We finally had a full week of dance classes in Norwalk, CT without any snow cancellations for the first time in almost a month. It was great to see some new faces and regulars who had been hiding from the winter white.
Hustle in Norwalk, CT
Hustle has had an especially hard time overcoming the winter weather. Regular Monday snow storms trickled their inconvenience into Tuesday, which made us cancel Hustle a few times.
Fortunately, we have a bunch of die-hard dancers that have been great at coming to class whenever we had a break in the weather. Even so, it was very difficult to build any momentum. Fortunately, our Studio Warming last Saturday helped expose some new people to Hustle.
This past Tuesday, we had our first Week 1 Hustle in 2 months. I was happy with the attendance of some of our regulars and a brand new leader. I think we've got a good starting point for our Hustle classes in Norwalk, CT in the spring.
West Coast Swing in Norwalk, CT
West Coast Swing was not as affected by the snowy winter weather this season. We were able to maintain the minimal amount of momentum required to sustain learning. During the month of February, we were also able to have beginner classes and intermediate classes that focused on Whips with Double Outside Turns, Hammerlocks, and Tick-Tock Freespins.
This month, West Coast Swing had a special treat. Instead of making the second class an advanced, choreography-based lesson, I made it a pre-intermediate class. I am considering this month (and the next few) to be an "elevator" of dance education for many of our current beginner dancers.
West Coast Swing Connection through Physics
This month's focus will be on Connection. For our first class of the month, I utilized Microsoft PowerPoint to illustrate different Physics perspectives of connection. I often see other instructors describe connection without any actual knowledge of the physics involved. I often hear terminology used that although colorful, isn't accurate. So, I wanted to make sure that our beginner students and regular intermediate attendees both had the same framework about discussing connection from a physics and physical point of view.
Next Week...Starter Steps
Next week's West Coast Swing class will expand on the theme of Connection and develop it into Starter Steps. I have always found it perplexing that students learn the basics patterns of the dance before they learn the Starter Step. As a teacher, it's always challenging to encourage new students to dance their basic steps (Sugar Push, Right Pass, Left Pass etc) before they have learned a Starter Step. It would be like asking someone to walk into a room and start talking without first saying, "Hello".
So Week 2 of West Coast Swing in Norwalk, CT will be all about the basic Starter Step and some interesting variations. I'm looking forward to watching people learn how to start their dance. Of course, I will be using the concepts and terminology from our Week 1 Connection's class.
