Dance blogs you should read or follow

When I started this blog, there was only one other standalone modern jive blog which launched around the same time. Ok, so some modern jive organisations have a few articles on their websites but none seemed to be regularly updated.  With lots of discussions going on in Facebook groups or forums about modern jive, I wanted to read more blogs, and so this one was born.

There’s now another modern jive blog joining me on the web, while the original is quieter now. But since setting my blog up, I’ve been looking for other relevant dance blogs to read and share their content.

I’m sharing some of other dance blogs you should be reading if you want to get more from your dancing.  It’s not only modern jive blogs you can learn from, but any partner dancing blogs.  I’ve also found some interesting articles on ballet websites because all dance is interrelated in some way.

Why read blogs?

Surely you can’t learn practical tips from reading about dance, I hear you say.  Of course, lessons (private or group) are going to be your first point of call as well as freestyling lots, watching others dance and asking advice from other dancers.  But articles can help with the theory, or increasing conversation about dance. A way of bouncing ideas before putting them into practice.

They’re also a great way to build community and find like-minded people.  Plus of course, reading blogs and sharing what you’ve learnt can encourage new beginners to continue dancing and become inspired. As well as creating conversations and alternative thoughts for those who’ve been dancing longer.

Modern jive blogs

Modern jive dancer – Paul covers reviews, events, snippets of the modern jive world, and a lot of music.

Jivey Blues blog – Less frequently updated now, there’s some down to earth articles on observations and techniques for modern jive

Partner and social dancing blogs

A Perfect Follow – written from the follow point of view, with Stefanie aiming to take all the learnings from her different partner dancing experiences to share advice, techniques and observations to help other follows. Also helpful for leaders to read.  Zouk, bachata, wcs and salsa in particular are mentioned.

The Dancing Grapevine – Laura is another multi style dancer, and teacher, bringing some strong opinions into discussion across the partner dancing world with particular focus on zouk, salsa, west coast swing and kizomba amongst other dances. Also covers technique and social dancing etiquette. Can have polarising views and talks about sensitive topics, great for reading discussion from other readers as well as from Laura herself.

Social dance community – collaborative commentary on any social dancing issues and questions, plus potential solutions, across the dance styles. Focus on latin dance.

Other dance blogs

If you’re hooked on dance in general and want to read more, dance blogs are quite hard to find as standalone blogs. Many are articles written as part of a dance business website.  Some other blogs I’ve recently discovered include:

The naked basics – West coast swing
The swing slate – lindy hop and west coast swing
Dance spirit – There’s the occasional article that is transferable – for example looking after a dancers body, or competition vs class, and beautiful photos of dancers

Are there any dance blogs you’ve found that aren’t on the list?  Let me know in the comments because I’d love to read them.