February 2015 issue!

Posted on February 3, 2015

Our February edition is a beauty of an issue, from Flavia Cacace’s new tanning range and style tips by leading Amateur ballroom dancer Stefanie Bossen to cover star Janette Manrara’s glowing positivity…

Moving on Up

Nicola Rayner speaks to popular Strictly Come Dancing pros Aljaž Skorjanec and Janette Manrara about Strictly, their appearance at this month’s MOVE IT show, their partnership and more…

“One of Janette’s most memorable dances with Jake [Wood] was her death-defying salsa in just week two. Was it difficult to trust him with those lifts and tricks so early on? ‘He made me feel so safe. It was early days, but I really trusted him,’ she says of Jake…

“The only time when I got a little bit scared was with the death drop – that’s what I called it – because when I come down I have nothing to hold on to, and I came down in that salsa face first…’”

Buy your print copy here, or buy your digital copy from all good app stores

Bet you look good on the dancefloor

Leading Amateur ballroom dancer Stefanie Bossen has written Dance Beauty, a guide to make-up for competitive dancers. She speaks to Alison Gallagher-Hughes…

“‘…there was a time when I thought, ‘I’ve got good eyelashes – a liberal application of mascara is sufficient.’ Then I looked at photos, and it looked like I had no eyes,’ laughs Stefanie.

“Stefanie initially had the idea ‘to fill the void’ and meet a need for competitive dancers over time, by trial and error or asking other dancers ‘How do you do that?’

“‘I’ve been in that situation,’ reveals Stefanie. ‘When I first came to England in 2008 [from her native Denmark] I was used to my mum doing my hair and helping me get ready for a competition. Suddenly I was on my own and had to start from scratch…’”

Buy your print copy here, or buy your digital copy from all good app stores

Also in the February issue…

Tan to tango: we speak to Flavia Cacace about her new range of tanning products, By Flavia, and exciting plans for 2015

What makes a great dance teacher? As readers vote for Dance Today’s Dance Teacher of the Year 2015, leading lights of the dance world tell Marianka Swain about the teachers who made a difference to their lives

Just ad dance: advertisers are turning to dance to bring glamour, energy and storytelling to their commercials

On the trail of flamenco: novelist Cherry Radford visits Uflamenco, the world’s first university of flamenco, in Madrid

National treasure: Michael Reilly and photographer Ron Self report from the British National Dance Championships

Movement medicine: Crispin Andrews on how dance can help improve mental health

Tips on technique: James Whitehead looks at bringing conviction to your dancing

Our resident dance doctor, Phil Meacham, looks at ways to improve your neck and shoulder line

Same sex showdance

Mambalsa: Salsa instructor Alastair Sadler is launching a new style. Lee Knights finds out more

We just called it dancing: Simon Selmon looks at the different names for swing dance

Plus reports from the Star Ball and a Christmas dancing break, news of the Empress Ballroom’s new Wurlitzer organ, dance at BBC Comic Relief, spring balls, dancing for Acorns Children’s Hospice and a new swing course, competitions, reviews of salsa instruction DVDs, dance music CDs, Frantic Assembly’s Othello and ZooNation Dance Company in The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, variations and sequence scripts, our splendid listings pages and more!

Buy now

The February issue is in shops (including larger branches of WH Smith) now, or you can buy your print copy here, or buy your digital copy from all good app stores

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.