Camilla Dallerup comes to Dancz

Well I have to say we had a fabulous day at Dancz on Sunday, with Camilla Dallerup coming to entertain us with an afternoon filled with dancing workshops (ballroom and Latin American), coffee/tea and cakes and a Q&A session.

Camilla started the afternoon off with a Waltz workshop, concentrating firstly on the use of the standing leg, and also focusing on the importance of connection between dancing couples. I was pleased to see the danczers all working hard to grasp the idea, and it was great to watch the improvement during the time provided. Some of the male danczers were delighted to get to dance briefly with our Strictly Come Dancing star (winner 2008) - luckily we managed to get some photo evidence to prove that it was real!!!

  

Following a short interval, Camilla progressed on to the Latin with some work on the Rumba (my favourite dance!!). The danczers were reminded of the importance of the 'basic principles' and Camilla highlighted various areas where the danczers could improve on their skills. I particularly liked the 'tweezer' example that Camilla used, and will definitely be reminding the danczers of the comparison. At the end of the session we couldn't get the danczers off the floor, as they were danczing Camilla's Rumba Sequence like a formation group to get extra practice in- fabulous!!!

The final part of the afternoon was an afternoon tea dance incorporating a Q&A session with Camilla, this was a great opportunity for the danczers to ask Camilla any questions they had. The questions covered a wide range of topics, with some danczers asking about ways to improve their danczing, others asking about Strictly Come Dancing, and some taking an interest in Camilla's current projects.

A fabulous day was had by all, and everyone loved Camilla, her clear passion for dancing, and her commitment to passing on her expertise to all levels of dancer. Judging by Camilla's tweet to Dancz, she enjoyed her afternoon with the Danczers too:-

Camilla Dallerup ‏@CamillaDallerup

Great to see u too @Dancz_Cheshire what a lovely place and bunch speak soon again! xxx

It was interesting (from the feedback) to hear that each danczer took away something different from the event. The event clearly inspired the danczers as all the danczers who had attended the event returned to the Dancz floor a couple of hours later for their weekly dancz installment. We look forward to welcoming Camilla back on the Dancz floor in the near future.

Now all my attentions are directed towards the Dancz Christmas Ball (only 12 tickets remaining), and Dancz 2013. It's hard to believe that Dancz is 8 years old in January- madness!!!

Happy Danczing.

Zoe x

The Power of Strictly Come Dancing

It's fantastic to have Strictly Come Dancing back on the TV again, and great to see so much talent this year. I really enjoyed watching week 1 as the professionals had choreographed routines that included lots of 'basic' dancing steps.

It's amazing how Strictly Come Dancing really inspires the danczers:-
The Hold / Topline - over the last couple of weeks I've noticed a significant improvement with how many of my danczers are holding themselves, the comments from the judges have really made them take note and focus on how they're looking. A massive thank you to Len Goodman for clearly showing his disappointment with some of the Strictly Celebs toplines on Saturday, it was difficult to watch so many of the women just hanging off the men.

Footwork - I'm chuffed to bits that there's more focus on the 'footwork' in the early stages of Strictly Come Dancing competition. As Karen Hardy so perfectly described it - 'footwork is the foundation of great movement'. As I keep saying to my danczers I can tell when their footwork is poor without even having to look at their feet- a danczer with good footwork just looks balanced and controlled!!!

Arms and Finess - I must say that I sat chuckling to myself when I watched Strictly this weekend, it was almost as if Darcey had been part of my Friday morning class the day before. I spent most of the morning focussing on finess and completing arms "you've got 2 beats to finish that arm movement so make sure you use it", "extend the arm action right to the finger tip"

It's great that the Judges are talking about areas that I focus on in the classes, as then it's another reliable source of the same information- yippee.

I can't wait to see how the next couple of weeks turn out with the Strictly Class of 2012. It's hard to say who's going to win at this point, but there's definitely lots of contenders - exciting times.

I'm just in the process of finalising the information for the new term commencing in November. The beginners information went online last week, and we've already filled over half of the places - the Power of Strictly Come Dancing!!!

