What’s a Dance Class Like? June 20, 2009
Posted by passion4dance in Argentine Tango, Ballroom, Latin Dances, News.add a comment
Are you STILL Sitting There?
Are you still sitting on the sidelines? Wouldn’t you rather be up THERE dancing? Can you hear your voice in the statements below?
• “I just can’t dance.”
• “I never learned to dance and now it’s too late.”
• “Those people up there have danced since they were kids.”
• “I have 2 left feet.”
• “I can’t even clap to the music – how could I ever dance to it?”
• “I have a weak (knee / hip / shoulder / elbow / thumb / eyebrow) so dancing is out for me.”
• “My (boyfriend / husband / girlfriend / wife) won’t set foot on the dance floor, so who would I dance with?”
• “This chair is very comfortable.”
Yes, I know that most people feel extremely self-conscious when they even contemplate dance lessons. Everyone wonders how (or if) people can actually learn to dance. Many members of the dance-fearing public assume that everyone else on the planet was born into some dancing family or inherited “magic dance genes” and if you somehow missed out, no dancing for you. Well, it’s just not true. No one is born with the ability to dance a Foxtrot, just like no one is born with the ability to solve a quadratic equation. But if you decide that it’s something you want to do, you can learn.
WHAT’S A DANCE CLASS LIKE?
We start at the beginning. You will stand up and face a mirror. We will take steps together. There will be a repeating pattern. We will laugh and smile and everyone will struggle a little bit. Then, I will put the music on and we will try the patterns again. It will be more fun the second time because music makes people feel good. Everyone will laugh and smile and struggle a little bit less than the first time. Next, you will pair up with a partner. You will meet someone new. You will learn about the frame of the dance. We will take steps with the partner and everyone will struggle a little bit because it’s harder to do the steps with another person in front of you. But then I will put the music on again and everyone will relax a little bit and you will laugh and smile and struggle a little bit less because now you’ve repeated the same steps several times and your muscles will start to move you without so much conscious thought. And it gets easier. And you’ll meet more new people as we rotate partners around the room. Pretty soon you will meet everyone, and you will have smiled and laughed with each one. And suddenly, the hour is over. And without your awareness, something amazing has happened. You danced.
Time to Tango! What do you Mean, Which One? May 25, 2009
Posted by passion4dance in Argentine Tango, Ballroom.Tags: Argentine Tango, Ballroom Tango, Tango history, Tango music
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Students come to me frequently with this request… “I want to Tango!” “OK, I say, which type of Tango do you want to learn?” And I know this question is confusing. So here is the reality: there are THREE styles of Tango to choose from. Yes, three.
Argentine Tango
This is where Tango began, in Argentina, spreading to Uruguay and then throughout the world. The Argentine Tango is an incredibly intimate dance, with the upper body quiet and energy directed inward toward your partner. The excitement of the dance comes from the embrace, which is very close, and the legs and feet. This dance style has the closest embrace of any partner dance and I tell my students that it’s so close you almost need protection! Still, in group classes or Milongas (Argentine Tango parties) you don’t need to be that close… you can dance it without full body contact.
The amazing thing to watch for in this dance is the leg / foot action of both partners. The legs are so close that they interweave and sometimes you almost can’t tell which legs belong to which person! And that’s the idea. This dance is about passion, and there’s a lot of entrapments going on, where the man or the woman will ‘trap’ the other with legs or feet. You will also see a lot of leans and taking the woman off her balance… the man takes complete control of her and she surrenders to him. It’s very dramatic. And the woman will play with the man, teasing him with her feet, ankles and legs. In a classic move, the man starts the woman moving around him, then he stops her with his foot; she stops and now must pass over the man’s foot, which she can do quickly or slowly; she can embellish the action by rubbing her foot against his foot, ankle, or even his entire leg before crossing over. So the woman does have a lot of say in just how much goes on.
Argentine Tango is not a “syllabus dance,” that is, there are no defined lists of movements with precise descriptions of how to execute those movements (it’s what we call a street dance or club style dance, like Salsa, Hustle, West Coast Swing, etc.). So it evolves constantly and how you learn to dance it depends on your instructor and where you are in the world. One of the biggest differences in style comes from the position of the woman’s head (and therefore the rest of her body since the head is generally connected to the body!) In “Milonguero” style, the woman’s head is to her left, allowing for the closest frame in any partner dance. This position really limits the movements which are possible and it is the less common style (both here and in Argentina). The “Salon” style allows the woman to keep her head straight and slightly to the right, basically with her eyes on the gentleman’s right temple. The angle that this creates between the partners allows for much more variety of steps.
