The below are our Beginner workshops for dancers just starting Modern Country swing.
2.01 What is Modern Country Swing?: An overview of the basic definition of Modern Country Swing, concepts of frame, terminology, and movement used in the dance.
2.02 Taking Turns: Explores basic technique for turns and spins in Modern Country Swing and the importance of body angling, spotting, slot integrity, and control of momentum.
2.03 The Post: Understanding the concept and techniques used in posting and how it assists creating connection, and communicating intent.
2.04 Creating Connection: Investigates the core concepts of connection, and technique for creating tension in the settle step through linear and rotational distance, and controling intensity of Load through the post.
2.05 The Settle and Rock: Discusses the Settling, the rocking motion that creates the swing of Country Swing, and how to initiate pauses in our dance.
2.06 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.
2.07 Feeling the Tempo: Investigates Quick-Quick-Slow, 1-Step, 1/2 Quick-Quick-Slow, and 1/2 Step timing in Modern Country Swing, when to use each, how to modify space for various music tempos, and how connection and mood relates to speed and space in your dance.
2.08 What's the Count?: Understanding how to count in 2s, in Segments, and in 8s, the difference in counting 1-Step and QQS, and how we can determine if we maintained Integrity of Timing in our dance.
2.09 Speed Demon: Understanding the relationship between connection and speed and developing communication between partners to use various timings in double turns.
2.10 Basics of Musicality: Teaches basic construction of music, phrases and phrase changes, and connecting your dance moves to the music you hear.
2.11 Drop the Beat!: Practice setting up dips, playing with styles of dips, and exiting dips with musical intent and communicated timing.
2.12 Hit It!: Hearing accents and using quick accent motions to build musicality.
2.13 Jam Out!: Creating jam out and groove motions to create engagement, synchronization, and musicality and using dynamic changes in speed to enhance musicality.
The below are workshops for students preparing to enter the Beginner Level Competitions.
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.
Saving the Phrase: Utilizing various moves to emphasize a phrase change, and methods to time your phrase change accurately.
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.
Importance of the Basic: Investigating the importance of returning to the Basic in a competition to re-establish connection, timing, and technique.
Below are the workshops for Novice level students.
What's the Count? Part II: Understanding Time Shift and how it effects integrity in both 1-Step and QQS, including dealing with adding and removing holds, change steps, and syncopations.
Developing Syncopations: How to properly develop syncopations in settles, starting motions, and turns, including delayed weight change for acceleration.
Boom Tick!: Hearing the down and up beats in music and re-establishing Timing Integrity by ear.
Expanding Frame and Connection: 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, basics of Body Leading and Body Following, and deeper dive into creating frame.
Translations and Rotations: 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 through counter-weight.
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.
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.
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.
Twinkle Toes: Exploring technical 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.
Connecting to the Floor: Investigating striking methods, delayed weight change technique, and driving momentum through pushing and pulling actions.
Turntable: Differentiating turn variations such as pivots, chaines, spirals, posted, and ronde actions, and the core technique required for each.
Driving the 1-Footed Spin: Developing the foundational technique for executing Posted 1-Footed Spins.
Top Line and Spine: Critiquing postural frame, core body motions, and tilting actions while maintaining balance.
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.
Planes of Motion and Music: Investigating the planes of human motion and creating sty
Music to the Eyes: How to begin utilizing Lyricality and Pulse without breaking your frame, timing, and motions.
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.
Jam Out! Part II: Working in variations of Jam Out and Groove motions, and using soft and sharp motions to create contrast and emphasis.
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.
Below are workshops developed for students preparing to enter the intermediate level classes.
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.
Performance Structure: Building a sequence and process for competitive purposes to effectively and progressively demonstrate your skills in a 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.
Telling a Story: How to create variations in your dance for aesthetic, performance, and competitive purposes.
The following workshops teach critical technique and concepts for an Intermediate level Modern Country Swing
Creating Connection for Intermediates: How to maintain full body frame, and creating connection and cues through rotation and body angling in your settle.
Lines Part I, The Settle: Creating appealing lines in your settle, including posture, leg and foot action, and pitch.
Lines Part II, Action: Creating appealing lines during your action, arm control, and core motion.
Lines Part III, Flourish: Creating appealing lines during styling, accents, and musicality.
Intermediate Starter Steps: How to determine connection, style, and mood of your partner for Intermediate level J&J competitions.
Elevation: How to add changes in the elevation of the body for greater control of emphasis and contrast.
Dancing to Phrases and Accents: Manipulating Speed and Space throughout a dance for musical purposes, and creating more emphasis through accents.
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.
Whaling: Creating unique stylistic movement patterns through individual and partnered motions, including scooping, swirling, and threading.
Yes, and...: 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
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.
Intermediate Steals: Expanding your repertoire and technique for more impressive steals more frequently.