Dansen var mitt liv när jag var ung. Några gånger dansade jag med en professionell dansare – underbart. Idag dansar jag aldrig. Kanske på någon fest ibland, men annars inte.
Konstigt nog har jag nästan inga bilder alls på dans eller dansare. Däremot njuter jag av att titta på dans och balett, och filmer som Billy Elliot gör mig lyrisk.
Mitt bidrag får bli några bilder från Kina. Ett land där man dansar i parker och på öppna platser och gärna undervisar främlingar som vill försöka. Först ett vackert, äldre par och så dottern med en undervisande dansare.
Ailsa’s travel challenge is all about dancing. Dancing was my life when I was young. I also got the opportunity to dance with a professional dancer for a time. Nowadays I never go dancing. Maybe if a big party is going out, otherwise not. I love to watch dancing and dancers, though. Movies like Billy Elliot has me enchanted.
My dancing pictures are very few, so my contribution here is photos from our trips to China. A country where music seeps out from every park and dancers are everywhere. They are happy to show you how to do and give you big smiles when you succeed. First a beautiful, elderly couple, and then my daughter who also was taught by one of the dancers.
De äldre var mycket aktiva i alla parker. Inte minst med morgongymnastiken. Alla verkade mycket ”unga”, viga och mjuka i kroppen – vilket man naturligtvis blir om man håller igång med dans och gymnastik.
The elderly people were very active in the parks. I don’t know if we were fooled by them being so agile – but they seemed so young in body and soul.
Den här mannen spelade tennis med en boll fastsatt i ett snöre. Jag minns att jag hade något liknande när jag var barn. Han var en mästare på att få bollen att dansa – och tog flera danssteg själv när han träffade den med racketen. Allt, naturligtvis, till musik!
This man had his ball dancing and danced himself when smashing it. Of course to music!
Det eleganta paret i första bilden får avgöra elegansen på den sista. Bilden är tagen från en musik och dansshow på ett hotell i Peking.
A beautiful start must have a beautiful finish – Music and a great Dance show at a hotel in Beijing.
Leya 
Pingback: Dance as an expression | rfljenksy – Practicing Simplicity
Thank you!
Very nice collection – my favorites are the first two!
Mine too.
I remember being impressed by all the activity in the parks in China, especially in Shanghai!. Love the elderly – athletic- couple 🙂
I haven’t been to Shanghai, but maybe there’s even more activities then!
Love your choice of photos …. For this challenge – when I was in China, no dancing in parks … but their theaters was full of it. I love dancing, was ballroom dancing when I was a teen … but then boys became more interesting. I dance often in my living room … alone – just love dancing. And of course I have the Zumba.
When were you there and there was no dancing? The first time we went there we saw no dancing either, but now there is! The morning gymnastics must have been there when you visited?
I don’t know anything about Zumba except for the name. What is it really? I heard it was a mix.
I was there just after Mao’s death in 1978 – so no dancing. The morning gymnastics I saw only in Hong Kong, I suppose I wasn’t out and about early enough in China.
Zumba is so fun and what a great way to exercise – not everybody loves it. I tell you that it makes you sweat more than a gym. It’s music from all over the world *smile
Brilliant photos for the theme. 🙂
Thank you! I’m happy that you liked them.
Alas, I’m a white male and afflicted, like so many others of my kind, with an inability to move in any kind of socially appropriate way. I just watched the movie Pride and Prejudice – I could handle that kind of dancing – so with the absence of that form I’ll just have to watch and enjoy your pictures…:)
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that you belong to that category…I’m quite convinced, though, that you have other important abilities. I was going to report to you again after this upcoming Tuesday, because there will be another discussion where your post/article is on. They have also read a report on football and violent male supporters and watched the movie ”Billy Elliot”. I’ll be in touch!
Excellent, I look forward to hearing more.
Precis som dig så dansade jag rätt mycket då jag var yngre … Men absolut inte med nån proffsdansare . Jag gick en kurs i gammaldans när jag var 13 år … å tyckte jag att det var det mest pinsamma jag gjort efter mitt fiolspelande … Men idag är jag glad att jag lärde mig att dansa gammaldans !
Önskar att jag kunde ta upp detta med dansen igen men modet sviker idag… Är inte alls lika rörlig som tidigare, mina diskbråck sätter käppar i hjulen ..
