The below are our Beginner workshops for dancers just starting Modern Country swing.
What is Modern Country Swing?: Discusses the basic definition of Modern Country Swing, and basic concepts of frame, terminology, and movement used in the dance.
Taking Turns: Explores basic technique for turns and spins in Modern Country Swing and the importance of body angling and control of momentum.
Creating Connection for Beginners: Investigates the core concepts of connection, and methods of cueing moves used throughout country swing.
The Settle and Rock: Discusses the Settling, the rocking motion that creates the sing of Country Swing, and how to initiate pauses in our dance.
Starting a Dance: Teaches how to find the beat of the music, make initial connection with your partner, and how to communicate 1-Step and Quick-Quick-Slow timing to your partner. Also, an basic explanation of Integrity in Timing.
Feeling the Tempo: Investigates 1-Step, Quick-Quick-Slow, 1/2 Step, and Double Time Quick-Quick-Slow timing in Modern Country Swing, when to use each, how to modify moves for various music tempos, and how connection relates to speed and space in your dance.
What's the Count? Understanding how to count in Segments and in 8s, the difference in counting 1-Step and QQS, and how striking and weight transfers relate to counts, and how we can maintain Integrity of Timing in our dance by including or omitting holds.
The below are workshops for students preparing to enter the Novice level classes.
Extending the Basics: Explores the relationships between the basic patterns of modern country swing, and their extended versions, creating an expanded basic combination, and recognizing available movements based on footing and hand hold.
Handling Your Hands: Investigates various hand connection types and how they begin to modify your basic movements, how to move effectively between each method of hand hold, and how to return to your standard hand hold when things get messy.
Basics of Musicality: Teaches basic construction of music, phrases and phrase changes, and connecting your dance moves to the music you hear.
Seeking Connection: Understanding eccentric contractions and how to fill space and find the connection you are seeking in each settle.
Basic Opportunity: Teaches the basic concepts of Intent, Cueing, Reciprocation, and Accommodation that occur in every dance move, and how to begin creating a "conversation" in your dance with both partners contributing to the structure of the dance through Opportunity.
Expectations of a Beginner Competition: Discusses the format of competitions and conventions, divisions and events, how competitions are really judged, and what it takes to compete, make semi-finals and finals, or take the podium in competitions.
Engage! Making a Noticeable Performance: How to draw attention and interact on a basic level with your partner and crowd in social and competition dancing.
Connecting to the Floor: Developing a skilled approach to taking steps in dance including actions such as Peeling, Beveling, and Tendu, and discussing the foot positions used in Modern Country Swing for precise, controlled, and aesthetic floor patterns and striking actions.
Isolations and Kinetic Chain: How to begin adding character and depth to your dance through isolation and kinetic chain motions for stylistic purposes, and developing kinesthesia and proprioceptive sense of your body.
Below are the workshops for Novice level students.
Patterns on the Floor: Understanding the various patterns of movement used in Modern Country Swing and how to use those patterns to create variations.
Creating Connection for the Novice: Teaches the difference between Linear Loading and Rotational Loading of connection, and how hand holds and body position alter how we create and control connection with our partner.
Responsive Teamwork: How to create mirrored and synchronized motions with your partner, switching focus of intent between partners through opportunity and accommodation from Leads, and how Follows can create counter-cues to begin adding more content to the conversation of the dance.
Feeling a Shift: Feeling and responding to weight changes in your partner to assist in matching footing and mirrored motions, and how space and settling effects connection.
Saving the Phrase: Utilizing various moves to emphasize a phrase change, and methods to time your phrase change accurately.
Stealing a Dance: Presents the basic etiquette and technique involved in steal circle type dances, how to find opportunities to steal a dance, and how connection and momentum play a vital roll to an effective steal.
Expanding Connection Points: How to connect at various points with your partner, and how Leads and Follows load connection and create motion and cues while in at these connection points.
One Foot in Front of the Other: Striking methods and control of the legs and hips through each step.
