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| Learn to Dance with Ashleigh and Connie! |
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| Ok, let's start with the basics. Before we get to the real polka dancing, everyone needs to know how to do the chicken dance! The chicken dance is played at all polka dances and at many festive events, such as weddings. |
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| #1 Lesson in Polka - Polka is indeed cool! No, polka is not Steve Urkel - that's not polka! Ever been to an Oktoberfest? That's real polka! It's actually a fun, social dance, similar to swing. There's a basic step and from there you add in the fancy twirling and turning. Sure, there's the accordion players, but there's definitely nothing uncool about that, without them you wouldn't get that great polka sound! |
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| Step 1: The chicken dance begins by taking your hands and holding them close to your chest, making each hand as if they're talking, or shaped like beaks, opening and closing 4 times. |
| Step 2: Flap your arms (as if you're a chicken) four times (elbows bent, hands under your arm pits). |
| Step 3: Do the twist, down two, up two, twist your arms while twisting your hips. |
| Step 4: Clap 4 times |
| Step 5: Repeat steps 1-4 four times |
| Learn to Polka! |
| Step 6: When the music changes, link opposite arms with your partner and skip around one another. Switch arms and skip in the opposite direction. Swith two more times. |
| Step 7: Start over from Step 1! Typically the music will begin to go faster and faster, can you keep up? |
| Ashleigh & our friend, Mat, at an Oktoberfest, demonstrating Step 4. |
| Ashleigh & Mat getting ready for Step 6. |
| Want to try out your moves? If you live in Southern California, check out The Mlakar Brothers Orchestra Website, click on their schedule link, and attend one of their dances! Or go to Polka Bob's Polka Page for listings of dances around the country. |
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