Argentine Tango (Fantasia – Milonguero style with the woman’s head to the left): YouTube Link
Argentine Tango (Salon style with the woman’s head to the right): YouTube Link
Argentine Tango Music
The most classic Argentine Tango orchestras (what we call the TOP TEN) include: Osvaldo Pugliese, Juan D’Arienzo, Francisco Canaro, Anibal Troilo, Pedro Laurenz, Carlos DiSarli, Miguel Calo, Ricardo Tanturi, D’Agostino /Vargas and Alfredo DeAngelis. A modern composer of the classic style is Astor Piazzolla.
One Last Thing: Tango Nuevo
The truth is, you can dance Argentine Tango to basically any music (that doesn’t mean it will look good, but you CAN adapt the moves to anything). One branch of Argentine Tango dancers took a modern approach and their preference for modern, often electronic music with strong percussive elements led to “Tango Nuevo” which purists deny completely, but it is very popular among younger people who find the classic music just too, well, classic. You’ve heard the music in movies… groups like the Gotan Project and Bajofondo are very popular.
Tango Nuevo:
Ballroom Tango
The Europeans aristocrats saw what the Argentine Tangueros were doing and they took the ideas and molded them into a ballroom dance which was more “proper” and “dignified.” Much of the passion of the original form was lost, but in it’s place we have some very unique and beautiful elements not seen in other ballroom dances. Ballroom Tango, like all ballroom dances, has a strict syllabus – so if you learn it here or in New York or in Japan or in France, you will be able to dance with any other trained ballroom dancer.
Ballroom Tango is danced in a ballroom frame, although the dancers are closer together than in other ballroom dances. The woman hooks her left hand under the gentleman’s armpit and the gentleman’s right hand crosses the lady’s spine (TOTALLY unique in ballroom dancing). Also unique is the complete lack of rise and fall (the steady height makes the leg action of primary importance, keeping with the historical flavor of the dance).
Ballroom Tango is danced to very strict rhythms and very staccato music, which allows the dancers to move with sharpness and stealth, punctuated by dramatic holds. This dance is about power and sexual tension (as in the original) but it is a more outward struggle rather than an intimate one. It’s extroverted and it’s exciting to watch, compared to the Argentine style which can be so intimate that the audience is almost “left out” (the exception being the “Fantasia” or stage style of Argentine Tango).
Smooth or Standard?
Finally, as in all Ballroom dances, we have American style (Smooth) vs. International style (Standard). Without going into too much detail here, the main difference you will see is that in Smooth, the couple can break frame and do moves in open positions (side by side, in shadow or even without any contact at all) while Standard Tango does not allow the couple to break frame. Social dancers prefer American Smooth Tango, and that’s what you’ll see here in the US for the most part.
International / Standard:
Smooth:
Smooth:
Whew! OK, Which to Choose?
That’s a tough question. It depends on your dancing goals. If you are looking for a dance you can do almost anywhere to a wide variety of music, then Argentine Tango is the way to go. If you want something dramatic and you’ll have the space, go for Ballroom Tango. (By the way, for those of you looking for something DIFFERENT for your WEDDING FIRST DANCE, consider a Tango – it will blow your guests away!)
And of course, my favorite answer… why choose? Learn BOTH!
Bella Donna – Sensuous Dance and Fitness May 24, 2009
Posted by passion4dance in Bella Donna - Sensuous Dance and Fitness, News.Tags: body image, dance class, erotic dance, exercise class, self-esteem, sensuous dance, women's fitness
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My History
I was lucky. I grew up in a loving, supportive environment. I was encouraged to be independent, strong and happy. I became a scientist, I had high self-esteem and I had great relationships.
In 1998 I went through a medical crisis which shook me to the core. Everything fell apart and I had to re-define myself as a woman, from the inside out. I lost body parts, my best friend, my husband and my confidence. My body became a stranger to me and I was afraid of it.
I tried a lot of stuff: therapy, meditation, hypnosis, Prozac… but nothing helped. I knew the cause of my feelings but I didn’t know how to change them.
