Dancer Peasant Blog

Kevin Nevorski describes swing dancing as being similar to a whole new language.

“You can be up there with someone you’ve never met and you both communicate with each other through your moves,” the Chesterfield senior said.

Nevorski was one of three instructors Sunday night that taught about 100 students how to swing dance in Finch Fieldhouse.

Swing Kids holds regular meetings at 7 p.m. Sundays in Finch Fieldhouse Room 113. Lessons and dance sessions are free and open to the public.

The students learned the East Coast Swing by practicing in pairs, trying to master moves such as the rock step, inside and outside turn and the cuddle step.

It was Croswell junior Sarah Sly’s first night as group president.

Sly said she loves swing dancing because of the high energy pace and the opportunities it gives to meet new people.

“It’s actually really easy,” Sly said of the dance moves.

Lapeer freshman Logan Smith also attended for his first time after taking the advice of some friends.

“I have no dancing experience, so it’s kind of hard,” Smith said.

Indiana Kate Burchett has been swing dancing for five years.

“I like following because it takes talent to follow the lead,” Burchett said.

She said swing dancing is one of her favorite dance styles. Burchett also taught ballroom dance in high school and did hip-hop dancing as a cheerleader, she said.

“You can improvise in swing dancing and insert your own personality,” Burchett said.

Gladwin junior Kaitlin Thorne was also one of the instructors.

She said the swing dance is very social and takes more talent than many other dance forms. She said the best part about it is you can swing dance to anything.

Thorne said the group occasionally makes trips to Wayside Central on Sunday nights and dances to oldies.

“No matter where you are in the country, you can find someone that likes swing dance,” Thorne said.

E-mail the author: Joe Borlik

In the 1940’s, swing was all the rage with fashionable young people. The upbeat music and energetic dancing was just the remedy for the wartime blues. Today, this fun and lively style of dance continues to be popular among the young and old alike. Anyone can have success with swing dancing if they keep a few basic things in mind.

One of the things that make swing dancing so much fun is that it is a throwback to a time gone by. To really get into the spirit, try dressing in traditional swing attire. For the guys, this might mean a classy fedora, silk tie or even a zoot suit. The ladies might consider sporting wrist length gloves or a lovely silk scarf in their hair. Dressing the part is a great way for dancers to really feel like they are experiencing swing dance in its heyday.

Another way to prepare for a night of swing dancing is to listen to swing music at home or in the car. Instead of listening to a disc jockey jabber away on the radio, pop in a swing CD and tap along to the beat on the steering wheel. Then, when it comes time to go to a swing club, the music will be so familiar that moving to it will be like second nature.

The most important thing to do in order to have success with swing dancing is to have fun. Swing dancing is all about letting loose and being free. Do not worry about doing each step exactly right but instead, focus on getting into the spirit of the music and having a great time.

Swing dancing has captivated so many hearts and bodies for generations because of its positive message of fun and good cheer. Few things are more fun than dressing up in traditional swing style and taking a spin around the dance floor. Just remember to have fun and get into the spirit, and it is easy to find swing dancing success.

If you are a dance and music lover, invest in a Furman Power Condtioner and listen to the difference in the sound.  You won’t believe it!

Iran’s Dance of Death Continues as a Weak US President Looks On
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
****************

“Engineers began loading fuel rods into a nuclear reactor on Iran's southern coast Saturday, a milestone that puts the long-delayed plant within a few weeks of operation, Iranian state television reported.

John R. Bolton, the Bush administration's former United Nations envoy, made waves and set off war jitters last week after he said that Israel was running out of time to bomb the plant before the fuel cells were loaded, or otherwise risk creating a radioactive cloud that would harm too many civilians.

Iran countered with its own threat. "In that case, we will lose a power plant, but Israel's existence will be in danger," said Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen Ahmad Vahidi.

Iran could theoretically make bombs by extracting plutonium from the reactor's spent fuel rods, although Russia has vowed to keep a close tab on the plant and recover any such material and experts doubt such an outcome.”

"Resistance of the Iranian nation along with their independence-seeking spirit as well as their strong support for their officials have led to the completion of the Bushehr power plant project," Iran's Atomic Energy Organization chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, told reporters. (SOURCE)


And all of this makes the Islam Bomb an imminent possibility.

