Attendee: Charles, Sharron
This is the first time I have lesson with Ian. We worked on Foxtrot.
1. Keep left side forward (leading) in all reverse figures. So from the beginning of the foxtrot routine (feather, reverse turn, feather finish) all the way till beginning of three step, need to keep left side forward.
2. Heel turn needs to think of drilling down on the right heel.
3. Three step has a shaping to the left.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Standard lesson with ieva on 5/10/2011
1. Hip needs to travel to be directly above the ball of the standing leg.
2. hip needs to be toward the partner, not taken away from the partner.
3. Shoulder, hip and foot needs to align vertically. Elbow and arm (especially the right arm and elbow) needs to reflect the action/intention of the foot.
4. travel first, then turn.
2. hip needs to be toward the partner, not taken away from the partner.
3. Shoulder, hip and foot needs to align vertically. Elbow and arm (especially the right arm and elbow) needs to reflect the action/intention of the foot.
4. travel first, then turn.
Standard Lesson with Ieva on 3/23/2011
1. Use knee/ankle to stay on the standing leg longer
a. bend the ankle/knee to prepare leaving form the standing leg
b. bend the knee/ankle of the receiving leg to receive
2. Thinking of the hinge on the hip front has two eyes at the groin. Putting the eye down to the standing leg for every step.
a. bend the ankle/knee to prepare leaving form the standing leg
b. bend the knee/ankle of the receiving leg to receive
2. Thinking of the hinge on the hip front has two eyes at the groin. Putting the eye down to the standing leg for every step.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Standard Lesson with Danny Quilliam 3/9/2011
Ieva's partner Danny is visiting from Montreal, so I took a lesson with him today.
1. In setting up the hold, bend the ankle to shift the body toward the partner. He can bend and shift a lot!
1. In setting up the hold, bend the ankle to shift the body toward the partner. He can bend and shift a lot!
Standard Lesson with Damien 03/03/2011
I finally scheduled a lesson with Damien last week. We covered a lots of stuff in the lesson, a couple things that stood out was the following:
1. He told me that he feel I'm bending down too much without going forward.
I should have written down notes sooner :(
1. He told me that he feel I'm bending down too much without going forward.
I should have written down notes sooner :(
Standard Lesson with Ieva 02/27/2011
I asked a few questions at this lesson. And some of her answers are contradicting with what I think Ikaika's answer are.
1. Is 1,2,3 on danced on split weight?
No. The &'s are on split weight. And the highest point is on 3 on the ball fo the one foot, not on the split weight position while the center of the weight fall between two legs.
2. How to do throwaway oversway?
a. move the guy out of the way on the first step so that you'll be stepping forward, instead of stepping around.
b. what is the dance position we are aiming for here? The two legitimate options are close position or contra promenade position. Decide for yourself. If you are in close position, which is the traditional choice, your right hip needs to be in contact with the left hip of the partner, as in the close position.
c. make sure the guys' righ shoulder is not falling in front of the right foot. In other words, right foot is not extended too much behind the right shoulder, because in that case, the leader is adding (out of balanced) extra load to the following
3. question on the outside spin then the open natural step: how not to block the partner in this step.
a. On the open Natural before the outside spin, need to be concious to move the guy around. Almost feel like using my arms to move the guy around.
b. On the outside spin step, Lady should sway right, because the center of the turn is on the right side. (what to do with my head here then? close or turn to right? Is it like a three step kind of a right sway?)
c. On the open natural step (or whatever that's called) following the outside spin, first is to keep the sway right from the outside spin at the beginning. Then place the left foot around (out of the way) very much left, to prepare for the guy to go around.
4. Other things to pay attention to:
a. Need to move more:
Exercise for this: Lower. extend. move.
Need to do this on all steps, especially on coming out of the right lounge. This helps to the drive a lot.
1. Is 1,2,3 on danced on split weight?
No. The &'s are on split weight. And the highest point is on 3 on the ball fo the one foot, not on the split weight position while the center of the weight fall between two legs.
2. How to do throwaway oversway?
a. move the guy out of the way on the first step so that you'll be stepping forward, instead of stepping around.
b. what is the dance position we are aiming for here? The two legitimate options are close position or contra promenade position. Decide for yourself. If you are in close position, which is the traditional choice, your right hip needs to be in contact with the left hip of the partner, as in the close position.
c. make sure the guys' righ shoulder is not falling in front of the right foot. In other words, right foot is not extended too much behind the right shoulder, because in that case, the leader is adding (out of balanced) extra load to the following
3. question on the outside spin then the open natural step: how not to block the partner in this step.
a. On the open Natural before the outside spin, need to be concious to move the guy around. Almost feel like using my arms to move the guy around.
b. On the outside spin step, Lady should sway right, because the center of the turn is on the right side. (what to do with my head here then? close or turn to right? Is it like a three step kind of a right sway?)
c. On the open natural step (or whatever that's called) following the outside spin, first is to keep the sway right from the outside spin at the beginning. Then place the left foot around (out of the way) very much left, to prepare for the guy to go around.
4. Other things to pay attention to:
a. Need to move more:
Exercise for this: Lower. extend. move.
Need to do this on all steps, especially on coming out of the right lounge. This helps to the drive a lot.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
standard lesson with Ikaika on 2/16/2011
Location: Dance Spectrum
Attendee: Sharron Ji
This is the third week in San Jose. Lessons start to get better. The lessons since i got back to San Jose was not as productive as they were before I moved away. I feel that it always takes some time for me to get used to a person's communication style.
Today we talked a little about Watlz and Foxtrot.
1. Keep the hip flat, forward toward the partner. Imagine the hip bones are hands or handles communicating with the partner. I suppose it is not actually really flat, but when trying to do that it prevents me from taking it away. I find that I have to have my mind focused on the hip to not to take it away. This awareness of where the hip is helps to monitor the movement of the leader, therefore I can time my turns and movement better. This will also help to put the upperbody at the right place.
2. From the turning of the standing knee and the hip to turn the moving leg, therefore direct the foot the correct place. Similarly, from the pressure of the standing foot, dividing the leg and move the moving leg to the correct place.
3. Need to look up when practicing alone.
I'm afraid that this is going to be a lonely battle from now on :(. I've tried so hard to be self sufficient. But none of that is going to work in a hobby called ballroom dancing. I don't know if I am wasting my time hoping for something that is already too late for me....
Attendee: Sharron Ji
This is the third week in San Jose. Lessons start to get better. The lessons since i got back to San Jose was not as productive as they were before I moved away. I feel that it always takes some time for me to get used to a person's communication style.
Today we talked a little about Watlz and Foxtrot.
1. Keep the hip flat, forward toward the partner. Imagine the hip bones are hands or handles communicating with the partner. I suppose it is not actually really flat, but when trying to do that it prevents me from taking it away. I find that I have to have my mind focused on the hip to not to take it away. This awareness of where the hip is helps to monitor the movement of the leader, therefore I can time my turns and movement better. This will also help to put the upperbody at the right place.
2. From the turning of the standing knee and the hip to turn the moving leg, therefore direct the foot the correct place. Similarly, from the pressure of the standing foot, dividing the leg and move the moving leg to the correct place.
3. Need to look up when practicing alone.
I'm afraid that this is going to be a lonely battle from now on :(. I've tried so hard to be self sufficient. But none of that is going to work in a hobby called ballroom dancing. I don't know if I am wasting my time hoping for something that is already too late for me....
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