Som vanligt otroligt vackra bilder och jag avundas alla resor som du gjort.
// Maria
Roligt att du också dansat! Men kanske en stilla vals kunde gå än idag? Om du är som jag så känns det en smul längtan när man hör de gamla låtar man brukat dansa till en gång…
Gammaldanskurs har till och med dottern gått – av egen fri vilja! Och sonen lärde sig i alla fall vals inför studenten. Visst är det kanske pinsamt, men som du säger är man efteråt tacksam att man lärde sig.
This is a beautiful post about dancing….I love the idea that in China people are free and relaxed enough in themselves that they dance anywhere, just for the joy of the movement.
So often we don’t use the full range of our bodies possible movements, and dance reaches parts otherwise neglected and forgotten. We should all dance a little more 🙂
…”dance reaches parts otherwise neglected and forgotten.” It does, I’m sure. It brings out endorphins too!
Your 1st photo warms my heart.
Mmm, aren’t they beautiful!
So lovely to see people dancing in public.
I think we should have more of that! Here up north there are some outdoor dancing in public, but it’s always organized. Competitions or show. I’d love for us to feel more free about it.
Me too. We are so prim and proper down here in the south of New Zealand.
and now the truth comes out…..Where did you dance?
Ha, ha – no ballet! It was tango, foxtrot and walz mostly, but also the traditional Swedish folk-dances as hambo ( much in the northern part of Sweden, like Dalarna) and polka. So, nothing classic or flashy at all like your daughter’s dancing!
Oh but wonderful all the same and something you could still do????? I’m an avid watcher of Strictly Come Dancing every year. Do you have it there?
I do not know, I don’t watch much TV (is it on TV?), but we do have something called Let’s Dance. But, that’ a competition where ordinary people (or rather, famous people in other professions) are taught to dance by professionals. From the start it was a brilliant idea, so I watched. They had real expert jurys and it felt rewarding to look at. Now….well, as with everything in this genre – the audience (us, the people watching) are to vote for our favourites. And what does this lead up to? Of course that silly people or clumsy people knock out the serious and skilful couples. I do not find this amusing.
Sometimes they send real dancing competitions – I love them. I also watch ballet and dancing on ice. If the program you’re referring to is on the Internet I might find it?
Oh, and I can still do that dancing, yes…but maybe better after an hour of two of practice! When I go out dancing (Very Seldom now – once a year?)it just works…I think it is like biking. Once you have learned it – it’s there for you for ever.
it’s much like your one and we went through the same problem but seem to have come out the other side because it got so bad a person who couldn’t dance almost won. Now the voting audience plays fair.
My daughter was/is a contemporary dancer (although) she did ballet every class as well and was trained at The Place in London.
I go to a lot of shows there and Sadlers’ Wells as well.
Lucky you! And, thank you for telling me about how the show came out in the end..I might just have a look at it once more…hopefully the trend has followed your line.
Have a great Sunday!
i did not know that chinese loved to dance! wonderful photos, thanks you for showing me all this good fun 🙂
Thank You! I just visited your interesting site where I first found dancing in Bhutan and then many other interesting posts. I shed a little tear on finding Machapuchare..
a very special mountain … and you were there nearly 20 years ago!
whoops, that should have been nearly 30 years ago i think 🙂
A great selection of photos. Interesting too.
Thank you, Debbie – glad you liked it!
Dans är glädje! Har ända sedan jag var 8 år gammal dansat allt från jitterbugg till hambo….
Under några år tävlade jag i bugg. Det är så fantastiskt roligt att dansa 🙂
Tycker att vi svenskar också borde dansa lite spontant på gator och torg!
Det håller jag med om! Få aktiviteter kan få mig så glad. Och motionen – att dansa gammaldans och bugg är oerhört bra för konditionen.
I Kina strömmade musiken ut så försiktigt och vackert i parkerna, och lagom högt. Så håller sig de olika dansarna långt ifrån varandra också så att man inte hör någon annan musik samtidigt. Njutbart är det. Stämningen är fantastisk.
Åh…jag kan tänka mig det 🙂
Mer dans åt folket tycker jag!
A really beautiful collection!
Thank you!