Seattle Rueda

As promised, here are the details of the workshops with SalsAtlanta’s main instructor for salsa casino, Julian Mejia. He is a popular casino/rueda instructors at rueda festivals all over the US and beyond. His teaching can be described as direct, with verbal detail emphasizing footwork, marking accents in the moves, and hand connection technique.  After you’ve taken his class, you will feel a difference in how you lead a complicated move and how to take simple moves and embellish them with style that has so much sabor you could taste it. It is a real treat to have him here in Seattle. Please DON”T miss this opportunity to learn from a top-notch casino instructor.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2010

12noon-1pm – Adding Sabor to Your Basic Steps: This workshop is for all level of dancers who want to embellish their basic steps in rueda.

1-2pm – Casino Styling for Intermediate Dancers and Beyond: Learning who is really leading in casino dancing, and turn patterns from common rueda moves that you can combine easily, and hand to hand connection technique.

2:30-3:30pm – Casino/Rueda Technique Tune-Up Part 1: Learn to make your rueda/casino movement crisp and graceful. Learn about the importance of footwork, marking the accents in moves, hand connection with your partner, and being safe on the dance floor to minimize injury.

3:30-4:30pm – Caller Workshop – Pairing Rueda Moves to Keeping the Rueda Exciting: The focus in this workshop is on practicing calling, voice projection, body language, when to call the next move so as to combine two moves in one.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

11am-12noon – Tightening Up Alarde, Gancho, and Looped/Knotted Moves: Learn how to execute moves with alternating ganchos and alardes and arm-twisting moves with grace and ease so that your partner doesn’t feel pulled, yanked and pushed.

12pm-1pm – Casino/Rueda Technique Tune-up Part 2: This is a continuation Saturday’s workshop on learn to make your rueda/casino movement crisp and graceful. Learn about the importance of footwork, marking the accents in moves, hand connection with your partner, and being safe on the dance floor to minimize injury.

1:30-2:30pm – Group Moves to Excite the Circle –  Group moves require teamwork, listening to the caller, and timed footwork. Learn to polish your moves with grace, synchronicity and body attitude in your movement.

LOCATION: Belltown Dance Studio, 2521 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121

WORKSHOP PRICE:
One class: $15 pre-reg / $20 door
Two classes: $25 pre-reg / $35 door
Each Additional Class: $10
All seven classes $65 pre-reg / $80 door

Make checks payable to Julian Mejia and send  your pre-registration to:       Maritza Baida: 2702 S. 12 St, Tacoma, WA 98405                                                Deadline for Pre-Registration is: Sept 10, 2010

Private Lessons with Julian on Friday & Saturday Fee is $50 per hour            Friday – 4pm, 5pm, or 7pm and/or Saturday – 10am, 7pm, or 8pm

E-mail Maritza for your reservation for a private lesson at sbdiva32@yahoo.com or call her at (206)300-4523. Location for private lessons will be in Seattle. Location to be announced.

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Hey Seattle salseros! It’s Heather and Antonio — the couple with Baby Diego you may have seen at Alki and Selena’s and Betsy’s rueda class. We just wanted to say thanks for welcoming us to Seattle’s Cuban dance scene, and let you know what’s going on in Bellingham if you ever get up north. We’re doing rueda-in-the-park on Sundays at 5pm, we have rueda classes on Mondays, Dominican Bachata classes on Tuesdays, and Cuban Salsa classes on Thursdays. We’ll be doing an Afro-Cuban workshop on Saturday August 28th, and will start a Cuban Son class in September. We’re also organizing a group trip to Cuba in January (our sixth trip but second group trip). Just send an email (rumbanorthwest@gmail.com) or call (360-595-7369) if you’d like more details, we also have a Facebook group (Rumba Northwest):

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=349888815250#!/group.php?gid=115283911851849

We’ve really been enjoying our visits to Selena’s, Alki, etc. — thanks to everyone for the lovely dances, and for making us feel welcome!
Besos,
Heather & Antonio

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Greetings Everyone,
It’s is now confirmed. Julian Mejia from SalsAtlanta is coming to Seattle. Julian is well known in Cuban Salsa Rueda Festivals. His teaching is impeccable. If you even danced with any of his students, either leads or follows, they are smooth like “buttah.”

