People express themselves in a lot of different ways. Art, painting, music, exercise, and dance- just to name a few. This group of of people preparing for competition chose to express themselves through dance, and lucky for us they film the some of the best performances.
BudaFest is part dance competition part celebration of swing. This group of performers practice for the competition that takes place once a year in Europe. This particular couple is from the 2020 competition that took place a few weeks ago. Not only is this 3 day event a competition, but also a learning experience and a huge party for any lovers of swing.
The man leading the show, obviously the one with the red pants, greets the lead dancer, Gal, and asks him to pick a name. Once the name Maria is called, of the girls seated gets excited and hops up eager to start with her dance partner. The couple makes their way to the floor as “Body on Me” by Rita Ora starts to play. A somewhat slow song that may not seem like an obvious pick to swing dance to, but the pair is ready for it.
Though swing dance is in the name, this type of swing, called west coast swing, is a lot slower and drawn out. You can see the differences in the way that this couple moves compared to one that would be dancing to a song with a faster beat. There isn’t a lot of sharp twists and bounces, but more long turns and spins.
It’s clear from the start that Gal is the less experienced of the two, but he’s on his way. Maria is a little more advanced and adds a few more moves to her footwork than Gal does and impresses the crowd with spin after spin. The couples along the wall get excited to see their friends doing so well and they start clapping along.
As the song builds, Gal and Maria’s moves get a little more advanced. He spins her more often as they get more comfortable with each other, and it makes for a great show. Their friends and fellow competitors are loving the show, as is the crowd in front of them. The performance is a short one, less than two minutes, but it gives us enough to be entertained and left wanting more. As the song winds down and the pair finishes their last turn, they both look like they’ve had a great time.
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