1) Cha Cha Cha – The Sequel

This workshop will take place at Empress Walk on Dec 13th, 2008 from 1-3pm. It is perfect for both the students who already took the first workshop or for those who missed the workshop and wanted to learn how to dance New York style On 2 Cha Cha Cha. New combos will be taught. Students must have completed level 2 or receive permission.

2) Salsa Body Isolation and Movement

This workshop will take place at Empress Walk on Dec 13th, 2008 from 3:30-5:30pm. In the first hour learn different techniques for salsa body isolations and movement. In the second hour learn to use the movements in turnpatterns. Students must have completed level 2 or receive permission.

3) Bachata

So many of you have asked for this workshop. It will take place in January on a Saturday at Empress – time to be announced. Advanced Bachata body movement, musicality and turnpatterns will be covered. Students must have completed level 2 or receive permission.

Each workshop is $35 or two for $60. Helpers pay $30 per workshop. The first two workshops are already posted and registration is open.

Let us know what other workshops you would like to see for 2009!

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New York Style Cha-Cha-Cha (not be confused with ballroom version) is one of the few variations of this dance that places a heavy emphasis on musicality and partner-work play. It has both an elegant and funky feel at the same time. In this workshop, proper footwork fundamentals, leading, following and timing will be covered to provide a more comprehensive approach to this workshop. This includes graceful hand/arm movements and use of various parts of the body to accentuate the rhythms of the dance. The class is geared towards more advanced-beginner – intermediate level students and can help familiarize students who are also learning dancing On2. Must have completed level 2 or receive instructor permission to attend.

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Part 1:

What will make you become a better salsa dancer faster – learning with a partner or learning on your own with a variety of rotating dancers and students? This is the question I get asked often and everyone has an opinion.

The truth is that it depends on the person, the effort and the situation. There are pros and cons in each scenario.

I was lucky to experience both scenarios. My first year of dancing was on my own. I went salsa dancing nightly and, while I had my favourite people to dance with which changed monthly, I didn’t have a main partner. This was an excellent experience in my opinion. I learned to follow every type of lead – whether the lead was gentle or firm, the timing on 1 or on another beat, the Cubans, the Columbians, those from Chile and Ecuador, those who danced LA Style, New York Style, it didn’t matter. When you dance with 20 partners a night 7 days a week you get to be very versatile. I got to know my preferences, get inspired constantly by new dancers and I was always left with the feeling that dancing was always fresh and new.

After the first year of salsa I wanted to complete and perform and obviously this can’t be done unless you get a dance partner. It worked out that I met a dance partner at one of the local clubs and he had the same goals as I did.

Although we both knew very little in the whole scope of things we were very eager and serious to learn. We practiced daily, took some group lessons, private lesson, workshops and attended congresses together and very shortly we looked sleeker and more professional. The partnership really assisted in having someone to practice with regularly, someone who would give you honest feedback and someone to challenge you to move to the next level. This experience was also excellent and really made a difference in my confidence, styling, body movement, show-ability and much more. Note however that my following skills were reduced considerably because you tend to compensate for your partner and memorize moves, back lead, etc.

To be continued on Monday!!!

The post To Partner or Not to Partner – Pt 1? appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.