To Move Your Hips, Or Not Move Your Hips, That is the Question, Swing, Contra, Salsa, Waltz, Swing and Sway

Published: Fri, 04/17/15

Gainesville Ocala Swing and Social Dance Newsletter 2015-04-17

To Move Your Hips, Or Not Move Your Hips, That is the Question, Swing, Contra, Salsa, Waltz, Swing and Sway

Hello and Gainesville Ocala Social Dancers,

You are in for a great weekend of dancing.

Friday night at the Movement is West Coast Swing with professional dancer Agnieszka Mazlanka. Also Friday night, the UF Swing Club holds their Spring Formal at the Unified Training Center.

Saturday night is the monthly Contra Dance at the Boltin Center. Also Saturday night, Salsa Caliente has a workshop and dance at the Unified Training Center (confirm with them, check the dance calendar for contact info).

Sunday is the Vintage Waltz Brunch and an Afternoon Dance with Swing Sway.

Next Wednesday is Josh's 4th Wednesday West Coast Swing and Country Western Dance Social at the Movement.

To Move Your Hips, Or Not Move Your Hips, That is the Question

In school, I argued with my teachers mercilessly. My Dad used to say to me, "The teachers look for a reason to give your sister an A and you a B. If she has a B+, they give her an A. If you have anything less than an A+, they give you a B." In my dance sessions, you can argue with me, though it may have to wait until after class so as not to affect others. I do not mind you arguing with me, probably because I like to argue.

On the other hand, my basketball coach used to say, "When I tell you something, do it. No excuses." He was not interested in arguing. Even if you had a good excuse for what you did, he did not care. He was not criticizing you for what you did. He wanted you to learn for the future. The burden was on you to learn from what he was telling you. In one game, our star player got the ball in the middle of the court. When you get the ball in that position, you are supposed to dribble down the middle and the other guys are supposed to fill the wings, so when you get close to the basket, the guy in the center can pass you the ball cutting to the basket. I was on the side and took off down the wing. This is what we had practiced countless times, but our star player panicked a little and threw me the ball on the wing, something he was not supposed to do and something that had never happened in practice. I was not looking at him, since I was filling the wing, and the ball hit me in the back. The embarrassment did not bother me, but getting yanked from the game did. I still think it was unfair to get yanked, but over the next twenty plus years of playing basketball, I never took my eye off the ball again.

When my dance teacher was out of town, I visited another teacher on the same day as another guy from my class. Neither of us ever argue with our dance teacher and I did not argue with this other one either, but I was surprised when my friend did. When she corrected him, he said to her, "You are not following me, other ladies do." I thought, if he argues with her, he is not going to learn anything from her. She will stop correcting him. People do not like correcting you. It is not fun. When you find somebody willing to do so, you do not want to discourage them from doing so.

The other day, while walking around the room, my dance teacher asked my why I was not doing something we were learning in class. I said to her, "You know I do not like to lead with my hands." She knows I have a shoulder injury, so she stopped class and told all the ladies that there was no pushing and pulling. She went to each of them, and one at a time, told them all what they were doing was too hard until they got it right. Then she came back to me and asked me how was it the way she did it. I said, "That was fine," which it was. Even when it is not as overt as this, your dance teachers are looking out for you.

One of the ladies in my swing class grew up with Latin music. When she was dancing with me, I said, "those are salsa hips, not swing".

She asked, "Should I not move my hips and just keep them straight?"

I replied, "Well it is not swing, but none of the guys you dance with are going to complain about the way you move your hips."

In the end, the burden is on you to learn what you will and to answer the question, to move your hips or not.

Happy Dancing,
Andy

publish@gainesvilledance.com
352-327-3672

Gainesville and Ocala Dance Calendar

www.DanceCalendar.info/u/event.asp?idarea=19

Note: if you do not see the calendar in color, click the compatibility view in your browser. In Internet Explorer, press alt-t, then check Compatibility View.

