Learn Truckin': Charleston Move of the Week

Truckin is a move which dates back to the time when many of the waiters at The Savoy, in Harlem, were dancers hoping to get talent spotted. They would do this move while holding a tray which they would spin on one finger.

This move reminds us a lot of the Hornpipe dance as the footwork and posture is strikingly similar. It involves 3 little hops or shunts on the same leg, then you wait on beat 4 before repeating the move on the other leg and with a slight change of direction. We used to call this move 'Naughty Sailor' because as you travel your raise one finger and wag it as if telling someone of. That explains the naughty bit, the sailor was because it reminds us of the hornpipe! This a high energy travel move full of character, so find a space and get Truckin'

Charleston Move of the week: Learn the Messaround

This move is an absolute favourite with us. It was made famous by the Ray Charles song The Mess Around, it's a completely joyful and easy dance move to learn.

You start by rotating the pelvis in a full circle, then add a little bounce of the heels which you can do half or double time.

Hands can be on the hips or our favourite is you place one hand on the belly, the other arm does a jazz hand as you bounce around.

We like to make the analogy that your jazz hand is waving goodbye to you bum! Our other favourite is that your like a jolly Father Christmas with his hands on his belly going ‘ho, ho, ho!’ This sounds the laugh and characterisation really gets you into this move.

This move is very useful when your busting your moves on the social dance floor. It's a great way to catch your breath and take a moment. So if in doubt mess about!

Our new merchandise

We are currently offering new merchandising which you can pre-order until the 24th January and it will be delivered to our classes for collection from 4th February.

We are offering T-Shirts, Vest Tops, Tote & Shoe bags and even Hoodies.

The Tote Bags is 42 x 38cm with cotton handles and for the Shoe Bags, you could order a small on which is 25 x 30cm big or a medium on which is 20 x 45cm with a drawstring. In the small shoe bag fits one pair of shoes and the Tote and medium bags can hold two pairs of shoes or shoes with a dance kit and a bottle of water.
All bags cost £10.

Bags

Small Shoe Bag

Tote Bag

Medium Size Shoe Bag

T-Shirts

We are offering our T-Shirts for men and women, but our Vest Tops are currently only available for women. Both, the T-Shirts and the Vest Tops, cost £15.

Female T-Shirts

Male T-Shirts

Vest Tops

Hoodies

we are now offering Hoodies, which cost £35.

View fullsize

Hoodie Front

View fullsize

Hoodie back and T-Shirt

View fullsize

Hoodie Back

For more information about the sizes and if you want to pre-order a product click on the link below.

Move of the Week: The Hitchhike

You will never be without a lift with the hitchhike move, a travelling step which uses the classic thumb signal for hitching a ride.

The footwork is a simple step behind, so your travelling backwards. Its good to start by stepping back and bouncing. You need have a small pulse in each step you take.

Once you are comfortable with the pulse, add the swivel to your footwork. Each time you step back lift the heels out and when you place the foot, bring the heels in to create the swivel motion.

Interestingly a few of our students said they learnt to swivel through practicing this move.

Once the feet are moving in the right direction you can add the arms. When you travel, the same arms as leg is moving. So when you bring you right foot back, lift your right arm over your shoulder. The arms are moving as if your wiping your back with a towel.

You can also stylise the move by gently tilting the head of each move.

Move of the Week: Learn the Skating Step

This week we are looking at skating, this move looks deceptively simple but there are a number of elements to the move.

Break down each part: the twist, the weight change and leg hitch and the arms.

Once the elements come together this dance move has a sunny happy feel with a little bit of coquettish twist. When the pointy finger switches, this is a little light bulb moment so add some flavour with a little whoop or just a cheeky face.

If this doesn't come together instantly don't worry, practice it in parts as it's a beautiful feeling once you get it.

Meet our new team

With so many new classes and teachers joining our team in 2019, we have put together five 30 second snapshot interviews so you can get to know our new team!

Peter - Southampton

We are delighted to welcome Peter to our teaching team who will be taking on our Southampton course from 8th Jan. Peter is an experienced dancer who will be getting the whole city swivelling next year. If you would like to join him just visit www.mycharlestondance.com/southampton

Helen - Eastbourne

From the 9th Jan you will be able to take part in one of courses in Eastbourne and Helen will be flying the flag for us in our new home at Leaf Hall Arts Centre. If you want to put a swivel in your steps in the new year just visit www.mycharlestondance.com/eastbourne

Jess - Lewes

Please welcome to the Charleston teaching team - Jess! Based in Brighton, Jess will be teaching our Lewes course next term and getting you shaking ya thing! If you would like to find out more about Lewes just visit www.mycharlestondance.com/lewes

Natasha - Brighton

Meet Natasha who will be supporting our Brighton teaching team and taking on Brighton Thursday morning course for our January term. to book on with Natasha visit www.mycharlestondance.com/brighton

Gail - Shoreham

Our new Shoreham course with Gail is already over half full! This is a brand new course on 7th Jan so if you want to give it a whirl book early to avoid disappointment www.mycharlestondance.com/shoreham

Series one: Move of the week

For the past 12 weeks we have been sharing with you our Move of Week as this series has now come to a close we have complied all the videos so you can keep practising your favourite moves. The videos are in order of release date and include everything from a basic Charleston to more unusual moves like Spank the Baby! Have fun practising!

