February 2009

While February is a month of grey skies in these parts, it’s a different story entirely over in the southern hemisphere. This month marks the height of summer and sees the world-famous annual carnival take over the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. The spectacular four-day festival that attracts 500,000 foreign visitors every year kicks off on February 20, with samba at the heart of the celebrations, and here in the UK there are various events taking place to mark the occasion. Carole Edrich decided to get started early, and took this month’s cover photograph at an event held over Christmas. See her feature, On the Trail of Samba, on page 14, where you can find out more about similar events. Also this month we talk to Professional Classical Showdance Champions, Craig Shaw and Natasha Manderson, whose winning waltz at the Nationals very nearly came to an abrupt end (The Sound of Silence, page 22). Plus, Rachelle Stretch takes an in-depth look at the rules and regulations that govern showdance competitions, with insights from some of the UK’s top competitors. In next month’s issue we talk to Latin dancers Andrew Cuerden and Hanna Haarala, who will be appearing at MOVE IT 2009, the UK’s biggest dance exhibition running at London’s Olympia from March 6-8. Don’t forget to enter our competition on page 11 to be in with a chance of winning one of 20 pairs of tickets to the event, and come and say hello to the Dance Today and Dancing Times teams on stand 716 while you’re there.
Katie Gregory