February 23, 2012

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April Follies Intensive Starts January 9th

January 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

April Follies Intensive Starts January 9th!

January 9 – April 23, 2012
7:30-8:30 PM Class
8:30-9 Supervised Practice

 

April Follies is April 28th, 2012 in Oakland at Just Dance Ballroom
You can get out on the floor as a beginner.
You can wear you rhinestones or dress down, but this course will give you the confiendce you need to shine while dancing in harmony with another person.

 

You will learn to:
Connect with your partner
Stay calm & grounded
Shine for the judges
Easily navigate the floor
Dance a routine with accepted DVIDA steps
Choose your correct competition category
Use correct posture and frame
Choose the best outfit!
Project great stage presence
Gracefully enter & exit from the competition floor
….and more

 

$17 Drop-In for one class
$250 per person for whole series!   Additionally you get $2 off entrance to Guys & Dolls Dances.  Great value!
Filed Under: Learning to Dance

The Grass is Always Greener

October 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’ve always loved following.  I first fell in love with the listening and responding and playing with your partner of dancing.  I only followed for my first two years of dancing and was fascinated by how every leader has their own way of leading.

For a variety of reasons, while dancing with Zoe, I ended up as the predominate leader in the partnership.  After 8+ years of leading competitively, I have decided to try my hand (foot?) at following.

Following is humbling and challenging.  I have heard myself say -to myself, “This would be so much easier to lead!”  I also have much more sympathy for followers.  I find myself doing everything as a follower that at times challenged me as a leader.

Interestingly my best following is when I think of moving like a leader and not when I try to “follow”.  By “follow” I mean get out of the way.

“Following” (we need a new word for it) really means finding the balance of letting your partner feel what you are doing and listening and responding, adding power and embellishing what the leader suggests….oooh, challenging, but I love the challenge!

Now the real question…..What to wear?

Filed Under: Learning to Dance

Boogie Woogie Ballroom

September 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I subbed the For Beginners Only class at Boogie Woogie Ballroom in Foster City this week.

It is a lovely studio tucked away in a very unassuming place. They need a big sign….It has a huge main floor (with poles, darn) and FOUR little studios.  It even has a kitchen and a shower!!

Seems like a great place to practice, take a class or have private lessons.

Hope to see you there.

Filed Under: Learning to Dance

Lena Koukareko

September 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Lena Koukareko

1981 -2011

Rumba/Foxtrot (Anton & Lena, 2007-10-27)

She was a beautiful person and a wonderfully intense and giving teacher.

Lena, you were right about the 4 locks.  You will be missed.

xoxo

Filed Under: Dance Life

Dance Vita Ballroom Opens

August 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

My dance partner and I were honored to have the very first private lesson at Tomas and Aira and Vaidotas and Jurga’s new studio called Dance Vita!

It is a beautiful space in San Mateo with two big floors and comfortable, stylish furniture.  They are still working on it, but it is already fabulous.

Across the street there is a Molly Stone grocery store that has good food, coffee and free wifi should you need to refuel.

 

Filed Under: Learning to Dance

Move Like a Champion (TM) workshop

October 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

 The past two days Zoe and I attended the beta testing of Diane Jarmolow’s Move Like a Champion workhsop.

Here’s a blurb about the course from their website:

“Created by “Top Teacher” Diane Jarmolow and Latin Champion Kasia Kozak, this comprehensive 14-hour course teaches principles of dynamic alignment and functional movement that applies to all Ballroom, Latin, and Swing dancing. Avid dancers and professional teachers alike will benefit from this eye-opening instructional course.”

 

The course was great and I learned lots of exercises to help students understand more about posture and efficient, beautiful movement.

It also helped me reinforce and delve deeper into what I already know about my own dancing.  It was definitely worth it.

Diane taught the Ballroom Dance Teacher’s College when I took it back in 2000 and then, as now,  put an incredible amount of thought and specificity into her material while making it accessible.  I am consistently impressed by how everything she does, she does in a kind and generous way.  She is a truly inspirational teacher.

Filed Under: Learning to Dance

Tony Dovolani says hi to Arthur!

February 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Today I arrived to practice at the Allegro with Arthur and saw that the little back ballroom was blocked off and two people were guarding the door to keep people from accidentally entering.  No big deal.  Sometimes that room is reserved.

As usual I put Arthur on the stage and set about warming up.  Next thing I know Arthur is barking because my cell phone is ringing which he believes is his duty to do. (We have yet to convince him otherwise).  Everybody gets wide eyed.  Pixar is filming a top secret project in there and we have to be quiet!  I put my phone on silent, Zoe arrives, and we start to practice.

After awhile the secret stars emerge from the ballroom.  It is Tony Dovolani and Cheryl Burke.  They come out with their entourage and as they pass the stage, Tony stops and says hi to Arty.  I watch as a proud mother from across the ballroom.  And whosh, they are off…Arty’s brush with dance royalty.

Filed Under: Dance Life