When? Where? How much?
Also, on Sunday,
August 17 and August 31, there is NO
Sunday class. (The Danceintime Ladies'
Team
will perform at the Washington DC Salsa
Congress on 8/17 and at the NY Congress
on 8/31. Plus 8/31 is the day
before Labor Day.) However we ARE
holding class the Saturdays of those
weekends--8/16 and 8/30.
Special Note:
One of the Danceintime instructors,
Glen, has been teaching advanced moves
in the Saturday class and occasionally
in the Sunday class for several years.
Regrettably, he is moving out of town in
early August. Many of us have
greatly enjoyed learning moves and
techniques in his classes and consider
him a special teacher and friend.
At this point, he expects to teach at the Saturday class through July and
will determine closer to the time if he can be there on 8/2 and/or 8/9. (We'll
keep readers posted here!)
Cuban-style Salsa classes by DanceInTime
are listed below.
1. Saturdays from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM
at Crown Dance; 2820 Dorr Ave.; Fairfax,
VA 22031. Note that this is in the
Merrifield area of VA, very close to the
Dunn Loring metro, and also close to the
Washington Beltway (495).
2. Sundays from 5 PM to 7:00 PM
at the Avalon Studio; 15 Mellor Ave; Catonsville,
Maryland.
(FYI, once in a while we have a party
replacing the class.) ALSO NOTE THAT ON
JULY 13, WE HAVE A FAMILY-FRIENDLY
CLASS! BRING YOUR CHILDREN FOR AN
INTRODUCTION TO SALSA and to see a
performance by kids!
3. Arlington on the
first and third Thursdays of the month from 8:30 to 10:00 PM. The address is: Saffron Dance
Studio; 3260 Wilson Blvd.; Arlington, VA (one block from the Clarendon Metro
stop). Note that only socks or jazz shoes are allowed on the floor at
this new venue. This class will be on break during the month of August.
4. There is a class and party on Sept 12 and Sept 19 (two Fridays) at the
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the U. of MD campus. It runs from
7:30 to 10 pm. The special class and party costs $15/person each Friday.
It will be held in the community room run that's used by
Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission (MNCPPC). See the
"Directions" page on this website to get to the Clarice Smith Perf. Arts Center. We cover Cuban-style moves that can
be the basis of very beautiful one on one
partnership Salsa, as well as being used in Rueda circles.
In some areas, dancers learn Cuban style as their first
introduction to Salsa dancing and it works
out very nicely. For those who already
have a background in Salsa, learning
Cuban-style moves takes you to the next
level--and does so remarkably easily and
quickly.
For information on the classes in
Spanish, click here! There
are always Spanish speakers in the class FYI.
(See the "Directions" page for
detailed directions, or scroll down this
page.) Classes are lively, fun, and
no partner is needed. And because
the class works together to a greater
degree than in other Salsa classes,
people get to know and bond with others.
A Cuban Salsa class (also called Salsa
Rueda)
feels like a team, and many class
members have become good friends.
(In fact, in both the Maryland class and the
Virginia class, a couple
that got to know each other has gotten
married. Plus at a brief class at a
church in College Park, another couple
began a long-term relationship. There is a photo from one
of these
couple's wedding on this website!) Classes start at the
beginner level and move to intermediate
and then advanced as appropriate.
A lot of material is covered in every
class.
All classes are drop-in.
Your first lesson in the VA or MD
class is free
if you print-out the coupon at the
bottom of this page. Classes normally cost $10/person.
Contact Barb about a discount
for groups--(and to get on the mailing
list):
BarbBtalks@aol.com. About The Classes
In terms of dress, feel free to dress
comfortably and informally. You can
dance in socks if you are not sure what kind
of shoes to wear. But generally, shoes
with a leather bottom like loafers are easy
to dance in because you can turn on them. They don't stick to the floor like gym
shoes.
