We started the day early at 10am at Leaside Curling Club. We had the entire arena to ourselves and curling instructors to show us the ropes. It was fun to see the helpers try something so new and unusual and after everyone got used to the slippery ice it was smooth sailing. We definitely have some natural born curlers in the group!

After the lesson and tournament everyone headed to Empress Studio for a special salsa workshop with Gen & Young of Korikoa. They learned a fun combination with styling and, in teams, created a short routine and performed it to the group.

After all this exercise the group was hungry so we headed down to Ichiban Sushi House for a great Japanese lunch.

Thanks to everyone who came out and participated. I am running out of unique activities so send me an email if you have an idea for our next outing!!

The post End-of-Fall Helper Recognition Outing! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

We have a level 2 student named Prakash who recently wrote an article about how people can improve neuro skills and he listed dancing as his top 5 item. He recommends salsa dancing and TDS to learn. Check out the article on the website examiner.com

Top 5 tips to exercise your brain

Mental stimulation improves brain function and actually protects against cognitive decline, as does physical exercise. Most age-related losses in memory or motor skills simply result from inactivity and a lack of mental exercise and stimulation. In short, use it or lose it.

By constantly participating in activities that you have not done before, you train your brain to go into uncharted territories, and pick up new skills. Health, or for that matter, anything flourishes, when you focus on eliminating the weakest link. i.e you are as strong as your weakest link.

Here are the top 5 tips for actively engaging your brain and in the process having fun too:

1. Break routine
Use your weaker hand to drive the computer mouse. Or try signing your name, or try punching in the phone numbers or brushing your teeth with your weaker hand. By doing it more often, you will be surprised how quickly your brain adapts!

2. Play games/sports
Any kind of new indoor or outdoor games that you haven’t played before. Or the latest craze – Sudoku. Sudoku rules are easy, and most websites carry free puzzles that you can download, and print and take it with you on your ride to work. www.krazydad.com/puzzles is a good resource to go to.

3. Juggling
Juggling is my favorite way to get my brain, eyes and arms coordinate, balance and do acts that I thought I could never do! Get yourself a good set of Juggling balls to begin with. There are a lot of youtube videos that show step by step on how to start juggling. You can drop me an email, and I can teach you myself or pass on the links. One of the best places to get juggling gear is from www.higginsbrothers.com.

4. Play a musical instrument
Learn a musical instrument. Anything that you always wanted to play. When I started learning the piano, getting the fingers and the brain tuned to the next note to play, can be really challenging and at the same time fun. Practice makes us learn it eventually and we then go on to play complex notes, songs or start learning the next musical instrument!

5. Learn a dance form
Salsa, could be a great choice. New moves to learn, new partners to dance with, and a great cardiovascular workout at the same time! If you are in Toronto, I would highly recommend torontodancesalsa.ca.

Thanks Prakash for a great article!

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What is Zumba Fitness?

Founded by celebrity fitness trainer, “Beto” Perez, Zumba Fitness Classes Toronto fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a dynamic workout system that will blow you away. It’s an exhilarating workout of caloric-burning, heart-racing, muscle-pumping, and body-energizing movements meant to engage and captivate for life! The routines feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt your body while burning fat.

In the past years Zumba Fitness Classes have become nothing short of a revolution. Coining the concept of “fitness-party” and making fitness fun, Zumba has spread like wild-fire throughout North America. The routines feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms, and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt your body while burning fat. Add some Latin flavor and international zest into the mix and you’ve got Zumba Fitness!

Zumba Fitness Classes will get you grooving to Merengue, Salsa, Reggaeton, Cumbia, Bachata and Cha Cha Cha. The progressive level 1 class will start you with the basic footwork patterns and as the weeks progress, styling and fitness elements will be added to have you really working up a sweat! What are you waiting for? Join the party!

Join Tracie every Thursday 6-7pm from October 29th to December 10th at Empress for a high energy dance workout.

________________

New Belly Dance Beginner Class

What is Belly Dancing?

Belly Dance is a very sensual, fun past time and offers an excellent workout especially for the abdominal area. This ethnic dance which originated in the Middle East has different influences from regions such as Egypt, Africa, Lebanon, Turkey and more. Today it is enjoyed by dancers worldwide and is a popular form of entertainment and exercise as well as a great way to meet new friends and socialize.

