[NEohioPAL] Dance workshops at the Brecksville Center for the Arts for people with all levels of dance experience

[Valerie Salstrom]

Some workshops focus on solo swing dancing and some workshops focus on partnered swing dancing. You do NOT need to sign up with a partner for any of the workshops as we rotate partners in class.  However, if you bring a dance partner and do not want to rotate that is fine too. However, your dancing will improve the most if you dance with a variety of people. 

Most workshops are for dancers of all experience levels, including none. The only exceptions are the Dec. 7th Balboa workshops. 

Students are free to choose the role they want to learn for any of the workshops and we encourage people to learn their non-primary role. 

Dress in comfy clothes that make you feel good about yourself. Be ready to shed a layer of clothing as the room will heat up a bit. Wear shoes that allow you to pivot and spin easily. Heels are not recommended for most classes. 

During the lessons, please push yourself as much or as little as you would like and take breaks when you need them. We respect your choices.

These workshops are open to everyone regardless of age, fitness level, size, gender, etc.  We welcome you to join us and experience all of the fun you can have while swing dancing.


Register through BCA at www.BrecksvilleArts.org

For more information on the classes or dance styles, please email or call Valerie at info at GetHepSwing.com or call 216-374-1927.


Balboa Workshops with guest instructors Ann Sychterz, Connor Cole, and Desiree Roffers

Sat, Dec. 7 - 1-2:15 Rhythm That Sparkles (Int & up) - Ann & Connor $15
Musically-inspired rhythms for leaders and followers that secretly teach individual and partner technique

Sat, Dec. 7 - 2:30-3:45 Turning A New Leaf (Int & up) - Ann & Connor $15
Exploring balance, lesser-used connection scenarios and a touch of flare

Sat, Dec. 7 - 5-6:15 Flowy, Fancy, Out & Ins (must know out & ins) - Desiree $15  
Find your own “flow” in this class by refining and peppering your outs and ins. Learn swoops and rhythmic variations to add pizzaz to your outs and ins. Outs and ins will become your new best Bal-Swing friend!

Sat, Dec. 7 - 6:30-7:45 Footwork (Int & up) - Desiree $15
Come explore your feet! Explore how footwork can help your develop your own personal style in Balboa. Try using different parts of your foot, a variety of accents, and unconventional rhythm to add your voice to Balboa.

Sun, Dec. 8 - 1-3:15 Understanding Relative Placement - Valerie $30
Relative placement is the scoring system used by 99.9% of swing dance events. As a competitor, event organizer, judge, competition coordinator, or spectator it can be really important to understand the theory behind relative placement and how it works in the real world. Most events use a program to compute the scores but, it can be extremely helpful to know how to hand score a competition. How many judges should you have for a competition? What rules can/should you follow when a tie happens? What are head judges used for? In this class we will be hand scoring several competitions that have already happened (some will be tricky.) We will also be watching videos of competitions, judging them, and doing hand scoring. Get a glimpse into what happens on the other side of dance events.  

Sun, Dec. 8 - 3:30-4:45  Tap for swing dancers - Dani & Liz $15
Another dance form intricately tied with jazz music, tap dance arose in the same time and from many of the same influences as Charleston and Lindy Hop, making it a perfect dance to blend with your swing! Work on footwork, balance, and rhythm variations to inject into your swing dancing. No tap shoes required.

Mon, Dec. 9 - 6:45- 9 Trickeration Line Dance - Corrie & Dani $30
The Trickeration routine as it was taught by the legendary Lindy dancer Miss Norma Miller, is a routine that Norma "borrowed" from the chorus dancers at Harlem's Apollo theatre probably in the mid to late 1930's. Norma would use the routine similarly to the way tap dancers use the BS chorus, to fill in spaces in her choreography and as a go to for classic Jazz steps. She used it as an audition piece for the Norma Miller dancers and also used pieces of this intermixed with other Lindy and Jazz choreography. Norma referred to this routine as "the last example of the great true jazz done by the chorus girls of Harlem" and it has earned its rightful place in the cannon of iconic jazz dances associated with our beloved legends of the Savoy and Harlem. It is most often danced to the song “Jive At Five.”

