Coordinator’s Note:
Michael & Jaya will be
teaching the beginner/novice swing dance classes all week, both in
the morning and afternoon, except for the Tuesday and Thursday
afternoon classes only, when the beginner students will get a
chance to work with Joel and Alison. The dance teachers and I
thought it would be nice for ALL of the dance students to get a
chance to work with ALL of the dance teachers, at least a little
bit during the week. -WB
Michael
and Jaya
are prolific instructors of a wide variety of swing dance styles,
and have been traveling the country for 8 years now developing
their original class programs which specialize in Lindy Hop,
Charleston, Pre-Lindy Hop Dances, Vernacular Jazz, and Blues.
For our
students in the Novice to Beginner Track
- We will be working with you on what we consider to be the "core"
material of swing dance, with a strong emphasis on Lindy Hop
patterns and technique. The bulk of our time will be spent
learning "moves and tools" for social dancing with good technique,
classic repertoire, and original styling. Some dance experience is
very helpful, but not absolutely necessary. We will learn both 6
and 8 count rhythms, how to combine both with Charleston, to to
effectively navigate between different rhythms in a social dance,
and how to make everything "feel good" and stay interesting at the
same time. We will also be working with you to create a simple and
fun performance piece for exhibition during the student showcases
at the end of the week. The other instructor pair, Joel & Alison,
will be working with you on Blues and Balboa - dances that are
distinct from Lindy Hop are considered to be an important part of
contemporary social swing dancing.
Because this camp will be absolutely full of music, expect to be
totally immersed in social dancing! Having nothing to do for a
week except to work on dance, absorb music, and have a great time
- this is what has us so excited about this event, and why we are
recommending it to everyone we know. Hope to see you this summer!