Comp Survival: How to succeed in Jack & Jill style competitions where you have an unexpected partner; finding your beat, controlling your speed, space, and connection.
Soft and Sharp: Connecting how you create flourishes to what you hear in the music, using dynamic speed, and how to utilize kinetic chain to develop soft and sharp motions.
Importance of the Basic: Investigating the importance of returning to the Basic in a competition to re-establish connection, timing, and technique.
Below are workshops developed for students preparing to enter the intermediate level classes.
Taking the Big Step: Investigating delayed weight change, and rolling steps to improve the technique and aesthetic of each movement of your dance.
Developing Syncopations: How to transition between 1-Step and Quick-Quick-Slow rhythms musically in your dancing, and adding more versatility to your moves through syncopated steps and timing.
Music to the Eyes: How to begin utilizing Lyricality and Pulse without breaking your frame, timing, and motions.
Jam Out!: Creating jam out and groove motions to create engagement, synchronization, and musicality.
The Top Line: How to create head roll, swirling, and tilted motions through manipulation of the top line of the body, and modifications to balance, frame, and connection to create these motions.
Three Modes of Time and Space: How to communicate intent and opportunity through changes in connection intensity and speed and flowing through the space and time available to create drastic contrast in your dance.
Getting a Response: How to create a "Call-and-Response" engagement with your partner, and how to showcase moves through direction of presentation for a response from your audience.
Ronde About: Developing simple 1-footed spins such as Rondes and Glide Turns for individual flourish, and developing basic turning technique to move on to advanced 1-footed spins in the future.
Creating Lines: How to create appealing lines in the shape of the body for styling and flourish in your dance.
Take a Ride: Improving connection techniques to create a countering of body weight for intermediate and advanced moves and combinations.
Success in Novice and Intermediate Competitions: How to demonstrate your skills in a Novice or Intermediate level competition to progress through each stage of the competition process.
All Tangled Up Part 1: Understanding the flow of positions in 2-Handed Open connections.
All Tangled Up Part 2: Understanding the flow of positions in 2-Handed Cross connections.
The following workshops teach critical technique and concepts for an Intermediate level Modern Country Swing
All Tangled Up Part 3: Understanding the flow of positions using scoops, threading, and hammerlocks.
Creating Connection for Intermediates: How to maintain full body frame, and creating connection and cues through rotation and body angling in your settle.
Elevation: How to add changes in the elevation of the body for greater control of emphasis and contrast.
Pitch in Posture: How to control pitch in your posture to increase control in connection, space, and balance, while creating aesthetic shapes.
Intermediate Steals: Expanding your repertoire and technique for more impressive steals more frequently.
Dancing to Phrases and Accents: Manipulating Speed and Space throughout a dance for musical purposes, and creating more emphasis through accents.
Intermediate Starter Steps: How to determine connection, style, and mood of your partner for Intermediate level J&J competitions.
Music Dance Theory: Hearing the metronome of the music in complex musical patterns and understanding the build up and build down structure of a phrase.
Hijacker: Developing an expanded repertoire for using rides through various sculpting positions, and combining ride motions.
Posted 1-Footed Spin Technique: Developing the foundational technique for executing Posted 1-Footed Spins.
The below workshops are designed to prepare students for Advanced level concepts.
Whaling: Creating unique stylistic movement patterns through individual and partnered motions, including scooping, swirling, and threading.
Influence and Accommodation: Developing the Follow's ability to influence a dance consistently, Lead's responsiveness and accommodation, and getting to a 50/50 "yes and..." method of dancing
Shaping the 1-Foot Spin: Developing an expanded repertoire for using 1-Footed spins for various methods to enter, sculpt, and exit a 1-Footed Spin
Dancing a Step: Investigating details of weight changing including pushing and pulling steps, step flourish, and creating a QQS feel in your 1-Step
Find Your Groove: Practicing individual isolation and kinetic chain motions accompanied to music, adjusting for genre, and then connecting to your partner for reciprocation.