Public Jitterbug No. 1

A Little More Charleston

2009-08-21T15:04:00.005-05:00

I must confess that I haven't done much practicing of late. I don't even have to excuse of saying that I didn't have enough time. I just didn't remember. So I'm going to work on getting back on track. I'll probably stay on the Charleston for another week or so, and after that I'm going to try cutting some rug while Ballin' the Jack. Can't be too hard, right?

Moving on, here is a link to the video that I'll be learning from for Ballin' the Jack. I'm looking forward to this dance, and I don't think it'll be too hard to do without a partner, but I could be wrong. I'll let you know how it works out.

For those who are interested, I want to encourage you to try and learn with me. If you do, please comment and tell me how you fare. I'd like the blog to have a two-sided element. Side #1: me, writing about my pitiful attempts. Side #2: you, the readers, giving me feedback, advice, and telling me about your own dance experiences. Also, please tell me if you know of a dance that I could try to learn!

Partner Dancing, Ballin' the Jack, & Black Bottom

2009-08-05T07:32:00.004-05:00

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do about dances that require a partner. I'll probably end up trying to do it on my own. I'm sure you can imagine how funny that's going to look! As for the photo shown below, I think it's safe to say that I'll need to learn the man's part if I ever try to do that move!

Although I'm still learning the Charleston, I've begun to do a little bit of research on Ballin' the Jack, which is beginning to look a lot like my next endeavor. It's either that or Black Bottom.

Learning the Charleston

2009-08-04T15:29:00.002-05:00

I already have one blog, A Noodle In A Haystack, which is about old Hollywood films, people, and the occasional music post. As you might imagine, I didn't see myself starting another blog only a week after I began the first one, but I had a sudden inspiration for a blog title: "Public Jitterbug No. 1," which is the name of an RKO short starring Betty Hutton. I sadly realized that I couldn't use it. I already had one blog, why start another that would probably end up being about the same things? However, I couldn't resist. The title seemed perfect for - something, but what? Then I wondered, why not write about my pitiful attempts to learn old dances? So here I am listening to Julie London and writing the first post.

As I said, this blog is to chronicle my efforts to learn how to dance. I suppose that I should have started it a few weeks ago because that was when I really started trying to learn.

I'm starting with the Charleston. I had considerable trouble with it in the beginning. It seemed that I just couldn't get it right. I looked like... I don't know... a duck swinging its legs in a wildly ridiculous manner. Once I made the mistake of wearing sock while practicing. I was "dancing" on a hard wood floor. Can you guess how that turned out? My feet slipped out from under me, and I fell flat on my face. Oops....

After that I didn't try again for quite awhile, but yesterday I watched Roxie Hart (1942) and saw Ginger Rogers doing the Charleston. That's when I understood: it's all in the knees. So I've started practicing again, and I seem to be doing much better. I even did a few steps in high heels today!

- Amanda

P.S. If you have any suggestions for dances to learn, please post a comment and tell me the name (if you know of a movie where the dance is performed, that would be helpful, too). I'd also love to get some feedback about this new blog, or just hear from you at all!