Dancing Around the Questions

In this episode, we sit down (virtually) with G. Allen.  Now residing in Atlanta, Georgia, he began his dancing journey at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and has travelled extensively and trained in many styles.  Among the topics we cover are initial versus later motivations to keep dancing, favorite dances and songs, and being a mature adult when there are people you don't want to interact with in the community.

Send in your questions to [email protected] if you want us to cover any particular topics!  Follow us on Instagram (@dancingatq) for quick videos and pictures of our guests!

Janey Guillen of River City Rueda joins us to talk about the challenges of getting into dance as an introvert, sneaking into places while underage, and the joy of simple motions with a partner.  Also, getting kicked out from a venue after a performance for a mysterious convention.

In this misnomer of an episode, Daisy Banta of the Richmond Zouk community discusses her beginnings as a dancer while studying abroad in Brazil, overcoming a serious injury, and how dance helped bring a new joy (or perhaps fun?) to exercise and body movement.  Gerardo gets a little snobby about music education (his heart's in the right place), and we dig a little bit into why dancing is still a rather niche activity in the United States.

Send over your thoughts and questions to [email protected], and follow us on Instagram @DancingAtQ !

In our first full interview, Mimi Garcia-Otero of the Richmond Latin Dance and Zouk communities shares her beginnings as an elementary school dance team reject over some wine and (sometimes extremely gooey) chocolate.  We discuss learning, favorite venues, pet peeves, and consent, among other topics in this extended conversation!  Please note - there is a story about inappropriate behavior from about 1:04 to 1:05; if you are not comfortable due to prior experiences, you may wish to skip past this segment.

As always, send over your thoughts and questions to [email protected], and follow us on Instagram @DancingAtQ

This is the first episode of Dancing Around the Questions!  This interview-based podcast is all about the people in the world of social dance, from their beginnings as dancers to their current exploits.  We will also cover anything and everything related to the human experience in dance, including culture, languages, learning, and relationships.

Your host, Gerardo, starts us off by quickly recapping his early days (which weren't so early) at William & Mary's (award-winning) Salsa Club, and several other points along the way to settling down in Richmond, Virginia.

Send us your comments, questions, stories and even interview requests to [email protected] !  We'll try to include you in future episodes!  Follow us on Instagram at DancingAtQ for releases and other news!