An alphabetical listing of this year's instructors
for the July 9-14 Stanford Dance Week
Sharon Ashe and Paul Overton Over the past three years Paul and Sharon
have been wowing audiences and classes across the U.S. and in Europe with
their energetic brand of Lindy Hop. At home in San Francisco they teach
over six hundred people a week in their group classes and are co-directors
of their own performance group, The Hop Dogs. Their recent accomplishments
include teaching at the world famous Herrang dance camp in Sweden and
participating in The American Lindy Hop Championships where they won first
place in the Strictly Lindy Division.
Some comments from their teaching at last year's Stanford Swing Jam:
"Awesome!! Great at explaining moves and style, great lesson in musicality." "The absolute best of the week. Most of what
I carried away from SwingJam was from them." "LOVE these two! Friendly, approachable, encouraging but thorough and articulate.
They teach in a very clear, fun, breakthrough way." "My absolute favorites! Clear, methodical, funny, great at emphasizing the
skills of connection and attentiveness which make dancers GOOD."
Fabian and Cynthia
Fabian Salas is one of the finest tango teachers in the world. He speaks four
languages, has a degree in law, and is on the cutting edge of the tango revolution.
A multitalented teacher, dancer and choreographer,
Fabian Salas was a member of the original cast of the award-winning
(Best Musical) Argentine Tango show "Gotan", and also performed in the
stage show "El Patio de la Morocha" at the Teatro Municipal
General San Martin in Buenos Aires. In 1996, Fabian took part in the
filming of the motion picture "EVITA", and then became one of the
three principal dancers in the award-winning
"The Tango Lesson". Fabian Salas has brought new light to old beliefs and opened new
ways of conceiving the dance, creating an unmistakable style of
dancing the Tango. Last year, Fabian Salas and Gustavo Naveira organized the
annual international Tango festival Congreso Internacional de Tango
Argentino, which took place in Buenos Aires. Fabian and his talented partner Cynthia Viel will
be flying in from Buenos Aires to teach at Stanford, offering a rare opportunity to
study with true masters of Argentine tango.
Joby and Luis
One of the famous Vazquez Brothers, Luis Vazquez was born and raised in
Guadalajara, Mexico. He has appeared in film ("Dance With Me") and
television (with Joby in the HBO film "Norma and Marilyn"), MTV videos and stage (World
Salsa Congress in Puerto Rico, Tropi Salsa in Mexico). Joby Vazquez was
born in New York City and lived two years in the Dominican Republic. She
has a very unusual combination of talents -- thorough ballet training, plus expertise in
Latin dance forms, and she is an accomplished brown belt in Shaolin Kenpo.
She has won awards in both Latin dance and martial arts. Luis and Joby are
very busy teaching in the L.A. area, currently teaching at the Conga Room,
Club Downtown, The Dance Factory, All The Right Moves and the Debbie
Reynolds Dance Studio. Their instruction stresses a street-wise but technical
style that is hot, but simple to learn.
Ken and Natasha
direct San Francisco Tango. A former professional ballet performer and instructor,
Ken Delmar received an invitation from the Bolshoi Ballet to tour the U.S. with them,
and afterward to study in Moscow, later performing with the Joffrey Ballet, Netherlands
Dance Theatre, Stuttgart Ballet, and National Ballet of Holland. Ken began Argentine Tango
in 1990, studying extensively with renowned Milongueros. In 1995 he won the Supreme Dance
Award in the California Winter Festival and 2nd Place in the Buenos Aires Radio Tribu Tango
Contest. Ken and Natasha Delmar are admired for their especially clear explanation of the
fundamental principals of Argentine Tango, and received the highest praise from their students
at last year's Stanford Dance Week.
Ryan & Monica Knotts
are the assistant directors of the Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble and instructors
for the Academy of Danse Libre and the Alhambra Ballroom. They have choreographed vintage
dances for the last six years and performed in Paris, St. Petersburg, Prague and the
Smithsonian Institution. Continuing in the tradition of their aerial classes at
past Stanford dance weeks, they will explore 19th and 21st century air steps in waltz and polka.
(21st century? Yes, welcome to Radical Vintage!)
Norma Miller began dancing at a very early age because she lived literally
at the back door of the Savoy Ballroom and thus grew up with the music and
the style of swing. Norma won the Apollo Theater lindy hop contest in
1934, at the age of 14, and was recruited by Herbert 'Whitey' White the
next day. She was one of the winners of the Lindy Hop contest at the Savoy
Ballroom's Harvest Moon Ball (THE big one) in 1935 and those four winners
were sent by Whitey on the first Lindy Hop tour of Europe. Norma performed
in both "A Day At The Races" and "Hellzapoppin," among many other films and
concerts, and at the Savoy Pavillion at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
Norma Miller is the author of
"Swingin' at the Savoy" considered to be the
definitive account of the early days of swing.
Richard Powers is
a third generation dancer. His grandfather Powers was president of the
Cotillion Club at VPI in Virginia, back in the ragtime era, and his parents were swing
kids who met at a Tommy Dorsey dance. Today Richard is one of the world's foremost
experts in the history of American and European social dance. He has been researching and
reconstructing historic social dances for twenty-five years (photo with Cab Calloway) and he is
currently a full-time instructor and dance historian at Stanford University,
where he has recently been awarded the Dinkelspiel Award for Distinctive Contributions
to Education.
Angela Amarillas, who has assisted Richard in
his classes and workshops for the past six years, was Stanford
University's first Dance Minor. Angela is a graceful dancer who shares
Richard's passion for historical and vernacular social dance.
Richard and Angela have taught and performed in Rome, Prague, Venice,
London, Paris and St. Petersburg as well as across the U.S.
Joan Walton's high-energy teaching style and ability to communicate
movement concepts to all levels of learners have become well known at
universities and dance studios across the country. As a teacher of Vintage
and Historical dance, she has led workshops in Australia, the Czech
Republic and all over the United States. Joan has created award-winning
choreography for both opera and musical theatre, and has performed as a
guest artist with the Naples Philharmonic and the Cincinnati Pops
Orchestras, dancing Morton Gould's challenging Tap Dance Concerto, and has
performed at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. She was also Assistant
Director and dancer with Richard Powers' Flying Cloud Vintage Dance Troupe
for ten years. Joan recently received her graduate degree in Dance
Education at Stanford University and currently teaches at Bowling Green University.