing your inner Velma and Roxie by the end of the course learning some fierce footwork that Bob Fosse would be proud of. Music for the course will be inspiredfrom the filmand at the end of the course we will complete the full routine.  

Rachel's Story - Swapping Pom Poms for Pearls

Dancing has been a part of my life since I was a child. Like many little girls they get taken along to ballet. I never really got on with it that well. My mum said she could hear the teacher from outside the studio telling me to stay still or stop talking. Despite the fact that I wasn’t going to be a prima ballerina I enjoyed it and wanted to attend. 

Rachel in her disco days

After a short time, a Freestyle Disco dance class started in the community centre very close to where we lived.  I went to one class and I was hooked, ballet was soon forgotten. The music I think was part of the draw, it was a real change from the sounds of the piano in the ballet studio. 

I quickly started competing and continued until I was 18. During that time additional dance styles were added in to the mix. Latin American, Ballroom, Rock n Roll, Street Dance, I even went back to Ballet! 

I enjoyed dancing so much that I really wanted to make it part of my career. I took a contract to be part of the entertainments team on holiday resorts over the UK this also took me to Canada where I choreographed shows and performed in weekly cabarets. 

Rachel's matching dress and pants set!

Dancing in nightclub podiums

Since then it has taken me in many wonderful and strange directions some of the more “memorable” ones are Cheerleading for BHAFC, A giant purple pyramid in a music video, danced at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End (pretending to be 16 when I was 21!) and too many nights dancing in nightclub podiums then I care to remember.

Rachel cheerleading for BHAFC

Dance jobs are often in unsociable hours, take a lot of rehearsal commitments and often being away from family. I made a decision after some disastrous contracts and missing many family events that it was time to get a “proper job”. 

I am actually quite good at my proper job, but after a while I wanted to reintroduce dancing to my life and one booze fuelled boxing day I started a google search and stumbled across a new Charleston class starting up in Hove. Elena tells me now that I was the first person to book on to the course and she did a little celebration dance when I did. 

The rest is history as they say. I've lucky enough to be involved in so many of the projects that Fiona and Elena have created, from the I Charleston Brighton film to the Speakeasy event at Brighton Fringe. I have lost count of the amount of performances I have been a part of.

Now I am teaching Charleston as part of the team in Worthing and you can often find me at the classes in Hove or flicking around with Savoy Kicks, Oh and I still have my proper job.  

Oh and in case you want to see it, here I am as the giant purple pyramid in a music video:

Elena’s top 7 and half dance costumes

As cheesy as it sounds I can’t remember a time in my life that I haven’t danced. I went to my first ballet class aged 3, first performance on stage aged 4 and completed in the dance festival circuit from the age of 5 to 18. 

Throughout my life, I’ve studied ISTD ballet, tap, jazz and modern with a brief stint in Bharatanatyam, classical Indian dancing, when my family moved to Italy when I was 8 years old.

I went on to study drama and Italian at university but always kept up with the dancing. In 2012, I had the opportunity of a lifetime by performing at the London Olympics Closing Ceremony. It was just a year later when I met Fiona and we started working together.

Being involved in so many dance shows and competitions has left me with a rather large dance costume cupboard and more importantly some amazing photos. With so many great pictures of florescent leotards, tutus and sequins, here are my 7 and half top outfits which I couldn’t not share.

Costume one 'I can sing a rainbow'

Elena: Age 4

This photo is a true 90s classic - lilac leotard with puffy sleeves with my matching purple cycling shorts. This outfit was for my first ever performance at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham with my dance school Central Stage School of Dance and Drama (Now Dance Studios) where we sang ‘I can sing a rainbow’ and where I remember singing too loudly and feeling mortified!

Costume two 'The Butterfly Catcher'

Elena: Age 6

Now in love with the whole concept of dressing up and performing I took part in my first dance festival. These are dance competitions run throughout the country. I entered the ‘character’ section where I acted out being some sort of victorian butterfly catcher and was placed 4th much to my delight at Loughborough Dance Festival.