If you want to see some of his videos, check out the video section of his SalsAtlanta website.

Please save the dates:
Saturday, Sept 11 through Sunday Sept 12, 2010.
There will be pre-registration beginning second week of August. He will be teaching 7 workshops all together …more details coming soon.

See you in August (I’m still in San Diego).

Maritza

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Dancers near and far, you don’t want to miss this one!! – Sam

CASINO DANCE WORKSHOPS

Cuban instructors Maiensy and Carlitos (Carlos Lazo) will present a two-part workshop on Casino partner dancing.  Bring your best attitude and cheerful energy to this one- to two-hour journey into what works and what doesn‘t in this contemporary Cuban dance genre. Born and raised Cubans, Maiensy and Carlitos will add their sassy and dynamic personalities to their practical teachings, which is based on their personal experiences both in Cuba and the United States.

You will have the opportunity to practice each of the points introduced and demonstrated by this one-of-a-kind dance couple. The focus: What makes a great follow and a perfect lead?  This workshop promises to be fun. It is also essential to those interested in improving their casino technique.

Your social dancing will benefit tremendously, and your next dance partner will appreciate the changes you have incorporated into your dancing style!

Note: Casino is the basis for Rueda de Casino. The latter cannot be understood without the former.

When: Saturday, June 26

Where:
Phinney Neighborhood Center, Room #1
6532 Phinney Ave N
Seattle WA 98103
(206) 783-2244

Times:
First session: 1:00-1:55 p.m.
Second session: 2:00-2:55 p.m.

Payment Information
Advanced registration: $35
(Valid from now until June 23)
One-hour workshop: $20

The first session welcomes casineros/casineras from all levels, and other experienced dancers wishing to explore Casino dancing.
The second session is recommended for intermediate and advanced Casino dancers, as it will be a faster pace. The second session material DOES build off of the first session, however experienced dancers can take the second session on it’s own and not be lost.
If you are up for the challenge, even if you do not meet the requirements entirely, you are welcome to try the second session.

Two sessions, at the door: $40

No partner required. Wear comfortable attire and, preferably, non-traction shoes.  To register in advance or to request more information, please, contact Maiensy Sanchez at Maiensy@hotmail.com

(Who are Maiensy Sanchez & Carlos Lazo?…you ask.  Please click on the “Instructors & Classes” tab above to read their bios.)

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1. Practica will be at Wallingford Steps, this Sunday, June 6, 4:30-6:30. In case of rain, we will be at the covered picnic area in Gas Works Park. See http://seattlerueda.com/faq for directions. *I will bring CDs, and other will too, I hope. **I believe either Israel or Christina has the boombox … please bring!

2. Also on Sunday June 6, there will be an informational meeting about Lance’s upcoming Cuban son class. We’ll meet at the Essential Baking Company Cafe just a few blocks from the Wallingford Steps. For more info, see previous post on “Introduction to Havana-style Son.”

Hope to see some of you Saturday night at Selena’s for Tumbao!

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Hello all,

Lance Lu will offer a 6-week class in “Introduction to Havana-style Son” beginning in June. (Cuban son is the type of music the SuperSones  and Ann Reynolds play.) The class will focus on mastering proper footwork, knees, and hips to lay a strong foundation for dancing son. Upper body alignment, isolations, and good partnering skills will also be emphasized. (Lance forgot to say this, but I guarantee you’ll also learn a great deal about listening to the music in any class he offers.) The cost will be $90 for six classes, and class size will be limited to 6. If there is sufficient interest, more classes may be added.

If you’re interested in this class, please join us for a no-obligation informational meeting:

Sunday June 6
3:30 p.m.
Essential Baking Company Cafe

We’ll learn what’s planned, ask questions, find out who wants to take the class, and make plans, including selecting a day and time that works for everyone. The cafe is about 2 blocks from the Wallingford Steps (follow link above for directions), so we’ll all head over for rueda practice afterward. See you there!

