Pineapple Dance Class

Having always wanted to give a class a go there, Myself and a friend decided to grab our jazz shoes(or in my case ballet pumps) and spend the day in London.

My first thoughts of the building itself were quite mixed. It's located down a sideway which can easily be missed and the only thing giving it away is a small pineapple sign on the side of the building. I had expected some bright pink building with Louis Spence dancing about outside! Inside, the studios are incredibly basic for such a well known company and the changing rooms are small and at times can be quite cramped. However, this made me realise that I wasn't going to be taking part in some glamorous class where I wouldn't break a sweat, instead this basic building was run off a hard work ethic and I knew I was going to be getting my money worth.

I've never taken a jazz dance class before so I didn't really know what to expect. The teacher, Maria, was AMAZING!! She spent 20 mins doing a warm up that had some really good stretches in it, 20 mins teaching some technique and the last 20 mins teaching choreography that contained the technique she had shown us. It was hard work, but I definitely picked up a few tips in the class such as:
Extending to the fullest that my body can
Listening to the music and feeling it through my movement
The importance of spotting when turning
How to create height in jumps

I'm now itching to get myself to another jazz class and to learn more about it's origins!

My Favourite Routine of the Series!

So You Think You Can Dance Final

Well It's over for another year and I think it's safe to say that this series has unleashed more dance talent than that of last year's series. It was a very tight final between four great dancers, but Matt has been the clear winner from the start of the live shows. Enthusiastic and determined, he clearly applied himself to every genre which is what made him a worthy winner.

It's also great to see a tap dancer win and to know that the British public appreciate the technical difficulty of such a demaning genre!

Lois Hurst

Dance for yourself, if someone understands good. If not then no matter what, go right on doing what you love."