Costume three 'Squirrel Nutkin'

Elena: Age 8

Flying high from my previous success, I continued dancing in festivals and when I was 8 I was placed twice on one day! 3rd for my ballet solo and 2nd ‘character’ number where I acted out Squirrel Nutkin at Nottingham Dance Festival. The costume included my mum dying my ballet shoes brown, some papier mâché acorns and a mighty headpiece. Unfortunately you can’t see the impressive squirrel tail I also had!

Costume four and five - 'Ballet and Bharatanatyam' Elena: Age 10

At the age of 8 my family moved to Italy for 3 years due to my dad’s job. I was quickly enrolled in a local dance school ran by an English ballet teacher. I soon became involved in dance shows and even learnt classical Indian dancing with my American dance teacher. I particularly love this classic silk indian outfit which I keep always keep.

Costume six - University of Kent

Elena: Age 20

The teen photos are always the most cringe which I can’t quite bear to share but I can just about cope with this one from my second year at uni so skipping forward 10 years here is me performing in the annual show in a lyrical number that I choreographed (obviously!) and dresses from Primark which I customised for everyone. Each dress was just £1!

Costume seven - 'The Lennon Head' at the London 2012, Olympic Ceremony. Elena: Age 24 

At the age of 24, I decided to audition for the Olympic Ceremony and I was cast as a ‘Lennon head’. The section was to the track 'Imagine' where the dancers performed with giant jigsaw pieces coming together to make John Lennons face which then suddenly broke apart to reveal the one and only George Michael in the centre! It was the most magical experience with some amazing people and not to mention a string of celebrities including the Spice Girls (the 10 year old within me was delighted to be backstage with them!) Following this experience I was completely reignited by love for dance and performance which pushed me into going along to Fiona’s jazz class which lead to a completely new chapter in my life...

…. oh and of course here is half costume, my first Charleston photoshoot with Fiona but it is just the headpiece so technically it doesn’t count as a full costume but still a nice memory of where the Charleston adventure all started in 2013.

Dawn refused to be defeated and the show will go on!

South coast vintage entertainment impresario Dawn Gracie ploughed her heart and soul, not to mention considerable finance into her debut immersive vintage weekender near Chichester in September 2016. After its success, albeit with many stumbling blocks along the way; an emotional kickstarter campaign and ill health, Dawn is doing it all again this year at Mill Rythe on Hayling Island 5th-8th  October. But for the singer and event organiser, this was not supposed to be the plan.

What happened after her first weekender was a shock to everyone, most of all Dawn. ‘With the wave of interest riding high and everyone keen to book again to experience my vision of an immersive vintage experience, the plans were underway for weekender 2017 but only weeks after the date was announced, and being half way to a sell out, I received devastating news that the venue where I held my debut in Bracklesham Bay, was being sold and redeveloped. My weekender 2017 had lost its home, all monies were to be refunded and I had no access to my customer’s details. Not only was It a punch in the stomach for me as an event organiser who had invested in promotional videos and social media campaigns, but it was such a loss to this countries heritage to see one of the last remaining old fashioned holiday villages close its doors.’  

As headline acts The Jive Aces and  Hampshire TV sensations Timeless had already been booked for the 2017 date, Dawn decided to keep calm and carry on instead with ‘Dawn’s Vintage All-Dayer’ in July 2017 albeit on a much smaller scale of her original plan of a three day residential weekender. The event went ahead and was another feather in Dawn’s hat, regardless of the challenging weather conditions and behind the scenes drama but Dawn saw it as a necessary step towards her ultimate weekender dreams ‘I was determined that all the hard work in 2016 creating my vision for a ‘Hi-de-Hi meets Dirty Dancing’ style weekend experience wouldn’t go to waste and so I took the brave step of keeping the momentum going with the 2016 all-dayer, but at the same time, planning ahead and booking Mill Rythe on Hayling Island for 2018. The capacity is twice that of Southdowns Holiday Village, my debut and now defunct venue, which is why it was actually on year four of my business plan. I had intended on building up slowly and moving venue in 2019! A bold step, but why not? Momentum has been building for this since I became a vintage entertainer back in 2011 and now it’s time to make it happen’

Dawn is currently busy reaching out to her target audience of groups of friends and couples who have an interest in vintage, who fancy a weekend away with half board accommodation and lots of free entertainment, workshops and activities. The vintage will be 50’s & 60’s with the 20’s being the feature day era. With that, the weekend will culminate with a roaring Gatsby party on the Sunday evening where Elena and Fiona will be leading lessons and brand new perofrmances!

