The following rap was created verbatim from a simple prompt of “Please create me a rap about the dance Mambo”. We then also used AI to create the feature image too (albeit we added the ChatGPT text in the bottom corner afterwards).

Mambo, Mambo, Feel the Beat

(Verse 1)
Yo, let me tell you ’bout a dance that’s hot,
Straight from Cuba, it’s got the lot,
The Mambo’s fire, it’s got that groove,
Makes you wanna jump up and move.

With a one-two step, then you hit that beat,
Feel the rhythm flow from your head to your feet,
It’s the Mambo, baby, can’t you see,
It’s the dance that’ll set you free.

(Chorus)
Mambo, Mambo, feel the beat,
Swing those hips and move your feet,
Mambo, Mambo, let’s all go,
Dance all night, feel the flow.

(Verse 2)
Started in the clubs, now it’s worldwide,
From Havana to Harlem, can’t be denied,
Benny Moré and Pérez Prado,
Made the Mambo a sensation, everybody follow.

Step to the side, then back you go,
Let the music guide, just let it flow,
Got that Latin heat, that spicy vibe,
When you dance the Mambo, you come alive.

(Chorus)
Mambo, Mambo, feel the beat,
Swing those hips and move your feet,
Mambo, Mambo, let’s all go,
Dance all night, feel the flow.

(Bridge)
Feel the congas and the trumpets play,
Lose yourself, let the music sway,
It’s a dance of passion, love, and heat,
Mambo’s rhythm, so unique.

(Outro)
So when you hear that Mambo sound,
Grab a partner, spin around,
It’s the dance that’s here to stay,
Mambo on, every night and day.

Thank God AI can’t teach dance yet! Now all we need is someone to record it!

The post Mambo, Mambo, Feel The Beat (A ChatGPT AI Rap) appeared first on Learn To Dance.

News and Notices

Instagram…what is the question?

Flipping through an old technique book (one I’ve had since I was 6) I happened to notice this advert on the back page…can you possibly imagine spending more than £17 on a pair of dance shoes???!!!

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Bachata Course Rescheduled

Our Bachata course is now scheduled to start from Monday 17th June at 7pm. It will be an initial 6 week course and will be extended if enough students wish to continue.

The course costs £50pp and will aim to start with the basics of the dance. We are currently 20% booked for this course.

Social Foxtrot Course

Always wanted to know how to dance the Social Foxtrot?

Or maybe you’ve been dancing with us for years and have forgotten this useful social dance for when space is tight?

This course is primarily aimed at beginners looking to focus on the Social Foxtrot and master the basics but we expect to end up covering the entire Social Foxtrot and is a good choice even for experienced dancers.

The course will run for 4 weeks and cost £35 per person.

Simply Swing Live Band Event

For our June social we have invited a wonderful Ballroom and Latin American band, Simply Swing, to come to the studio.

The evening will feature 3 x 40minute live sets, with recorded music provided during the breaks.

Tickets cost £50pp and the event is available to book now. To reserve a space for another person please click here.

We only have 10 tickets remaining! More Details…

Bournemouth Dance Weekend

Our Bournemouth Dance Weekend will take place at The Queens Hotel & Spa this year from Friday 4th-Sunday 6th October.

This year’s break will be Quickstep & Jive with a ‘Guys & Molls’ theme to the Saturday night.

We only have 1 Double room remaining. All other rooms are now fully booked.

Photos of the Queen’s Hotel & Spa

Summer Dinner & Dance

Our summer dinner & dance takes place on Friday 9th August. Doors open at 7pm with food ready around 7.30pm/7.45pm.

The menu includes a selection of meats, halloumi kebabs, five side dishes and a summer dessert.

The evening costs £40pp and includes a welcome drink. We are currently 10% booked for this already!

