Poll Dancing

Dancers like to perform and take center stage. But, they also like to offer their two-cents on issues and sometimes they contribute a little more.

Some dancers chose to give money to support the candidate of their choice in this year's presidential race. However, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of donations from dancers in the L.A. area. 

In fact, only 14 dancers in the U.S. donated money to politics in the past year and only 9 of them contributed to a presidential candidate, according to a public record of these contributions on Moneyline CQ. This excludes dance directors and instructors, but the top ten contributors come from all over the U.S. 

Some interesting results:

$2,300 contributor

Although it has nothing to do with the presidential race, the biggest donor is a ballet dancer with Les Grands Ballet of Canada named Indra Rockefeller. This wouldn't be odd except that after searching members of the company on their website, I couldn't find her anywhere... and her donation coincidentally went to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV. Although they have no immediate family relation, I wonder if the connection goes deeper than sharing a last name, and who is she? 

$1,000 contributors

Lee Harper, a well-known director and choreographer of Atlanta gave to Hillary Clinton and Victoria Psihoyos a dancer/choreographer from Boulder, Colorado gave to Barack Obama.

$500 contributors

Jean Isaacs of San Diego (yay California! finally) owns Jean Isaacs directs San Diego Dance Theater; Kshanna Shah of Palatine, Illinois is a classical dancer; and Ms. Meena Telikicherla of Maryland is an ethnic dancer and teacher. They all gave to Barack Obama.

Charu Narashimhan of Dunn Loring, Virginia is a director and guru of Bharata natyam and contributed her $500 to Bill Richardson, unfortunately. 

$300 contributor

The last dancer on my list is exotic by occupation and by name. 

Star Child is a dancer from San Francisco who contributed to Ron Paul. Who knew an exotic dancer wouldn't choose an independent candidate? ;) 

From classical to unconventional, these dancers came from all four corners of the U.S. and the support lies with both the Democratic and Republican party. 

They Can-Can Dance.

LA Unbound Auditions

A crowd of dancers gathered in front of Sophie's Dance Studio on February 16.
They took a number, they signed papers, they warmed up, they stretched.
They came to dance.
The auditions offfered the opportunity for choreographers and dancers to express individuality and their style of choice: hip-hop, burlesque, contemporary, tap, modern and can-can.






For more info on the upcoming show visit the LA Unbound website.

Breakin'

Ever just feel like breakin' down?

Krazy Kujo's Beginner II breakdancing class is where its at.

The sweat and hot breath of the last class still lingers in Studio E.

Kujo bounces in and puts in his music as his students slowly filter in and stretch. His warm-up consists of rhythmic footwork, kicks and turns. One, two, three FOUR! five six, seven-eight... he turns around and counts out the beat. As the steps become faster and more intricate, body levels change with twists, jumps and floor-work. Kujo never fails to offer individual help and move to the next dancer until each person has it right.  After teaching the last combo, he opens the floor for "play" and the tricks begin... 

Dancin' the Blues

A night spot to practice

 your dance moves. 

Its a cold Saturday night on the Redondo Beach pier. 

Any other place on the weekend is marked by outdoor lines of twenty-somethings and loud pulsing music. Not here.

Two large, dark wooden doors are shut and the night is almost too quiet. Only two men stand outside. But don't let that fool you.

To enter Harvelle's I drifted down a carpeted stairway lit by foot level wall sconces, then the music hit me. The deep gut busting voice and explosive guitar coming from the other room is too tempting to pass up and I can't remember the last time I danced to such soulful music. So this $12 better be worth it.

Yow. The place, in a word, was swanky. But had I come to the wrong place? The rectangular black and red checkered floor was empty. 

As my eyes adjusted to the dark room I could see her, the lead singer, known as "Roach," almost slithering to the rhythm in the spotlight. Her platinum hair and teal sequined dress were the most dazzling things in there, until she moved.

With moves reminiscent of Tina Turner and a voice so intoxicating it resonated around the room, all eyes were on her. 

Groups huddled around red candlelight as they shifted to the bass line. The patrons at the bar smiled as the bartenders poured some satisfying drinks. I was impressed with the service and general pleasure of the atmosphere. 

It seemed like everyone was happy to be there, in that booming music box underground. But alas, no one was dancing but my bartender, who twirled and stomped around to his next customer.

I almost finished my drink and left, but I checked the time (11:10) and the band played a slow one. The band, Cafe R&B, had the classy looks of the Blues Brothers, all in suits, minus the glasses.

Finally, couples crept their way to the dance floor and almost everyone left their seats. They swayed to the beat and no man hesitated to let his hand move south on his partner. Couples sitting in the booths against the walls were mere silhouettes, as they clung to the music and kissed.

The song concluded and a powerful swift tune began. The funky song moved the slow dancers to jump around. This time even more people joined the crowd on the floor and two couples began demonstrating their best moves, turning, twirling and dipping. The floor welcomed more than swingers, as groups of three and four had no trouble shaking a leg and some booty to the beat.

Dark, moody lighting with red and black leather booths complimented the intense blues rhythm and left the atmosphere mellow and sexy. Leather stools lined the cherry-wood bar, with hooks beneath for your hanging pleasure, a convenience for ladies who wish to leave their purse and go boogie. 

Toe tapping jams are the mark of this venue, but the crowd is definitely not college material. If you are looking for a loud and clubby place to dance don't come here.

But if you're in the mood for a low-key night with a friend or two, it's the perfect spot to ingest some great music and show off your dance moves, no matter how skilled you may be. 

Click here to listen to Cafe R&B