Hierarchy of Advancement Workshop One

I reckoned it would be a good thing to log the workshop's contents on Salsadiary, as a historical record and reference. So here goes.

Briefing: 'Which part of the foot is surrounded by the most control points?'

One (of many) ways of constructing a step in place
Foot placement and the establishment of a mechanical bearing between the foot and the floor.
Weight transfer: re-learning walking taken from the case study of stroke rehabilitation.
Joint configuration in relaxation mode, and the joint cascade.
Properties of the hip joint and how this influences hip action.
Foot angle and its effect on stability and range of hip movement.

Bolero: rationale as a context
Originally, I'd intended on using the merengue as a context for the step construction and hip action. In the end I went for the bolero instead for these (very good) reasons:

1. Ianthe and Michel are not novice dancers, they have already naturalised leading and following;
2. it is a member of the son rhythm group, so it increases their versatility in being able to perform a related genre;
3. it allows them to draw bolero influences into their salsa;
4. it is the sequential precursor to the bolero-chá and the chachachá;
5. the dance can be performed to bachata music.

Dancing the bolero
Timing in the acquisition mode - bolero open tones indicate the slow weight transfer.
Sensing and synchronising hip actions.
Partner holds for detecting hip action.

How a travelling step might be constructed
Maximum passive step size.
Active step sizes and the compromises to frictional stability.
Generating foot angles using floor friction and hip action.
The significant difference between 'Toes Out' and 'Ankles In'.
The 'shiny coin' teaching point.

Points of View: Configurations for the taller dancer
Both Ianthe and Michel are well above average in height. We began to address what that means in dance beginning with:

1. reduced mechanical advantage in the limbs;
2. the wavelength of movement; and
3. refining timing co-ordination in longer limbs.

Re-dancing the bolero
Drawing out the 'slow' - maximising the wavelength and an even weight transfer
'push-and-pull' action - flexion and extension doubles the energy within a system and smoothens the execution of steps.
Partial weight transfer on the slap tone.
Contratiempo phrasing.

Interpreting lead information
The importance of equilibrium pressure.
Touch practice: palm to palm exercise, unsighted.
Two variations of the contradanse hold:

1. negating turning moments using the compression hold.
2. communicating with the picture arm in the bolero hold.

Bolero's lessons in the Salsa context
Long and Slow - saturating every moment between the beats with movement.
Then and Now: comparing the naturalised 'standard' with the bolero-derived movement.
Alterations to wavelength.

Contrasting Activities
An introduction to pivots and their execution without pre-load.
Chachachá as foot percussion fun.

Learning Materials
Salsa Teaching CD2
Chachachá Teaching CD1
Bolero Teaching CD1
Arroyo, Joe - Rebellión (CD)
Fruko y sus Tesos - Todos Bailan Salsa (CD)
Grupo Niche - Etnia (CD)


Dinner!


Loo Yeo