Saturday, February 16, 2013

Mardi Gras weekend in Lafayette Louisiana 2013


I wanted to share a few video clips and images from the Lafayette Louisiana area over the weekend before Mardi Gras.

The shear number of dance events to possibly attend is mind boggling so typically you have to pick two or three to try to pack in per day... 



The first video clip below is from Gerry Spanger's Mardi Gras party he throws for all of the dancers.  This year he had Geno Delafose play so it was a very full dance floor.  My favorite quote from the event was while dancing with one person I mentioned how hot it was with the packed dance floor and she informed me that I should have seen what it was like before they turned on the AC...    Typically dancers will bring multiple shirts with them as they soon get soaked with the Louisiana humidity levels.


The next video clip below is from Vermillionville with Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boy's.  It's amazing the amount of talent many of the artists have who rarely play some of the bigger festivals around the country but clearly have the talent for it!! 
My favorite comment from a lady dancer at Vermillionville was her apologizing for "the Houston" coming out in her.  She was referring to a style of close dance position with her gyrating hips that some of the advanced ladies can do...what can I say.. YeaURite!



This video clip below was from the highlight event of my weekend with Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band.  Keith didn't stop for one break all night with his 3+ hour set... quite amazing when you consider most other "out of Louisiana" Cajun or Zydeco bands take a break half way through their set.  He played a ton of his older hits mixed in with the new.  The low end bass power of Keith's sound system is just plain amazing.  Keith also just released a new CD... see www.KeithFrank.com for more details.



This image to the right was from Grant Street Dance Hall where I had the opportunity to do a little Intermediate and advanced Zydeco dance workshop.  

Check out the following link for some of the advanced stuff we covered at medium pace and there are always Zydeco DVD's for sale which slow down these moves further covering this stuff at www.LearnZydeco.com

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Free Zydeco Workshop - Saturday Feb 9th - Lafayette, LA


Zydeco Dance Workshop - Saturday Feb 9th - Grant Street Dance Hall, Lafayette

What:  Intermediate & Advanced Zydeco dance workshop covering a few intermediate and a few advanced Zydeco moves.  We will also cover the hardest move in Zydeco, "The Reverse 360".  If the group wants to learn a easy Zydeco line dance we can also cover this as well. 

Online Lesson 1 (with video clip link below)
As they say practice makes perfect and while we will be covering several intermediate moves if you want to brush up on the basics of some of the advanced footwork please click on the following YouTube link.  No partner is really needed to practice this footwork before coming to class if wanted..

Online Lesson 2
Before coming to class if you want to do a little more practice click on the following link ....



We won't be covering any beginning Zydeco so check with your local instructors for this or go to www.ZydecoLesson.com for a free online lesson.

When: Saturday, Feb 9th, 2:00pm-3:00pm

Location: Grant Street Dance Hall, 113 W. Grant St. Lafayette, LA 70501
web: grantstdancehall.com


Cost: Free 

(Just in town for a little fun weekend and thought it would be fun to throw in a short little workshop)




No RSVP needed nor do you need a partner.. we will provide.  Any questions call 619-857-8409.

Instructor: Greg Benusa

web:
www.ZydecoCoach.com
www.ZydecoLesson.com