If this sounds like the perfect weekend for you and friends visit dawnsvintagaedo.com

Fiona's Story - From Irish dancing to Charleston

I was born in Portsmouth, the second eldest of four children, we are all loud, lively and prone to bursting into song.  Needless to say it was a vibrant and somewhat raucous household. 

Many of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my older sister as were my first dance lessons. She was in the habit of starting classes and dropping out so to get my parents would send me along in her place. When I was eight I decided I wanted to learn Irish dancing, my Dad is Irish and I loved the dresses. Back then they were beautiful hand sown designs and you didn’t have the tacky wigs which have sadly become standard. I competed in regional and national competitions until I discovered Jazz in Pompey…

Fiona in her 80's leotard and leggings!

Portsmouth Youth Dance were auditioning for a new dance toupe, I attended wearing a swimsuit as I didn’t have a leotard and to my surprise I got in! The drama centre where we rehearsed became the centre of my universe. It was here I meet my future husband Tom aged 11! The friendships from that group have lasted a lifetime and it’s all thanks to Donna Bish, my slightly scary dance teacher who I love. She whipped me in to shape and had some success in getting me to stop talking!

Tom and Fiona at Portsmouth Youth Dance

Tom and Fiona dancing at their wedding

I kept on dancing all through university and during my ten year career at the BBC. The styles I liked were Jazz, Street, Bollywood and African. I found an amazing teacher Francis Angol who leads they way in contemporary African dance.  It was while working on a dance show for Angol that I had my road to Damascas moment. I was suddenly sent to Thailand for some filming and had to miss out on the performance I’d been rehearsing for. I realised how much dance meant to me and decided it was time to make it central in my life.

I moved to Brighton with Tom and I signed up for a course in street dance at Brighton city college. It was a real eye-opener being a 30 something in a class with 18 year olds but it gave me the confidence to start running my own classes. It was in January 2013 Elena came into my Jazz class I had just been asked to put together a little Charleston Troupe and she was up for getting involved. We had no idea then what would develop from that small performance but we must have recognised something in each other. Through our passion for dance, creativity and Charleston we began plotting and the rest as they say is history. 

Fiona and Elena's first performance in February 2013.

I’ve recently been reading about the roots of jazz dance in America and it emerged from a fusion of Irish Jigs with African American dances. So I guess my journey from Irish dancing to Charleston was meant to be.

Fiona

How We Built MyCharleston

Dance brought us together when Elena stumbled into Fiona’s dance class on a cold January evening back in 2013. Within just 20 minutes we had a connection and were planning our first performance. Neither of us could have imagined that this newly formed friendship would lead us to teach thousands of people to dance, to become world record breakers and create our company, MyCharleston.

Elena and Fiona's first photoshoot in 2013.

Our business is a partnership characterised by our energy and passion which has been enriched by having two distinct personalities with a shared vision: Creating a successful dance company.

The success of our relationship is as much about our differences as our similarities. One thing we have in common is we are not shy to speak in public, in fact we love it! We both have drama degrees and when we arrived at the NatWest Accelerator in Brighton (a business programme to support SMEs), we won the pitching competition on the first day. While many people hate public speaking, we are in our elements when talking about MyCharleston.

Wining the Pitch Challenge on the first day of joining the NatWest Accelerator, 2016.

Leading dance lessons for 200 people at Brighton Fringe 2017.

Apart from our love of the limelight, we are quite different, but this works because we can be the ying to each other’s yang.  Elena keeps Fiona on task and answerable to deadlines. Fiona pushes Elena to step outside the day to day business and focus on the future vision.  Sometimes we do struggle to see things from the other person’s perspective because we are both passionate, strong women. Thankfully our senses of humour are completely aligned and this has always got us through tense moments. Teaching dance and creating 1920s events leads to some ridiculous situations and we would not have come this far if we didn’t both see the funny side.

Elena and Fiona in the studio ready to teach.

Dressed in costume ready to perform.