Back in May of 2008, we wrote that if Iran were to lay down her arms, remove her troops from Iraq, back away from the Straits of Hormuz, stop threatening the free flow of oil from the Middle East, cut off funding and supplying terrorists in Gaza and Lebanon and the other trouble spots around the globe, and basically, behave herself… then, we might be view her in a different light.

But, as long as Iran’s mad mullahs and hallucinating henchmen continue to prance and preen, shine their shields and rattle their sabers, any attempt, on the part of the Obama Regime (or any other nation at which their vitriol is directed) to talk with them is viewed as appeasement… and rightly so.

Since the beginning of warfare between tribes there has always been those who want to try talking to the enemy tribe in an attempt avoiding open combat. They are, inevitably, the weakest members of the threatened tribe. Unfortunately, it is their protestations that “peace at any price” has cost more lives, in the long run, than would have been lost had the battle begun immediately and ended quickly with one tribe, or the other, wining decisively.

Appeasement does two things: It demonstrates the appeasing side’s weakness and fear and it allows the threatening side to grow stronger and bolder and even more determined to put the pip-squeak nation, begging for peace, out of it’s misery.

Even inferring that one might talk to Iran, if one were in a position of power from which to do so, does the nation a disservice. It demonstrates the naiveté, the inexperience, and the lack of security in one’s ability to lead a nation of free people who went to war against a world superpower to gain their freedom and have fought ever since to maintain their freedom.

A great nation does not negotiate peace with another nation threatening war against it. A great nation swats the offending nation, as one would a fly, then dictates the terms of peace to THEM. Great leaders understand that. “Pretenders to Greatness” have never understood that. History records great nations and great leaders. Pretenders to greatness MAY gain mention in the footnotes of history.

So, as Obama’s diplomatic elite urge appeasement of Iran by “talking” -- understand they are not representative of the vast majority of the American people who had much rather act as men, standing on their feet in defense of their nation, than as weaklings on their knees, exposing their necks to the sword of the enemy.

Courage begets greatness. Fear begets timidity. Timidity gives birth to acts of appeasement. When facing an enemy determined to destroy the US, which they refer to as “The Great Satan,” there is no place for timidity in the Office of the President of the United States.

J. D. Longstreet




Brett Kelly Brett Kelly is a Atlanta based musician who both performs and composes regularly. He is currently obtaining his B.M. in Classical Guitar Performance from KSU. View C.V. View my complete profile

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Peering through today's societal prism, that particular trait is one of two symbols one tends to connect to women. According to an article in the Guardian from May 6th, 2009, by John Carvel and Mary O'Hara, "binge drinking among women has almost doubled since 1998" whereas only a 1% increase was noted among men.

Male Dominance in Our Society

As the video continues, the protagonist’s aggressive behavior towards both men and women escalates. Graphic scenes demonstrate self-abuse and an out-of-control streak.

Again, these aberrations are not solely attached to male behavior. Drug and alcohol abuse crosses both genders. Yet the attacks against the DJ indicate male aggression. The excursion to a strip club could further strengthen the assumption the point of view is that of a man.

And finally, the person takes a female stripper home. When the woman gets off the bed and leaves the apartment, the protagonist’s eyes follow her. The reflection in the mirror reveals a woman.

Cultural Power of Consent or Why We Interpret As We Do

According to Stuart Hall, a cultural theorist and sociologist, also a founding father of the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies, what defines behavior and cultural perception is not only a matter of subordination and coercion but also of consent.

The viewer's consent is won by the interplay of power and consent. From an ideological point of view, what is depicted in "Smack My B tch up", is the connotation of the universal truth dominant in modern western society: men are the aggressors. The hegemonic override of masculine power and social authority is a tradition and factor, that has historic connotations, reaching back centuries.

Shattering Stereotypes

Stereotypes and universal truths that class, culture and society erect, are established, allowing the public to navigate the world. Artists like the Prodigy challenge these "truths" with their interpretation of life.

The visuality (our culturally inflected seeing at a certain time, in a certain place) can lead viewers to believe that, despite the ending, it was a man all along. Possibly, the man sees himself or desires to be a woman, thereby subverting politically correct stereotypes. Dependent on individual social backgrounds, each person can draw their own conclusions.