The Teatro Nacional is hosting a dance festival this year! It is the IV Festival Internacional de Artes Escénicas 2010 (IV International Stage Arts Festival 2010). Groups and companies from nine different countries including Panama will be presenting the very best in dance for this well waited festival. This event has been organized by la Fundacion Pro Artes Escénicas y Audiovisuales. It all begins on the 17th of March to the 24th of March of this year, so you have plenty of time to prepare for these exciting performances! If you are interested in learning how to do some of these different dances, then feel free to attend the classes that will be given. You can check the groups and dates for the IV Festival Internacional de Artes Escénicas in the below link:

http://www.faepanama.org/calendario2010.html

Tickets for the IV Festival Internacional de Artes Escénicas will be on sale at boletospanama.com, or you may call at 360-2350. Prices start at $5 for the gallery, $10 for the II stage, $15 for the 1st box, $20 for the balcony, and $25 for the orchestra. For access to all the functions or a full pass, prices start at $60 for the 2nd box, $90 for the 1st box, $120 for the balcony, and $150 for the orchestra. The rest of the events are free! We will be waiting for you at the IV Festival Internacional de Artes Escénicas in Panama!

Finding a nice place to eat and dance is never easy, but luckily Panama has a number of places you can definitely enjoy. If you’re visiting the country for the first time, you might want to try the local music and food in one single place, Al Tambor de la Alegria offers all that and more. Located in the heart of Amador, Flamenco Island, you’ll find the restaurant facing the parking lot towards the ocean, it’s very easy to find. If you want to enjoy the main dancing event, I suggest you head on over there 4 PM.

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There are many reasons why you should join a Panama dancing academy. You’ll need the training for when you meet a guy/girl from Panama. Take this example for instance: You are in a dance club in Panama, and you see someone of the opposite sex that interests you. But the problem is that there is a language barrier. You speak English and he/she doesn’t. So, how are you supposed to communicate? Well, one of the most expressive ways of communication is through song and dance! When you are strutting your stuff on the dance floor, you don’t have to talk, so that automatically solves the language problem!

Learning how to Latin dance from a dancing academy allows you to get to know your partner while having fun. I say this because a lot of tourists that arrive in Panama don’t speak Spanish. So when they meet a person from Panama, it is difficult to find out what that person likes to do for fun. Well, one thing you must know about Panamanians is that they love to dance. So taking that someone from Panama to a night club is a good idea! But if you don’t know which dancing academy to go to learn to Latin dance, then don’t worry! There are many schools that you can go to in Panama that can help you with that problem like: Alina’s Dance Academy, Panama Hot Salsa dancing academy, Academia Artiste and many more. These dance schools from Panama will teach you how to move your body like a pro! Learn to dance Salsa, merengue, bachata, rumba, chachachá, tango, típico (tradicional dance from Panama), and many others at a dancing academy!

So if you are new to Panama and you want to make some new friends, then I suggest you start learning the Latin dance moves that bring many people from different countries together at a dancing academy! And once you got your Latin rhythm, you can hit the clubs in Panama!

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And being with child she cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth”
Proyección Leyla Salam presents “Apocalipsis”, a show full of mysticism which will take you to the beginning of the final times on earth.

This show will count with the participation of Leyla Salam’s dance team, Arabic Dance Studio Alondra and from Costa Rica the group Noura. With more than 15 dancers and actors on scene you will be taking a sneak peek into evil.

What will our future holds for us? Is the Apocalipsis our end?

Date: October 17, 2009
Place: Ascanio Arosemena Theater (diagonal to the Administration Building next to Balboa’s fire station)
Time: 7:00 pm
COST: $10.00 Pre-sale – $12.00 day of the event
For more information: www.leylasalam.com

Are you good at dance? Do you like dancing Salsa? If both answers are affirmative, then you have the chance to participate in the First Salsa Congress in Panama. This is the first time that an event like this takes place in the country. Panama Hot was given exclusive rights to represent the World Salsa Open. The festival will start on June 26th and will finish on June 29th.

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Breakdance, breaking, b-boying is a street dance style that evolved as part of the hip hop movement among African American and Puerto Rican youths in Manhattan and the South Bronx of New York City during the early 1970s. It is normally danced to electro or hip hop music, often remixed to prolong the breaks, and is a well-known hip hop dance style. Breakdancing involves the elements of toprock, downrock, freezes, and power moves.

Breakdancing may have begun as a building, productive, and a constructive youth culture alternative to the violence of urban street gangs. Today, breakdancing culture is a remarkable discipline somewhere between those of dancers and athletes. Since acceptance and involvement centers on dance skills, breakdancing culture is often free of the common race and gender boundaries of a subculture and has been accepted worldwide.

The past Sunday 5 of April the super event Back 2 Da Scene was carried out in the gymnasium Yuyin Luzcando de Bethania, from 11:00 a.m. This event gets together the best dancers of break dances from Panama and the other provinces of the country. Competitions of 3 versus 3 were carried out, in which 3 of the best dancers of each enrolled group participated; also mini competitions of 1 versus 1 were realized maintaining active the attending public.

There was participation of MC’s/Rappers that animated live to the public with their rhymes. In short, the event filled the expectations of the public who attended hoping that these events repeat more often since it had a very good welcome by the fanatics of this dances.