If there is a
wide array of levels in a class, we break
into groups so everyone can get lessons at the
appropriate level. The class atmosphere is
friendly and informal. Newcomers to
the classes are made
to feel welcome. A lot of material is
covered in every class and we do plenty of
review in all the classes.
Note that if there is an advanced
class on the floor, beginning students are
welcome to practice on the side at no
additional charge. And advanced students are
welcome to hop into basic classes for
review at no additional charge. In fact, a great
way for ladies to learn the leads, which is
encouraged, is by stepping back into basic
classes as a leader. However, in order
for experienced students to move along
at their level, those who are struggling
with more basic moves are asked to watch
the more advanced levels.
Each class begins with the basics,
starting with the underlying Salsa
rhythm and basic step. Then the step patterns are
introduced. Sometimes stepping in the
Salsa rhythm (quick quick slow)
consistently is hard for students, which
makes the Rueda moves difficult to
learn. If anyone has a problem
with the underlying rhythm and basic
step, the teacher will make appropriate
recommendations on where to get training on these fundamentals.
After some work on Salsa timing, Rueda
moves are much easier to learn. Anyone
is welcome to come and watch a class at
no charge. I am sometimes asked if
I teach small children. My classes
are not aimed at youngsters, but anyone,
including small children, are
welcome to watch and hang out at the
class. The best thing that parents
can do to prepare a small child to dance
is expose them to people who are dancing
and having fun. Kids pick up a
sense of the rhythm by watching, plus
exposure to the music develops their
"musical ear." And of
course, if parents
want to take the class while their
children watch, of course that is fine
too. Note that Barb sends
out email information for
students about once a month.
This email is also available for review
on this website. It covers what is
going on with Danceintime and other
dance news of interest.
In addition, this website has pointers and
tips for doing Salsa steps that reinforce
points made in class, as well as
instructional videos where students can
review some of the class material.
If you aren't already on the email list,
to find out about any last minute class
schedule changes, it is wise to write to
BarbBtalks@aol.com,
or call 301-980-6043. Occasionally a party,
special event, or performance replaces our class, or we
cancel for a holiday.
But those who are on the list get this
information by email.
There are a number of pictures on
this page of classes in Maryland and
Virginia, as well as some special
classes at workplaces. The
size and composition of the classes vary
from class to class since it is drop-in, but we
always have a good time.
The teaching is done by Barbara
Bernstein and many others from DanceInTime
who kindly share their talent (including
Glen, Vince, Teresa, Charlie,
Allan, Cedric, and others.). For details on
Barb's background, click here.
Click here to read an article about
Casino Rueda dancing.
Learning Aids
For a written description of
moves, click here. Barb also
made an instructional video of many
beginning, intermediate, and advanced moves with assistance from other
members of DanceInTime. This
video helps students learn the
moves---keeping straight which one has which
name and hand signal, etc. And right on
this website there is a page with
instructional videos on some of the very
basic Salsa and Rueda moves. Also, with the
help of professional dancer Michele Kearney,
Barb produced an instructional Rhythm and
Timing CD.
Click here to listen to part of that
CD.
Also, a syllabus that is available in
class with a listing of the steps organized into five levels.
Next to the basic and intermediate steps
is a short description of the move.
So the syllabus serves as a handy
reference for learning the moves in
addition to simply listing them.
You can also find the syllabus on this website by clicking here. And finally,
there are instructional videos on this
website which are best used to review
material that students have covered in
class. It is possible to learn a
move from watching these videos, but it
can be learned incorrectly if this is
the only instruction a student is
getting. So I recommend using the
videos for review!! Other "Custom" Classes
Additional classes have also been set
up to teach other groups or individuals.
Barb has taught Salsa/Rueda to groups
out-of-town, as well as training
local Salsa performing groups in Rueda.
She taught high school students
in Montgomery County, preparing them
for an "International Night" performance!
She has also taught dance to young
children at summer camps and in schools, run Salsa/Merengue
workshops at Howard High School, Prince Georges Community College,
and American University, and taught
pro-bono classes for charity events.
