ValDance Friday Night Workshops and Dances

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Friday, March 19th, 2010
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM

ValDance Friday night Workshops and Dances run during the regular sessions, Sept. to Dec. and Jan. to May. Workshops offer students opportunities to explore new dance styles and polish their technique. It’s very important to experiment with a variety of rhythms and movements when you are first learning to dance. For people who are unable to attend regular classes workshops are an excellent option. You can drop-in to any Friday night class that interests you. Some workshops are designed for beginners and first-timers, others for more experienced dancers and some focus on technique which is essential practice for all skill levels.
Our Friday night dances are the highlight of the week. It’s a chance to socialize with new and old friends and to practice your dancing in a party setting. Fellow students and teachers are happy to help if you get stuck on a step. Theme nights are especially popular. Everyone likes to dress accordingly and get into the spirit of the party. Refreshments, prizes and many other surprises add to the fun.

Until renovations are complete at the Native Sons Hall ValDance is re-located to the Filberg Centre with a few exceptions, so it is important to check the location of each Friday night event.

CH - Conference Hall, upstairs in the Filberg Centre
RH – Rotary Hall, downstairs in the Filberg Centre
LG – Courtenay Legion across from Native Sons Hall

Jan. 15 - CH “Burn the Floor” 44 ballroom and Latin champions from around the globe come together for a revolutionary dance extravaganza. A DVD presentation of this stunning world premiere will be shown on the big screen from 6:30 to 8 p.m. From 8-11 p.m. it’s our turn to burn the floor! To inspire us even more some Salsa pros from Vancouver and Nanaimo are dropping by to perform for us during our dance. The final hour of the dance from 10 -11 p.m. will be dedicated to Latin music only in the interest of all our special guests. You may bring your dinner or a snack for the movie. Refreshments will also be served.

Jan. 22 – RH “Mucho Mambo” Intermediate/Advanced Mambo
Mambo is the dancers dance. The best Salsa dancers borrow from Mambo and even dance on the 2 beat. In this workshop we are going to delight you with some of the hottest steps you’ve seen. If you have taken LB II you are ready to give this a try. If you like Salsa you will love the Mambo. This is a dance to aspire to!

Jan. 29 – CH Intermediate East Coast Swing
East Coast Swing or Triple Swing is the base for all swing styles. If you can dance the basic step in East Coast Swing please come and try out some fun patterns like The Octopus. The worst that can happen is you get tangled up, but that is part of the fun.

Feb. 5 – CH Beginner/Intermediate Fox Trot
We had almost 100 people at our last Fox Trot workshop so that tells me you either love the Fox Trot or find it the most challenging. The curving basics you learn in Beginners are tricky at first but when practiced enough will get you happily around any crowded dance floor. In this workshop we want to show you the first few steps of Ballroom Beginner II Fox Trot which will be a stroll in the park in comparison. You will literally learn how to stroll and glide as we do it.

Feb. 12 – CH Intermediate/Advanced Waltz - Happy Valentines’ Day!
Dress for romance tonight! Waltz makes you feel graceful and elegant, especially when you learn how to add swing, sway and rotation to it. We are focusing on beautiful ballroom technique tonight, from the top of your head to the tip of your toes.

Feb. 19 – RH “Super Samba” Intermediate Samba and special Olympic party!
This lively Brazilian dance with it’s lilting bounce just makes you happy. It seemed the perfect night to squeeze in some Olympic fun at the dance following and dress in Canadian colours and Olympic gear. Samba is celebrated extensively in Brazil as their national dance. There are Samba schools everywhere you look, each preparing to outdo the next with extravagant costumes, floats and dancing, of course, in time to win big at Carnivale. In Brazil, Samba remains a solo dance. It was made popular as a partner dance in America in the 1930’s. The interesting dance steps are unique to Samba and flow together so smoothly. It is the only Latin dance that travels around the floor. Learn how to Bota Fogo and Copacabana like a Brazilian and win some gold medals doing it! It's "Proud to be Canadian" night.

Feb. 26 – CH Beginner Rumba
This will be a chance to focus on your Cuban motion and practice good Latin technique which starts with proper use of your feet, legs and ribcage. With practice you will look and feel more in character with the sensual style of Rumba. We’ll do a simple grouping so you can focus more on your styling and technique. Excellent workshop for all skill levels.

