Arts & Entertainment
Friday Night Live: Dancing in the Streets of Hastings
After learning basics of ballroom, swing, Latin, hip-hop and African dance, people of all ages danced to live music.
In her merengue workshop, Janet Carlson of Hastings showed how to have those stylish Latin hips. It's all in how you step — and what not to move. "The only thing you should move aside from your hips is your eye lashes if you blink," said Carlson, author of Quick, Before the Music Stops: How Ballroom Dancing Saved My Life.
Carlson's class was one of various workshops and demos that had people learning style along with steps. Then people danced and watched people dancing and caught up with their neighbors. There was, live African drumming and a dee-jay playing music from swing to modern.
People danced until the sun set — as partners and in free style — before heading to the community center for a swing dance with a live band.
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Friday Night Live takes place  on the first Friday of the month until December in the village of Hastings. Each event is on a different theme. The next one is June 3: Friday Night Live Celebrates Theater & Spring Thing. For more information, see the rivertownsguide.com/fnl.