The Charleston

Knocky Knees

Side to Side Variation

Flapper Walks

Squat Charleston

Apple Jacks

Shimmy

Charleston Kicks

Charleston Scarecrow

Bunny hops

Jazz Square

Spank the Baby

Tick Tocks

We have already started filming our next series of Move of Week but if you have any requests please leave a comment or drop us a message!

Dance Active 2018

Congratulations to our wonderful students who performed at Dance Active 2018. Here are both groups performances:

Sing Sing Sing

Goody Goody

Take a peak at what’s happening in 2019

Strictly Review: Stacey and Kevin

Strictly Come Dancing 2018 reached its semi-final last weekend where Stacey Dooley and her professional partner Kevin Clifton performed an authentic 1920s Charleston routine. This is the stand out Charleston for the series for so many reasons.

Let’s start with the music, this is the first tune of the year which is actually a proper Charleston track. The piece of music chosen was ‘Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue’ (one of my favourite jazz standards) originally released in 1925 so the music really complimented the routine in capturing the Hot Jazz vibe.

Moving onto the choreography, the storyline is of an on old couple reminiscing of when they used to go out dancing back in the Roaring 20s and we see a flashback to them in their heyday.

From 21 seconds we see heaps of Charleston content: Flapper Walks, Tick Tock, Swivel Walks, Birdie Flaps, Cake Walks and Charleston Kicks all before their first lift.

After the lift, Stacey performs a series of heel flicks on the off-beat, bunny hops and and two Charlestons. Although I love the sequence, her eyes and faces does drop for just one moment and I feel you can really see her concentrating but it’s just a split second.

After their second lift, they come into hold and do a series of kicks and skips which break into Truckin’ and the Spank the Baby move (Not sure why Darcy called it Smack the Pony… or Donkey for that matter) followed by another set of Charlestons and Pushes.

At 1 mins 8 they break into Kick Charlestons and a series of low kicks, followed by a hhimmy and a lift sequence. As soon as they come out of the lifts they perform a set of Suzy Qs and Helicopters (and they have their knees together!).

After their final lift, they run back to the armchairs and we come back to the present day. 

This routine really worked for me on so many levels as it really captured a 1920's flapper-style Charleston. It has also been the only routine of the whole series to use only classic 1920s steps. Although Faye and Giovanni had a great routine too, the traveling moves where not authentic whilst this routine was jam packed from start to finish.

I also love Stacey and Kevin’s partnership and that he threw so much into the routine (I believe we choreographed this one). He is a great teacher who really brings out the best in Stacey. She is a complete dance novice and her spirit really shines in this number. The pair of them together have great stage presence and bring plenty of entertainment to the show.

If they had a bit more time to work on the routine, I would only say that Stacey needs to keep her eyes up and relax her shoulders a little but natural slightly ungainly style fits this routine. However, She smashes the syncopation which is really hard for a beginners and trained dancers. She is also brilliant at doing the swivel which again is very hard to master as a novice.

Shirley: "What an absolutely superb way to open the show – I am absolutely speechless. Is there anything you can't do? Absolutely phenomenal." (Score: 10)

Bruno: "Come on! Talk about giving it welly! She burst into action like a sparkling firecracker. It was 100% authentic 1920's flapper-style Charleston." (Score: 10)

Craig: "Well, your left foot didn't do one little swivel. But I loved it, it was quirky and eccentric." (Score: 9)

Darcey: "Stacey you epitomise the naughty flapper. It was fabulous." (Score: 10)

Our Score: 10 

Move of the Week: Tick Tocks

This week we are teaching you Tick Tocks as our Move of the Week. A simple, but also very popular move in the Charleston.

Start off with your feet parallel. Keep your knees bent at all time and go really low.

If you want to travel to the right start by turning in your knees and feet and while turning out again slide a bit to your right side.
Turn your knees and feet in again, but this time while turning out lift your left foot off the floor. Make sure that you keep the position which you had on the floor and really flex your foot.

Then repeat the same to the left. Knees in and out, while moving to your left, but this time lift your right foot up.

Now to the arms. Hold them like a marionette and just mirror your knees and this is all you need to know for the Tick Tocks.