Flashback Friday: "Angel Si Ti".

Considering this is the Eurovision Song Contest week, I am going to make an exception with today's Flashback. Today I am not sharing an oldie, but a contemporary tune in the very beautiful and sensual Bulgarian language.

To those of you who are not European, the term Eurovision means nothing. But believe me, this is the only televised event that manages to unite (and divide) Europe like nothing else can. It has grown over the decades to become a massive undertaking, with 39 countries participating. In 2009, the show was watched by some 125 million people.
I have described the contest in details last year, thus I will not bore you with the facts today. Except to point out that once again, after two semifinals, the best songs did not even make it to tomorrows final.

Thus, let me present to you one of my absolute favorite entries this year. It might come across as flamboyant, processed and over the top, but this is exactly what a great pop song should be. It is music that makes us feel good.
The compilation below sounds good and looks good and appeals to all my senses. I enjoy it like a lavish desert. I love the catchy harmonies, that make me want to get up and dance, a sensation I have not felt for a very long time. I love the images and the sentiments and most of all, I simply love the language. To me, who has Slavic roots, the lyrics below (of which I understand some) appear as a combination of Slavic and Latin; a language match made in heaven.

"Angel Si Ti", meaning "You Are An Angel" preformed by Miro (Miroslav Kostadinov) is one of the best songs in this contest. Even though voted out in yesterdays semifinal, it has won my heart.
Well done Bulgaria.

Flashback Friday: "If I Can't Have You".

The first time I saw and heard Yvonne Elliman was in the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar, where she played the role of Mary Magdalene. I was completely captivated by the film and by her performance of the well known song I don't Know How To Love Him. The music felt very powerful and enticed my young mind like very few compilation had before. I sat mesmerized watching the musical, holding my breath.

Later I realized that Yvonne Elliman also performed as a backing vocalist for Eric Clapton on many of his 1970s hits, including "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Lay Down Sally".
I guess she is known through many songs, today however I decided to share her biggest number one hit from 1977, "If I Can't Have You". It was featured on the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack and was written by the Bee Gees.

I hope you enjoy this flashback to the glittering disco days, when the right music was played and when the dance floor was the place to be on a Saturday night.

Flashback Friday: "Relight My Fire".

I was a bit too young to fully enjoy the hits of the 70's disco era, but I nevertheless remember them all. My parents, whose love for music I inherited, also loved to dance. Although they remember fondly and appreciate greatly the charm of a "live" orchestra from the 60's, they did swing on the dance floor in the decade that followed to all the undying disco dance melodies.

I recall Dan Hartman's hits mainly from the later part of the 80's, such as "I can Dream About You", still the below is one of my absolutely favorite dance compilations. "Relight My Fire" was released in 1979 and topped the U.S. dance-music charts for six weeks. Loleatta Holloway is one of the featured vocalists on the record. It was also a major hit almost 15 years later when covered by the British boy-band "Take That", featuring Lulu in 1993.

Considering the solemn pieces I have been sharing in the last few weeks, I think it is time for something upbeat and refreshing. I think it is time to hit the dance floor! Happy weekend everyone.
And don't forget to dance.

Dancing Queen.

I love to dance.
Whether I am good at it is another matter.
I only know, that when the right music starts to play, I am the first one out on the dance floor.
I do not have to be persuaded or told twice.
I need no partner.
I do not care who is watching.
I will dance alone or in a room full of people, all I need is a music that captivates me. A melody with a rhythm or a beat, that makes me want to move.

I am not the only one in my family. My sister shares this passion, with one crucial exception; she actually makes it look good. We inherited our love for dance from our parents, both skillful dancers. Still, to this day, I own one of the numerous beautiful, custom made gowns that my mother has had made for the many balls, she and my father would attend as a young couple. It is a silver-blue evening dress, in a timeless cut and I hope one day to be able to wear it to an event it was designed for.

Each year, in the period stretching from February to April, ballroom dancing events were held almost every weekend in grand old hotels, when I was a child in the former Czechoslovakia. Both my parents loved to attend these, together with the circle of their friends. I recall how excited my mother was when she finally got her finished dress delivered and she was getting ready for an evening out. She always looked beautiful.

Of course my sister and I never got to experience ballroom dancing, but we became true 'dancing queens' at any discothèque we would attend when we were younger. To us it was not important who asked us to dance or whether we would be dancing alone. We usually just moved to the dance floor as soon as we arrived and left it at closing time. We were joined by various dancing partners during the course of the evening, but they all would leave us quiet rapidly, when they realized we had no intention of doing anything else but dancing.

Gone are those days and I cannot recall last time that I danced in public. But put the right music on and I will be taken back in time and place, becoming the queen of a dance floor. If not in skill, at least in passion.

Below is a rare clip of ABBA's gigantic hit "Dancing Queen", as it was performed for the first time ever publicly, in honour of the King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, the night before he was to marry Silvia Sommerlath in June 1976. You can briefly see the young royal couple in the end of the clip.

Happy Monday everyone.
And don’t forget to dance.

Strictly Ballroom.

To me, there is nothing more sensual, passionate and evocative than a couple dancing. Nowhere is this more lovelier depicted than in one of my favorite movies, "Strictly Ballroom", which I watched again today. It is one of those movies, where every scene leaves me almost breathless. A modern take on Cinderella story, it is very romantic and at times fairytale like. Nevertheless, the point of the whole movie is summarized by one very poignant sentence, which is brought up several times through out the plot: "Life lived in fear is a life half lived".

Below is the most sensual dancing clip from the movie, in my opinion. However, it is much better enjoyed in the right context of the movie itself.
Watching this and the absolutely final dance scene still brings shivers down my spine.

The Dancing Couple.

When I was visiting my parents in Prague about a year ago, I stumbled upon a little shop selling small aquarelle paintings. Or rather, reproductions. There are countless such stores all around the old town, most are designated for tourists. Tourists’ traps, if one can say so.
And I am no fool; I am fully aware of this and therefore very rarely buy anything there. However, I have made two exceptions, and this is one of them.
I have no idea who painted this, but I call it “The Dancing Couple”. The painting is small, and it immediately caught my eye and I just had to have it. I guess my affection for it was very obvious and my mother decided to buy it for me as a gift.

The picture is filled with atmosphere and loaded with emotions, additionally the color composition is unique. The grey and okra, and the black and brown. And then suddenly the red. The symbolic red dress. The setting amidst pouring rain on a foggy and wet Charles Bridge with a picturesque backdrop, makes it romantic and evocative. What I love about it most of all is the sensation of the couple, completely unaware of their surroundings, only existing for each other in one single moment in time. Or if one will, in a single dance in time.
And then there is the “Butler”, as I like to call him. Present as the only witness and as the guardian of the dancers, shielding them from rain. A silent chaperone, a sentinel of a candid passion, which is immortalized by a perceptive artist.

I have placed the painting in my hallway, just next to the stairs. At certain times of the day, the sunlight illuminates it and completes the romantic illusion. Or reality.