In addition, Barb has
taught lunch-time and after-work Salsa classes to
government
and private sector employees at their offices
and fitness centers, and provided "Rhythm
and Timing" workshops to Salseros.
Special one-time classes have been given at
locations such as the Sprint Athletic
Complex, Good Luck Community Center, Langley
Park Community Center, Black Rock Center for
the Arts, Anne Arundel Parks and Recreation
Department, etc. For a video of a special
class that was part of the entertainment at
FirstNightAnnapolis, click here. DanceInTime
has run classes at nightclubs all over the
area: South Beach (Besthesda), Barking Dog
(Bethesda), Rene's Club (Fairfax), Jin
(Washington DC), Gardels (Balto.), Club One
(Balto.), Ned Devine's (Centreville), Red
Maple (Balto).
If you know of a group interested
in lessons (whether large or small) --- or if
you want to discuss private instruction,
contact Barb.
Also, don't miss the team-building
programs that are available through
DanceInTime, designed for government or
private industry offices as well as
schools. Each program is tailored
to the needs of the hiring organization.
There is more detail on these innovative
and fun programs on the "Team Building"
page of this website (click on the
button at the top). You can also
go to:
TeamBuildingThroughLatinDance.com.
Instruction
The Cuban Salsa lessons are patiently
taught by instructor Barbara Bernstein in
conjunction with a number of other skilled
teachers. All the teachers are
experienced dancers who kindly share their
talent as instructors with DanceInTime.com.
Barbara Bernstein's
Biography
Bernstein has a background in ballroom,
Salsa & Rueda, and foreign folk dance and has
taught at studios, nightclubs, athletic
facilities, and parks and recreation
departments.
Click here to read
about the shows that she produced for the
Kennedy Center, the Verizon Center, the
Washington D.C.
Convention Center,
FirstNightAnnapolis, etc.
To help students learn Salsa, Cha
Cha, Swing, and Foxtrot, Barb created
"Rhythm Reminder," an instructional CD.
Click here for more information and to
listen to part of this CD. She also
conducted a workshop on Rhythm and Timing
for Salsa dancers. In addition, Barb made
an instructional video of Salsa/Rueda moves to
help students learn all the steps.
Barb wrote and published a short
booklet to educate audiences on the history
and rhythms of Salsa, Rueda, and other Latin
dances. She has also written articles on
dance topics for websites and electronic
publications such as
Salsaweb.com,
SalsaFreak.com, and
Candela magazine, as
well as for printed magazines like Sabor. Barb
is also the city representative for
Baltimore and Northern Virginia for the
world's largest Salsa website, Salsaweb.com.
For her efforts, on 3/31/04, Barb
received the "Third Annual Tribute To Women
in Salsa" Award for "outstanding dedication
to the promotion of a vibrant Salsa
community." And she was chosen to judge the
"World Salsa/Rueda Championship Contest" at
the 2004 and the 2005 Salsa Rueda Congress in Miami. She also
judged a competition and taught a
"Mega-class" at the Salsa Rueda
Competition in Vancouver Canada on April 9,
2005. In addition, at an
"International Dance Productions"-sponsored
event in the fall of 05 and 06, Barb taught
Salsa Rueda workshops and performed a
presentation at the Saturday night Gala with
her team.
And in August 2007, Barb taught at the
prestigious Miami Salsa Congress and her
women's team plus one guy performed there
as well--doing a routine that blends Cha
Cha, Hip Hop, and Salsa!! In 2008,
that team is scheduled to perform at the New
York Salsa Congress and the Puerto Rico
Congress, as well! And the DIT mixed
gender Salsa Rueda team is performing at the
Philadelphia Congress on July 4th.
*The Glen Echo class is
produced in cooperation with the Glen
Echo Park Parnership for Arts and Culture
Inc, the National Park Service, and
Montgomery County, MD.
**********************************************
DIRECTIONS TO THE CLASSES
Note that these are places where
classes have been sponsored but
classes are not offered at all locations
at any given time.