Upcoming

Dance Workshops

• Monday 17th June – Bachata Course starts
• Sunday 23rd June – Social Foxtrot Course starts

Social Events

• Every Monday & Friday – Weekly Tea Dance
• Friday 28th June – Simply Swing Live Band Event

Downloads

Download our most recent schedules

• Dates for your Diary – updated 23/05/2024
• Schedule of Dances – updated 23/05/2024
• Class Timetable (Landscape) – updated 21/04/2024
• Class Timetable (list) – updated 26/04/2024

The post Weekly Update Sunday 2nd June 2024 appeared first on Learn To Dance.

News and Notices

Instagram…popping under pressure

You know we always look for new and innovative ways to practice the techniques you need for Ballroom and Latin American dancing.

Last week’s bright idea was using semi-inflated balloons to work on developing the right amount of pressure when dancing Latin American with a partner.

It seemed to go well, so expect to see them ‘popping’ up again in lessons and classes!

View this post on Instagram

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Bachata Course Rescheduled

Last week we also cancelled the Bachata course due to a lack of advance bookings. However following the announcement of the cancellation we had a number of students get in touch to say they had intended to turn up on the night.

A reminder that we do require advance booking for our classes as we have a minimum number that we will run the courses for.

By request we have rescheduled the Bachata course to start from Monday 17th June so please do book in if you intend to partake in the course!

Simply Swing Live Band Event

For our June social we have invited a wonderful Ballroom and Latin American band, Simply Swing, to come to the studio.

The evening will feature 3 x 40minute live sets, with recorded music provided during the breaks.

Tickets cost £50pp and the event is available to book now. To reserve a space for another person please click here.

We are already 65% booked. More Details…

Bournemouth Dance Weekend

Our Bournemouth Dance Weekend will take place at The Queens Hotel & Spa this year from Friday 4th-Sunday 6th October.

This year’s break will be Quickstep & Jive with a ‘Guys & Molls’ theme to the Saturday night.

We only have 1 Supreme Double remaining. All Solo Rooms are now fully booked. All other rooms are currently fully booked but we may be able to get a couple more rooms added to our allocation, however we would likely only request 2 more rooms given the numbers.

Photos of the Queen’s Hotel & Spa

Upcoming

Dance Workshops

• Monday 17th June – Bachata Course starts

Social Events

• Every Monday & Friday – Weekly Tea Dance

Downloads

Download our most recent schedules

• Dates for your Diary – updated 23/05/2024
• Schedule of Dances – updated 23/05/2024
• Class Timetable (Landscape) – updated 21/04/2024
• Class Timetable (list) – updated 26/04/2024

The post Weekly Update Sunday 26th May 2024 appeared first on Learn To Dance.

News and Notices

Instagram…Virtual Viennese?

Something we’ve been looking at, since the introduction of our Zoom lessons option, is whether we can utilise emerging technologies such as VR too.

No we’re not really sure if and how this would work. Are we willing to pick up a headset to start experimenting? Definitely!

We’re looking at this being more for remote teaching but also to explore what other possibilities virtual teaching could introduce.

Feel free to comment on our instagram, twitter, linkedin or facebook posts with your views.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Learn To Dance (@learndance)

YouTube…Glastonbury Cha Cha Summary

Wanted a reminder of what we covered on our Glastonbury Dance Weekend?

Or maybe wanted to see what you missed?

Here’s a video from the end of the recap workshop on the Sunday morning.

Feel free to check out our YouTube channel for more videos. We plan to reintroduce instructional videos soon too!

Royal Albert Hall Tickets

One of our students dropped these tickets off to us yesterday as they now can’t go.

If you’re available Wednesday afternoon and would like two tickets to the Royal Albert Hall tea dance we are going to run a raffle.

Entry will be via donation to our Comic Relief fundraiser at https://www.justgiving.com/page/learn-to-dance-1708513923234

All donations from now until 9pm Sunday will count as a raffle entry. Please ensure you include your email address so we can contact you if you win (it won’t be stored or used for any other purposes).

The winner will be announced on Sunday night and can arrange to collect the tickets from our studio or we can send them in the post Monday morning.

