WEST COAST SWING
Intensive Classes & Workshops
OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2017
Our classes began Monday, October 23! Come join us! Becoming amazing - fast!
Our classes began Monday, October 23! Come join us! Becoming amazing - fast!
|
WCS LEVEL 101+201 INTENSIVE CLASS
"Intensively Amazing! For Absolute Beginner Through Intermediate(+) Dancers." 6 weeks • Mondays 8:30-9:45pm • October 23 – November 27 • 8 hrs total, $165 Instructors: Ken Kreshtool & Paula Wilson. The very best WCS class anywhere, thanks to our unique "building blocks" approach. This is the fast path to becoming a good dancer really fast. See very complete 101+201 class description below – scroll down! WCS LEVEL 202+301 INTENSIVE CLASS
6 weeks • Mondays 7:30-8:30pm • October 23 – November 27 • 6 hrs total, $125 Instructors: Paula Wilson & Ken Kreshtool Last month (Sept), we intensely focused on deep technique skills. In this class, we'll focus on "lots o' stuff"! — expanding our vocabulary of moves and patterns and styling. Each week we'll start with a new skill or technique (a new building block!) and then play with a whole group of moves that the new skill enables.
• Students in this class may stay for Level 101+201 for FREE! Review and practice and master. • Prerequisite: For Ken and Paula's 101 alumni only. No exceptions, thank you. |
Every Month: Private Lessons
|
We are available for Private Lessons ($75/hr for one instructor, $130/hr for both instructors, + room rental fees, typically about $15-45/hr). We are also available for semi-private and small-group lessons, as well as corporate and private events. Contact us here.
|
VERY COMPLETE 101+201 CLASS DESCRIPTION
|
WCS LEVEL 101+201 INTENSIVE CLASS
"INTENSIVELY AMAZING! FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNER THROUGH INTERMEDIATE+ DANCERS." 6 weeks • Mondays 8:30-9:45pm • 8 hrs total, $165 Instructors: Ken Kreshtool & Paula Wilson Location: midtown Manhattan (see your emailed Registration follow-up for exact address—not the paypal auto-receipt, but the one that we'll email you a day or two later) For Absolute Beginner through Intermediate(+). Also recommended for: • People who have other partner-dance experience and want to learn WCS really fast, without having to plow through a standard WCS Beginner class. • People who have taken some WCS classes and want a more technique-focused approach that ties everything together and helps you dance beautifully on the actual social dance floor. We will learn and rapidly improve our WCS by focusing on how really good WCS dancers actually dance. Is there a secret that makes WCS easy, and makes WCS's huge vocabulary of amazing moves and patterns easy to learn? Yes! We will focus on the 6 primary and 4 secondary partnered-movement building blocks of WCS. Snap these together, and we can magically dance all Basic, Intermediate, and most Advanced WCS moves & patterns with the same ease as Advanced dancers. • Everyone in class receives focused individual attention and hands-on tips. • Our teaching is quite different from conventional WCS classes, and therefore offers an excellent acceleration for all WCS dancers. Prerequisite: Ability to count to 6. We'll teach you the rest. No partner or prior experience needed. (If you have any prior dance experience, we will use it to maximize your learning.)
Clothing and Shoes: Scroll down to the "CLASS DETAILS" section below. Thanks
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. 100% refund available any time before the 2nd lesson, no questions asked. So you can be sure our teaching style suits your learning style. Risk free!
|
WHY OUR INTENSIVE CLASSES?
Why our Intensive Classes? It's all about the teaching! Our unique "building blocks" teaching approach will get you out on the dance floor fast - having a great time dancing - meeting new people - while continually getting better! Our classes themselves are friendly, entertaining, highly social, and packed with dancing! If you want to understand WCS fast — or if you want to supplement your other WCS classes to boost your skills and technique — come join us!
"That was the best partner-dance class I've ever had of any kind, ever!" —an experienced dancer at a recent WCS class
"You guys are the gold standard for partner dance teaching. Wow." —another experienced dancer at a recent class
"That was the best partner-dance class I've ever had of any kind, ever!" —an experienced dancer at a recent WCS class
"You guys are the gold standard for partner dance teaching. Wow." —another experienced dancer at a recent class
YOUR TEACHERS
Paula Wilson: Internationally ranked West Coast Swing competition dancer. Graduate of the Alvin Ailey School's Professional Division. Professional modern dancer and internationally traveling Argentine Tango teacher for 12 years. Award-winning former early childhood education teacher.
Ken Kreshtool: Internationally ranked West Coast Swing competition dancer. "The best instructor I've ever had in ANYTHING!" — Harvard University students' comments, 6 years in a row, for his on-campus dance classes (while working on a PhD there).
Ken Kreshtool: Internationally ranked West Coast Swing competition dancer. "The best instructor I've ever had in ANYTHING!" — Harvard University students' comments, 6 years in a row, for his on-campus dance classes (while working on a PhD there).
WHAT IS WEST COAST SWING?