---------------------------
Crown Dance Studio; 2820 Dorr Ave;
Merrifield, VA 22031 (METRO-ACCESSIBLE!)
This is an easy, 3 or 4 block walk from
the Dunn Loring metro station. The
station is at the intersection of
Gallows Rd and Prosperity Ave. If you
leave the station heading west on
Prosperity, then make a left onto
Merrilee Dr. and then a right onto
Merrifield Ave. From there it's a left
onto Dorr; the studio is on your right.
To get there by car from Route 495
(Washington Beltway), take the exit for
50 West and get onto Gallows Rd. (VA-650
N) heading toward Merrifield. Then make
a left onto Lee Highway (US 29). (There
is a Taco Bell, a Sonoco station, and a
"Gas King" station at this
intersection.) Then turn right onto
Hilltop Rd, and then another quick right
onto Dorr Ave. There is lots of parking
around the building. Walk in the
building's front door, go through a door
on the main floor adn walk down the
corridor. The studio is on the right
side of the corridor.
-----------------------.
Saffron Dance Studio; 3260
Wilson Blvd.; Arlington, VA
For driving directions, you may want to
mapquest this address as there are many
ways you can get there. But if you are
coming from somewhere along Route 395,
you get off at the Washington Blvd/VA
27W exit which is exit 8A. Stay on
Washington Blvd. and then turn left onto
Wilson Blvd and find the address. There
is plenty of parking behind the
building.
It's easy to access by metro as this is
just one block off the Clarendon Metro
Station on the "Orange line."
Note that the building says "The
Doctors Building" on it---it's an old
sign so don't let that mislead you! And
there is another sign that says,
"Hearing Care Professionals" on the
building. Furthermore, Saffron Dance
Studio is home to "Tranquil Space" Yoga
Studio as well as dance classes. It's a
wide building with several doors on the
front. The door toward the right as you
face the building is the dance studio
entrance. But to get to the upstairs
room where our class is held, just go in
the main door and you'll enter a wide,
open corridor. Walk to the back of the
corridor, go in the door on your right
and up the stairs. Class is in the first
room on your left upstairs! ----------------------------------------
The Avalon Studio (for the Sunday
class)
15 Mellor Ave.
Catonsville, MD
Get onto the Washington beltway (495)
and take either the Baltimore Washington
Parkway or Route 95 north. Get onto the
Baltimore beltway (I695) going towards
Towson. From I695, take exit 13,
Frederick Rd., west towards Catonsville.
After a few lights, turn left onto Mellor Ave. Then turn left into 2nd parking
lot entrance.
--------------------------------------------
Dance Place; 3225 8th Street NE;
Washington, DC 20017
Class Coming Soon in September, 08.
See the "Directions" page on this
website for detailed directions from
many points of departure!
---------------
Glen Echo Park
7300 MacArthur Boulevard; Glen Echo, MD
Parking lot is at: 5801 Oxford Rd; Glen
Echo , MD 20812
By Car:
From the Capital Beltway (Interstate
495), take exit 40 on the outer loop or
exit 41 east on the inner loop. Take
Clara Barton/Cabin John Parkway to the
MacArthur Boulevard/Glen Echo exit. Make
a left onto MacArthur Boulevard . Cross
Goldsboro Road and then make a left onto
Oxford Road where you will see the Glen
Echo parking lot.
From downtown Washington , take
Massachusetts Avenue in the northwest
direction, to its end at Goldsboro Road
. Turn left and continue to MacArthur
Boulevard . Turn right on MacArthur
Boulevard and take an immediate left
onto Oxford Road where you will see the
Glen Echo parking lot.
