This weekend is a very exciting weekend in Swing. Still a little high from the excitement of the WCS Boat party, Larry and I are going for a Round 2 later in this article!
Friday night will be our Advanced Intensive #3!
This is what I plan to cover
Roll reversal – Followers Leading and Leaders Following allows you a very brief window into what is going on on the other side. There is no better way to see dramatic improvements than by switching sides. This will last only a few minutes so please don’t panic!
Distancing – Being able to gauge your distance and adjust accordingly is often the missing piece of the puzzle. Knowing how close or how far to be from your partner is a must.
Connection – The Unspoken conversation that is happening between Leaders and Followers thru pressure. Learn when to push or pull, what it means when you do, and how to get more out of your partner by plugging into the partnership instead of guessing.
Musicality – The music that we are dancing to is telling a story. It is made up of counts of 8, 32, and 48. It has highs and lows hits and accents and is often ignored completely in favor of whipping out the newest “Cool Guy” move or “Hot Chick” head flip. Learning how to listen to the music is a lot easier when you know what to listen for.
Pattern Selection – As leaders learn more patterns they find themselves doing the same old ones over and over because they forget to try the new ones. Most leaders forget because they have not learned how to think 2 and 3 patterns ahead. I will be sharing my secret formula for working patterns deeper into the dance while maintaining your sanity. I will also show followers how to read the leader’s mind so they can be even more attentive in their slot.
Timing – More than just staying on beat, timing is the art of knowing what to put where and why. New dancers will often throw new move after new move in regardless of how well they fit together. TIming is often confused with musicality but it is really when Musicality meets Pattern Selection.
Training the Eye – I still have a couple tricks up my sleeve for new patterns that look cool but do not fry your brain. A big fan of the acronym K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) I will not only teach you a couple patterns but I will also teach you how to decode what you see so that you can use Youtube the same way that I do when I am looking for something new and exciting.
As long as you know the names of and are somewhat proficient in the 6 basics Left/Right Pass, Sugar Push, Whip, Basket Whip, and Tuck Turn you will have a great time at the intensive. If you struggle with knowing the difference you may want to hold off until our next Beginner Intensive.
DNE School of Dance
78 Princeton St
N. Chelmsford, Ma
7-10:30 $20 Class will begin promptly at 7 so please make every effort to be on time.
Saturday Night Brings us to Larry’s SeaSide Swing Dance. I will be whipping up a Night Club 2-Step Lesson and them plugging in and mixing some swing in with Larry. Its a great venue with a huge floor so drink plenty of fluids and carb up for a fun filled night of dancing!
Knights of Columbus
570 North Avenue
Wakefield, MA
Sunday Night I am Teaching the 2-Step Lesson at LongFellows and hear is the lesson plan:
Longfellow Club
524 Boston Post Road
Wayland, MA