Wed, Dec. 11 - 6:45- 9 "Dancers" Techniques for Swing Dancers - Dani $30
Tips, tricks, and exercises for balance, weight changes, spinning, turning, body awareness, stretching, etc... Doing what you already know but better, faster, stronger! Suitable for swing dancers of all levels and styles - everything comes with modifications to adjust the difficulty up or down, and no partner required. Dani Dowler has spent her entire life and formal education studying and doing a multitude of dance forms. Learn from a true professional!

Sat, Dec. 14 - 1-3:15 Connection & Teamwork. Less me, more we - Lo & Tina $30
Learn some theories and partnered exercises that will get you thinking quicker on your feet, feeling comfortable with working with what you get/matching, having more patience with yourself and your partner, appreciating that less is more, learning proper pacing, and so much more. Spending two hours focused on connection and teamwork will immensely help your dancing no matter what styles of swing you do.
Hybrid Dance & Musicality Classes with Adam Lee

Sat, Dec. 14 - 4:30-5:45 Finding the Form. Common musical structures $15
This class examines the common musical structures found within most swing era music (AABA, ABAC, 12 Bar Blues) and targets not only how to hear and identify that form but also uses some basic approaches for altering your dancing to  fit that from

Sat, Dec. 14 - 6-7:15 Listening to the Levels. Growing listening skills for swing music $15
This class focuses on finding the different things that are happening in swing music, particularly big band swing, and using those critical listening skills to alter your dance textures and respond to different elements of the music.
Subtopics include instrumental sections and their interplay, call and response, instrumental dexterity, and more.

Sun, Dec. 15 - 1-2:15 Doin' The Jive Line Dance - Tricia $15
This fun, modern routine was choreographed by Kelly Porter, Joshua Welter, and Michael Faltesek and is most often done to the song “Doin The Jive” by the Careless Lovers.

Mon, Dec. 16 - 6:45-8 6:45-8 St. Louis Shag Crash Course - Corrie & Valerie $15
St. Louis Shag was developed in the 1930s and is said to have originated from earlier 8 count dances like side-by-side Charleston. The dance is characteristically done in closed position, in place, with partners mirroring steps, and with a variety of kicks and stomps. These factors make the dance well suited for medium to faster tempo music and it is often done to jump blues and boogie boogie.

Mon, Dec. 16 - 8:05-9:20 Collegiate Shag Crash Course - Corrie & Valerie $15
Collegiate Shag is a bouncy partnered dance done primarily to uptempo swing and pre-swing jazz music. It is believed that the dance originated within the African-American community of the Carolinas in the 1920s, later spreading across the United States during the 1930s. Shag has had a huge resurgence in the past few years and is enthusiastically danced by swing enthusiasts worldwide. In this workshop you will quickly learn all of the basic Collegiate Shag moves and moves that are specifically unique to Collegiate Shag. Be aware that this style of swing dance has a lot of pulse/bounce and can be a more intense aerobic work out. Wearing shoes with a bit more support may be a good choice. This class is not recommended for students with back or knee issues

Tues, Dec. 17 6:45- 9 - A Mozambican Inspiration. African Dance Routine - Chisomo & Alexis $30
This routine has been named “A Mozambican Inspiration” because it was choreographed in honor of Mozambican Afro-Swing dancer, Eugenio Junior Joaquim. The first half of the routine was choreographed by Eugenio and the second half was choreographed between Alexis Davila and Chisomo Selemani. This routine includes movement styles that are popular in Southern Africa.  Come and join us, learn about Mozambique and Zambia through dance, song, and story-telling.  This class is open to dancers of all experience levels and everyone is welcome to attend.

Wed, Dec. 18 6:45- 9 - Balifornia Routine Refresher - Amanda & Valerie $30
This workshop is for anyone who has previously learned the Balifornia Routine and needs a refresher, wants help with specific transitions, and/or wants to hone in on the details of certain parts of the routine. We will also be running the routine many times from the beginning until the end to multiple songs at a variety of tempos. For this class, we expect you to know the routine, know the moves, and at least kind of remember the order of the moves. This workshop is meant to polish up what you know so that you can be as perfect as possible. 


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