By Public Transportation:
Take Montgomery County Ride-On bus #29
operating daily from the Friendship
Heights and Bethesda metro stations on
the Red Line.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FREE COUPON FOR
YOUR FIRST STUDIO CLASS
Print this coupon out
and bring it to class to get your first
Salsa Rueda lesson free at Avalon Studio
in Catonsville or the Madeira School in Virginia
Compliments of
DanceInTime!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GIVING CREDIT TO SOME EXCELLENT TEACHERS
(CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE)
I want to take a moment to give credit to many
excellent teachers that I have learned from over the years, as well as
teachers that I observed as they taught over the years. Teachers who
notice others' good ideas can pick up techniques from seeing what others do. And so I want to give credit here to
some teachers I
have taken lessons from or have watched, for their many excellent ideas.
Everything I have seen has assisted me in finding effective approaches to
help my own students.
When I began taking ballroom dance
lessons, my coach, Garrey
Stinson, blew me away with how marvelous a teacher and dancer he was.
In each hour-long lesson, we covered an enormous amount and I left
exhausted. I would barely grasp a move and Garrey was already showing
me how to augment or embellish it.
However if I was clearly confused, Garrey would slow down, correct one thing
at a time, until each part of me was doing the move right---arms, legs,
trunk, etc. He was exceptionally skilled and without a doubt one of
the most stimulating teachers I have ever encountered. My own tendency
to clip along, covering a lot but stopping short of overwhelming students, was
shaped in part by the tremendous joy I got out of
those lessons. Later, when I began teaching dance myself, he guided me
on what he'd found over the years was difficult or easy for students to
learn. This helped give me perspective on how to approach teaching. I owe a great debt
of gratitude to Garrey for helping me love to dance, for sharing his vast
skill with me, and for the enduring friendship that grew out of our work
together.
Another teacher with countless gems
of wisdom is Maykel Almuina, a Miami Casino Rueda teacher. He has
shared so many outstanding ideas on how to make Salsa moves work smoothly,
that I hardly know where to begin. He showed me some tricks on how to
do back to back turns so they look and feel comfortable. Maykel has shown me a five-part hand
rotation for leading complicated moves that require a series of hand
position adjustments. He also pointed out that when a leader brings
both arms down to a lady's waist, encircling her (as in La Cuadra before the
exhibes), this is easy if both hands move down at exactly the same time. If
one hand lowers before the other, it is far harder. And it's also
easier if the man stands slightly behind the lady instead of squarely at her
side.
He has shown me countless other fine points that he figured out
himself by analyzing the movements. Maykel explains everything in
terms of the fundamentals they are based on. So students not only
learn clever techniques for doing the moves, but they grasp the underlying
components and the principles that the moves are based on. Maykel's
teaching has inspired me to be patient in analyzing the moves and improving
how they're done.
In addition, I want to mention Glen Minto who helps with the teaching in
my Virginia class. Glen is a very extraordinary Rueda dancer, and his
knowledge of sophsiticated steps and his style are obvious the minute anyone
sees him dance. But his understanding of all the moves, broken down to
the smallest detail is apparent only when you watch him teach. He has
gone over moves in class and his descriptions make me realize aspects of the
move I hadn't been aware of. He has every detail of the footwork for
men and women completely nailed. He also refers to all kinds of
movements as enchuflas or other component moves even when they resemble
those moves only in the footwork or some other dimension. In other
words, he is top notch at seeing the relationships between moves and
component moves.
Moreover, Glen has helped our group to learn long, complex moves and then
he slices them and splices them with other complex moves. He does this by
calling another move with a common position to the first move just before
the common point. We flip from one move into the next mid-stream. But
then we'll often flip again before the second move is done into yet another
move, and so on and so on. It makes a very exciting Rueda circle and
the leaders really need to know complex moves extremely well to do this
successfully!!
Finally, I have a number of teaching helpers
who have assisted me in teaching my classes over the years. It is
always interesting for me to see how they explain the moves. Inevitably,
everyone handles the explanation slightly differently, and I have been
pleased to realize that sometimes they find great ways to explain things
that I then adopt myself. It's wonderful to see people use what I've
taught them in sophisticated and new ways that get me thinking and help me
improve my own technique!! Ultimately we are all forever both students
and teachers, as we all continue to help each other grow and learn.
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