Throughout history the way we move our bodies to music has always been a source of contention. Whilst dancing historically was widely regarded as a way to demonstrate grace and elegance it was still often decried as evil or immoral by certain parts of the community.

In this talk we'll look at why some dances are labelled as controversial as we take a trip through time to find those dances that broke boundaries and shocked polite society.

Dramatic changes in dance styles often reflected major changes in society and beliefs and so studying these dances gives us a fascinating insight into the opinions of the past. By looking at the scandals these dances caused we are able to uncover the major concerns of polite society at the time.

We will be looking at dances such as:

• La Volta- Supposedly Queen Elizabeth I's favourite dance, this Renaissance dance included the man lifting the woman about him;

• The Waltz- The beginning of couple dancing where potential suitors were allowed to be significantly more intimate than had been seen in the past;

• The Charleston- Seen as wild and decadent, this style of dancing signified a major shift in societal expectations at the time; and

• The Jitterbug- An African-American style of dance that swept Europe when introduced by American GIs in WW2.

Join me as we look at where these dances came from, what they signified and how they changed the world.

This talk also has a corresponding workshop on Sunday 8th June where you can learn these dances yourself.