It couldn’t have gone more perfectly, really. The buzz from Benji’s kiss followed me, and everyone else, right into the performance. Every single one of us showed the Grand Palace Theatre what Silver Shoes was all about, and my face felt so full of happiness I’m surprised my smile didn’t split it in half!
In my heart I knew I wasn’t just dancing, I was celebrating everything I loved about dance and performing, and being a part of Silver Shoes, and getting to share something I loved with the people who meant most to me.
The night wore on, and I knew that soon it would all be over, and Silver Shoes would come to the end of another big, exciting year.
But the happiness dancing gave me would last for a very long time.
So You Think You Know Jive?
Fun facts about jive:
The jive gained popularity in the United States in the 1940s. It was influenced by boogie, rock ‘n’ roll, swing, jitterbug and the Lindy hop.
The jive can take on many styles but they can be roughly grouped into three categories:
Traditional jive (like the Lindy hop, swing, rock ‘n’ roll etc.) is the fast-paced, energetic dancing associated with the jive when it first hit dance halls
Ballroom jive is a more refined style, usually taught in the classroom
Modern jive is popular at local dance clubs, where it is known as ceroc, LeRoc or the French jive, and is much more freestyle
The jive has tended to change along with musical tastes throughout the decades (like from the big band style of dancing to the steady rock ‘n’ roll beat), which is what has led to these three categories. But the basic structure and style remains the same.
The basic look and feel of jive is tonnes of energy, with the legs seeming to be in a constant pumping motion, and a lot of rocking of the hips.
Jive is one of the five international Latin dances in ballroom dancing. The others include the cha-cha-cha, samba, rumba and paso doble. The five standard ballroom styles are the waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, foxtrot and quickstep.
Jive is the fastest of the Latin dances, and uses a lot of flicks and kicks; therefore, the woman does not move around the floor as much as in the other dances.
Jive used to be called the ‘Jitterbug Jive’ when it first got popular. The word ‘jitterbug’ came from a well-known band who described the jive dance as looking like a heap of bugs in a frenzy (that’s how energetic it was!). The word ‘jive’ used to be a slang word, meaning people were just fooling around or exaggerating. You can see how this fun, over-the-top style of dancing then got the name ‘jive’.
Movies with jive dance
Grease
Hairspray
Mad Hot Ballroom
High School Musical 3
Hellzapoppin’
‘Moves Like Jagger’ – Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera
‘Let’s Get Loud’ – Jennifer Lopez
‘The Edge of Glory’ – Lady Gaga
‘Runaround Sue’ – Dion
‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ – Queen
‘Candyman’ – Christina Aguilera
‘Shake It Off’ – Taylor Swift
‘Happy’ – Pharrell Williams
‘The Boy Does Nothing’ – Alesha Dixon
‘Great Balls of Fire’ – Jerry Lee Lewis
Glossary
Hello everyone!
It’s Paige again. I’m so excited to share the jive with you – it’s such a fun dance! Jive moves can be very hard to try to do (and explain!) if you’re reading them off the page, because they involve so many turns and hold variations. That’s why Fleur always shows Benji and me everything in our lessons. So I’m going to give you a list of basic jive terms, as well as a few you’ve read in my story, and the best thing to do would be to see if you can find some videos of them online (Ash says try YouTube).
Jive involves a lot of turning in and out of, and under and around your partner. Don’t be too worried if you get confused about the direction, it’s hard when you’re learning! I got so dizzy when I first started! But always smile and hold your partner gently and be clear about who is leading and who is following. Hopefully you will find a partner as cute – I mean, as talented – as Benji.
Terms:
Arm Jive
Basket
Bowtie
Comb & Sway
Continuous Pretzel
Half Nelson (hold)
Hatchback
Mooch Step
New Yorker
Octopus
Pushspin
Teapot Spin
Windmill
Wrap & Spin
Yoyo
About the Author
Samantha-Ellen Bound has been an actor, dancer, teacher, choreographer, author, bookseller, scriptwriter and many other things besides. She has published and won prizes for her short stories and scripts, but children’s books are where her heart lies. Dancing is one of her most favourite things in the whole world. She splits her time between Tasmania, Melbourne, and living in her own head.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Version 1.0
Silver Shoes 8: Studio Showdown
9780857989109
Published by Random House Australia 2016
Copyright © Samantha-Ellen Bound 2016
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
A Random House Australia book
Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW, 2060
Random House Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Random House Australia in 2016
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry
Author: Bound, Samantha-Ellen
Title: Studio Showdown [electronic resource]
ISBN: 978 0 85798 910 9 (ebook)
Series: Silver Shoes; 8
Target Audience: For primary-school age
Subjects: Dance – Juvenile fiction
Girls – Juvenile fiction
Dance schools – Juvenile fiction
Dewey Number: A823.4
Cover illustration by J. Yi
Internal illustrations by Sarah Kate Mitchell
Cover design by Kirby Armstrong