Port Macquarie Latin Dance Studio

2010 - basic guideline

January 11th, 2010 , 8:35 pm

Happy 2010!

I’ve had a great break. Afternoon naps (sometimes 2 per day), killing goblins, sleeping, beating the stuffing out of the snotmeister, having the stuffing beaten out of me by the snotmeister, spending lots of time with Julie … did I mention afternoon naps?

So now … batteries charged. Time to dance!!

I think for the first term I’m going to focus on “Let’s get good!”

I’m going to have a written questionaire/request form available for people to fill out. It’ll give you the opportunity to help shape the direction of the studio and the dances I teach. There’s just too much to do! If you look at the dance list (under tuesday), and then multiply that by Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced, and Superstar levels, you can see my problem. Too many dances, not enough days.

Consequently, for the first couple of weeks, I’ll keep the outline fairly fluid, but here’s what will be happening.

MONDAY - Studio closed for afternoon naps, killing goblins etc etc. (I’d like to teach a class on Monday, but I need to know who wants what, and who’s interested.)

TUESDAY - Private lessons. A private lesson costs $30 per half hour. Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Quickstep, Viennese Waltz, Rumba, Cha Cha, Swing (East Coast or West Coast,) Argentine Tango, Samba, Salsa, Mambo, Bolero … (not to mention Bossa Nova, Paso Doble, and New Vogue. In fact, no. Don’t mention them. ) Give me a call if you want to learn, or get better, fix a problem, need a wedding dance … whatever.

WEDNESDAY - General Class, then Argentine Tango. (Intermediate level)
Arrival, drinks, and warm-up at 7:00. Class starts at 7:20 sharp. There will be a teaching class, followed by practice. And then drinking. The second class will always be Argentine Tango, and there’ll be a small amount of general dancing at the end of the evening.

THURSDAY - Beginner’s night.
Arrival, drinks, and warm-up at 7:00. First class starts at 7:20 sharp. After the class there’ll be a supervised practice session. There’s always advanced dancers here on thursdays to help beginners get their feet wet. We’ll have a small break for drinks, then there’ll be a second class that will always be Argentine Tango. After that, there’ll be a wee dance. (I know, I know … you’re a beginner … you don’t have any dances. I’m gonna fix that. Stick with me until June 30th. You’ll have to declare a fun tax, but you’ll be able to claim shoe leather as a fringe benefit …

FRIDAY - Group Class and Dance Party.
Arrival, drinks, and warm-up at 7:00. First class starts at 7:20 sharp. For the first few weeks, I’m going to focus on waltz in the group class. The Dance Party will start at 8-30, and go until 10:00ish.

There you have it. As always, I work on a trust basis. As you enter the studio, write down your name, open the cash drawer, pay your money and take whatever change you need.

PRICING STRUCTURE:

Private lesson $30 per half hour.

Group class plus practice and dance $15 per person.

No group class - arrive at 8:00ish for the Friday dance = $7.50 per person.

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What’s gonna happen to me .. ?

September 22nd, 2008 , 2:42 pm

To feel like you’re leaving the beginner’s ranks, and moving into becoming an intermediate level dancer, you need to have a general variety of steps that you can lead or follow to music with a variety of partners. You need to be able to intermingle these steps without bumping into others on the floor. You need to have some of the elementary skills of dance in place, such as rhythm, posture, balance and movement.

An intermediate dancer continues to develop these skills, and begins to incorporate the all important styling of each particular dance into their repertoire.

Perhaps the best way is to follow a check list …

Foot Position … Putting your feet on the floor in the correct places.

Footwork … Using heels and toes in the correct places.

Lead/Follow … can you do this with a variety of partners?

Timing … you HAVE to be able to dance to music. Tempo, timing, feel … otherwise what’s the point??

Continuity … A step is no use unless you can mesh it with other steps, and still maintain the integrity of the dance.

Styling … If you’re going to dance Tango, dance Tango. If you’re going to dance Waltz, dance Waltz. Don’t stroll
around the floor like one of farmer Brown’s cows.

Partnership … Can you put it all together in a palatable form for each partner you dance with, or do you tend to inflict your rigid diciplines upon anyone who happens to be in front of you? (Bit harsh, I know … but let’s just hope the shoe doesn’t fit ..)

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What a Week!

September 24th, 2007 , 10:26 am

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Contact

September 2nd, 2007 , 1:33 pm

Michael Madden’s LATIN DANCE STUDIO
8 Milton Circuit, Port Macquarie NSW 2444

6581 1951
mkrm@bigpond.net.au

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Private Lessons

July 16th, 2007 , 9:15 am

I teach private lessons between 5:00pm and 7:00pm each evening. (Group classes start at 7:00pm). At the moment a private lesson costs $60 an hour, and $30 a half hour. Up to 4 people can share a private lesson, but after that the group rate of $15 per person applies.

On a private lesson, you can learn anything you want. Actually, better make that anything I teach, but the range is pretty extensive. See here.

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Lessons

July 14th, 2007 , 10:19 pm

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Who, moi …?

July 13th, 2007 , 1:09 am

I’ve been teaching for 35 years. I’ve taught in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Chicago , and Miami, plus numerous regional areas. I’ve competed, performed, lectured, demonstrated and toured as a professional. I was invited to compete in the World Professional Selection finals, where I promptly got my butt kicked by the then World Ten Dance Professional Champion, and the British Rising Star Champion. I’ve never forgiven either of them, and I consol myself with the knowledge that they suck at golf even worse than I do.

I’ve danced on stage and tv. Choreographed for both. I teach Waltz, Foxtrot, Viennese, Tango (Argentine & Competitive), Quickstep, Rumba, Cha Cha, Samba, Swing, Mambo, Bolero, and a few others.

I’m big on dancing with your heart. I couldn’t give a rat’s backside about your steps. (Although I’ll teach you hundreds of them, I just expect you to use them as vehicles to dance. They’re a means, not an end.)

The best quote I’ve ever heard about dancing would be …”Technique — bodily control — must be mastered only because the body must never be allowed to stand in the way of the soul’s expression.” La Meri

That’ll about do it for now …

Michael.

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