The following Workshops for Dancers and Teachers are FREE to Schools, Community Centers, Churches, Senior Citizen Groups and similar, not for profit organizations, and for teachers of partner dance. I am comfortably retired, and I am now in the "volunteer mode." Feel free to take advantage. See Credentials and References for more about my background and character. See Retirement if you need to know more about the cost, or lack thereof.
Call 612-810-0157 or E-mail jmnelson@cloudnet.com to arrange a workshop for your organization.
Workshop to Improve the Teaching of Partner Dance. If you are a dance teacher, and if you don't know the principles of learning that directly affect the teaching/learning of partner dance, then you need either to attend this workshop or commit to some form of professional development other than learning new "steps." This workshop is derived directly from my professional activities as a consultant, researcher and professor of instructional design; even so, feedback from previous workshops has helped take out some of the more tedious “academics,” so you might actually enjoy it.
Ballroom Basics, a highly recommended foundation class for beginning ballroom dance and a good choice for the experienced dancer who knows more about "steps" than they do about "dancing."
Workshop: Elements of Social Dance. Two-hour workshop for those interested in partner dancing, whether beginner or advanced. Gain better understanding about the relationships among dance styles, improve leading and following potential, master other dance styles more quickly, analyze the styles of other dancers more easily.
Workshop Series: Elements of Social Dance. Three, one-hour sessions on the elements of partner dancing organized to accommodate schools and other organizations with similar scheduling needs.
Workshop: Exploring the Box Step. The easy way to elegance and versatility in partner dance. The box step is the most iconic, stereotyped, misunderstood, abused, and neglected "step" in partner dance. It is also the most versatile, whether the dance is ballroom, country, or folk. This workshop will take this dance icon to new levels by exploring both its simplicity and its versatility. If you can dance a simple box step with confidence, you will emerge with 30 different "steps," or, if you truly wish to boast, up to 210 dance steps. Whichever way you count them, you will have more confidence in your dance, more control over your implementation, and more insight into your options.
Workshop: Beyond the Ordinary. Venturing "out of the box" for all adult ages and abilities. Social dance variations for those who wish to add a bit of adventure, mystery, and sensuality. Easy, smooth figures for the less flexible with challenging versions for those who work out regularly. If you can "twinkle," you can "star."
Workshop: Lead and Follow for Partner Dancers. This two-hour workshop explores the connection between the leader and the follower. Participants will emerge with greater confidence in their lead/follow, leaders will be able to innovate and navigate more efficiently, followers will be able to respond more collaboratively, collisions on the dance floor will be rare, and your appearance will impress.
Workshop: Music and Dance. Reduces the selecting of a dance to match the music to two, simple questions. Reveals the hidden simplicity and extensive congruency among our numerous dance styles. Makes dance lessons more efficient by revealing strategies to maximize knowledge transfer. Enables you to mystify your friends by your incredible insight into the cadences of popular dance styles. Suitable for all levels of sophistication and most insightful to musicians and esperienced dancers. Fascinating even to some dance teachers, who, even if they know, rarely share these insights with their students.
Private and Semi-Private Lessons. Lessons are $50 per hour for one or two couples, most couples are dancing confidently after the third lesson, and you decide if and when to take the next lesson. Initial consultation is free, and I will not try to sell you an expensive package of dance lessons. You could well learn all you might ever need to know for a lifetime of dance in only four lessons, though most couples prefer six. See Credentials for more information about my teaching. Call 612-810-0157 or email jmnelson@cloudnet.com to arrange an appointment. See So You Think You Can't Dance if you think you can't learn to dance.
Responses from participants:
"I would have never thought of the different dances in that way before. Really insightful. I learned a whole new way to look at dance."
"I don't think I ever had so much fun thinking so hard."
"I thought, 'that's so obvious! Now, why didn't I think of that?' "
"Who would have thought that the polka was so ubiquitous?"