Dance Quotes

You learn more quickly under the guidance of experienced teachers. You waste a lot of time going down blind alleys if you have no one to lead you. - W. Somerset Maugham, 1874-1965

Dance Schedule

Confirm all programs before going

  1. Friday 4/17 - West Coast Swing Dance Social with Agnieszka Mazlanka
  2. Saturday 4/18 - Contra Dance
  3. Saturday 4/18 - Salsa Caliente Bash
  4. Sunday 4/19 - Swing and Sway Afternoon Dance
  5. Sunday 4/19 - Vintage Waltz Brunch
  6. Monday 4/20 - Israeli Dancing with Andy
  7. Tuesday 4/21 - Ballroom with Ray and Eileen
  8. Tuesday 4/21 - Salsa LA Style with Ritmo Y Sabor
  9. Tuesday 4/21 - Salsa Caliente
  10. Tuesday 4/21 - Swing N Motion with Robert
  11. Wednesday 4/22 - West Coast Swing Dance Social with Josh
  12. Thursday 4/23 - Line Dancing with Andy at the Senior Center Week 3 of 6
  13. Thursday 4/23 - Salsa LA Style
  14. Thursday 4/23 - Swing N Motion with Robert
  15. Thursday 4/23 Swing Dancing for Beginners 3 of 6
  16. Saturday 4/25 - Ballroom Dance with Ray and Eileen
  17. Saturday 4/25 - Tango Y Te with David and Thuy
  18. Friday 5/01 - Argentine Tango Milonga Papirusa
  19. Saturday 5/02 - West Coast Swing Dance Party
  20. Sunday 5/03 - Contra Dance
  21. Wednesday 5/06 - West Coast Swing with Judi
  22. Friday 5/08 - Contra Dance in Melrose
  23. Saturday 5/09 - Argentine Tango Milonga El Abrazo with Live Music

Ongoing Dancing

Classes with Andy

To sign up for classes offered via Santa Fe College Community Education (SFC) call Jennifer 352-395-5193 or visit www.sfcollege.edu/cied/communityed

  1. Israeli Dancing at 7:15 pm, Israeli Partner Dancing at 8 pm, on Mondays at B'nai Israel, 3830 NW 16 Blvd, only $5, drop in, no sign up required, ongoing.
  2. Line Dancing on Tuesdays at 6 pm at Hawthorne High School, sign up via SFC. Next series starts April 7, 2015
  3. Line Dancing on Thursdays at noon at the Senior Center, sign up via SFC, ongoing. Next series starts March 5, 2015
  4. Slow Partner Dancing for beginners on Tuesdays at 7 pm at Hawthorne High School, sign up via SFC. Next series starts Arpil 7, 2015
  5. Swing Dancing for Beginners on Thursdays at 6 pm at Gainesville High School, sign up via SFC, ongoing. Next series starts April 9, 2015
  6. Lindy Swing Dancing for people with some experience on Thursdays at 7:10 pm at Gainesville High School, sign up via SFC, ongoing. Next series starts April 9, 2015
  7. West Coast Swing Dancing at 6 pm on Mondays near Fresh Market, semi-private, $15, contact me to attend
  8. Private Lessons, classes for Novice Dancers, Wedding Dances, also for Argentine Tango, Contra, Hustle, Lindy, Line, West Coast Swing, Vintage Waltz contact Andy

Thank you for subscribing to the Gainesville Dance swing and social dance newsletter. I also publish a newsletter called Internet Handholding which you can subscribe to at www.InternetHandholding.com. My other business is Internet and computer consulting. Contact me if you need help with the Internet, with anything from websites, marketing your business online, email newsletter, selling on Amazon or Ebay, publishing books, to software development and so on.

Follow Gainesville and Ocala dancing on

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=276987733518
www.twitter.com/GainesvilleDanc

You can find the Gainesville Ocala Israeli and Folk Dancing newsletter here
www.GainesvilleDance.com/Newsletters

Disclaimer: Bronze Inc. provides this free email newsletter service. Bronze is a for profit business and may get compensated for services and products mentioned here and on Bronze websites.

Copyright (c) 2014 to present by Bronze Inc. Gainesville, FL
www.GainesvilleDance.com - Gainesville Ocala dancing

www.HarmonyDancing.com - How to Dance with a Partner using the first, only and simplest method for communicating every step in every dance unambiguously

You may forward, print or post any part of this email provided you include this copyright notice. All other rights reserved. Contact us for other uses.

Andrew Weitzen, publish@gainesvilledance.com, 352-327-3672, Gainesville, FL