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Amy Dowden
Amy Dowden (born 10 August 1990) is a Welsh professional ballroom and Latin American dancer from Caerphilly, Wales, best known for her appearances on the BBC One television show ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Dowden joined the BBC series in 2017, and in 2019, she was a finalist in the seventeenth series with TV presenter Karim Zeroual. Dowden and her partner Ben Jones are former British National Latin Dance Champions. She has the Guinness World Record for the most back-Charleston kick-steps in 30 seconds (2022). Early life Dowden was born in Caerphilly, Wales and began dancing at the age of eight. Alongside her partner Ben Jones, she became British National Latin Dance Champion in 2017, and the couple were the first all-British pair to win the championships in over thirty years. Other successes include becoming British Dance Federation Champions, English Closed Champions and Welsh Closed and Open Champions. Dowden is also a four-time British National Finalist, and a World Championsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caerphilly
Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies within the historic borders of Glamorgan, on the border with Monmouthshire. At the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 41,402 while the wider Caerphilly Local Authority area has a population of 178,806. Toponym The name of the town in Welsh, , means "the fort () of Ffili". Despite lack of evidence, tradition states that a monastery was built by St Cenydd, a sixth-century Christian hermit from the Gower Peninsula, in the area. The Welsh cantref in the medieval period was known as Senghenydd. It is said that St Cenydd's son, St Ffili, built a fort in the area thus giving the town its name. Another explanation given for the toponym is that the town was named after the Anglo-Norman Marcher Lord, Philip de Braose. History The town's sit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strictly Come Dancing (series 20)
''Strictly Come Dancing'' returned for its twentieth series with a launch show on 23 September 2022 on BBC One, with live shows beginning the following day on 24 September. The launch show was originally scheduled to be broadcast on 17 September, but was postponed out of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, whilst Rylan Clark and Janette Manrara returned to host '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.'' In May 2022, the BBC announced that Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke would return to the judging panel. It was also confirmed that Bruno Tonioli, who had been absent from the two previous series due to travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, would be permanently leaving the show. In August 2022, the BBC confirmed that the show would return to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom for the first time since the seventeenth series. It was also announced that there would be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Showdance
Concert dance (also known as performance dance or theatre dance in the United Kingdom) is dance performed for an audience. It is frequently performed in a theatre setting, though this is not a requirement, and it is usually choreographed and performed to set music. By contrast, social dance and participation dance may be performed without an audience and, typically, these dance forms are neither choreographed nor danced to set music, though there are exceptions. For example, some ceremonial dances and baroque dances blend concert dance with participation dance by having participants assume the role of performer or audience at different moments. Forms Many dance styles are principally performed in a concert dance context, including these: *Ballet originated as courtroom dance in Italy, then flourished in France and Russia before spreading across Europe and abroad. Over time, it became an academic discipline taught in schools and institutions. Amateur and professional troupes f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samba
Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Having its roots in Brazilian folk traditions, especially those linked to the primitive rural samba of the colonial and imperial periods, it is considered one of the most important cultural phenomena in Brazil and one of the country's symbols. Present in the Portuguese language at least since the 19th century, the word "samba" was originally used to designate a "popular dance". Over time, its meaning has been extended to a "batuque-like circle dance", a dance style, and also to a "music genre". This process of establishing itself as a musical genre began in the 1910s and it had its inaugural landmark in the song " Pelo Telefone", launched in 1917. Despite being identified by its creators, the public, and the Brazilian music industry as "samba", ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salsa (dance)
Salsa is a latin dance, associated with the music genre of the same name, which was first popularized in the United States in the 1960s in New York City. Salsa is an amalgamation of Cuban dances, such as mambo, pachanga and rumba, as well as American dances such as swing and tap. Origin Salsa dancing — as a dance to accompany salsa music — was popularized in the 1960s. It was primarily developed by Puerto Ricans and Cubans living in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Different regions of Latin America and the United States (including countries in the Caribbean) have distinct salsa styles, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian, and New York styles. Salsa dance socials are commonly held in nightclubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and outside, especially when part of an outdoor festival. Some debate exists about the exact origins of the name "salsa". Some claim it originated from something musicians shouted while playing to generate excitement. The term was popu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhumba
