C O U P L E   D A N C I N G
Tuesday night classes by Richard Powers with Mirage Marrou
at the First United Methodist Church

Beginning  WALTZ      7 pm       

• An introduction to three kinds of waltzing: Cross-Step, Rotary and Box Step Waltz.

• Waltz is enjoying a resurgence in the Bay Area and around the country, thanks to great new waltz music and the timeless attraction of traveling with a partner in your arms.  Richard is busy leading Waltz Weekends across the country — learn it here from a primary source.

• These informal styles of waltz 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.

• In past years this series covered both swing and waltz in five classes, which always felt a little rushed.  Now we have twice as much time — five classes for swing followed by five weeks of waltz.  This provides a more solid introduction to couple dancing.

• 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 couple dancing.

Intermediate     FAST TRACK TO LINDY HOP      8 pm               
  • Jump into some 8-count with this fun class.  Here in the Bay Area and other swing hotspots you'll usually find 8-count Lindy Hop.

  • After a quick review of the basics, Richard will introduce some new figures and footwork.  Then the tempo will pick up to the speed you'll find around the Bay Area.

  • Already know a lot of Lindy Hop?  This is the perfect way to remind yourself of some figures you may have forgotten and you'll also become more comfortable with any swing you've already learned.  You're not a Swing Kid until Lindy feels spontaneously natural.  Here's your chance to get there.

  • See the latest Salsa figures to be incorporated into Lindy Hop.

  • Get your kicks with the complete set of Charleston Kick variations: Skip Up, Cross-Kicks, Countercrossing and Tandem Charleston.

  • These days the more experienced Lindy Hoppers don't do just swingout variations.  Learn how to mix it up.

  • Enjoy some stress relief at the same time… the perfect mid-week dance fix!

  • Prerequisite: some familiarity with any kind of swing, a fun-loving attitude and lots of enthusiasm.



      

    All levels          Swing After the Swing Era
         FIFTIES BOP and DISCO HUSTLE      9 pm     

  • Many of today's swing and ballroom variations were created during two post-swing-era dance crazes, so this class will be both fun and useful.

  • How useful is this today?  These were most of the changes that define West Coast Swing, so knowing these forms of swing will greatly help your understanding of WCS.  Also many swing moves taught in social ballroom studios today were born during the rock and disco eras, and have since been adapted to East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop and today's Hustle.  Here's a chance to learn dips, drops and new swing figures not previously taught at Stanford, all of which can all be adapted to your own swing or hustle dancing.

  • If you took the disco class before, we'll get to some figures we didn't do last time.  Last time, two years ago, emphasized the party dances of the 50s and 70s, so when we just stick to the swing track this time, we'll go farther and deeper into that territory.

  • The rebellious teens of the fifties turned swing steps and figures inside-out because they didn't want to dance swing like their parents. American Bandstand helped introduce teens across the country to a new high-energy style of swing perfectly matched to Rock'n'Roll music.

  • Then after the solo dance phase of the sixties, couple dancing returned with the disco fad, when the number of dance clubs exploded from 1,500 in 1976 to 45,000 two years later!  The wild ride of seventies disco brought in hundreds of new swing figures, most famously the dips and drops.  Learn them here.

  • The surprise is that seventies disco dancing picked up right where fifties swing stopped, as if the sixties lull had never happened.  The Latin Hustle is essentially American Bandstand swing timing and figures, with a new style and polyester clothing.  Knowing each form reinforces the other.

  • It wasn't today's Hustle.  Disco had the American Hustle, Rope Hustle, Latin Hustle, Street Hustle, 6-Step Hustle, New York Hustle, Continental Hustle, Triple Hustle, Four Step Hustle and Tango Hustle, none of which were today's Hustle.

  • The sources:   Richard worked as a media and club designer for a chain of discos (New York, Boston, Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis and Houston) in the seventies, from before Saturday Night Fever launched the disco fad until after it all subsided.  Richard worked at all of these clubs and participated in the huge NYC disco conventions as well, so he had a chance to see all of the phases of the disco craze.  In addition, Richard has reconstructed dances from 45 disco dance books printed between 1975 and 1980.



  • Prerequisite:  Comfort with basic couple dancing, or simultaneously taking the 7 pm Latin Dance class because Disco dancing uses Latin hip movements.


    View the     Couple Dancing Main Page here


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    Questions? e-mail StanfordDance (at) stanford (dot) edu