3.9 min readBy Published On: September 12th, 2017Categories: Arts and Entertainment, Lifestyle0 Comments on Let’s Dance!

Dust off your dance shoes!  The glorious days of summer are quietly waning, so why not plan for some fun to ease the transition to the inevitable arrival of fall and (yikes!) winter?

Celebrity Series of Boston is bringing dance and live music to Dewey Square Park beginning September 13th. “Let’s Dance Boston” will return to the Rose Kennedy Greenway with a FREE five-day dance and live music extravaganza on The Greenway. Each event features a different style of dance along with a live band preceded by expert dance instructors. Sessions begins with a 45-minute free dance lesson taught by professional teachers in the dance style of the evening. After the lesson, a live band performs a 90-minute set to accompany the dancing and continue the party.

“At the Celebrity Series, we believe that live performance is a lifelong, shared and valued experience, whether it be on stage, in schools, at home or in our public parks,” said Gary Dunning, president and executive director at the Celebrity Series of Boston. “As we found in 2015, Let’s Dance Boston embodies that vision, bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together on the dance floor for a shared experience. It’s truly a joy to see it all happen and we want to invite everyone to join us at The Greenway’s Dewey Square Park this  September.”

Here’s the schedule: 
Wednesday, September 13: It’s all about Swing with Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders, featuring Laura Windley.  

From the Lindy Hop to the Charleston, there is a vibrancy and excitement to Swing that will be evident as Michael Gamble and the Rhythm Serenaders, featuring Laura Windley, take the stage. This hard-swinging and stylistically faithful ensemble, created in the mold of the late 1930s, early 1940s dance band, performs arrangements popularized by bands led by Fletcher Henderson, the Coleman Hawkins All Stars, various Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton side groups, the Dickie Wells and Willie Bryant orchestras, and more. The evening starts with a dance lesson from local teachers and choreographers Katie and Paolo Piselli, who bring more than 15 years of experience in social dancing to the dance floor.

Thursday, September 14: It’s a little bit of Mambo with Tito Puente, Jr. and His Orchestra

Havana comes to The Greenway with the fast-paced, Latin dance moves of the Mambo accompanied by the high-voltage celebration of Latin music from Tito Puente, Jr. and His Orchestra.  Puente, Jr. is determined to nurture the musical legacy left by his father, Tito Puente, the “Mambo King.” The evening begins with a lesson in the basic moves of Mambo from Ana Masacote, an international ambassador of Latin dance who has been profiled in La Voz del Mambo magazine as “The Future of Mambo” and Gastrell Rossignol, a Latin dance instructor.

 Did someone say DISCO?? Disco Friday is September 15: The Loser’s Lounge is a ‘70s Disco Party with a collective of New York City’s finest performers founded in 1993 by former Psychedelic Furs keyboardist Joe McGinty. You bring the moves, they’ll bring all the greatest hits of the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Award-winning performance coach and choreographer Rob Glover will start the evening by sharing the basic partner steps of the classic disco dance, the Hustle. Dust off your best disco suits and dresses and bring the sparkle down to The Greenway.

September 16 is Salsa Saturday! The fun continues with the spicy sounds of Orquesta SCC “La Excelencia”, a salsa dura orchestra based in New York City. This contemporary 11-piece big band is world-renowned for breaking from many unnecessary traditions in order to recreate the genuine Latin style and sound in a manner that befits the modern era of music. Spicy sounds require hot moves, and Jenna Robey and Luis Talavera Diaz, Latin dance instructors from Malden, MA., will share the basics of Salsa. Robey recently placed first with her Salsa team at the World Salsa Summit.

And if it’s Sunday it must be Yiddish Folk Dance day! On 9/17 Alicia Svigals’ Klezmer Fiddle Express

Let’s Dance Boston concludes with an afternoon of Klezmer, offered in association with the Jewish Arts Collaborative. The day features the sounds of Alicia Svigals’ Klezmer Fiddle Express, led by composer/violinist/vocalist Alicia Svigals, the world’s leading klezmer fiddler and a founder of the Grammy-winning Klezmatics.  The afternoon begins with instruction from Steve Weintraub, an internationally-known teacher of traditional Yiddish Dance who trained with Alvin Ailey and Erick Hawkins. Known as the “Pied Piper of Yiddish Dance”, Weintraub has led workshops around the world, performing in places such as Krakow, Paris and Weimar.

More information is here: celebrityseries.org/letsdanceboston

Hey Southie! Let’s DANCE!

 

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