School Closed Easter Weekend

The school will be closed over the Easter Weekend, from Friday 29th March to Monday 1st April. This includes no weekly tea dances on the Friday or Monday (but we do have the Good Friday Afternoon Tea).

Classes will resume from Tuesday 2nd April.

Good Friday Afternoon Tea

Our Good Friday Afternoon Tea falls on Friday 29th March 2024 this year.

Places cost £27.50pp for this popular Easter-themed event (including ‘Hot Cross’ Scones!)

We only have a few spaces remaining and bookings close today, Friday 22nd March. Read More

Beginner Waltz Course

We are going to trial reintroducing courses for complete beginners, so they can focus on a single dance over a few weeks.

The courses will take place on Sundays at 6pm, starting with Waltz from Sunday 7th April. This first course will be 5 weeks and costs £42pp. Read more…

Tango Course Extension

Our Monday night Tango Course will be extending for another 6 weeks from Monday 8th April.

We have just started touching on Silver level figures but some of this course will be focused on consolidating moves learnt in the first 12 weeks.

Experienced dancers are welcome to join the course at this point.

The course extension costs £50pp for the 6 week extension.

American Smooth Course

Starting on Wednesday 10th April will be an American Smooth course.

This course will focus on some of the more ‘Fred & Ginger’ style steps that you can incorporate into your existing Ballroom dances.

There will be NO LIFTS on this course!

The course costs £50pp for the 6 weeks and will be extended as long as there is demand. Read more

Anniversary Party

We will be hosting our Anniversary Party on Friday 26th April from 7pm-11pm.

The ticket price of £10 includes a welcome drink.

Dancing starts from around 8.30pm.

We are already over 20% booked for this event.

Kristina Rihanoff Workshop Day

We are thrilled to announce our next Guest Instructor will be another Strictly legend, Kristina Rihanoff.

She will be visiting us on Sunday 19th May from 2pm-6pm.

Kristina will be taking us through workshops in Rumba, Cha Cha, Samba and Jive.

Sessions will cost £25pp, £42.50 for two workshops, £57.50 for three or £70 for all four workshops.

Limited spaces available and these workshops sell out quickly. In fact we’re over half booked!

Bournemouth Dance Weekend

Our Bournemouth Dance Weekend will take place at The Queens Hotel & Spa this year from Friday 4th-Sunday 6th October.

As well as DB&B our students will also have access to their indoor pool and jacuzzi, as well as discounted spa treatments.

This year’s break will be Quickstep & Jive with a ‘Guys & Molls’ theme to the Saturday night.

The cost will be £315pp, with a £70 single person supplement. You can save £15pp if you book and pay in full before 30th April.

There are also upgrades available (based on 2 sharing) of £20pp to a Supreme Double or £40pp to a Junior Suite.

We only have 1 Solo Rooms, 5 Supreme Doubles and 2 Junior Suites remaining.

Photos of the Queen’s Hotel & Spa

Upcoming

Dance Workshops

• Sunday 7th April – Beginner Waltz Course
• Monday 8th April – Tango Course Extension
• Wednesday 10th April – American Course Extension

Social Events

• Every Monday & Friday – Weekly Tea Dance
• Friday 29th March – Good Friday Afternoon Tea

Downloads

Download our most recent schedules

• Dates for your Diary – updated 16/03/2024
• Schedule of Dances – updated 20/03/2024
• Class Timetable (Landscape) – updated 08/01/2024
• Class Timetable (list) – updated 08/01/2024

The post Weekly Update Sunday 24th March 2024 appeared first on Learn To Dance.

News and Notices

Instagram…Craig-like Criticisms

Whilst trying to categorise and organise some old photos we came across this. Couldn’t tell you who it belonged to, only that it must have been brought to a beginner class that evening.

I’m guessing it’s how they thought Craig would’ve marked their dancing!

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No Classes Easter Weekend

The school will be closed over the Easter Weekend, from Friday 29th March to Monday 1st April.

Classes will resume from Tuesday 2nd April.

Good Friday Afternoon Tea

Our Good Friday Afternoon Tea falls on Friday 29th March 2024 this year.

