Safety, Swingtastics, Salsa Social, Contra, Milonga, Waltz Brunch, Afternoon Dance

Published: Fri, 02/17/17

Gainesville Ocala Swing and Social Dance Newsletter 2017-02-17

Swingtastics, Salsa Social, Contra, Milonga, Waltz Brunch, Afternoon Dance

Hello and Gainesville Ocala Social Dancers,

For some thoughts on Safety, Courtesy and Comfort in your dancing, see the article below.

Three full days of dancing this weekend, with two dances each day.

Friday night dress in Black and White for the Swingtastics at Rena's Ballroom from 8 to 11 pm. $15 at the door, $12 in advance.

Later Friday night at 10 pm is Salsa Mundial Monthly Social at the Movement.

Saturday night is the monthly evening Contra Dance at the Boltin Center at 7 pm, with Waltzing at 5:45.

Also Saturday night is the elegant Milonga at Thuy's, only one block from the Contra Dance. For details, contact David, david.chayes@gmail.com

The Vintage Waltz Brunch is Sunday at 10:30 am at Rena's Ballroom, $10. In the afternoon is Rena's Monthly Sunday Best Dance at 2:30, $10.

Dancing with Andy

We have two weeks left in our current series. We will take a one week break the week of March 6. March 13 we will start a three week series on Mondays and Thursdays. April 3 we will start a six week series on Mondays and Thursdays.

Schedule

Mondays February 20 week 4 of 5
5:30 pm Hustle
6:30 pm Lindy Style Swing
7:30 pm Israeli Dancing

Thursdays February 23 week 5 of 6
6 pm Argentine Tango
7 pm Salsa
8 pm West Coast Swing

Cost per person includes all dances on that night
- $40 for all 4 evenings
- $15 per night drop-in, or

If you are dancing somewhere else, or you are student age, or financial considerations are keeping you from joining us, contact me for discounted pricing.

West Coast Performance - www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlc2tZ5xrZ4
Boogie Woogie - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne-0zc-pGr8
Wow, this girl is something else - www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg6Xi7-kjRY

Happy Dancing,
Andy

publish@gainesvilledance.com
352-327-3672

Safety, Courtesy and Comfort

Normally when we start a new series, there are some preliminaries. In our current series, we jumped right into dancing without those formalities, so here are some of the most important. (You can skip to the bottom Points to Remember to save yourself some time)

Safety first - do not hurt yourself or others

In my Line Dancing class, most people start out following by looking at my feet. Trying to dance while watching someone's feet is dangerous. The most important skill in dancing is balance. Balance is between the ears. When you look down, you compromise your balance. People have fallen. There is no falling in dancing.

I have seen many women fall to the floor in Swing dancing. One time, I saw two women sitting on the floor side by side after both had fallen. I have never seen a guy fall at Swing dancing. Why do women fall and not men? Men have superior balance, of course.

Uh, no

Women fall, because men are throwing the women off balance, by pushing and pulling the women around.

Remember the Law of Balance, everyone maintains their own balance.

I was always a gentle leader, but back in the day, before I knew the Law of Balance, I was Swing dancing with a woman who was a great dancer. I gave her a little nudge to turn. Due to the timing, her feet were positioned in such a way, that my nudge made her stumble. She almost fell to the floor. I was mortified.

There is no pushing and pulling in social dancing. Not even a little. Everyone does their own dancing. Everyone moves their own body parts.

Leaders invite the follower, not coerce.

If your follower is not doing what you want her to do, lead what you will, but enjoy what you get. Appreciate the creativity.

By resisting the temptation to push and pull, you will learn how to use your body to manipulate space to communicate with your partner. You know, it is like dancing. Cool.

Courtesy - be respectful

The most important thing about courtesy is do not tell anyone else what to do.

At a West Coast Swing dance, a new guy walked in who did not know how to dance. Judi Markel, the teacher, dragged him onto the dance floor. She did not try to teach him how to dance. She matched what he did. She saw that he had a good time. To see that kind of graciousness is a beautiful thing. To me, that is what social dancing is about.

Do not ask, do not tell.

If you want to help someone, get better at your own dancing. Learn how to dance with people regardless of how they dance. Whether you are a follower or leader, if you are dancing with someone that is not doing things the way you think they should, take that opportunity to learn how to dance with someone who dances the way that person does.