In 2002 I discovered partner dancing and I knew I found my salvation. I took a West Coast Swing class and it was BEYOND fantastic. Music, physical expression, connection with others… check! I got into Smooth ballroom dances and finally – gloriously – Latin (Cha-Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive). Tiny dresses with stones and brilliant colors. Make-up and airbrush tanning. False eyelashes. The costumes were outrageous, but I put them on and got out there and performed for audiences and judges.
I pretended to be a vision of health and vitality and beauty. I was a sexy temptress. I was coy and elegant. I was a diva. I was powerful and athletic. I did it over and over, under the lights with heart racing, shaking in my heels. Somehow I knew it was good for me and I kept doing it.
So what happened? I discovered that dance is transformative. With a costume, you free yourself from your own self-imposed constraints and boundaries (just like masks during Carnival or Mardi Gras). And over the years, something extraordinary happened… I became the woman I was pretending to be.
It’s funny… since I grew up without body image issues, I felt pretty alone when I was going through them at age 30. But I now believe that most women have obstacles when it comes to accepting and celebrating their bodies (childhood, family, romantic partners and the media all contribute in various ways). Today I am driven to help other women to overcome these obstacles, so I teach them to use dance and movement as a vehicle for body awareness and celebration. And Bella Donna was born!
For information about the class, please visit my website. www.passion4dance.org. 
Choosing Dance Shoes May 16, 2009
Posted by passion4dance in Argentine Tango, Ballroom, News.Tags: ballroom accessories, ballroom dance, dance shoes, shopping for dance shoes
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So you’re getting serious about dance and you’re ready to buy your first pair of DANCE SHOES! Congratulations dance shoe virgins!! Here are some things you should know.
Why do I need special shoes? A good question. Dancing is not like walking. In dance, we rarely lift our feet off the floor as in pedestrian walks. We glide. Not only that, but dancers need to “feel” the floor at all times – that’s possible only with thin soles. Also, we articulate our feet. In Latin for example, we lead with the inside edge of the ball of the big toe. You wanna try that in tennis shoes?
Ballroom Dance Shoe Construction Non-slip soles are essential. Look for suede soles, which provide the right combination of grip and slide. Rubber sneaker-like soles can stick to the floor and cause knee injuries, and leather soles can slide too much. Dance shoes have thinner soles than normal shoes. Most dancing shoes have a steel shank for support. The shoe material is flexible and lightweight.
For Ballroom Dancing, A Good Fit is Essential
Choose a snug but not toe-crushing fit. Snug means that they seem a bit too small when you buy them… don’t worry, they stretch. Dance shoes that are too big are horrible. Snug is good.
I know there are a lot of shoes online, but trust me… if you can, buy in person. An experienced salesperson will save you time and money. I recommend Carmen’s Dance Shoes here in San Diego for my students. Carmen, Sean or Ian will help you every step of the way and they have hundreds of styles to choose from, with most sizes in stock at all times.
Maintenance and Repair
Don’t wear your ballroom dance shoes on the street. Rough surfaces and dirt will wear them out quickly. Carry them in a bag and put them on when you get to class or to the ballroom.
If you need your shoes repaired, call before you drop them off at your local shoemaker to be sure the shop is familiar with handling dance shoes.
Special Notes for Men Men’s dance shoes are typically black lace-up Oxfords with a flat heel for standard dances and a 1 to 2 inch heel for Latin shoes. Men concerned about heel height should remember that in Latin, steps are taken with the ball of the foot; higher heels take your body weight forward and make Latin body rhythms easier to do.
For women, well, like everything else, it’s a bit more involved. Basic designs include open- or closed-toe pumps and sandals. Heels in women’s shoes are slim or flared and generally range in height from 1 to 3 inches.
Slim heels make turns and other moves easier. Flared heels are preferred for the Latin dances because they provide more stability.
Women new to the world of ballroom dance may consider purchasing one pair of shoes that will work for a number dances — typically a closed-toe pump with a 2 to 2.5 inch flared heel and an ankle strap. These are referred to as standard or court dance shoes.
Latin dancers typically wear open-toed shoes or strappy sandals with a 3 inch flared heel. As you become more proficient, you can add more styles to your wardrobe.
Expect to spend at least $100 for a good pair of ballroom shoes.
Ballroom dance shoes come in a variety of colors. Black is the very popular, but many women choose flesh-colored shoes, which help extend the leg line.
