This week we have a wonderful film on Cinemondo, called Vanaja. Why am I mentioning this on our world music page? It's because Vanaja has some wonderful music and dance in it. It opens up with an almost extinct art form, called Burra Katha, a kind of storytelling entertainment once common in Andhra Pradesh, where the movie was filmed. As the story progresses, the main character, a 14 year old girl takes up Kuchipudi  dancing, and I personally think this stuff is utterly mesmerizing. The precision of each movement, as it relates to the complexities of the musical accompaniment is a pleasure to watch. There are many different kinds of Indian dance (as demonstrated by the video by Sona Mohapatra "Ishq Nachaya" and Vanaja gives us an opportunity to gain insight into one of them - and it's a great story, too!

This week we are showing - quite by coincidence - the debut of block 110 "Dancing" and the wonderful music documentary Dame La Mano, a film about dancing.

Dame La Mano centers on a Cuban community in New Jersey. The various protagonists all are hard working folks who can't wait for Saturday nights at their local hang, where they can literally give body and soul to music. It keeps them young, it keeps them centered, and it helps to make life joyful. Not bad for something you don’t have to buy!

Block #110/"Dancing" is full of great grooves to get your feet, arms and hips in motion. Sona Mohapatra provides some swinging bhangra, followed by Hard Kaur RAP-sodizing about Bollywood. Madagascar's Namavao, Marina and the Magic Powers follow with what feels rather homespun by comparison, but is full of charm and cool moves. Next we get two takes on Balkan Brass dance music; one from deejay Shantel and another from the ever strange Magnifico. We then head south to Brazil for a rendition of the forro classic "Asa Branca" and finish with Manu Chao's award winning ode to the street and those who work it, "Me Llaman Calle."
Get those endorphins going - cut the rug!

Watch Block #110 online here!