------------------------------------------------------------------------ * G * O * A * N * E * T **** C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To Goa with Love - Three unique Valentine Day packages from EXPRESSIONS Say "I Love You!" in style this year For details, photos and pricing check out:
http://www.goa-world.com/expressions/valentines/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "If you don't know to dance, blame the floor." That's a popular phrase which goes well in Konkani. Well, among the current genre you don't need to know 'dancing'. Just get on to the floor, and as they say -- Hip-Hop. Navelim Youth Centre - Kuwait (NYC-Kuwait) is geared up to make sure that the culture of classical dance remains popular among the expatriates. NYC's last dance nite in Kuwait featured a Jive Competition for the first time at dances which has become sort of a trend in Kuwait. This year's Cupid's Nite valentine dance at Crowne Plaza on Thursday 15th February 2007 will see NYC organize yet another competition - a Cha Cha Cha dance contest. The cha-cha-cha (in Spanish cha-cha-chá) is a Latin American dance quite popular among Goans. In ballroom dancing, it is increasingly popular to call the dance Cha-Cha. Cha Cha is either danced to authentic Latin music, or more contemporary Latin Pop or Latin Rock. The music for the ballroom Cha-Cha-Cha is energetic and with a steady beat. The 'Latin' Cha-Cha-Cha is slower, more sensual and may involve complicated rhythms. The name 'Cha-Cha' first appeared in Haiti, where it was the name of a component of a bell. This bell was made from a plate that made a "cha-cha" noise when rubbed. The cha-cha was actually created from the American mambo. Several audiences, earlier, complained that the mambo was too fast and jerky for their taste. Orchestras began slowing it down, and the cha-cha was created from this new beat. Therefore, the cha-cha is a mambo, slowed down about three times! Since the mambo was a fusion of jazz and Latin rhythm, the cha-cha retains these qualities. It is a sensual, energetic dance. The cha-cha itself was invented in 1954. The sound of the cha-cha is said to be the origin of the name. When Cuban ladies danced, their bells smacked the floor in a cha-cha-cha rhythm. Cha-Cha is still popular today, and parts of its rhythm can be heard in the music of Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, etc. Cha-Cha requires very small steps because of its rhythm. The cha-cha part of the rhythm is a series of small gliding steps that touch the floor. It is danced to 4/4 time, meaning that there are four beats to a measure. The count is slow-slow-quick-quick-slow, and dancers turn while executing the steps. The cha-cha requires a lot of hip motion, which is how dancers make it expressive. Although the cha-cha uses smaller steps, dancers in competition often elongate their movement slightly to travel across the floor. Alternating between long and short steps remains the key to winning a cha-cha competition. A number of prizes and surprises for participants are at stake at the Cupid's Nite Cha-Cha-Cha contest. The nite specially meant for valentines features Stepping Stones, Deep Impact, DJ Wanted and a surprise solo singer from India. Back home in India, Navelim is one of the few Goan villages having an age old tradition of organizing dances. The popular 'Nite-O-Roses' organized on the feast of Our Lady of Rosary by Lions Club Navelim has completed 50 years while the annual 'Festa de Leques' dance on the first day of Carnival held for almost a century now, is one of the oldest dance nites organized in India. Cupid's Nite at Crowne Plaza is being held under the leadership of NYC President Agnello A.S. Fernandes. The event is Co-Sponsored by by Metro Express, DNATA, UAE Exchange, The Times, and Palm Agro Production Company. To reserve entry-passes please contact NYC members at 9502686, 9629807, 7841644, 9671107, etc. Also check: http://www.nycq8. com Thought for the week "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." -Shakespeare in Hamlet. Act II. Sc. 2