Belly Dance has many social, mental and physical health benefits. Belly Dance classes promote better circulation and can reduce blood pressure, assist in joint health and act as a great cardiovascular exercise which burns calories, tones up and strengthens the body and assists with trimming up and getting fit.

The technique of belly dance varies with the type and style but most of the basics involve circular motions that, very similar to salsa body movement, isolate certain body parts such as hips, abs, shoulders, etc. The use of a coin belt or scarf tied around the hips assists with accenting and isolating the hips.

It is a misconception that men do not belly dance. Historically men have been very involved in this dance and we welcome males in our Toronto Belly Dance classes.
Join Laura from Arabesque every Monday or Wednesday from 6-7pm for Belly Dancing for Beginners at Empress.
Mon Oct 26 – Dec 21
Wed Oct 14 – Dec 9

The post New Belly Dance and Zumba Classes Just Posted! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Tracie Macko will be teaching a Ladies Intensive Salsa Styling & Conditioning Class on Tuesdays beginning June 9th from 7-9pm for 3 weeks at Empress Studio. This 3 week x 2 hour per class course is a great way to learn a lot of information quickly without the commitment of a full 9 week course at only $90 per person. This class is limited to women who have completed level 2 with us or with permission.

Registration is now open and is limited. Here is a description:

Whether you dance with an experienced or inexperienced dance partner, being strong in your centre and being able to use it to play and style more in your dance will make you a much better and happier dancer. Learn the basic rules of thumb for being a good follow, executing spins and turn patterns and incorporating fun and flirty styling to your dancing.

In the first hour of every class Tracie will lead you through core strength and flexibility conditioning exercises designed specifically for dancers. In hour two Tracie will lead you through technique exercises that will cover musicality and styling in both shines and partnerwork, following, spins and turn patterns. Please dress comfortably, bring a yoga mat and your dance shoes.

The post New Ladies Styling & Conditioning Class appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

First of all, make sure that you really have mastered what is being taught. Many times I will ask who aced the move I just taught and receive lots of confident yeses but when I walk around I see that there are gaps. So make sure you ask your partner what you can do to improve the lead or follow of the move, the timing of the move and the styling of the move. The person dancing with you can best gauge what areas you can work on and if you develop an honest rapport with your partner or fellow students, you will find the honest feedback is very useful.

If you do have extra time in class focus on the following areas:

1) Timing – really take the time to listen to the songs being played in the class and ensure that you are dancing to the right timing and keeping the consistent “quick, quick, slow” tempo. Count the beats and take the time to slow yourself down on the 4 and 8 to ensure proper rhythm

2) Body movement – are you moving your body while executing the move or are you just stepping? Start with your knees bending in the proper direction. This takes weeks, even months of perfecting to ensure your lower body is moving properly. Once you have the knees working properly which affect hips then you can move on to the rib cage isolation exercises to ensure you upper body moves also. Lastly, add the figure 8 to your rib cage and shoulders to get the final full body movement of the basic.

3) Styling – what can you do to make the move look better? Now that you have the right timing and the right body movement, are there arm or leg movements and additional styling techniques that you can add to the move to take it to a higher level?

With these 3 areas in mind, there should be plenty of work to do in class and when going out. Remember to only concentrate on one area at a time so that you can really hone your skills!

The post Areas to Practice in Class! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

The next new class to be offered is the very famous Zumba Fitness Workout 5 week session. This is a high energy, fun cardiovascular exercise program that incorporates Latin dance footsteps, body movement and arm movement to get the heart pumping and the muscles working. No partner is required. Cost is $70 for 5 weeks and the class takes place on Wednesdays 5:45 – 6:45pm starting November 19th. Here are some more details regarding this program:

What is Zumba Fitness?
Founded by celebrity fitness trainer, “Beto” Perez, Zumba Fitness Classes Toronto fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a dynamic workout system that will blow you away. It’s an exhilarating workout of caloric-burning, heart-racing, muscle-pumping, and body-energizing movements meant to engage and captivate for life! The routines feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt your body while burning fat.