Mar. 5 – CH Intermediate/Advanced Tango
Our goal in this workshop is to make you FEEL the passion and drama of the Tango. We will teach you steps from our Totally Tango step list that will allow you to express your masculinity, power and confidence, or for ladies; their sensuality and strength as a woman. A dancer must interpret the music in the character or style of the dance. The strong cadence of Tango music compels you to play a strong, assertive role. Tango requires and develops assertive leading, therefore you will notice your lead improving in all your other dances. When the lead is good the follower can play her part better. Teamwork at it’s best.

Mar. 12 – RH Advanced Cha Cha
Cha Cha music is fast and syncopated so our footwork must be crisp and precise to reflect that. The style of the dance is created by the emotion the music instills in you. We have an exciting combination to share with the advanced Cha Cha dancers tonight involving spirals, rope spinning and the fine art of swiveling. During the dance beginners will get a chance to learn some Cha Cha basics.

Mar. 19 – LG Swing Night! Beginner/Intermediate Single Swing
Tonight we don our suspenders and bow ties, poodle skirts and ponytails. Dress in any of the Swing eras from flappers in the 1920’s to the rock ‘n roll decade of the 1950’s. This is a great night to invite your friends. Single Swing is easy to learn especially with so many expert swingers in the room to practice with. We’ll give the Tuxedo Junction Line Dance a try later in the evening. It is a great test of co-ordination and a lot of fun. We’ll do a little Lindy Hop and Charleston too.

Mar. 26 – CH Beginner/Intermediate Bolero
Bolero is originally Spanish with Cuban and African influences. It is a mixture of three dances: Tango (contra body movement); Waltz (rise and fall) and Rumba (Cuban Motion and slow Latin music). Bolero music is very romantic with haunting melodies using soft percussion such as Congas or Bongos with lyrics of love and desire or painful heartache. You can understand why the style of the dance is also very dramatic and sensual with sweeping arms and hypnotic hip action. The count is Slow Quick Quick. The exotic Bolero is a difficult dance to master but the journey is beautiful. The advanced patterns require great balance, poise and finesse. Tonight we will give you a sample of what Bolero is like.

Apr. 9 – LG Latin Night! Beginner/Intermediate Salsa & Merengue
Dress for a hot night of Latin music and non-stop dancing. I made sure we fit in all the Latin workshops before tonight so you will get to have a great Latin party. We’ll start with a Merengue lesson, so easy and fun! Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic. It is a strong marching beat to very fast music. So if you can march you’re half way there. Salsa originated in Cuba and has as many styles throughout Latin America as there are dialects. We teach Cuban style Salsa and love how easily people can pick it up and become fluent in it. With the help of our Salsa I and II students we’ll have everybody dancing some Salsa in no time. Tonight we will play a mix of ballroom and swing but there will be a predominance of Latin music partly because there are more Latin styles than ballroom and swing combined. Ladies in Latin Line dancing this is your night to shine!

Apr. 16 – RH Beginner West Coast Swing
Known as the Sophisticated Swing, West Coast Swing is full of style. It is danced to medium or slow music such as Mowtown, Blues, Funk, R & B, Soul….In this workshop we will start from square one and later demonstrate what West Coast Swing looks like with a little more practice. Even though it is a Beginner class some dance experience is advised, it doesn’t have to be Swing experience.

Apr. 23 - CH “Twinkle Toes” Intermediate/Advanced Fox Trot & Waltz
Tonight we are focusing on a critical problem facing most ballroom dancers: How to dance a perfect twinkle. The twinkle is in so many patterns of advanced Fox Trot and Waltz so when it is done poorly it spoils the look of your dance. We will give you some great tips and exercises to do and dance some combinations brimming with twinkles for an hour of concentrated practice.

Apr. 30 – CH Beginner/Intermediate Swing Hustle
Learn the basic steps of this classic disco dance that brought partner dancing back in the 1970’s. Even if you’re not a disco fan, Swing Hustle is still a show stopper when danced to popular music of today. It’s fun and easy to learn the basics. A great night to invite your friends.

Saturday, May 8 ValDance Studio presents the 13th. Annual Spring Gala at the Florence Filberg Centre. Tickets go on sale in March.