Blues Elements Workshop Details - 7/29 & 8/5
Miles Cohen
Thursday 7/29 & Thursday 8/5 at U-Studios
---------------------------------------------------
Important Registration Information
Week 1 and week 2 are two independent classes, sold separately. To register,
head to
http://blueselements.eventbrite.com/
and select which night you'd like to attend, or register twice to attend
both nights.
---------------------------------------------------
Motivation for Blues Elements
Dancing and learning how to dance are two very different beasts. When
learning to dance we seek out principles by which to judge ourselves. Once
we understand these principles intellectually, we can then judge our dancing
and make corrections in real-time. With sufficient practice, we can
internalize these principles and reduce the cognitive effort required to
reach our own expectations.
When dancing- truly dancing- we suspend judgment completely, throwing our
expectations to the wind. Instead, we divert our attention to the present
moment, watching it unfold in front of us. Dancing is a time to revel at
what our bodies are capable of, to become impulsive, and free.
If dancing is so different from learning, then why do both? If you are
anything like us, you catch glimpses of what it might mean to truly dance.
These glimpses are what keep us coming back for more, but they do not last.
Too often we are interrupted by the realization that we are not everything
we can be, the self-judgments kick back in, and we go back to feeding our
hunger to learn more. Fortunately this cycle actually works! For one thing,
learning is rewarding in its own right even if the process is not nearly as
mystical. Second, by learning more, confidence increases, and it becomes
easier to dance for its own sake.
As teachers, we are aware of an amazing breadth of knowledge about blues
dancing. There are multiple elements of blues dance, and each element is
composed of many principles, techniques, and concepts. It normally takes
students a long time to become aware of this breadth of knowledge. Even
then, the nature of the various blues elements is such that the more you
focus on one element, the easier it is to lose sight of others. For example,
the more you focus on incorporating complex rhythms, the harder it is keep a
good connection with your partner. The more creative you are, the harder it
is to keep good posture and frame. As you learn more complex vocabulary,
incorporating more elements into your dance, the easier it is to forget
about floor craft, or pulse. Thus, even if we can master an element today,
something we learn tomorrow may cause us to circle back and re-master that
element once again.
In order to gain mastery over our dancing, we must learn to turn a critical
eye on ourselves, allowing us to understand just which elements could use
improving the most. With this understanding, we can seek out more
information and then practice techniques that will replace our weaknesses
with strengths. However, before we can become self-directed learners in this
way, we must learn the principles, techniques, and concepts that that make
up each element so that we can know where to begin.
This Blues Elements workshop is the crash course for the self-directed
learner. We don't expect you to become masters of all the elements after
only four hours of instruction. Instead the goal of these two nights is to
give you the tools you'll need in order to improve your own dancing. These
tools will be useful not just now or in two months from now, but for the
rest of your dance career.
---------------------------------------------------
Instructors
Miles Cohen, Heather Kraft, Lessa Lamb, Jared Requa, Karen Smith, Amanda
Wanner
---------------------------------------------------
What to expect
On each night we will cover half of the blues elements. Using both rooms of
U-Studios, sutdents will rotate in small groups through "stations" devoted
to each element. One or two teachers will run a station, and will provide
mini-lessons devoted their element. Students should expect to learn the set
of principles and concepts related to each element. We will then cement that
knowledge by observing one another and helping each other discover which
elements need the most work.
---------------------------------------------------
Location
A map can be found at
http://www.bluesprogressions.com/BackAlleyBlues_location.htm
Directions from I-5:
* Exit 169 at NE 45th St
* Head East
* Turn right on University Way NE
* Turn left on NE 43rd St
* Parking lot on the left ($3 after 6:00 PM)
* From parking lot, walk North in the alley way towards NE 45th St
* U-Studios looks like a little house on the left with a tree in front
Free street parking may also be available within a few blocks from the
studio.
---------------------------------------------------
This event is produced by http://www.bluesprogressions.com
Richard Smallwood
OLD email address: rsmal...@seanet.com
NEW: rsma...@gmail.com
Thank you.
Richard Smallwood
rsma...@gmail.com
206-633-0700
===============================
---------------------------------------------------
Important Registration Information
http://blueselements.eventbrite.com/
---------------------------------------------------
Motivation for Blues Elements
---------------------------------------------------
Instructors
---------------------------------------------------
What to expect
---------------------------------------------------
Location
---------------------------------------------------
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Seattle Blues Announce" group, for staying posted about
special Blues and Blues Dance events around Seattle.
To post to this group, send email to
seattle-blu...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
seattle-blues-ann...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/seattle-blues-announce?hl=en
Ari Levitt
This is part of a 16 night series of wonderful music and dance in four of Seattle's downtown parks. And it's all FREE!
Tuesday's Lineup...
6-7pm: "Walking" Blues Dance Lesson, with Ari & Whitney
7-9pm: Enjoy a delicious mix of Blues, Swing and more....
~Getting there-
Westlake Park- directly to the South and across the street from Westlake Center in the heart of the retail district- It's the park with the walk-through fountain! 401 Pine Street.
~Parking is street or lot parking. Arrive a bit before 6pm for easier parking. Better yet, bike, carpool or take a bus!
~Information- For all the information about all the bands, instructors, maps to guide you and more go to http://www.danceforjoy.biz/dancetildusk10.html
~In the event of inclement weather, call the Dancing 'til Dusk weather hotline for cancellation news- 206-264-5646
Hope to see you there,
:) Ari