In the past years Zumba Fitness Classes have become nothing short of a revolution. Coining the concept of “fitness-party” and making fitness fun, Zumba has spread like wild-fire throughout North America. The routines feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms, and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt your body while burning fat. Add some Latin flavor and international zest into the mix and you’ve got Zumba Fitness!

Zumba Fitness Classes in Toronto will get you grooving to Merengue, Salsa, Reggaeton, Cumbia, Bachata and Cha Cha Cha. The progressive level 1 class will start you with the basic footwork patterns and as the weeks progress, styling and fitness elements will be added to have you really working up a sweat! What are you waiting for? Join the party!

Toronto Dance Salsa offers Zumba Fitness dance classes in Toronto for beginners. This five week introduction class will address all the basics of the dances including technique, footwork, arm movements, body movement and styling.

Our Zumba Fitness Toronto classes are taught by Tracie Macko. Here is Tracie’s bio:

Tracie Macko, Salsa and Zumba Instructor
Tracie first fell in love with salsa in 2002 at a club in her hometown of Winnipeg, MB. Moving to Toronto that same year, Tracie saw the diverse dance and performing arts community that Toronto had to offer and immediately immersed herself into the Latin dance social scene. She quickly obtained a position as a Salsa dance group and private class instructor at Soles Dance Studio, and was a main dance instructor there until Soles closed its doors in the summer of 2004.

Since then Tracie has continued on as a private On1 Salsa Dance instructor, and, in 2005, expanded her teaching into the world of dance fitness, teaching ‘Zumba Fitness’ and Salsa Cardio at various fitness facilities throughout the GTA. Tracie has also established herself as a creative, dedicated and energetic dance performer and choreographer, making appearances on numerous Toronto stages in a variety of dance genres, ranging from cabaret style jazz to Salsa to Afro-Brazilian and Samba. She is currently a performing member of The Dance Migration, The Orient Dance Company and Las Gatas Entertainment. She is also a “regular” on the social Salsa dancing scene, dancing both On1 and On2 at clubs in the Toronto area, and is known for her unique style that reflects her diverse dance background.
Click here to view our Zumba Fitness Workout Classes Toronto.

The post Zumba Fitness Class Just Posted! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Dancing with the baby boomers
(Posted Date: Thursday, October 16, 2008)

As our population ages and looks for new ways to stay fit, many are turning to dancing
By Brian Baker
DANCING THROUGH LIFE: Couples of all ages are learning how to cut a rug, thanks, in part, to the popularity of reality dancing shows like Dancing with the Stars.

Adding a little spring to your step helps to tap dance on the head of the stereotype that says you have to take it easy as you get older.

Dancing, whether it’s ballroom or Latin, is a great way to ease into physical activity without the intensive regimen of weight training, say experts and participants.

Automotive industry executive Tony Dobranowski and his wife Janice started taking ballroom dancing lessons in the spring and plan to continue this fall.

Their goal was to get out for a bit of exercise and develop some dancing skills, Dobranowski says. And he credits Dancing with the Stars for helping to motivate the pair.

The TV show has helped timid baby boomers picture themselves as the next Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers, says Sharon Galor, president and owner of Toronto Dance Salsa.

“I think (boomers) were hesitant a few years ago because it was still fairly underground and it was considered a young person’s dance,” she says. “Now you see Dancing with the Stars and you see people of all ages dancing — it’s not limited any more to young people. Everyone’s taking advantage of it.”

Galor, an avid Latin dancer for more than a decade, adds the show is a positive influence, since Marie Osmond, Steve Guttenberg, Jane Seymour and Susan Lucci — all baby boomers — have wowed audiences.

Besides popularity on television, dancing is a great low-impact way for older, less active people to stay in shape.

“First of all, it’s a cardiovascular exercise so you’re going to be sweating, you’re going to be getting the heart rate up,” she says. “You’re going to be using muscles in terms of toning, have the abs being worked, the hips being worked, and all the muscles in your arms and legs.

“So it’s a really good overall body workout, without being too hard on your body.”

Dancing also helps with coordination, reflexes and memory, Galor says.

“A lot of people come to us and the first few weeks they can’t remember any of the moves we teach them,” she says. “Usually by the end of the semester they’ve got the moves, they’re being able to put them together.”

