Monthly Archives: February 2011

Just Dance: Wii teaches dance choreography

Just Dance: Wii teaches dance choreography

JustDance

There’s a mom at my daughter’s school who knows all the moves to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. She’s been known to perform it -flawlessly- at every all ages dance party, to the envy of a bevy of other moms. “How does she know every single move?” one wide-eyed mom gushed to the rest of the group recently. “I mean, she’s really good- she dance the whole thing perfectly.”

I’m onto her secret. And I’m willing to share. It all came clear three days ago while I was at an eight-year-old’s birthday party. When the kids weren’t busy eating cake or decorating t-shirts with every type of fabric paint known to man, the Wii was going, full blast. And they were dancing- you guessed it- every move from Thriller, following Michael Jackson’s avatar through every shake, pop and shimmy, vying for the high point scores of perfection. It was the best birthday party I’ve been to in a long time. Even though I never did get my hands on a Wii remote…

Maybe Thriller’s not your thing; it’s not for everyone. Ubisoft’s Just Dance application for the Wii has plenty of other choices, from Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” to Katie Perry’s “Hot and Cold”. Even if you aren’t the high scorer- or you can’t even get your hands on one of the Wii remotes because of the fearsome competition, it’s still fun to follow and play along, learn some new choreography, and burn a few calories while you’re at it.

Who knows- you might wow ‘em next time you hit the dance floor….

The Dancing Gourmet: a ballerina’s healthy recipes for fitness

The Dancing Gourmet: a ballerina’s healthy recipes for fitness

 

dancingGourmet 

Author: Hymes, Linda
Title: The Dancing Gourmet: Recipes to Keep You on Your Toes!
Publisher: Lindergaff Books, 2002
ISBN: 0971978204

Linda Hymes shares a full repertory of delicious, healthy recipes that are fit for dancers and non-dancers alike. Heck, these are recipes to keep you fit. Hymes knows the secrets of preparing tantalizing dishes that won’t add to your waistline- she trained at the prestigious School of American Ballet in New York City before becoming a professional ballerina for fifteen years. After she retired, she pursued her greatest passion- food- and attended the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu in London.

The Dancing Gourmet is a perfect marriage of gourmet food and elegant aesthetic. Anyone who loves ballet or who wishes to look like a dancer by eating right will enjoy the mouth-watering, colorful photos of food and Hymes during some of her finest dancing moments- both seem to jump right off the page. The Dancing Gourmet is flavored with humor throughout it pages: the recipes are categorized by ballet’s positions of the feet, from first position (appetizers and small plates) through fifth position(entrees). The final section involves the prerequisite visit to the Land Of the Sweets (a reference from the second act of the much-beloved Nutcracker) which no ballet career or gourmet dining experience should be without.

Eating right doesn’t have to be a punishment. In fact, it can be quite pleasurable. Choices from the third category of salads (not just rabbit food!, according to Hymes) such as the grilled chicken salad with spicy blackberry dressing, thai eggplant salad with pickled garlic, and sole and salmon twirls with maple glaze are appealing, or curried banana balls with masoor daal and cold sesame soba with tofu for the vegetarian crowd. Top it all off with a cup of fresh-brewed chai and a slice of pavlova cake. Brava!

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