LINDY HOP TECHNIQUE INTENSIVE
"The Other Half of Lindy Hop"
"You guys are the gold standard for partner dance teaching. Wow."
"The best partner dance class I've ever had, of any kind, ever."
"The best instructor I've ever had in ANYTHING!" — Harvard University students' comments,
6 years in a row, for Ken's on-campus dance classes (while working on a PhD there).
"The best partner dance class I've ever had, of any kind, ever."
"The best instructor I've ever had in ANYTHING!" — Harvard University students' comments,
6 years in a row, for Ken's on-campus dance classes (while working on a PhD there).
MARCH-APRIL 2022
LINDY HOP TECHNIQUE INTENSIVE: "The Other Half of Lindy Hop"
Instructors: Ken Kreshtool
When: Thursday evenings 6:45-8:00 pm
Location: Studio 797, 797 Eighth Ave, 4th Floor ~ Studio 1 (betw 48th & 49th St), Manhattan NY
Instructors: Ken Kreshtool
When: Thursday evenings 6:45-8:00 pm
Location: Studio 797, 797 Eighth Ave, 4th Floor ~ Studio 1 (betw 48th & 49th St), Manhattan NY
Lindy Hop is an amalgam of many parts. In this "intensive," we will focus ONLY on the partnered movement that happens in all the Swingouts and
An unusually thorough, structured, highly sociable and entertaining Beginners course. You will learn all the fundamental skills and moves ("patterns") of West Coast Swing, plus expert technique tips. And you will be fully ready to go out social dancing with confidence and have a great time!
We'll do all this by focusing on the fundamental 3 "building blocks" that all WCS moves and patterns are made of, plus a few additional WCS-specific building blocks. Plus the connection and partnering skills that let us mix-and-match them, and play with them, and make magic with them.
Our goal is to be good, fun, skilled WCS dancers in just weeks, instead of the years it usually takes! And this is how we'll do it!
An unusually thorough, structured, highly sociable and entertaining Beginners course. You will learn all the fundamental skills and moves ("patterns") of West Coast Swing, plus expert technique tips. And you will be fully ready to go out social dancing with confidence and have a great time!
We'll do all this by focusing on the fundamental 3 "building blocks" that all WCS moves and patterns are made of, plus a few additional WCS-specific building blocks. Plus the connection and partnering skills that let us mix-and-match them, and play with them, and make magic with them.
Our goal is to be good, fun, skilled WCS dancers in just weeks, instead of the years it usually takes! And this is how we'll do it!
PREREQUISITE: Ability to count to 6. Ability to count to 8 recommended but not required. 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 & SHOES & HYGIENE: Wear comfortable clothing. And comfortable shoes that let you pivot — suede or hard-leather soles are good, most dance-sneaker or plastic soles are good. Grippy rubber soles like on running shoes are not good. High heels: not good. Character shoes: marginal; your feet will probably hurt after about 30 minutes. Deodorant & fresh breath required. Bring a clean shirt and change into it if needed. RAIN & SNOW: Bring clean, dry shoes and change into them at the door, to protect the nice wood floors.
CLOTHING & SHOES & HYGIENE: Wear comfortable clothing. And comfortable shoes that let you pivot — suede or hard-leather soles are good, most dance-sneaker or plastic soles are good. Grippy rubber soles like on running shoes are not good. High heels: not good. Character shoes: marginal; your feet will probably hurt after about 30 minutes. Deodorant & fresh breath required. Bring a clean shirt and change into it if needed. RAIN & SNOW: Bring clean, dry shoes and change into them at the door, to protect the nice wood floors.
Every Month: Private Lessons
We are available for Private Lessons ($90/hr for one instructor, $170/hr for both instructors, + room rental fees, typically about $15-30/hr). We are also available for semi-private and small-group lessons, as well as corporate and private events. Contact us here.
WHY OUR INTENSIVE CLASSES?
Why our Intensive Classes? It's all about our teaching!
"The best partner dance class I've ever had, of any kind, ever!" —a very experienced dancer in many dance forms
"You guys are the gold standard for partner dance teaching. Wow." —another experienced dancer at a recent class
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!
NOTE:
"Every great advance replaces traditional complexities by a new simplicity."—L.L. Whyte, Scottish philosopher, theoretical physicist, historian of science, and financier.
WCS is usually described as being complex and difficult to learn. This is not true … unless your teacher makes it that way, which far too many do. Good WCS is almost ridiculously simple at heart, while still being really fun and challenging as we become more and more advanced. Good WCS is 99% based on mastering a small number of partnered-movement teamwork skills (lead-follow skills) — and a few fundamental WCS "building blocks" — and playing with them in increasingly clever ways. This is what good WCS dancers actually DO, and this is how we create every pattern and move in WCS. Our partnered movements create all the patterns and even the footwork. Not the other way around. This is the necessary key to being a good WCS dancer, and therefore we feel it should be the basis of every Beginner class ... but it is usually held back as Advanced Technique Class material, which is just dumb. We teach all this in our Level 1+2 class, where it belongs, and where it is easiest to learn. And where it delivers a huge and permanent benefit to all our dancing skills! This is what empowers our students to be good, fun, skilled WCS dancers in just weeks, instead of the years it usually takes! We hope you will join us!