Rhumba, also known as ballroom rumba, is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also conga and rumba. Although taking its name from the latter, ballroom rumba differs completely from Cuban rumba in both its music and its dance. Hence, authors prefer the Americanized spelling of the word (''rhumba'') to distinguish between them. Music Although the term ''rhumba'' began to be used by American record companies to label all kinds of Latin music between 1913 and 1915, the history of rhumba as a specific form of ballroom music can be traced back to May 1930, when Don Azpiazú and his Havana Casino Orchestra recorded their song "El manisero" (The Peanut Vendor) in New York City. This single, released four months later by Victor, became a hit, becoming the first Latin song to sell 1 million copies in the United States. The song, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quickstep
The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events. Quickstep was developed in the 1920s in New York City and was first danced by Black Americans. Its origins are in combination of slow foxtrot combined with the Charleston (dance), Charleston, a dance which was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing. History The quickstep evolved in the 1920s from a combination of the foxtrot, Charleston (dance), Charleston, Collegiate shag (dance), shag, Peabody (dance), peabody, and One-Step, one-step. The dance is English in origin and was standardized in 1927. While it evolved from the foxtrot, the quickstep now is quite separate. Unlike the modern foxtrot, the lead and follow, leader often closes his feet, and syncopated steps are regular occurrences (as was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paso Doble
Pasodoble (Spanish language, Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This military march gave rise recently to a modern Spanish dance, a musical genre including both voice and instruments, and a genre of instrumental music often played during Bullfighting, bullfight. Both the dance and the non martial compositions are also called pasodoble. Structure All pasodobles have binary rhythm. Its musical structure consists of an introduction based on the dominant chord of the piece, followed by a first fragment based on the main tone and a second part, called "the trío", based on the sub-dominant note, based yet again on the dominant chord. Each change is preceded by a brieph. The last segment of the pasodoble is usually "the trío" strongly played. The different types of pasodoble- popular, taurino, militar- can vary in rhy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jive (dance)
The jive is a dance style that originated in the United States from the African Americans in the early 1930s. The name of the dance comes from the name of a form of African-American vernacular slang, popularized in the 1930s by the publication of a dictionary by Cab Calloway, the famous jazz bandleader and singer. In competition ballroom dancing, the jive is often grouped with the Latin-inspired ballroom dances, though its roots are based on swing dancing and not Latin dancing. History To the players of swing music in the 1930s and 1940s, "jive" was an expression denoting glib or foolish talk. American soldiers brought Lindy Hop/jitterbug to Europe around 1940, where this dance swiftly found a following among the young. In the United States, "swing" became the most common word for the dance, and the term "jive" was adopted in the UK. Variations in technique led to styles such as boogie-woogie and swing boogie, with "jive" gradually emerging as the generic term in the UK.Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foxtrot
The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time signature instead of . Developed in the 1910s, the foxtrot reached its height of popularity in the 1930s and remains practiced today. History The dance was premiered in 1914, quickly catching the eye of the husband and wife duo Vernon and Irene Castle, who gave the dance its signature grace and style. The origin of the name of the dance is unclear, although one theory is that it took its name from its popularizer, the vaudevillian Harry Fox. Two sources, Vernon Castle and dance teacher Betty Lee, credit African American dancers as the source of the foxtrot. Castle saw the dance, which "had been danced by negroes, to his personal knowledge, for fifteen years, ta certain exclusive colored club". W. C. Handy ("Father of the Blues") ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named after the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson, which originated in the Broadway show '' Runnin' Wild'' and became one of the most popular hits of the decade. ''Runnin' Wild'' ran from October 28, 1923, through June 28, 1924. The peak year for the Charleston as a dance by the public was mid-1926 to 1927. Origins While the dance probably came from the "star" or challenge dances that were all part of the African-American dance called Juba, the particular sequence of steps which appeared in ''Runnin' Wild'' were probably newly devised for popular appeal. "At first, the step started off with a simple twisting of the feet, to rhythm in a lazy sort of way. his could well be the Jay-Bird.When the dance hit Harlem, a new version was added. It became a fast kicking step, kicking the feet, both forwar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cha-cha-cha (dance)
The cha-cha-cha (also called cha-cha), is a dance of Cuban origin. It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by the Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin in the early 1950s. This rhythm was developed from the danzón-mambo. The name of the dance is an onomatopoeia derived from the shuffling sound of the dancers' feet when they dance two consecutive quick steps (correctly, on the fourth count of each measure) that characterize the dance. In the early 1950s, Enrique Jorrín worked as a violinist and composer with the charanga group Orquesta América. The group performed at dance halls in Havana where they played danzón, danzonete, and danzon-mambo for dance-oriented crowds. Jorrín noticed that many of the dancers at these gigs had difficulty with the syncopated rhythms of the danzón-mambo. To make his music more appealing to dancers, Jorrín began composing songs where the melody was marked strongly on the first downbeat and the rhythm was less syncopated. W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
