We hosted our second workshop day on Saturday of last week. Unfortunately, we only found out that the e-mail contact form on our website was not working the night before the workshop. I apologise to those who tried to book onto our workshop via the web form and did not get any reply from us.
Nevertheless, more people attended than our last workshop. Also, the private lessons were taken. Based on the feedback from our last workshop we have cut our workshops’ duration – from three hours to 1 ½ for beginners and 2 for intermediates – so you can concentrate more and hence get more out of it.
The teachers are young championship level competitors with ample teaching experience, making them ideal to explain and especially demonstrate what standard you could strive for. Having young couples teach also means that hopefully they relate to you more easily as well as charging a lower price for your sake. Having up to 7 different teachers gave students the benefit of different perspectives on, demonstrations and explanations of the same concepts.
Given that everyone had their own routines, the workshops were mostly technique-based. This complemented the mostly routine-based coaching students, especially beginners, already get without interfering with it.
We got only positive comments on the day, which is obviously great, but please let us know if you have suggestions, criticism or complaints!
For example, Michael suggested a different format. We could have 1 ½ hours of group teaching followed by supervised practice and then 1 ½ more group teaching, with breaks in between. This is very lengthy and intensive, so there is time for only one category per day, e.g. beginners’ Latin. Perhaps this could be offered in addition to the current format, if requested. For example, if your university’s competitive team is interested in an intensive day of learning and practice, we can arrange it.
One couple said they found the day very useful as they are usually so busy that routine is mostly what they have time for during their lessons with their coach every week, especially as beginner just starting and the first competition only weeks away at the beginning of the academic year. The greatest challenge is to unlearn all the bad habits they pick up in their first year, leading to mostly 3rd-year-and-beyond student dancers performing more competently and technically sound. Another couple was unhappy with their Jive routine, with which they did not feel confident or comfortable, because they spent too much of their original routine dancing apart. Gleb and Helen taught them a new routine, on request, in which they spend much more time together, as well as what it should feel like being in contact such as leading and following. The couple were much more comfortable with this routine and immediately improved their dancing and confidence.
Far’s runs these workshops non-profitably, as we intend to help students improve their level without breaking their wallets. Even the private lessons are a bargain, since if you would take private lessons on any other – non-workshop – day the rate would be higher simply because the dancers would need to subsidise their travel and the floor fee.
We are looking into organising more of these workshops, possibly monthly. So if anyone can get a free/cheap venue and would like us to come, please let me know as soon as you can so that I can book the teachers.
All of these workshops are available to anyone who is a member of IVDA. So please let us know if you are interested in future workshops, even if they are not planned yet, your level of dancing, what you hope to achieve, and what university you dance for. I will add you to our workshop e-mail list and we will let you know each time we host a workshop.
Please contact us via our e-mail form, or e-mail us directly. If have not heard back from us within 5 days, please try again or better yet: call us or send a fax. Spammers are getting more cunning every day!