Happy Danczing.

Zoe x

Back to Dancz - yippee

Good Afternoon Danczers, Visitors and Friends,

Happy Friday!!

Well I'm back from my holidays, and my break away from the Dancz floor, and I'm raring to go (danczers beware). It was fantastic to be back on the Dancz floor on Wednesday for the Dancz / Cinnamon Club open evening. Thank you to everyone who came along for a taste of the Dancz experience, it was lovely to see so many people on the Dancz floor again, and that's without Strictly Come Dancing even starting yet. The evening was a great success with many people signing up on the night for the new absolute beginners course starting on the Monday 1st October 7:00pm. http://www.dancz.co.uk/Beginners.aspx

I am so lucky to have a talented photographer as part of the Dancz family, so a big thank you to Trudy for taking some great shots of Wednesday evening, and for capturing all the danczers looking fantastic - you should see the stylish arm usage on the photies- proud teacher alert!!!

I've got Strictly Come Dancing set on the planner, all ready to go for tomorrow evening. It's hard to believe that a year ago I was sat there behind the judges on the opening show - time flies. The line up is great this year, and it just goes to show how popular the dancing is, and how influential it can be from the 'names' who want to be a part of it. I'm really looking forward to watching Nicky from Westlife, it'll be interesting to see whether he can transfer his musicality on to the Dancz floor. As always, I'll be rooting for a man to win, it's definitely a lot harder for them to dance as they have to lead the lady as well.

I'm very much looking forward to the start of the new term on Sunday, and to seeing everyone back on the Dancz floor again.

Happy Danczing.

Zoe x

Nearly the end of another Dancz school year!!!

Good Afternoon Danczers and Visitors

I can't believe it's over a month since I published my last post!! It's been a busy month at Dancz, and Dancz HQ - Dancz exams, the end of another Dancz term, Dancz end of term outings!!

The IDTA Dancz exams on Sunday 8th July went really well, with all the Danczers achieving impressive results - especially the adults. All the Danczers worked extremely hard for the Latin American medals, so I was pleased that they achieved great results for their hard work and dedication.

We all had a lovely evening at La Vina in Hale last night for the Dancz end of term outing. It's such a pleasure to see the friendships that have been formed as a result of attending Dancz, and it just goes to show that Dancz is soooo much more than just a danczing school.

We're on the final countdown before we close for Summer this Wednesday 25th July. It's been a really busy and demanding year at Dancz, so I must admit that I am ready for a break, and I'm looking forward to recharging my batteries in time for September. All the information for the new term will be available to view on http://www.dancz.co.uk/ from mid August so you'll be able to see what's on the Dancz schedule then.

Hope you all have a lovely summer.

Zoe xxx

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The joys of Dancz

Hello Danczers and Visitors,

It seems like a while since I posted my last entry. It was nice to have some time off during the Jubilee celebrations to recharge my batteries. As always dancing featured as part of my time off with a visit to Blackpool Wintergardens to watch the open professional Latin competition. I had a fantastic time, and it was fabulous to get to see some exceptionally talented dancers in action. This week sees the start of another Dancz term- this will be our last full term until September!!

This term we've spiced up our timetable with the addition of sequence danczing. We've decided to dance the popular sequence dances to pop music, to make it appealing to danczers of all ages to join in. I'm really looking forward to the class this evening - it's always nice to teach something new.

We had fun during last nights class with the introduction of the Fleckerl in the Viennese Waltz. There was a lot of reverse (left) Fleckerl turning, I'm surprised we were all able to walk in a straight line by the end of the session. As promised please find the rhyme to help you master the sequence
Men
In front, side, in front, side, behind, side

Ladies
Side, behind, side, in front, side, in front

I'm sure I'll be able to tell those who have practiced off the Dancz floor.

Happy Danczing.

Zoe x

The wonders of Blackpool Tower

It's the start of another Dancz term!!