Places cost £27.50pp for this popular Easter-themed event (including ‘Hot Cross’ Scones!)

We’re already 50% booked!!!

Bookings close on Friday 22nd March. Read More

Beginner Waltz Course

We are going to trial reintroducing courses for complete beginners, so they can focus on a single dance over a few weeks.

The courses will take place on Sundays at 6pm, starting with Waltz from Sunday 7th April. This first course will be 5 weeks and costs £42pp. Read more…

Tango Course Extension

Our Monday night Tango Course will be extending for another 6 weeks from Monday 8th April.

We have just started touching on Silver level figures.

Experienced dancers are welcome to join the course at this point.

The course extension costs £50pp for the 6 week extension.

American Smooth Course

Starting on Wednesday 10th April will be an American Smooth course.

This course will focus on some of the more ‘Fred & Ginger’ style steps that you can incorporate into your existing Ballroom dances.

There will be NO LIFTS on this course!

The course costs £50pp for the 6 weeks and will be extended as long as there is demand.

Anniversary Party

We will be hosting our Anniversary Party on Friday 26th April from 7pm-11pm.

The ticket price of £10 includes a welcome drink.

Dancing starts from around 8.30pm.

We are already 20% booked for this event.

Kristina Rihanoff Workshop Day

We are thrilled to announce our next Guest Instructor will be another Strictly legend, Kristina Rihanoff.

She will be visiting us on Sunday 19th May from 2pm-6pm.

Kristina will be taking us through workshops in Rumba, Cha Cha, Samba and Jive.

Sessions will cost £25pp, £42.50 for two workshops, £57.50 for three or £70 for all four workshops.

Limited spaces available and these workshops sell out quickly. In fact we’re already half booked!

Bournemouth Dance Weekend

Our Bournemouth Dance Weekend will take place at The Queens Hotel & Spa this year from Friday 4th-Sunday 6th October.

As well as DB&B our students will also have access to their indoor pool and jacuzzi, as well as discounted spa treatments.

This year’s break will be Quickstep & Jive with a ‘Guys & Molls’ theme to the Saturday night.

The cost will be £315pp, with a £70 single person supplement. You can save £15pp if you book and pay in full before 30th April.

There are also upgrades available (based on 2 sharing) of £20pp to a Supreme Double or £40pp to a Junior Suite.

We only have 4 Solo Rooms, 4 Supreme Doubles and 4 Junior Suites remaining.

Photos of the Queen’s Hotel & Spa

Upcoming

Dance Workshops

• Sunday 7th April – Beginner Waltz Course
• Monday 8th April – Tango Course Extension
• Wednesday 10th April – American Course Extension

Social Events

• Every Monday & Friday – Weekly Tea Dance
• Friday 29th March – Good Friday Afternoon Tea

Downloads

Download our most recent schedules (as at 17/03/2024)

• Dates for your Diary
• Schedule of Dances
• Class Timetable (Landscape)
• Class Timetable (list)
• FitSteps Dance Fitness
• Weekly Tea Dances

The post Weekly Update Sunday 17th March appeared first on Learn To Dance.

• What are we doing this week?
  • Adult Group: Merengue & Waltz (Mambo on Thursday)
    • Beginner – Sun 7pm (no classes this week), Mon 8pm (no classes this week), Wed 12.30pm
    • Improver – Sun 8pm (no classes this week), Mon 9pm (no classes this week), Wed 1.30pm, Wed 8pm
    • Improver 2 – Wed 9pm
    • Intermediate – Thu 7pm (Int 1) Thu 8pm (Int 2)
    • Advanced – Thu 9pm
    • ‘Over 50s’ – Tue 1pm
  • RBWM ‘SMILE’ Over 50s Sequence & Social – Fri 2pm (at Braywick Leisure Centre)
  • FitSteps Dance Fitness:
    • Tue 6.45pm
    • Wed 10.30am
  • Kid’s Classes (Easter Break classes resume 19th)
    • Wed 4.15pm – Under 9s
    • Wed 5pm – 9-13s
    • Wed 6pm – postponed until further notice
  • Workshops:
    • Sunday 1.30pm – no workshops this week
      