Dance therapy uses movement to improve mental and physical well-being. It is a recognized form of complementary therapy used in hospitals and comprehensive clinical cancer centers, Down syndrome patient, Cerebral Palsy, and others. Here in Panama City, Panama, Taller de Arte Guilde teaches dance therapy at the Children’s Hospital for kids waiting for a kidney transplant.

Dance Therapy can help patients the following ways:

• Dance develops positive body image
• Dancing improves self-concept and self-esteem
• Dance reduces stress, anxiety, and depression
• Dancing decreases isolation, chronic pain, and body tension
• Dance increases communication skills
• Dancing encourages a sense of well-being

or some cancer patients, dance therapy is an effective form of exercise. However, dance therapy has not been studied enough to know if there are any unique health benefits to cancer patients, or to confirm the effects on prevention and/or recovery of illness.

The benefits of dance therapy come through physical activity are known to increase endorphins, which create a general state of well-being on the body.  And total body movement such as dance enhances the functions of other body systems, such as circulatory, respiratory, skeletal, and muscular systems. Dance therapy not only helps you to stay mentally and physically fit but it also gives you pleasure by creating rhythmic art with your body and express them dancing.

Panama has received visits from many celebrated people in its history and it has had several notable celebrities decide to remain here as residents.  One such notable was the prima ballerina assoluta Dame Margot Fonteyn of the Royal Ballet of Britain.  Dame Margot was born Margaret Hookham in Reigate, Surrey on May 18, 1919.  As a child, she studied at dancing schools in the London area until she made her way to school attached to the Vic-Wells Ballet the precursor of the Royal Ballet.  Dame Margot made her debut in 1934 with the Vic-Wells as a snowflake in “The Nutcracker.”  She initially borrowed her mother´s maiden name and danced as Margot Fontes, but soon modified her stage name to Fonteyn.  In 1935, Dame Margot received her first solo in “The Haunted Ballroom,” a ballet by Ninette de Valois, the founder of the Royal Ballet.

Dame Margot most memorable portrayal came at age 30 in the Sadler´s Wells Ballet production of “Sleeping Beauty” as Princess Aurora, which stunned the audience at the Metropolitan Opera House with her youthful performance.

In 1955, Dame Margot married Dr. Roberto Arias, a Panamanian diplomat to London and a philanderer.  Their marriage was tumultuous due to his frequent infidelities. In May of 1964, Dr. Roberto Arias was elected to the National Assembly, his first foray into active politics.  A year later tragedy struck the Arias family, as a rival Panamanian politician, Alberto Jimenez, shot Dr. Arias on a street corner in a suburb of Panama City.  Dr. Arias was treated for 18 months in British hospitals and spent the rest of his entire life as a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair.

Due to the enormous medical cost amassed by Dr. Arias´s medical care, Dame Margot continued to dance until 1979, her sixtieth year, despite from suffering from an arthritic foot.  She remained loyal to Dr. Roberto Arias until his death in 1989.  The artist that too many represented “Eternal Youth,” and whose blend of refinement and passion redefined 20th-century ballet passed away at age 71 on February 21, 1991 in Patilla Hospital in Panama City.

Panama is known as the “crisol de razas” or “melting pot” and that’s why it has adopted many of the traditions from these cultures, special in its dances. Dancing is not just a way of expression and sensuality but it is also a way to make dreams become true. With many competitions worldwide, Panama couldn’t fall behind and brought in “Bailando por un Sueño” or Dancing for a dream (for its English translation, which is a Mexican show produced by Telemetro in Panama.

In this television show, the contenders are coupled with national and/or international stars to dance and win the chance to fulfill the contestant’s dream. Many different dances are presented throughout the show, such as: mambo, tango, bolero, salsa, samba, hip hop, pop, rumba flamenco, disco, merengue, Reggaeton and many more.

Each couple has a choreographer who trains them all week long until the day of the show. Each season lasts about 8 weeks and each episode are presented among 1 to 3 different rhythms. There was even a special show dedicated to Celia Cruz on the last season of this contest.

As we all know, the dance in Panama has achieved great popularity; reason why contests such as “Bailando por un Sueño” are a total success in our country. There is no doubt that dancing is the biggest form of sensuality, eroticism and expression worldwide.

For more information about this contest in Panama, log into http://www.telemetro.com/bailando

Today I bring you an exciting dance to learn, it is called Capoeira. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that ritualizes movements from martial arts, games and dance. This art was brought to Brazil from Angola some after the 16th century in the regions known as Bahia, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro. Participants form a roda or circle and take turns either playing musical instruments (such as the Berimbau), singing, or ritually sparring in pairs in the center of the circle. The game is marked by fluid acrobatic play, feints, and extensive use of sweeps, kicks, and headbutts. Less frequently used techniques include elbow-strikes, slaps, punches, and body throws.

Rhythm is the heartbeat of Capoeira and song is the soul. Music can make a game play fast and hard, without music Capoeira is not complete. This is the excitement that Capoeira brings to you. Capoeira continues to grow in popularity and here in Panama you can also learn these fascinating steps and movements in their prestigious schools.