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I hope this letter finds everyone in great spirits and I also hope that the weather is turning nice around this time so that you can all start dancing Rueda outside again soon. I am no longer teaching in Seattle but I did not remember to note so on the Instructors page of the blog. I will attempt to get that done as soon as possible. If any of you are quicker than I am at figuring it out please feel free to put a No Longer Teaching title in red or something like that above my name. Have a great summer and I wish all of you the best.
Dennis

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Hi Everyone,
Tonight we have a guest teacher coming to our Multi-Level Rueda de Casino Class. Antoinio Dias has been running the Salsa scene in Juneau Alaska for about 7 years teaching the different styles of Salsa,
Dominican Bachata and Merengue, Cha-cha-cha and lately Traditional Cuban Son
and Afro-Cuban dances after his second trip to Cuba where he was trained and
certified by the master instructor and legend Juan de Dios. He is moving to Bellingham and we are making plans to work  together. Tonight he is going to share with us some Rumba during the warm up part of our class. Please feel free to join us, drop in’s are welcome. 

7pm-8:30pm
University Heights Community Center
Room 108    $15

http://uhcca.org

Betsy
betsy@bienfeliz.com

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Victoria-Hadar from NYC is coming to Seattle and Tacoma to teach casino and rueda de casino. Her workshops will be split  between Tacoma and Seattle. If you would like to know more about Vic, here is her bio. I highly recommend her. I have taken her classes and she’s even taught my brother who did not know any salsa and he is using what he has learned from Vic in the musical called “In The Heights” which is coming to Seattle in October. More on that later. Vic is awesome and she is so much fun to learn from. She teaches in NYC and is respected in the casino community and in national and international rueda congresses.

Wednesday, April 28th, A at the  Studio 6 Ballroom in Tacoma                     5:30-6:30pm – Body Motion for Cuban Salsa (a.k.a. Casino) – Emphasizing isolation movements in the torso, shoulders, arms, hips and legs. Great workshop for beginners.

6:30-8:30pm – Dinner Break – Dining in Tacoma

8:30-9:30pm – Lead/Follower in Cuban Salsa (Casino) – Circular motion in casino vs. back & forth Linea.This workshop is great for LA style salseros who want to add casino style salsa to their repertoire.

Friday, April 30th at the  Studio 6 Ballroom in Tacoma                                  7:00-8:00pm Salsa Suelta – Emphasizing casino dance moves without a partner yet teaches the footwork necessary for casino dancing in a social setting. Come learn salsa suelta moves  from NYC! You will want to get on a plane to NY and want to dance THIS! Super fun!

8:00-9:00pm Partnering to Rueda – Focusing on group moves that are super fun like “jardin” and “amistad” etc., plus, fun silly vocal calls that are done in NYC.

Saturday, May 1st at My World Dance & Fitness Studio in Seattle             12:30-1:30pm – Taking your Leading/Following to the Next Level – Partnering in casino, footwork, body and hand connection techniques, turn patterns, alardes, ganchos and moving around the floor. Learn how to connect comfortably with your partner on the dance floor.

Pre-Registration DEADLINE for Tacoma workshops Tuesday, April 27th and for Seattle workshops, Friday, April 30th. [UPDATE-If you know you're coming to Vic's workshops and want to reserve a spot then pay me at the door at early bird price, you must e-mail me before the deadline at sbdiva32@yahoo.com indicating which workshops.]

Make checks payable to Vic Hadar and send them to:

Maritza Baida, 2702 S 12th St, Tacoma, WA 98405

For Tacoma patrons, you can pay the pre-registration by check or cash at Studio 6 Ballroom. Checks MUST be made to Vic Hadar.

Any questions regarding the Vic’s workshops, please contact Maritza Baida at (206)300-4523 or via e-mail at sbdiva32@yahoo.com

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