This Friday morning, do you have a weird craving to watch Scandinavian women wearing saris, dancing in sync with lively Bollywood music? Well then, this is your lucky friday!

Just a few days ago, a group of dancing Finns boarded a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Delhi and—you know what's coming—performed a whole dance routine to "Om Shanti Om" in celebration of India's Republic Day. Even business class got a dose of the booty shaking, and check out the flight attendants getting down!

Of course there's a story behind the idea to bring this onboard, and you can read it here, on the Finnair blog. Umm and yeah—we totally want to learn that dance now.]]> JetSetCD 2012-01-27T08:27:58-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/6/93851/9379

This Thursday, December 8, marks the 31st anniversary of the day John Lennon was shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City. While fans of Lennon and The Beatles will come together at Central Park's Strawberry Fields to remember him, we'll spend this week focusing on other places to visit to dip into Beatles history.

Today: The Cavern Club in Liverpool.

Just around the corner from the newish Hard Day's Night Hotel in Liverpool sits the old Cavern Club, known better as the home club of The Beatles. It bills itself as "the most famous club in the world," and it pretty much is, since many lookalike clubs have sprung up around the world. The typical nightly crowd is a mix of Brits, older Beatles tourists and younger Contiki-type tour groups and, despite its enduring popularity and major place in music history, tickets to the nearly nightly live performances are nice and cheap, averaging £3 per person.

It's here at the Cavern Club that the members of the Fab Four first played, but with other groups like The Quarrymen and Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, before coming together as The Beatles. As The Beatles. they played the Cavern a staggering 292 times, but Beatlesmania forced them into larger venues and the Cavern went through its own period of weirdness before finally becoming the major tourist magnet it is today.

Naturally, we couldn't do a weekend in Liverpool without crossing the place off our bucket list...]]> JetSetCD 2011-12-07T11:09:55-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/22/1346/33453

Harajuku. What does that word conjure up in your mind? Chances are it's Gwen Stefani, or girls dressed as Gothic Lolitas, but the correct answer is an area of Tokyo, in which cosplay is smiled upon and the Rockabillies rule the roost.

Make sure your trip to Tokyo includes a wide-open Sunday, and pray the weather is nice. Walk towards the entrance to Tokyo's famous Yoyogi Park and the Meiji Jingu shrine near Harajuku Station, and you'll encounter a plaza dominated by three distinct gangs, each dressed as if they just stepped out of the film Grease. They have 1950s poodle skirt and greaser Americana nailed down to the last detail, from the brands of handkerchief they stick in their Levi's pockets to the way they comb back their hair. It's all so cool.

The Rockabilly gangs don't just stand around and hang out, either. They each have their own stereos and CDs mixed with vintage tunes for dancing—some of it choreographed and much of it polished from countless hours of studying old American films. All in all, this is a scene that goes on for hours (we stayed for nearly three, taking 100s of photos) and which you won't find anywhere else in the world. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-08-22T18:03:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/22/5043/94088

It’s the type of thing you’d expect to see in Buenos Aires, or even Seville, but not in Belgium. And definitely not in a fish market in Belgium.

Yet as we were walking along the canal in Bruges last night, we were drawn to the Vismarkt by the twinkling music of the tango. When we got there, we found the cobbles had been covered over with board, and ladies and gents were getting all dressed up, heels and flowers in their hair and everything, and dancing.

Turns out it’s the idea of a tango school owner. During the year, Pasos de Brujas holds lessons in the classroom, but every Sunday in July and August, they spill out into the Vismarkt, and anyone—whether or not you’re a pupil at the school—can join in. ]]> juliab 2011-08-22T10:56:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/7/12/212859/187

When you think about the people who make a cruise ship run, who comes to mind? The captain...maybe the head chef and cruise director, right? Well, with about 1,000 crew onboard Cunard's Queen Victoria, there's so many others in the shadows, all responsible for making your vacation an awesome one. And over the next two weeks, we'd like to introduce you to them.

On Monday we met Richard, a real Anchorman. Today, meet Jeff, Gentleman Dance Host on the Queen Victoria.

"I'm not a gigolo...a 'giga-dancer,'" Jeff asserts. "I'm a competitive ballroom dancer doing this for fun."

We're chatting while seated in the ship's Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar and he's already donned his crisp white dinner jacket in preparation for the cruise's first formal night and the waltzing to come later. Jeff is a college professor on sabbatical, and a veteran of some 60 cruises, an impressive number even for the most cruise-happy blue haired ladies. Alas he isn't kicking back to gorge at the buffets or shop for duty-free liquor; he's here to dance as one member of Cunard's revolving corps of male dance partners for solo cruising women.]]> JetSetCD 2011-07-13T10:30:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/6/21/12847/4688

It's officially summer, so to kick off the season, we decided to take a look at the hot cultural offerings popping up in the warm-weather months. Whether you want to catch some dance, theater or art, we'll give you the lowdown on the things you need to do this summer, other than work on your tan.

Check out our top three big summer cultural events after the jump.]]> Jennifer Kester 2011-06-21T11:59:43-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/5/12/113119/820

Spectacular as the long-running Lion King show may be, we can't help but cringe as we pass London's Lyceum or wander through a sea of glittery marquees in Leicester Square. Elbowing your way through a sea of showgoers en route to Covent Garden or the nearest tube stop is not a particularly fun activity. Theater is a major tourist draw in London, and understandably so; an amazing array of shows are on at any given time, especially if you take the time to seek out smaller playhouses.

It's easy enough to book tickets to Legally Blonde or go for the consummate London playgoer's experience, an evening at the Globe. But there are other worthy entertainment options available, some far from the crush and mania of Central London.]]> Heidi Atwal 2011-05-12T12:09:26-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/