UPDATING 2012

Hi Everyone,

It's been awhile.  The past two years have been legendary.  I am looking forward now to projects and experiences that will continue to make dance history.  In the meantime, I just wanted everyone to know that the Blog is back in operation and will be changed at least once a month. 

For one thing, I WILL be doing the one-day Mini-Intensive at the Halloween SwingThing featuring Jordan & Tatiana.  This is going to be another great Halloween event.  Don't forget - People who register early get the printed materials prior to the event.  Register NOW and get a good start on your printed materials. 

Website crash

My website, swingworld.com, not only crashed but when the server brought it back up, it is outdated. Until we get updated, please bear with us. Need Kona in May--or any other specific Intensive listed (there are all listed, just not current), call us at 562.869.8949 and we’ll send you an attachment of the current information. Thanks for your patience. God bless everyone—and have a good day.

Dancing with the Stars -- 1

Dancing with the Stars is a frequent discussion of mine —covering the wonderful things that happen—along with the ridiculous. It is obvious that Kate Gosselin is no real dancer. However, as a student, it is also obvious that certain basic training skills have not been taught. Not her teacher nor any of the judges has mentioned brushing one knee past the other when she moves through space. Nor has anyone mentioned a “sending foot.” These are two basic skills that Golden State Dance Teachers Association teaches in Lesson One.

I have also been frequently bewildered by some of the music chosen for competition. Sometimes there are pieces of music that are fantastic—music that aids the dancers, entertains and thrills the audience. There are other times when it seems that the music is trying to confuse the dancers. I remember comments from the judges about a Paso Doble that had no fire. The music was Phantom of the Opera, which sounds more like funeral music.

Anyhow enough people have been interested in my discussions that they suggested that I critique different performances from each competition. I am going to try to do that, as time permits. I am both thrilled and dismayed with Dancing with the Stars. The thrilling part is having the world exposed to the beauty and joy of the dance. The dismay “and heartbreak” is over the serious blunders that mislead the public in certain dances—either by omitting any recognizable pattern in the dance(either cha cha or particularly West Coast Swing)—or having music that actually fights the movement of the dance….more to follow…

Contra-Body Movement in West Coast Swing

Getting lots of questions about “West Coast 101”. Contra-Body movement seems to be one element that teachers have difficulty teaching. Our special Intensive (only 12 were allowed), demonstrated clearly that working from a pulled hip made a perfect Contra-Body, resulting in a great looking “Right Torque Turn”. Success percentage? 12 out of 12 looked great! Looking forward to working on that in Kona in May.

Matching Resistance in Closed Ballroom Position (video: 3 min., 23 sec.)

To create a “connection” with your partner in the closed ballroom position, it’s important for the lower part of the follower’s left shoulder blade to “match the resistance” into the leader’s right hand. The follower can accomplish this by pulling her left shoulder back and down, pressing into the leader’s hand. If the follower does not match the resistance, the leader finds it much more difficult to lead.

“Matching the resistance”, is also known as The Law of Opposition. It tells us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. A push meets with a push. A pull meets with a pull. In dance, the resistance is NOT actually pushing or pulling. It is a matching "reaction" to the "action" of the lead. The natural tendency to "yield" to a "lead" rather than to match the natural resistance is a real problem for many dancers.

Elbows down (video: 1 min., 4 sec.)

Pressing the elbows down helps to straighten the spine by pulling the shoulders back and down. It also lightens the look, as well as the feeling in your hands.

Move Your Center First (video: 1 min., 28 sec.)

Your “center,” short for “Center Point of Balance,” is your Core, located in your solar plexus. All dance movement should project from your center.

There’s an old saying in dance, “Foot follows Frame.” “Centering” also refers to the center of your frame. Move your center first—not shoulders, hip or foot.

KONA “INTENSIVE” MAY 2007

Just got back from Kona and what a fabulous Intensive. Our first day was held in the open air Night Club where the Kona Swing Dancers gather every Tuesday night. We had the ocean as a backdrop and brightly colored little wild birds visited us during class. What an experience. Every day started at 10am and most finished about 10pm, with time out for lunch and dinner. On Monday - 5pm was departure time and we all had tears. Once again, we had all become "Family" and it felt like we were leaving home.

Jordan and Tatiana are frequently "guest" teachers for an hour or two at an Intensive, but this was the first time we shared the entire Intensive. What an exciting experience. Over and over I heard how powerful it was for people to hear everyone using the same language, terms, and observations. I can guarantee you - "It was MAGIC!" We also had a couple of great classes from Jessica Cox, and Sarah Grusmark was on hand to demonstrate and also help during the classes. (Lots of wonderful comments from participants about how Tatiana, Jessica, Sarah, and Michelle, did such a great job as Leaders in some of the classes). Last but not least, none of this could have taken place without
our multi-talented Guy, Warren d'Aquin.

I've only been home one day and already the emails are coming in. It is obvious that everyone had a great time. The most frequent comment is, "I can FEEL the difference in my dancing." People who attend Intensives KNOW they are going to learn valuable information, but they seldom realize that they will actually FEEL the difference in such a short time. We had Critiques almost every day and every person who wanted one, got their critique. This is the process that has become the catalyst for instant improvement. We are all looking forward to May 2008, in Kona. Make your vacation plans EARLY. We close the registration at 70 - and that was our total attendance this year.

The Schedule for 2008 will be available in January 2008. If YOU have a request, let us know early. We always try to accommodate.
God Bless and have a great day -
Skippy

Counting "sets of 8" in the music (video: 1 min. 15 sec.)

Click To Play

In this clip we count the “sets of 8” in the music. A “set of 8” defines the beat of the music and the ability to count the “sets of 8” is the only way to confirm that you're on the beat. In particular, pay attention to the hand motion we use as we count as it's a good exercise to bring the beat into your body.

Music credit: "Alva's Baby Blues" by Ray Sharpe

When do you stop counting? (video: 2 min.)

Click To Play

Dancers at every level can benefit from counting. This clip answers the question: When do you stop counting? Note that there are different levels of counting, which are described in my dance dictionary under the entry, 'count - levels of counting' (you have to scroll down to it).