standard Lesson with Olya on 09/28/2009

Location: Dance Spectrum.

Time: 4pm

Attendee: Sharron, Daniel

We looked at the competition video first then worked on waltz.

1. Hold for Daniel at the beginning

a. Keep both albles (especially left alble) shoulder height, not highers. Relative position of left shoulder, alble, hand doesn not change during sway. Relative position of the right hand should always be in front of the body, even during double reverse spin turn and whisk.

b. hands should at partner's eye level.

c. something about turning, projecting and presenting the partner?

2. Keep down to to the ground, not up in the air with shoulders over ears.

3. go down on the & before 1, to enable a powerful drive on 1. then 2 is swinged up.

4. Keep the rising position slightly longer in the 2& of chasse after whisk.

5. Whisk: to go into the prominent position, only the head and the hip turns, not the upper body. Sharron needs to remember the head turns at the same speed as hip, and keep it smooth, pressing feeling, instead of sudden, in the process of turn head to prominent and turning back to close position.

Watlz Workshop by Cristian De Cillis on 09/27/2009

Location: Starlite Ballroom Studio.
Time: 4pm
Attendee: Daniel, Sharron

1. posture and hold
2. exercises of natural, change step, reverse, change step, natural...
a. feel the resistence and sway from the knee.
3. an Amalgamation
a. whisk,
b. wave
c. close prominent
d. running zigzag
e. open impetus?
d. chasse ending in prominent
e. challenge line
f. over sway
4. A few point:
a. don't open on the whisk so quickly.
b. Lady goes with full motion on wave on 2 (the right foot)

Standard Lesson with Ikaika on 9/16/2009

Location: Dance Spectrum.
Time: 4pm
Attendee: Sharron

Today we worked on Foxtrat.

1. Heel turn: need

a. Do not get back on the heel immediately, go through the foot before getting back to the heel. Seems like only the turn is on the heel, other time still on the front part of the foot.

b. Keep the weight forward still.

c. Use the energy on the standing foot. This is the inside turn position.

d. Always start on the slow.

2. 4 positions of the foot: inside front, outside front, inside back, outside back.

a. exercise: go round in circles and figure 8 to feel weight on the different positions

b. make sure that the shift the weight from the lower body, not by tilting the upper body.

3. Send the lower body, not tilt the upper body, especially on the weave step. Upper body moving with the lower body, like a candle moves with the candle stand.

4. weave: direction of the foot is toward the partner.

5. Always shows the energy, and contribute in an equal position, even when practicing the skills. But energy doesn’t mean always moving forward, it means pressing the floor, use the standing leg.

6. Thinking the use of the energy through the foot, from the toe, to ball to arch to heel.

7. Remember the choreography: heel turn all started on slow.

Standard Lesson with Ikaika 9/2/2009

Location: Dance Spectrum.
Time: 4pm
Attendee: Sharron, Daniel

Today we worked on Quickstep.

1. lock step followed by quarter turns: Sharron should remember to open the right side, (not only the right hip), and let the partner pass, but time it with the movement of the partner, do not finish the turn early. And the end of it, Daniel needs to remember to still give the right side towards the partner.
2. Daniel needs to remember to keep the right side up, not necessarily shoulder, but the right side. especially during the quater turns and the end of the lock.
3. Don't rise too much on the leg, practice rise only the upper body.
4. Both Sharron and Daniel needs to keep the feeling of upper body weighted down toward the floor during rising. Right now it is too high up. Need to do the teraband exercise.
5. Ikaika used an interesting way to put Sharron into correct posture, he had sharron putting her hands on his shoulder, then he just expanded. It is a strange(in a good way) sensation
6. Daniel's right hand/wrist position.

Notes for previous lessons on Quicksteps in August.

From Daniel:
1. Running Finish Figure should be smooth. This means rotation should also be smooth. Start the rotation on 1.
2. This is the main point about running finish: not falling forward.
a. After 1, anchor weight on left foot and place right foot in the right direction. When right foot is in place, start pushing off left foot (this will also push the right foot forward more increasing the size of the step.
b. Similar on 2 : keep weight on right foot; place left foot; push off right foot and receive on toe of left foot. Roll left off (toe -> heel) while transferring weight.

NOTE : Quickstep is quick, so we need to prepare the stepping foot faster; otherwise, we fall (as there is no support). By preparing the foot faster and not falling, we also make sure we do not "make noise" when we step (because the steps are softer??). This is where Ikaika's story of him dancing and his instructor saying "I do not know if you were on time because I could not hear the music over the sound of your steps"....


From Sharron:
a. Sharron's part on Running finish: Do not stop moving at the end of it, on the right foot going back step. keep moving.

Standard Less with Ikaika on 9/1/2009

Location: Dance Spectrum.
Time: 8pm
Attendee: Sharron, Daniel

Today we had lesson with Ikaika's new partne. And we worked on Waltz.

Sharron's notes
1. hold:
a. walk into an lowered position, and then stretch out.
b. Daniel's left knee should be relaxed.
2. natural turn:
a. Sharron needs to leave the head and upper body to the left/behind while letting the hip turn with the leader. Thinking waltz as the dance of the past moment.

3. double reverse spin turn:
a. Always keep the head weight on the heel of the standing leg, for all poses, not only in double reverse spin turn.
b. swing the hip out of the heel turn. swing right side up, not left side down.
c. don't over turn. so that we are winded up for the reverse turn after it.

4. Prominent position.
a. Sharron's left foot needs to be bigger to get behind Leader's hip.

5. Chasse from Prominent:
a. turn head while turning hip