Left-Brain Right-Brain Blues Workshop
11-12 Left Brain Blues 1: Body Mechanics
This technique class will give a detailed, logical prescription of
what muscles to use and what muscles to not use. The goal is to dance
with good balance, an engaged core and relaxed limbs. Another way of
looking at this class is that it will remove the physical obstacles to
great dancing to make room for what really matters. The 'moves' we
practice in this class, weight shifts and steps, are the essence of
blues dancing.
12-1 Right Brain Blues 1: Why We Dance
Without technique, you can never be a good dancer — but without
inspiration, you can never be a great one. In this class, we will
give technique its due and explore the doors it can open into
creativity. While in the last class we removed obstacles, in this
class we will build a vision for what is possible when we encourage
our artistic side. We will use improv games to set a non-judgmental
mood, then focus on dancing with presence and attitude.
2-3:15 Left Brain Blues 2: Vocabulary, Receptivity and Contrast
Back on the technique side of things, we will focus on the 'what' and
'how' of blues dancing. Leaders will learn a handful of simple moves
and practice different ways of sequencing them, i.e. how to make up
their own choreography on the fly. Followers will learn how to be
receptive to their leaders (through balance, relaxation, matched
height and matched intensity) while also introducing their own ideas
without upsetting their partner. Leaders and followers will both play
around with adding different textures to their movement: sharp/smooth,
big/small, etc.
3:45-5:30 Right Brain Blues 2: Musicality and Partnered Play
There is a Dance Nirvana, and this class seeks it. The idea is to,
once again, explore what is possible when our creativity is unleashed
from technical limitations and amplified with great partnering,
musicality and confidence. Dance Nirvana has often been described as
a three-way love affair between lead, follow and song, so we will
start with some exercises that encourage this and follow wherever that
may take us. All along, we will point out where technical skill is
required and explore the specific ways in which that skill supports
our ultimate dance goals.
The Oberlin Swing Society is proud to host a blues dancing workshop instructed by Mihai Banulescu, from San Fransico, CA.
Milhai's Bio (can be found at his website):
I am primarily a blues dance organizer and ambassador, and my teaching reflects that. I love to provide the spark that gets people addicted to blues dancing. To me, teaching is not filling an empty vessel but lighting a flame. Dancing of any kind was scary and foreign to me until my junior year in college, when a couple of friendly folks got me started with East Coast Swing. That passion has been driving me ever since to dance and learn where opportunities exist, teach and organize where they do not. I love to dance, from the giddiness of lindy hop to the intensity of tango and to the soul of blues.
I learned lindy hop and blues almost exclusively on the social dance floor and developed a very unique and connected style. I soon realized that the best way to serve my students was to get fully committed to improving as a dancer and as an instructor. I owe a good deal to Brenda Collins, Andrew Sutton, Bill Borgida, Heidi Fite, Solomon Douglas, Damon Stone, Laura Glaess and Peter Strom.
As a former high school math teacher, I have always been interested in and committed to my students, and their testimonials show that. I tend to quickly and efficiently focus on exactly what they need, drawing on my eclectic experience and creative teaching methods to find a way to help them get to that "A-ha!" moment. Among the metaphors and drills I have come up with are...
- the faster-and-faster position-to-position drill (Feb '07)
- the increasing connection drill (Jan '07)
- consecutive tiny movements for clear endpoints to every move
- "the hulk" for engaging your core
- "the T" for adding twists and turns
I have been teaching blues in the Bay Area and beyond since November 2004. Besides teaching 1-3 hours a week at Friday Night blues and other venues I manage, I have taught in Chico, Portland, Seattle, Boulder, Tulsa, Memphis, Nashville, South Florida, Honolulu, Hilo. Every organizer has asked me to come back and teach within a year. I have DJ'ed events or house parties in all of the above plus San Diego, Sacramento, Tacoma, Denver, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Austin, Tampa.