Professors at York University’s School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences echo Galor’s dance floor observations.

But, associate professor Joe Baker says, there’s a pervasive stigma attached to getting older. And he wants to stomp out the negative stereotype that as we age we can’t be as physically active as we once were.

“Our big social push in the lab is to get more people physically active and to forget about the stereotypes of what it means to be an older person, because we are finding more and more that those stereotypes just aren’t accurate,” says Baker, who researches physical activity and aging at York.

His suggestion for those who are not as active is to get out and dance.

“Our general message is you need to be doing activities that will challenge the current state of your cognitive and physical functioning,” he says. “So if you are a baby boomer who hasn’t been that active in physical activity for the past couple of decades, dancing is a great way to start getting a little bit more exercise integrated into your lifestyle.”

More exercise means greater blood flow, which also benefits the most important organ of all: the brain.
“There’s mounting evidence that suggests any time you get your heart up and getting the blood flowing, it also flows to the brain,” Baker says. “And so the brain is getting more enriched with oxygen than if you were sitting on the couch.”

For Wendy Lavender, office manager and teacher at the William G. Pollock Dance Studio, the enjoyment of dancing is a lot simpler.

“Well, (dance lessons) get people up moving around the floor,” she says. “It’s a lot more social than somebody going to the gym and getting on a stationary bike.”

Pollock Dance Studio, in the Yonge and Davisville area, offers smooth dancing styles like the foxtrot, waltz and tango, and some more uptempo steps: rumba, cha-cha, merengue, swing and mambo.

Lavender, a dancer for 18 years, says plenty of boomer couples come into the studio because they have more free time to be together.

“They’re empty nesters now and they’re looking some time to spend with each other,” she says.

And it’s the ease of dancing that attracts Dobranowski even more.

“(Janice and I) have admired for a long time the ‘old smoothies’ who glided around the floor effortlessly,” he says, “and we were hoping we might be able to do the same.”

The post TDS Featured in Another Newspaper! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

“Salsa dancing can be a fun and effective exercise but if a U.K. study holds true, salsa dancing benefits may extend far beyond simple calorie burning. A recent study conducted in the United Kingdom showed that salsa dancing may be beneficial in lifting the mood of those who suffer from symptoms of depression.

In order to look more closely at salsa dancing benefits, a group of researchers in the U.K. recruited twenty-four volunteers previously diagnosed with depression to participate in a study to determine if salsa dancing could help relieve the symptoms of depression. The volunteers were given a standardized written depression evaluation before the salsa dancing classes began. The volunteers then participated in eight one hour salsa dancing classes over a nine week period. The depression evaluation was repeated after the nine week period to assess improvements in overall mood. The researchers were surprised to find that volunteers who had remained in the salsa dancing classes showed significant improvement in their depressive symptoms as well as on their scores on the depression evaluation. The researchers noted that the volunteers who dropped out of the study may have altered the results somewhat.

Although further studies would be necessary to make firm conclusions as to whether the benefits of salsa dancing extend to helping with depression, if effective it certainly provides a safe and effective all natural option for giving depressed patients a sense of accomplishment which may translate into improved mood and greater sense of well being.

It shouldn’t be surprising that salsa dancing might benefit depression. Exercise has long been known to improve moods in patients with depressive symptoms and salsa dancing is an energetic form of dancing that raises the heart rate and could potentially increase production of endorphins, the “feel good” hormones responsible for exercise related mood elevations. Plus, salsa dancing provides depressed patients with increased social interaction which reduces their sense of isolation which may have positive benefits. Salsa dancing also provides the depressed patient with a new skill which can help to raise levels of self esteem.

Hopefully, more studies on salsa dancing benefits will show whether or not the improvements in mood were real and sustainable. Many people suffering from depression are looking for alternatives to prescription antidepressants with their undesirable side effects. Salsa dancing could be an activity that would provide multiple benefits to their health and sense of well being. Could salsa dancing be a viable alternative to prescription antidepressants? Only time and further study will tell.”

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“Learning proper dance-floor etiquette rules

Raymond V. Whelan
Special to the Wilson County News
August 12, 2008

If you are a single person who is really earnest about meeting and making friends with the opposite gender, learn to dance.

