Dirty Dancing?

When I was very young, I got sent to ballet classes. I was seriously crap.  Too tall, too ungainly – the ugly duckling in the back row.  Ritual humiliation on a weekly basis.  I didn’t dance for years after that, until I got into my teens and realised that I needed rhythm, a beat; drums and guitars; loose limbs not pointy toes.  I haven’t stopped dancing since.  I danced my way through university and partied my way through my twenties.  I don’t really mind what the music is – as long as it’s got a beat, my toes will start tapping, my hips will start swaying.
 
Adrian, bless him, isn’t one of life’s natural dancers – he jokes that the pogo is his dance of preference – so I tend to dance solo, or with friends, or – as you already know – with the stampeding horde of ululating women that is Zumba. 

Anyhow.  An email popped into my inbox about the Disney Channel.  Seems they’re launching an online dance contest for children and young teens. Could I publicize it?  Heck, why not?  Anything that gets children moving is good in my book.   So, here’s the blurb…

Disney Channel has teamed up with Got To Dance winner Akai Osei to launch Shake It Up: Dance, Dance, an online dance contest that will give the winner the opportunity to have their dance aired on the channel, as well as a holiday to LA and a dance master class with Akai. The online dance contest is open to anyone between 6-16-years-old.

Viewers have until August 31^st to visit the site and upload their clips. The winner will be voted for from a shortlist of 10 finalists.  So, go for it!  

Disney did a survey on young people and dance and found, encouragingly, that almost half of them dance several times a week and that 67 percent of those surveyed said that dancing made them feel happy with a quarter feeling more confident.   I dunno, dance certainly boosts my endorphin levels sky-high.  It’s a total body and mind workout and I wouldn’t be without it...  It saves my sanity!

So, so far we were singing from the same songsheet.  But then they went on to say that the survey revealed the ‘most iconic dance moments in history’ and, errr…. Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal, High School Musical’s We’re All in This Together and Beyonce’s Single Ladies.

WTF???

Now, we could be here a very very long time if I listed all my favourites but…hey…. Let’s start with.. 

Heaven’s Gate – the roller skate dance is awesome… but sadly it won't load (YouTube it - it's worth it.)

But I love the waltz too…

They got the tough street kids into ballroom with this one in Take the Lead… and by heck the tango is one sexy dance...

There's Dirty Dancing, of course… 
http://youtu.be/WpmILPAcRQo

And there's Riverdance in the campervan in Father Ted (apologies, can't find a clip for that but it's a cracker.)

But, my favourite?  It’s got to be this, huh?   Love this movie to bits..

What about you?