The two workshops described below are designed to exponentially improve your WCS & Hustle dancing and knowledge of dance in one day!

We’re not talking about one new move for one specific dance, instead we will be using refined dance principles to get you spinning faster, moving more efficiently and leading / following WCS & Hustle at a higher level.

Workshops will focus on physical geometry, body placement, and muscle use resulting in an observable, immediate change in your dance ability.

I'm bringing some of my friends (3 women and 1 guy) from the dance studios in New York.  They are professional ballet dancers but they are brand new to WCS and Hustle.  It will be fascinating to see how they use body placement and their training to pick up a new dance style.  Observing  their use of physical geometry will give attendees the opportunity to emulate their technique.

An amazing dinner, prepared by Tom Johnson, will be served between workshops.  The evening will culminate with a party of West Coast Swing and Hustle and a contemporary ballet performance by my friends and me.  I have choreographed one of them and Anna Brady has choreographed the other two.

We hope to see you there!,
Erik

6:30 - 7:30 Technical West Coast Swing: 
Stop looking like a civilian….start looking like a dancer!!! What’s so special about an anchor step? Is the torso forward or back? Is the standing leg straight? Is the lead/follow arm bent? What about the other arm? What causes balance problems while turning? There is a technique that is the foundation for all Dance. The professionals understand this but rarely teach it because it’s perceived as “boring”. Technique is only unimportant if you don’t care how you look or how you feel. Start discovering the nuances that you didn’t even know mattered. This class if for the day-1 beginner who wants to accelerate their learning-curve and for the instructor who wants to add a technical aspect to their teaching.

7:30 - 8:00 Homemade Gourmet Meal: 
To Be Determined -- it will be quick and excellent (trust me!)

8:00 - 9:00 Technical Hustle: 
There’s a reason it’s called Hustle……it moves fast! Hustle is one of the most dynamic of all the social dances. Although it peaks musically at about 130 beats per minute, Hustle patterns are based in 3 beat increments allowing approx. 43 patterns per minute. Even though Lindy Hop tempo is faster at 210 beats per minute, because it is based in 8 beat increments it only allows 26 patterns per minute. For a dance this dynamic, superb dance technique is required. Old-school dancers have utilized the push-pull method to avoid this challenge and accommodate for the speed. We’ll show you how to use physical geometry, body placement and muscle use to create the hip torque and body-flight required in this dance. This class is perfect for a day-1 beginner looking to get started in hustle and for the instructor who wants to up their game in a dance that has few true masters.

9:00 - 1:00  WC Swing & Hustle Party
(10:15 pm: Contemporary Performance by Ballet Professionals -- An Unusual Treat)

Circle of Life Dance Hall
East Hartford Cultural Center
50 Chapman Place
East Hartford, CT
(5 min from downtown Hartford)
Click here for directions
from I-91N, from I-91S
from I-84, from Route 2

More Info at
 www.DanceGourmet.com

Synopsis  is here

Meet The Dancers