Werner Kern, "Mary"
And finally, for you Argentine Tango dancers, a new line of REAL dance shoes for us! Check out Werner Kern’s new “Nuevo Epoca” line with beauties like these:
And yes, they have Tango shoes for men too!!! Very authentic.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions. Oh, and HAVE FUN!
Video, iPods, Choreography OH MY! November 2, 2008
Posted by passion4dance in Ballroom.Tags: dancing, iPod, learning choreography, uploading video to iPod, videotaping
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So maybe you’ve been taking group classes for a while and need more of a challenge. Or maybe it’s time to think about your First Dance at your wedding. Or perhaps a show or competition is in your future. In any of these cases, you will find yourself having to learn choreography. And when you begin on this path, you will find that learning to repeat complex movements through your body is different than learning information like you did in school. Learning to dance is a right-hemisphere activity… and the right hemisphere learns by repeating movements over and over, and it learns in pictures. Because of this, dancers often find that videotaping their lessons or their choreography is essential. But what do you film, how do you make the film useful and how can you use it to practice? Here are my suggestions.
First of all, ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION before filming anything or anyone in a dance studio. Some instructors do not allow videotaping under any circumstances. Be respectful of that. Personally, I want to do whatever I can to assist my students in their success and I believe video is a powerful and money-saving tool. But others in the industry do not agree. ASK FIRST.
DON’T FILM AN ENTIRE CLASS OR LESSON! When will you watch it all? Soon you will be awash in tapes or discs. It’s too much. Better to film a summary of what was covered. In a private lesson, ask your instructor to spend just a few minutes at the end to summarize what you went over, or to show you the techniques you need to work on. This will serve you well and months or years from now you can go back and review a meaningful video “notebook” of your lessons.
If you can, DIGITIZE and CATALOGUE everything you film. If you are a serious or semi-serious dancer learning many dance styles, this is essential. Trust me – a few years from now you’ll need to remember that Samba routine you learned for a show. Where is that tape? You could spend hours, days, weeks looking for it. But if it’s been uploaded to a computer and catalogued, you’re set. How many patterns have you learned in group classes? Do you remember them? How cool would it be to have a library of those! It’s easy if you bring your camera to the last class and ask a classmate to film the pattern as you dance it with a partner.
So how to do this… well, I’ve experimented with lots of cameras and software, and this is what I do to get video footage organized and on to my iPod.
I use a Sony HandyCam with digital tapes. I have used the cameras that record directly onto a hard drive, but I don’t like them on the editing side… the file is the file and you can’t easily cut and edit it. I prefer the digital tapes by FAR. (I also take my camera into the field and use it while traveling and I don’t want to take my computer to upload it when the drive is full).
After filming, I upload the footage I want into my computer. You will need to buy a cable for this – it doesn’t come with the videocamera. The cable is called 1EEE1394 or an iLINK and it plugs into the DV slot on the camera (SEE PHOTO BELOW). A CD that comes with the HandyCam will install the driver software on your computer and you’re good to go.
I use Windows MovieMaker to make my movies. It’s easy to use and has a lot of cool features. I always use titles and overlays with descriptive labels so as I scroll through the video later I can find the sections I want quickly. I also organize long segments into chapters for easy access. Publish the movie to your computer when you are finished and it will be saved as a .wmv file. That’s great for Windows apps, but you cannot drag it into iTunes. Another step is needed.
You will need to convert the .wmv file into an mp4 that will open in QuickTime. There’s a lot of fancy software you can buy, but I use freeware. Simply tell the program what file to convert, where to put the converted file and that’s it. Most of the programs are very simple. Finally, you’ll see your movie with a QuickTime symbol and now you can drag it into your “Movies” folder on iTunes and sync it to your video iPod. If you have trouble with this last step, be aware that iTunes stalls with complex file names. If your video won’t drag into the folder, it may simply be the file name. (It took me forever to figure that out.)
Whew.
It sounds complicated and it may take awhile to get everything you need, but trust me – it’s worth it. I travel with my video iPod with all of my choreographies and when I meet with my partners to practice, I keep it in my pocket. When we forget or disagree, I pull out the Pod and quickly find that new section our coach gave us and we review it and that’s it! I knew it was a fallaway weave after the pivots!
The video iPod can be connected to a TV with a cable (see photo below), and if you have access to a TV wherever you practice, it’s fantastic. I was hesitant to buy it, but I use it a lot. I can now carry all of my performances and share them anytime and anywhere – no need to carry DVDs around.