People quickly recognise that Elena has the business brain, she is considered in making decisions and can structure her time to achieve tasks. Her five years’ managerial experience in the marketing industry has given her so many useful skills for running the business, from project management, to web editing and running marketing campaigns. Her creativity and talent for marketing is so effective that when we looked to enhance it, marketing consultants they said there was little we could do to improve our social media campaigns.

Fiona loves working with people, she is a strong communicator and will work hard to nurture the talent she sees in others. She is excellent at designing content for dance courses and training teachers.  Her experience as a documentary maker for BBC means she can bring our product to life. The first video we made went viral and as a company we recognise video marketing is a huge part of our success.

Together we are creative, enthusiastic, analytical and supportive bringing out the best in each other and, in turn, our work.

Review: Also Festival 2018

You know the summer has arrived when you head off to your first festival. Last week we went to Also Festival to teach the Charleston. Never heard of Also? Its’ a small festival with big ideas in Warwickshire, created to get ideas in front of people and to stimulate new thinking. If that sounds like a festival for the middle class I would say it’s more for why-the-hell-not types. 

MyCharleston, Also Festival 2018

The setting was beautiful, as was the weather in fact the weather was almost too good for dancing around so I didn’t expect a great turn out. However before teaching the Charleston I was asked if I could go into the main bar and teach the Hand Jive and the Bunny Hop. I’d never actually heard of the Bunny Hop and so my research took me to Youtube where I found hilarious archive footage of men in suits, dancing around TV studio’s to this slightly ridiculous choreography, well worth a watch! 

When I entered the bar it was incredible hot and people were sat listening to a really interesting talk about the music industry. I’m not often intimidated but I really didn’t know how easily I could switch the mood and get everyone up and dancing. Luckily the Hand Jive can be done sat down so I eased people in and then got them up and dancing as I added the dance intro featured in Greece. Once I people standing I introduced the Bunny Hop and before I knew it we had a conga line of little rabbits hopping round the bar, it was brilliant! 

The Charleston workshop went down a treat, with a good thirty people joining in the workshop. The final a routine was so good we actually drew an audience! 

Work done (best job ever) we joined in the festival and were entertained by illusionists, choirs, a Pina Bausch Belkin line, and more. For me this Festival was the perfect size with just under a thousand people, however we managed to loose our friends as we got swept up in all the fun. 

MyCharleston dancers: Fiona and her husband Tom

The next day we had a very civilized breakfast, after using the incredible clean facilities, no Portaloos at this festival wohoo! We just had time to take in a talk before hitting the road. We had been browsing the book shop (yes they had a book shop) and were intrigued by a book called A New Map of Wonders by Caspar Henderson. The talk was just starting and it was really helped me connect with the premise of Also Festival by taking this opportunity to really think about wonder as an experience. I really warmed to the author Caspar Henderson he was endearingly humble and his ideas made me feel more hopeful about the world in which we live. The discussion was inspiring as not only did it make think more about this wonderful emotion, wonder! It also stimulated me to think about how I might nurture it in my life. Also definitely worked its magic on me and I would highly recommend it to anyone. 

Blog by: Fiona Ring

3 things to expect at your first Charleston class

One of our most frequently asked questions is 'What should I expect at my first Charleston class and is dancing for me?' If you are on fence and what to find out more about adult dance classes in Brighton & Hove. Lewes, Worthing and Portsmouth we have asked our teaching team to give you a 30 second overview of what you will learn in a Charleston course and why our students keep coming back.

Meet Fiona

Fiona, our Creative Director, guarantees that not only will you have learnt the basic Charleston step in just one tune but you will get the chance to learn to Charleston dance to great music and lift your mood!

Meet Elena

Elena has been teaching alongside of Fiona for the past four years and her number one tip to what to expect from class is that the Charleston is a fun and easy dance which you will learn really quickly so you will pick up a new dance skill in no time and within 6 weeks have learnt a routine.

Meet Rachel

Rachel is our Worthing Charleston dance teacher (fun fact: also Fiona and Elena's first ever pupil in 2014!) Her top piece of advice that the Charleston is very accessible so you can put your own style into and has is it a really joyful type of dance you will have fun whilst learning.

To join any of our upcoming Charleston dance courses with Fiona, Elena or Rachel check out our classes and workshops page!