C O U P L E D A N C I N G
Tuesday night classes taught by Richard Powers with Rocky Aikens
CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
The Main Page is here.
If you need to miss one or two classes, no problem. It's easy to catch up because we email you complete descriptions of what we
covered in each class, plus videos of the steps and figures that we covered. This helps you master the dances that we teach,
and also helps you catch up if anything went by too quickly in class.
Introduction to WALTZ 7 pm
• Enjoy an easygoing introduction to three kinds of waltzing: Cross-Step, Rotary and Viennese Waltz.
• In past years this series covered both waltz and swing in six classes, which always felt rushed.
Now we have time to do it right—six classes in waltz at 7pm, followed by six 8pm classes in swing dancing.
This will provide a solid introduction to couple dancing.
• Waltz is enjoying a resurgence in the Bay Area and around the country (click to see the map),
thanks to great new waltz music and the timeless attraction of traveling with a partner in your arms. Richard is busy leading Waltz
Weekends around the world — learn it here from the primary source.
• Read these classic quotations about the romance of the waltz.
• Here's a Web page on Cross-Step Waltz, with a video and a list of variations.
• Most of the students in next quarter's Tuesday night "Mastering the Viennese Ball Dances" class will have already
learned the basic waltz. Here is your best chance
to come up to speed on waltzing before taking those next steps. Start ramping up to the Stanford Viennese Ball now.
• This class is an easy and fun place to start partner dancing, with an emphasis on comfort and pleasure.
Richard teaches accessible styles of noncompetitive waltz
with a focus on partnering and flexibility, to enable students to dance comfortably with partners whose experience comes from any dance tradition.
• No dance experience is required, just a fun-loving attitude and lots of enthusiasm.
• If you already dance, bring a friend who doesn't. This is a great way to introduce someone to waltzing.
Introduction to SWING DANCING 8 pm
• An introduction to single, double and triple swing, also known as East Coast Swing and Jitterbug.
• Learn Inside and Outside Turns, Waist Slide, Butterfly, Arch Turn, Double Face Loop, Dishrag, Double Dishrag, Sunburst, Double Underarm Turns, Behind-The-Back Hand Change,
Loop-De-Loops, Cradle, Sugar Push, Yo Yo, and more!
• This class is an easy and fun place to start partner dancing, with an emphasis on comfort and pleasure. Richard teaches
accessible styles of noncompetitive swing with a focus on partnering and flexibility, to enable students to dance comfortably with partners whose experience comes from any dance tradition.
• East Coast Swing is an easy, fun and playful style of swing which is usually danced to faster, high energy music such as
Big Band and fifties Rock 'n Roll. Gain a solid foundation in 4- and 6-count swing, progressing easily from single to double to triple Lindy.
• In past years, this series covered both swing and waltz. Now we have twice as much time, to really get swing dancing, and learn more figures.
• These informal styles of swing allow personal expression without requiring rigid technique. The resulting flexibility
will give you the confidence to lead and follow anybody, to either fit in or stand out as you wish.
• No dance experience is required, just a fun-loving attitude and lots of enthusiasm.
• If you already dance, bring a friend who doesn't. They will thank you for introducing them to a whole new world!
Fast Track to BACHATA 9 pm
• Bachata, the most romantic of the four Latin nightclub dances, is now danced in all corners of the world.
• Bachata is a highly social dance that is constantly evolving. The original style that originated in the Dominican Republic is rarely seen anymore, so learn the latest
versions here. There is more than one current style, so we'll give you several options.
• The basics are so easy that you will master them in only a few classes. Then we have time to move on to intermediate and advanced variations and styling.
• Bachata is characterized by soft movements of the hip and optional syncopations. Once those are mastered, Kizomba and Merengue will be very easy to pick up, and they
all share similar variations.
• Learn Outside and Inside Turn, Rollaways, Hammerlock, Swing Moves, Breaks, Dips, Pivots, Saída Chica, Saída Chico, Virgula, Volta and more.
• Afraid Bachata will make you feel like a poser? Don't be! We will teach ways to ramp up your authentic
Latin style in every move you make, without feeling like a pretender.
• Individuals dancers will be encouraged to incorporate their own interpretations as they learn the dance.
• Bachata will improve your dancing in every other dance form. Just dancing it can
improve fundamentals and increase partnering ability in every other ballroom dance.
• Prerequisite: "Fast Track" means that we carefully teach the basics from the ground up. Those who are starting out with waltz or swing will be fine in this class,
and experienced dancers will will learn intermediate and advanced material sooner than usual.
Register here before classes fill (they often do).
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Questions? e-mail StanfordDance (at) stanford (dot) edu