Finally, there’s another freeware utility that allows you to convert YouTube files to your iPod. This is great if you see something on YOuTube that you want to learn or ask your instructor about. Simply tell your converter program the URL of the video you want and it will download it and convert it to mp4 format for import into iTunes.
I hope you found this information useful. Many people have seen me in studios around town with my iPod and they have asked me how I get my video footage on it and now you know!
Dancing in Ballroom Competitions October 10, 2008
Posted by passion4dance in Ballroom, News.Tags: ballroom competition
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Smooth Competition Dress
I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about ballroom competition – what it’s like, how to pick costumes, etc. So, here are a few of my thoughts on the subject of competitive dancing.
The most common question I get is, “why do you do it?” Well, that’s a really good question. For me, it’s about having goals and pushing myself to be a better dancer. Nothing makes you practice more than having a show or a comp to get ready for. Then, there’s the desire to get out there and strut your stuff on stage! Being in a competition is really an amazing experience. The adrenalin rush is tough to beat. You step on the floor under the lights and look around at the other dancers, the judges and the audience and you feel this amazing rush of being a part of something extraordinary – something most people could only dream of. And it really sweeps you away. I love the role-playing, I love the costumes, I love the connection with my partner and the excitement of creating something wonderful with him. I want to make the audience really FEEL something… I want them to get a sense of what I’m feeling when I dance. And of course, I want the judges to think we’re just fantastic!!
I compete in International Latin (Cha-Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive) as well as Smooth Ballroom (Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot and Viennese Waltz). Each dance style is of course very different and I love them both for different reasons. Latin just stirs my soul – the music itself is a celebration of life. We wear extremely sexy, brightly colored dresses that make you feel like celebrating your body in ways that nothing else can! We spray-tan and wear outrageous make-up. Every inch of fabric and skin must sparkle, glitter, shine and glow. Stepping onto a floor with Latin competitors is like being a jewel in a huge box filled with stunning gems, each one trying to outshine the other. Dresses aren’t chosen so much for how they look to an outsider as they are chosen for how they make the owner move. The costume really is a huge part of what happens out there, but not really for the reasons most people might expect. The dress is chosen for the way it makes you dance, what it offers the dancer to play with. A great dress can camoflauge your weaknesses and highlight your strengths on the floor. Short fringe on your ribs or hips can make any small movement look more dramatic. High slits can be used to slowly reveal a leg extension and make it seem that your legs go on forever. A deep V top held together by clear straps can make anyone look twice (but real wardrobe malfunctions are a no-no and you get deductions if you REALLY reveal something you shouldn’t). Color is key – the lights wash out everything, so bold, bright colors that complement your skin and hair are a must. And of course, glitter and rhinestones cover everything. It’s all about using whatever you can to attract as much light and attention as possible. The more sexy and daring you can be, the better. And each dance is so different: Cha-Cha is flirty, Samba is about raw sexual power, Rumba is passionate, Paso Doble is powerful and Jive is pure energy and fun. And the dress must help you to showcase all of them.
Smooth ballroom on the other hand, is a completely different experience. The goal is to be more beautiful and elegant than sexy and bold. Fabrics are soft, with long flowing skirts that float up around you when you spin. Smooth dresses must make you feel like a princess. Still, you want to feel sexy and the bodice should show your shape. But the sexiness isn’t as “in your face” as it is in Latin dancing. Smooth costumes must match the emotion of Waltz (romantic and elegant), Foxtrot (flirty), Tango (powerful), Viennese (like Cinderella at the ball with her prince). The flutters, flails and floats on many dresses enhance the light, flowing feel of the dances. In Smooth, the goal is to travel and to show tremendous control and power while appearing as light as a feather. Smooth dancers seem to float effortlessly over the floor in amazing shapes… let me tell you, it isn’t effortless! Smooth requires constant, complete muscular strength from your core, your back, your legs, your arms, your neck… there’s not a second to rest. In Latin, you can use your joints and inertia quite a bit… in Smooth, it’s all muscle. It’s exhausting. But also fantastically fun!!!
Ballroom dancing competitions are a great way to test your stamina, your confidence and your resolve. It takes a lot of guts to get out there and compete, but the rewards are tremendous. Don’t worry about the scores or anything else. Just celebrate the experience, enjoy the moment and have a BLAST!!!
Think good thoughts for me… I’m competing TONIGHT!!! 
