It began, as it normally does, over dinner.
Michel, Ianthe (not their real names) and I were exchanging old war stories and ticklish anecdotes from our skirmishes on the dance floor. What better way to idle an evening away than over delicious Szechuan cuisine in the company of good friends, to the cadence of spicy salsa stories?
Talk meandered to our experiences in salsa classes and things we would have liked to learn. Now the three of us had been travelling to dance havens together more frequently if late, where I'd had the pleasure of introducing Ianthe to national/cultural movements in salsa not normally taught in this country. Turns out that both Ianthe and Michel were intrigued when I explained that it was possible to enact the movements and gestures of salsa's various societal sub-cultures using a learning system that was parametrically based.
So out came the smart-phones to the tune of tippy-tappy fingertips, and an afternoon date was set for Sunday after this one.
As this would be the first time they'd ever been under my tutelage, I thought a one-off taster session would be best; to give every one a graceful 'out' in case things didn't work out. Not that that seemed likely as Ianthe and Michel share a searing intellectual curiosity. The plan assumed the shape of a three-hour stand-alone private workshop (with option to accommodate subsequent ones) which would counterweight this country's prevailing teaching systems.
In the past, I'd had the luxury of starting with my students from scratch. In this instance I would have to design a Hierarchy of Correction instead of a Hierarchy of Development, and make a significant realisable impact on their dancing in one afternoon. I'm relishing the challenge.
And I've got under a fortnight to cook up a best approach.
Loo Yeo
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