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March 2008

Welcome to the Backbeat Bulletin, March 2008 edition.

This Months newsletter is full of awesome articles so grab a coffee and a chockie bickie and get up to date with

everything that is happening at Backbeat.

Open Easter Sunday

Backbeat will be open Easter Sunday night. It will be a great night of fun that will include Easter eggs, a game or two and lots of dancing.

What’s New at Backbeat?

New Segment

We have introduced a new segment into the Sunday night classes! We want to see you guys have fun out there and continue to grow in your dancing. That is why we have introduced Dance OFF! If you were at last Sunday night’s class you would have seen it. Dance OFF is where the Beginners and Intermediate dancers show the moves they learnt in class at the end of the night. It’s done in a group format so its fun for everyone.

Increasing the Support Crew

Backbeat will be introducing three new Support Crew members next month. We are very excited to have them join us and we know you guys will love them too.

African Safari

Jenny is off on her wild African Safari, dancing with the lions we are sure. Here’s a quick word from Jenny with a run down of her voluntary trip to Africa. I am going to Antelope Park Game Reserve in Gweru in Zimbabwe. The program that I am participating in is ALERT - African Lion Environmental Research Trust.  As the population of lions has been reduced from approx 200,000 to between 23,000 - 39,000 (different estimates) over the last 30 years, the project's aim is to rehabilitate lions back into the wild throughout Africa.  I am involved in the first of 4 stages where volunteers work with lions, allowing them to grow and develop natural skills that will enable them to survive in the wild.  The lions consider us to be members of their pride.  Our main job is to take a group of lions for a walk every morning and afternoon.  We always have a local lion handler with us ensuring our safety, plus there are many rules that MUST be obeyed otherwise we would be inviting the lions to come and play with us.  Although this would be fun, a lions skin is 8 times thicker than ours and we would definitely come off badly.  The lions we work with can be anywhere from a few weeks old (still being bottle fed) or up to 18 months old (they are really big by then!!)  My trip last year was the best experience I have ever had as we really got to handle the lions (carefully),   So for the next couple of months, twice a day, every day, I get to be with lions.  It's a hard life!!!!!!! There you go guys, our bubbly Jenny will be back with some great stories in about 3 months.

Heroes and Villains Dance Party

Ellie and Leoni have been hard at work putting another Dance Party together. The Theme is

Heroes and Villains, so come pick your favorite Hero… perhaps it might be Zorro, Indiana Jones, James Bond, Batman, Martin Luther King Jr, Lassie, Cleopatra, Han Solo, William Wallace, Luke Skywalker, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa?

Or Maybe you want to be a little bit villainous for the night; Wicked Witch of the West, The Joker, Darth Vader, Jezebel, Potiphers Wife, Daniel Clever…

When : Friday March 28^th

Time: 7pm till Late

Where: Maroochydore Community Centre

Cost: $10.00

All tickets must be pre-purchased

Ph Ellie on 5443- 4463

Backbeat 1^st Birthday Party

Backbeat celebrates 1 year on the Coast!

Can you believe it has come around so quick! Backbeat started April 1^st last year. We want to celebrate the night and have some fun. DJ Chris will be providing all the music so invite your friends as there will be an awesome mix of music for everyone. We also have the Ceroc Brisbane team coming up to perform a routine for you guys. There will be routine performances, competitions, games and dancing. So come and support us and pull your boardies out one last time before the cold weather sets in and get set for an awesome night. Get the word out for a huge night.

When: Friday 11^th April

Where: Maroochydore Community Centre

Cost: $12.00 entry (Dance Passes are not valid at this event)

Dance Expose - Brisbane

The Maneater Routine will be unveiled at this awesome event. Come and support your favourite Backbeat Dancers, they have been working really hard to put on a sexy performance with some moves you haven’t seen before.

The dance expose is a night of dance show cases and dancing. It is the one of the biggest events of the year, you will have an awesome time.

Dirty Dancing – Sunday night theme class

Baby and Johnny are coming to town at Backbeat! Modern Jive synergizes with some Hot Close moves and Dirty Dancing is full of them. Everyone loves Baby and she won’t be put in the corner! Ray and Kimmie have put some moves together that will set you free like Baby in Dirty Dancing. The moves are inspired by Johnny and Baby so come along for a fun night of dancing. The special theme night will be held in May, so get the word out, invite your friends who want to break free. We want it to be a huge night for you guys. There will be Beginners and Intermediate classes held, plus a big performance at the end of the night. Feel free to dress up like Johnny or Baby, more information to come.

Ray can be heard clear as a bell

Noticed anything different lately? We were aware Ray was occasionally difficult to hear and we have been working on a solution. Well, after a bit of Tech advice we addressed the problem and Ray can be heard clear as a bell!

Dance tip:

Styling Advice for the Ladies

Styling is embellishing the feminine or masculinity to a move. They draw attention to you and to your partner; they can either make you look good or not so good. When your first start styling may seem awkward or ridiculous, however, once you get the hang of it styling creates freedom and confidence on the dance floor.

How do you learn to style?

One way is to practice on your own, when no one was watching and trust what the teacher tells you. You need to force yourself to practice this styling on your own until it feels comfortable and it looks good and then, when it reaches this point, add it into your styling on the dance floor. When you are in the club and you’re practicing your styling, think of a few new things you want to try out and try them out all night long. Pay attention to your partner’s lead and make sure you’re not missing his leads or interfering with his lead. After a while, you will feel the styling become natural, and yes, it does happen.

As soon as you are comfortable, learn something new, keep pushing yourself and try to mix and match the different things you may have learned. This allows you to be creative and one day, you may see someone copying something you came up.

When you style, remember to smile, look up (not at your feet) and look like your enjoying yourself, even if in your head you are counting like crazy and thinking that it’s the hardest thing in the world. Slower songs are great to practice styling to as there is extra time for you to prepare, execute and finish

With styling it’s all about quality, not quantity and it does take practice. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it the first time, just keep on trying and keep on smiling.

Man Eater Routine!

The Maneater Routine has started! That’s right everyone, we had some of your favorite dancers working hard on Sunday as they began the first stage of the routine. All will be revealed at the Expose coming up in Brisbane so keep an eye out and support your fellow dancers.

Feedback, Suggestions………………….

We are always looking at improving our classes, at Backbeat we strive to offer good teaching, good music and a great atmosphere. If have you any ideas or feedback that might help us to make it better, we want to hear from you. You can email us at info@backbeatdancing.com

See you on the dance floor J

Ray, Suzie, Kimmie, Ross, Mel, Leone, Doreen, Maggie and Wayne

The Backbeat Team