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Casino Moves in One-On-One Salsa & Special Workshops
Click here for info on using Casino moves in one-on-one salsa dancing PLAY IN SALSA DANCING: A WORKSHOP BY ERIN BRANDTOn April 29, 06, my class had the pleasure of welcoming Erin Brandt, a NYC Salsa teacher, to do a unique workshop on how to "Play" while dancing. Erin specializes in embellishing moves and adding taps, touches, body rolls, and other playful interactions with her partner while doing either one on one Salsa or Casino Rueda. I had met Erin some time ago and seen her dance in her remarkably unique style. I will never forget what she said to me the first day we met after I watched her dance. She commented, "As a dancer, I usually have one hand free. So I surprise my partner by tapping him when he least expects it." Indeed, she is full of surprises. In a Rueda circle, Erin turns around and taps the dancer "behind" her a couple of times (on the back, ankle, or shoulder etc.) when they are least expecting it---without losing the flow of the move she is doing. She moves with such speed and agility, not to mention grace, that it's amazing to watch. I have never seen anyone do a lot of the maneuvers Erin does---they are truly her own! It would be easy to confuse Erin's specialty with "ladies styling" since both involve embellishments of Salsa moves. But the two are quite different. Ladies' styling involves coquettish movements that are meant to be sexy. They are a way of drawing attention to oneself and saying that the dancer considers herself appealing. But Erin's approach is more in the "interpersonal domain." She interacts in unexpected ways---by joking with, teasing, and playing with her partner. Erin is at once playful and companionable. She engages her partner in "play" without the self-conscious, self-aware quality of most ladies' styling. I have to say that this hits home to me. I've danced Salsa for years and still don't really feel comfortable with a lot of ladies' styling. But I'm playful by nature, and anything that is funny, or a fun interaction, feels very natural to me. So I immediately loved watching Erin dance, and was interested in learning more about her unusual style. We arranged for her to teach in my class and she described to me the workshop she would do as follows. She would start with the feet and move up the body (to legs, hips, etc.) showing ways to alter and add to standard moves. By the end, she was blending these embellishments using multiple parts of her body. And of course, she addressed both leads and follows. I have some of her material below with video clips to give the reader snapshot views of what Erin did with the class. In addition to the class workshop, she coached one of my teams, adding movement and enriching some of the steps that they were doing. Everyone loved working with her and looking at dance from this unusual vantage point. Video clips of Erin's Workshop on Play:
(Note the last two parts below show Erin Brandt dancing with Joel Rodriguez as
she illustrated how she engages a partner in playful maneuvers. We didn't see Joel
complaining, I might add; and he responded playfully himself!!) ********* "Oh my God Barb!!! The Saturday class was AWESOME!!! And Erin is a great dancer/teacher. The next time she comes here, put me down for an 1 lesson with her (my head was spinning with all the moves driving home)." --------------------------------------
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