Take social dance lessons from accomplished relatives, friends, neighbours, or professional instructors, whatever it may take to get you out on the dance floor. And don’t let anyone, including yourself, say you can’t dance because you have two left feet or some other reason.

Furthermore, don’t ever let anyone tell you tough guys don’t dance. Look at James Cagney. He was a tough guy who tap-danced all through the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy, and he won an Academy Award for doing so.

Whether you enjoy blues, country, pop, salsa, or swing, or any other kind of music, you can learn to dance well to a particular style of music with reasonable effort and practice.

Learning how to dance is really simple. The most difficult and important part of the dance is knowing and understanding dance-floor etiquette, no matter if the dance is for a birthday party, block party, homecoming, hootenanny, high school prom, family reunion, or wedding reception.

Most dance floor “rules of the road” involve nothing more than common sense. For instance, don’t allow your body or clothes to look or smell like old unwashed laundry, and don’t let your breath reek of alcohol or tobacco before you meet your partner on the dance floor.

Frequently, both men and women can be quite shy while searching for a dance partner. However, when you decide to ask someone to dance, it ought not be a complicated operation. Just extend your hand toward a prospective partner and ask politely, “Would you like to dance?”.

Anyone may decline someone’s offer to dance at any time, for any reason, without any explanation. Certainly, you can just say “No” whenever you decline an offer to dance. However, “No, thank you” sounds better.

Take care not to leap from your seat and dance with somebody during a dance number immediately after you have declined to dance with someone else during the same dance number. To do so would be the height of dance-floor tackiness.

If you are terribly afraid or paralyzed by the thought of a potential dance partner refusing your invitation to step onto the dance floor, you may resort to a defense mechanism.

Before you ask potential Partner A to dance, keep potential Partner B within your peripheral vision. If potential Partner A refuses your offer to dance, proceed without complaint to potential Partner B and ask him or her to dance. You should be able to move to the alternative partner without actual or visible discomfort to your ego.

It is a very good idea to wear proper shoes on the dance floor. Boots are cool for country two-step and country waltz, but they tend to be wrong for foxtrot, tango, swing, and other ballroom dance styles. Depending on the type of event, music, and dance floor, sneakers may be OK.

If you maintain eye contact with your partner, it will help you anticipate movement and always make you look more confident during a dance number. So, do not stare at your feet while you dance, because eyeballing your feet will make the dance much more difficult than it should be.

And please, don’t get downhearted when you mess up the proper steps on the dance floor!

Women seem especially prone to express embarrassment when they fumble on hand or foot maneuvers. Truth be known, most gentlemen do not pay much heed to their lady partners’ missteps, because they are happy enough just to enjoy dancing with an attractive person in the first place. If your dance partner has any grace or experience at all, he or she should reassure you when you make some minor mistake during a dance number.

Take some time to show your partner some appreciation for taking the time to dance with you after the end of a dance number. For ladies, it could be a simple “Thank you”. For gentlemen, it could be “Thank you”…

Remember what Ella Fitzgerald said “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing” meaning that dance should enhance your social skills, add some exercise and energy, and who knows, maybe even some romance to your life.” by Raymond V. Whelan.

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I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer because salsa means different things to different people. For some it is purely for the creative release, for others it is about the exerciser’s high, for many it is a social outlet to meet new people and maybe develop a potential romance. So depending on why you are on the dance floor, you will have different expectations regarding conversations on the dance floor.

If both dancers are there for the social aspect then conversing while dancing is great as long as it isn’t dangerous or gets in the way of other dancers. My advice for the social dancer is not to expect that every partner you ask will want to converse. Start with simple small talk and feel out the situation. If the conversation is easy and two sided and you are aware of what is happening on the dance floor, then great! However if your partner seems to prefer to enjoy the silence then respect this. Also if you find yourself getting carried away with conversation and not paying attention on the dance floor then please concentrate on safely and effectively finishing the dance and continue the conversation off the dance floor.

From my experience most serious dancers prefer mild small talk and then to just enjoy the dance in silence. That way you can stay alert, reactive and in the moment. Don’t be offended if that is the situation. It is, after all, a dance floor, not a chat floor and that is usually why you have cozy corners in most clubs where you can hang out and chat!

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