A great big thank you to all the Danczers who came on the Blackpool Tower trip- what a fabulous night, if I do say so myself. It was a top notch evening, great company, fantastic social dancing, informative Rumba and Jive workshop followed by an outstanding demo (shame I didn't manage to get a quick dance with the talented Gregor Rebula!!!). Luckily one of the dancz members managed to capture some super shots of the whole evening. The night certainly made me proud of all the danczers showcasing their talents on the beautiful dance floor.

Monday saw the start of our new Dancz courses for the lower levels, with both the absolute beginners and beyond beginners getting a good grasp of the new dances that had been set. We managed to do more than anticipated with all the classes.

The Wednesday and Sunday classes will all be concentrating on the Waltz and Paso Doble. I feel that the Paso is slowly becoming a favourite with the classes, as they all take on their roles of Matadors, Capes and Flamenco Danczers!!!

Happy Danczing.

Zoe x

Danczing in time - the challenges

We're now approaching the final sessions of the current Dancz term.

It's been a busy term, and we've also had the added pressure of the Dancz exams - which I must say went really well (if I do say myself!!) I'm a proud teacher.

As we approach the end of term, we always like to test / challenge the Danczers, just to prove how far we come during the term. One of my favourite challenges is to test the Danczers on their ability to count in to the music, and then keep time. It can be tricky, as it's very easy to get caught up with 'the routine' and 'the technique' that we almost forget that the reason for danczing is to express ourselves to the music being played.

The dances that always seem to challenge the danczers most are the Cha Cha and Rumba. The main reason for this is that all our routines commence with a preparation / settling in step, which means that we have to start danczing on the count of ‘4’. The main mistake that is made is that the danczers are great at finding the ‘1’ but they don’t move on count 4, they wait until the 1- which means they are then danczing out of time – eekkk (one of my pet hates!!!)

In the Dancing World it is imperative that you dance ‘in time’ with the music to succeed. Throughout my competition days – whether it be competing or training competitors, I frequently watched those who danced ‘in time’ (with the music) triumph over those who may have been ‘better’ dancers but who weren’t dancing with the music.

So here’s a challenge for you J
This week when you are listening to music (at home/ in the car/ out clubbing) try and pick up the first beat of the bar ‘1’ and then count 2,3 and then follow it with a Cha Cha Cha (4 & 1) or Slow (4,1). This is how we count in to a basic Cha Cha or Rumba.
(WARNING - Be careful that you don't delay your movement and count the 4 as well!!)
If you’re struggling just tap your foot, click your fingers, or simply clap your hands and you’ll find that more often than not you will start on the first beat of the bar!!!

Good Luck J

Happy Danczing.

Zoé x

Dancz - Time flies when you're having fun

Wow - it's hard to believe that we're on week 3 of the current Dancz term, where is the time going.
This week is an extremely busy (and stressful) week for me, as a number of danczers are taking part in their IDTA medal examinations. I'm sure everyone will do really well - just remember they're here to give you constructive comments, not put you off danczing for ever!!!

I'm really pleased with how all the classes are progressing this term. I know that I work all the danczers hard but I'm eager for as many people as possible to get the enjoyment that I have out of dancing.

As promised please find some songs from last week's Dancz sessions so that you can download / locate them and practice, practice, practice. A great dance teacher once told me "Practice makes Permanent" so don't forget Dancz practice Monday evenings 9:30 - 10:30pm.

Foxtrot
Layla (Foxtrot) - Dancelife's Best: Do you remember this 2
Brown Eyes Blue (Foxtrot) - Bring a Smile to your feet 3

Cha Cha
Hey Daddy (Cha) - Cha Cha Pa'Ti
A Night Like This - Caro Emerald

Tango
Serenta;- Casa Musica Best of Ballroom
Adios Muchachos:- Stanley Black Best of Tango

Samba
Hazmelo:- Latin Unlimited Agua De Coco
Macarena:- Bring a Smile to Your Feet 3

Waltz
Together Hand in Hand:- Ross Mitchell 25 Top Waltzes
Take it to the Limit:- Ballroom Orchestra Waltz

Hopefully that's enough to get your Dancz music collection going!!!

More next week.

Happy Danczing.

Zoé