Comfort - be physically and emotionally comfortable

You go social dancing for hours at a time, often multiple days a week. You need to be physically and emotionally comfortable.

Everyone gets stressed out at times social dancing. Social dancing is challenging, which is one of the reasons why we love to dance.

In my scuba diving class, the instructor taught us the acronym STOP, which saved me on my first open water dive in Belize.

If you get stressed out, the first thing to do is to Stop whatever you are doing. Whatever you are doing is stressing you out. So stop. Calm down. Let the stress hormones clear your system.

Once you have de-stressed, the rest of the acronym stands for Think, Observe, Proceed.

If something affects your Safety, Courtesy or Comfort, tell your partner what they can do to help you feel comfortable. I have a shoulder injury, so if someone is pushing or pulling on me, I tell them. Your partner wants you to feel comfortable. They want you to tell them how they can help you feel comfortable.

They do not want you to tell them how to be a better dancer, even if they ask, at least not in someone else's class. If they come up to you after class and ask you to teach them, then they want to hear from you. If they only ask you during class, then they are approval seeking.

Points to Remember
- No pushing and pulling
- No telling other people what to do, except
- Tell your partner what they can do to make you feel comfortable

BTW: These are from my book on How to Dance with a Partner.

Gainesville and Ocala Dance Calendar

Gainesville and Ocala Dance Calendar

Dance Quotes

One person with a belief is equal to a force of 99 who have only interests. ~ John Stuart Mill, 1806-1873

Dance Schedule

Confirm all programs before going

  1. Friday 2/17 - Swingtastics Dance at Rena's Ballroom
  2. Saturday 2/18 - Argentine Tango Milonga at Thuy's
  3. Saturday 2/18 - Contra Dance
  4. Sunday 2/19 - Vintage Waltz Brunch
  5. Sunday 2/19 - Rena's Sunday Best
  6. Sunday 2/19 - Baila Caliente
  7. Sunday 2/19 - UF Argentine Tango Class
  8. Sunday 2/19 - West Coast Swing in Ocala
  9. Monday 2/20 - Hustle, Lindy Swing aand Israeli with Andy 4 of 5
  10. Monday 2/20 - Bachata and Salsa with Baila Caliente
  11. Tuesday 2/21 - Ballroom Dancing with Ray and Eileen
  12. Tuesday 2/21 - Swing N Motion with Robert
  13. Tuesday 2/21 - Salsa with Salsa Mundial
  14. Wednesday 2/22 - Baila Caliente Bachata and Salsa
  15. Wednesday 2/22 - West Coast Swing
  16. Thursday 2/23 - Line Dancing at the Senior Center with Andy 1 of 4
  17. Thursday 2/23 - Argentine Tango, West Coast Swing, Salsa with Andy 5 of 6
  18. Thursday 2/23 - Ballroom Dancing with Ray and Eileen - International Rumba
  19. Thursday 2/23 - Salsa and Bachata with Salsa Mundial
  20. Thursday 2/23 - Swing N Motion with Robert
  21. Saturday 2/25 - Ballroom Dance Party
  22. Saturday 3/04 - West Coast Swing Dance with Josh Angel
  23. Sunday 3/05 - Contra Dance
  24. Friday 3/10 - Contra Dance in Melrose
  25. Saturday 3/11 - Argentine Tango Milonga El Abrazo

Ongoing Dancing

Classes with Andy

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

  1. Israeli Dancing on Mondays at 7:15 pm, Israeli Partner Dancing at 8:15 pm, at B'nai Israel, 3830 NW 16 Blvd, only $5, drop in, no sign up required, ongoing.
  2. Line Dancing on Thursdays at noon at the Senior Center, sign up via SFC, ongoing.
  3. Beginning Argentine Tango Dancing. Check when next series starts.
  4. Beginning Salsa Dancing. Check when next series starts.
  5. Beginning Lindy-style Swing Dancing. Check when next series starts.
  6. Beginning West Coast Swing Dancing. Check when next series starts.
  7. West Coast Swing on Mondays at around 6 pm, at B'nai Israel, 3830 NW 16 Blvd, $15 per person, includes Israeli Dancing, let me know if interested
  8. Private Lessons, classes for Novice Dancers, Social Dancing, Wedding Dances, Argentine Tango, Contra, Hustle, Lindy, Line, Salsa, West Coast Swing, Vintage Waltz, other, contact Andy

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