West Coast Swing (WCS) is a partner dance, a smoother and highly sophisticated form of Jitterbug or Lindy Hop-style Swing dance. It kept evolving in California during the post-WW II decades when Jitterbug itself (aka Lindy Hop) went dead or dormant for 50 years. It has continued evolving dramatically even today, adapting to new music and new dancers. Over the years, it has "borrowed" (stolen) almost every cool move, turn, dip, and styling from Lindy Hop, Salsa, Hip Hop, Country, and booty-shakin', and even some Ballroom, Zouk, Tango and Blues. West Coast Swing has one of the biggest vocabularies of moves and combinations of any partner dance — and the widest range of music styles. At the same time, WCS Followers have more freedom for improvisation, and both partners have more freedom for musical expression, than in any other partner dance. WCS is the easiest of the Swing dances to learn (if you have the right teachers — that's us!), but perhaps the most challenging to fully master. It's hugely popular on the West Coast and in Europe and South America. Come get in on the fun as it sweeps the East Coast!
CLASS DETAILS
WHERE: midtown Manhattan, near 34th & Lexington (see your emailed Registration receipt for exact address—not the paypal auto-receipt, but the one that we'll email you a day or two later)
CLOTHING: Wear anything that is comfortable. Jeans or slacks, t-shirts are fine. Bring an extra shirt.
SHOES:
Good footwear: Any clean dance footwear that lets you spin comfortably is fine — dance shoes, dance sneakers, Toms, even socks. Clean suede soles are best. Pulling large, thin socks/footies over your shoes or sneakers works surprisingly well. Low heels or flats are best for WCS.
Bad footwear: Grippy rubber soles are bad — your knees will die. NO SPIKES OR HIGH HEELS, PLEASE! Salsa heels, Tango heels, even character shoes, do NOT work well for WCS.
NOTE: Please change into your clean dance footwear in the lobby area after arriving, to preserve the nice wood floor. If it rains or snows, definitely change into clean, dry footwear after arriving. Thanks.
WHAT ELSE TO BRING: (a) All you friends! (b) Water. Maybe a snack. (c) An extra shirt. (d) Carry your dance footwear and change into it/them after you arrive. (e) Gum. Toothbrush. Deodorant. Please. (f) A smile!
GENDER NOTE: Our classes are non-gender biased. Dance whatever role(s) you like. We'll probably all try both roles at some point, as part of learning faster and better.
CLOTHING: Wear anything that is comfortable. Jeans or slacks, t-shirts are fine. Bring an extra shirt.
SHOES:
Good footwear: Any clean dance footwear that lets you spin comfortably is fine — dance shoes, dance sneakers, Toms, even socks. Clean suede soles are best. Pulling large, thin socks/footies over your shoes or sneakers works surprisingly well. Low heels or flats are best for WCS.
Bad footwear: Grippy rubber soles are bad — your knees will die. NO SPIKES OR HIGH HEELS, PLEASE! Salsa heels, Tango heels, even character shoes, do NOT work well for WCS.
NOTE: Please change into your clean dance footwear in the lobby area after arriving, to preserve the nice wood floor. If it rains or snows, definitely change into clean, dry footwear after arriving. Thanks.
WHAT ELSE TO BRING: (a) All you friends! (b) Water. Maybe a snack. (c) An extra shirt. (d) Carry your dance footwear and change into it/them after you arrive. (e) Gum. Toothbrush. Deodorant. Please. (f) A smile!
GENDER NOTE: Our classes are non-gender biased. Dance whatever role(s) you like. We'll probably all try both roles at some point, as part of learning faster and better.
Registration
FAQ: World's best WCS group classes? Drop-ins? Late registrations?
ARE THESE THE WORLD'S BEST WEST COAST SWING GROUP CLASSES?
ARE THESE NEW YORK CITY'S BEST WEST COAST SWING GROUP CLASSES?
Yes.
DROP-INS PERMITTED? Yes for our Sunday workshops. But for our Monday classes ... no. Our multi-week Level 101, 201, 301, and 401 classes on Monday nights are cumulative — each lesson builds on all previous lessons.
• However, if you are visiting from out of town and want to attend one lesson, to see what the World's Best WCS (West Coast Swing) Classes look like <insert modest cough here>, please contact us and we will almost always say yes. We may ask you to sit on the side if we think that day's topics require preparation that you don't have yet, but we will refund you if we do that.
LATE REGISTRATIONS AFTER THE FIRST WEEK? (For multi-week classes.)
We are extremely reluctant. We want you (and all your partners in class) to be happy! Not frustrated! Our class is intensively cumulative, which is how we learn so much so quickly and easily. We lay nearly all the groundwork in the first class. Please come to the first lesson! Thanks for understanding.
• Start at 2nd lesson? Probably not. If you absolutely cannot attend the 1st lesson, contact us about starting at the 2nd lesson. However, note that — just like when going to the movies — there's no discount for starting late. Also note that we cover so much fundamental stuff in the first lesson, which we build on in all subsequent lessons, that we have never had anyone catch up after missing the first lesson. If you absolutely must miss the 1st lesson, and absolutely cannot wait until our next full session, you are welcome to schedule a private lesson with one of us before the second lesson.
• Start at 3rd lesson? No, sorry. We cover so much ground in the first two lessons, that we have never had anyone successfully start during lesson 3. So we ask you to wait until our next class series starts. Thanks!