• News
  • School Closed Easter Weekend
  • Anniversary Party – 17 Years!!!
  • Spring Dinner & Dance now on sale
  • Change to Socials
    
• Looking Further Ahead (within the next month)
  • Dance Workshops
  • Social Events

News and Notices

School Closed Over Easter Weekend

The school will be closed over the Easter Weekend, Friday 7th-Sunday 10th April, except for our Good Friday Afternoon Tea.

Anniversary Party – Celebrating 17 Years!

This year Learn To Dance will be celebrating 17 years since we first set up classes!

Come and join us at our annual party on Friday 28th April.

The evening runs from 7pm-11pm and costs £8 per person, including a welcome drink on arrival.

Read more.

Spring Dinner & Dance now on sale

Tickets are now on sale for our Spring Dinner & Dance on Friday 5th May.

This will be in part a celebration of the upcoming coronation so we will have a red/white/blue theme.

Our Dinner & Dance is already 25% sold out so don’t delay if you want to join us!

Change to Socials

With the addition of dinner & dances, afternoon teas, and various other special events we now have a larger number of social events throughout the year.

Due to this, in months where we have a special social event, we will therefore not have the regular Friday social. We are also going to switch to bi-monthly socials.

Therefore we have the following Friday social events to the end of the year:

• Friday 28th April – our Anniversary Party
• Friday 5th May – our Spring Dinner & Dance
• Friday 30th June
• Friday 11th August – Summer Dinner & Dance
• Friday 27th October – Halloween Social
• Friday 3rd November – Winter Dinner & Dance
• Friday 8th December – Christmas Party

The workshops before the removed socials will be rescheduled accordingly.

Upcoming

Dance Workshops

• Sun 16th April – Improver Samba
• Sun 23rd April – Intermediate Samba
• Sun 30th April – Bossa Nova 66 Sequence & Social

Social Events

• Every Monday (except Easter Monday) – Weekly Tea Dance
• Fri 28th April – Anniversary Social – celebrating 17 years of Learn To Dance!

The post Weekly Update Sunday 9th April appeared first on Learn To Dance.

• What are we doing this week?
  • Adult Group: Argentine Tango & Merengue (Mambo on Thursday)
    • Beginner – Sun 7pm, Mon 8pm, Wed 12.30pm
    • Improver – Sun 8pm, Mon 9pm, Wed 1.30pm, Wed 8pm
    • Improver 2 – Wed 9pm
    • Intermediate – Thu 7pm (Int 1) Thu 8pm (Int 2)
    • Advanced – Thu 9pm
    • ‘Over 50s’ – Tue 1pm
  • RBWM ‘SMILE’ Over 50s Sequence & Social – Fri 2pm (at Braywick Leisure Centre)
  • FitSteps Dance Fitness:
    • Tue 6.45pm
    • Wed 10.30am
  • Kid’s Classes (last week before Easter Break)
    • Wed 4.15pm – Under 9s
    • Wed 5pm – 9-13s
    • Wed 6pm – postponed until further notice
  • Workshops:
    • Sunday 1.30pm – Advanced Foxtrot
      
• News
  • Quickstep & Cha Cha Final Course Extensions
  • Good Friday Afternoon Tea – SOLD OUT!
  • School Closed Easter Weekend
  • Anniversary Party – 17 Years!!!
  • Spring Dinner & Dance now on sale
    
• Looking Further Ahead (within the next month)
  • Dance Workshops
  • Social Events

News and Notices

Quickstep & Cha Cha Course Extensions

Both our Quickstep & Cha Cha courses are going to be extended for a final 6 weeks from the week of 3rd April. Due to Easter Monday though there will be no class on Monday 10th April so the Cha Cha course will push week 2 back a week and continue from Monday 17th April.