"The best partner dance class I've ever had, of any kind, ever!" —a very experienced dancer in many dance forms
"You guys are the gold standard for partner dance teaching. Wow." —another experienced dancer at a recent class
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!
NOTE:
"Every great advance replaces traditional complexities by a new simplicity."—L.L. Whyte, Scottish philosopher, theoretical physicist, historian of science, and financier.
WCS is usually described as being complex and difficult to learn. This is not true … unless your teacher makes it that way, which far too many do. Good WCS is almost ridiculously simple at heart, while still being really fun and challenging as we become more and more advanced. Good WCS is 99% based on mastering a small number of partnered-movement teamwork skills (lead-follow skills) — and a few fundamental WCS "building blocks" — and playing with them in increasingly clever ways. This is what good WCS dancers actually DO, and this is how we create every pattern and move in WCS. Our partnered movements create all the patterns and even the footwork. Not the other way around. This is the necessary key to being a good WCS dancer, and therefore we feel it should be the basis of every Beginner class ... but it is usually held back as Advanced Technique Class material, which is just dumb. We teach all this in our Level 1+2 class, where it belongs, and where it is easiest to learn. And where it delivers a huge and permanent benefit to all our dancing skills! This is what empowers our students to be good, fun, skilled WCS dancers in just weeks, instead of the years it usually takes! We hope you will join us!
YOUR TEACHERS
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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). Also has advanced degrees in psychology, education policy, and law, and formerly taught ballroom, salsa, swing / lindy hop.
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.
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.
WHAT IS WEST COAST SWING?
In very short: West Coast Swing (WCS) is Swing and Lindy Hop moves done to R&B and contemporary Pop music.
More thoroughly: 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 and adapted) 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 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!), while remaining one of 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!
More thoroughly: 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 and adapted) 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 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!), while remaining one of 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!
FAQ: World's best WCS group classes? Drop-ins? Late registrations? Can I start in level 2?
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 one-day workshops. But for our multi-week classes ... sorry, no. Our multi-week classes are cumulative — each lesson builds intensively on all previous lessons.
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. We lay nearly all the groundwork and learn a tremendous amount in the first class. And then we build on it over the remaining weeks. Please come to the first lesson! Thanks for understanding.
• We have never had anyone catch up after missing the first lesson. If you absolutely cannot attend the 1st lesson, contact us to schedule a private lesson before the second lesson. Please note that — just like when going to the movies — there's no discount for starting late.
• Start at 2nd lesson? I have taken previous WCS classes, so I should be OK, right?
Sorry, but no. Our teaching method is completely different from the antiquated "steps & patterns" teaching method that you almost certainly experienced. That old teaching method from the 1890s was designed for a totally different kind of dancing, and does not work well for WCS; we have no idea why nearly all WCS teachers still use it. We use a completely different teaching method that reduces your WCS learning curve to weeks instead of years — with almost all of the important differences right at the beginning. Whatever you already know will return in a much easier-to-use form later in our class — so don't discard your skills! — but it will not help you at all at the beginning of our class.
• Start at 3rd lesson? No, sorry. No exceptions. We cover so much ground in the first two lessons, that we have never had anyone successfully start during lesson 3. We ask you to wait until our next class series starts. Thanks!
CAN I START IN LEVEL 2 or 3? I HAVE PRIOR (PARTNER) DANCE EXPERIENCE.
No, sorry. We ask everyone to start in our Level 1. Reasons:
- First, just like you, a majority who enroll in WCS classes have prior dance experience, so our Level 1+2 class already takes that into account! (But it's also perfect for folks with zero prior dance experience.)
- Second, our teaching approach is completely different, especially at the beginning, which is how our students become good in weeks while every other teacher's students take years to reach the same level. There is not any satisfactory way to skip it.
- Anecdote: Some years ago, a woman had taken several Level 1 classes with other teachers, and wanted to visit our Level 2 class to see if it would be good enough for her. Of course, we said yes. She came to visit during our 4th week, but accidentally arrived before our Level 1 class was finished. After 10 minutes, I announced, "OK! Level 1 class, we're done! Level 2 people, come on out and let's begin!" The woman rushed over and said, "Wait – I came to visit Level 2, not Level 1." I replied, "Yes, sorry, you caught the last 10 minutes of our Level 1 class. But Level 2 is about to begin, and you are very welcome to stay." She looked upset and replied almost angrily, "Are you sure? That was the Level 1 class I was watching? Not Level 2?" I assured it was Level 1, and apologized again. She said, "But … but … but … they were so GOOD!" (She enrolled in our next Level 1 class.)