Whilst the course extensions are primarily aimed at those that have attended the previous 12 weeks of the course, our more experienced dancers are welcome to join from this point.

Cha Cha Course – from Monday 3rd April – BOOK
Quickstep Course – from Wednesday 5th April – BOOK

Good Friday Afternoon Tea – SOLD OUT!

Our Good Friday Afternoon Tea Dance on Friday 7th April is now fully booked but we are operating a waiting list for those that missed out.

Sign up to be kept informed of any cancellations or further capacity added.

Don’t forget our Christmas Afternoon Tea is also open for bookings.

School Closed Over Easter Weekend

The school will be closed over the Easter Weekend, Friday 7th-Sunday 10th April, except for our Good Friday Afternoon Tea.

Anniversary Party – Celebrating 17 Years!

This year Learn To Dance will be celebrating 17 years since we first set up classes!

Come and join us at our annual party on Friday 28th April.

The evening runs from 7pm-11pm and costs £8 per person, including a welcome drink on arrival.

Places are available to book now.

Spring Dinner & Dance now on sale

Tickets are now on sale for our Spring Dinner & Dance on Friday 5th May.

This will be in part a celebration of the upcoming coronation so we will have a red/white/blue theme.

Our Dinner & Dance is already 20% sold out so don’t delay if you want to join us!

Upcoming

Dance Workshops

• Sun 2nd April – Advanced Foxtrot
• Mon 3rd April – Cha Cha Course Extension
• Wed 5th April – Quickstep Course Extension
• Sun 16th April – Improver Samba
• Sun 23rd April – Intermediate Samba
• Sun 30th April – Bossa Nova 66 Sequence & Social

Social Events

• Every Monday (except Easter Monday) – Weekly Tea Dance
• Fri 7th April – Good Friday Afternoon Tea Dance (waiting list)
• Fri 28th April – Anniversary Social – celebrating 17 years of Learn To Dance!

The post Weekly Update Sunday 2nd April appeared first on Learn To Dance.

Sequence dancing is where you repeat the same 16 or 32 bar routine throughout a song, dancing around the room, and in sync with everyone else.

Now that’s great when you have the space! What we’re going to show you today is how to practice the basic movements in your front room.

The Dance – Mambo Magic

The Mambo is another Cuban dance that is normally danced on the 2nd beat. However for sequence dances we always start on the 1st beat to make it easier.

The routine does feature a few elements of basic Mambo, but there are also a few trickier ’embellishments’ thrown in.

To convert this into the full routine you would only need to do all the movements, down the room, only curving when necessary to navigate the corners.

The Music

For our Mambo Magic video we taught the routine with a slower piece of music initially, May I Have This One by the Chalalatas:

Later in the video we do try it to a faster piece of music, Estelle by Dylan Joseph:

See our Mambo Magic lesson video

About Learn To Dance

Learn To Dance is a Ballroom and Latin American Dance School based in Burnham, Buckinghamshire.

Whilst our studio may be closed due to the Coronavirus outbreak, we’re still trying to help all our students to keep dancing!

Don’t forget, if you enjoyed our online Mambo Magic sequence dance video please send it to your family and friends. Why not also check out our other online dance lessons.

You can check out our website, or follow us online, at:

Website: learndance.co.uk
Youtube: youtube.com/learndance
Facebook: facebook.com/learndance
Instagram: instagram.com/learndance
Twitter: twitter.com/learndance

The post Mambo Magic, adapted for smaller spaces appeared first on Learn To Dance.

Alesha performed well for her first time judging, though I was sceptical about her comments at first.

…

Who’s good and who’s not…

Phil’s making a few mistakes and getting caught up but seems to be enjoying himself
Ricky can’t quite seem to keep up with the footwork at points.

…

WOW, that flip over the head didn’t half give me a scare – thought she’d been dropped!

…

So, i’ve tried my best – now to see if anyone was actually reading – please feel free to leave comments about any of these entries and let me know if you’d like me to continue with this blog?!

The post Round-up and group mambo appeared first on Learn To Dance.