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| Dance Notes |
Teacher’s Notes
I started teaching over three decades ago. As a young man
in the world of ballroom dancing, I was intimidated by both
experienced teachers and students. Having to learn all the
different parts of ballroom dancing, and being new, I could
say it was a bit overwhelming. One day, the studio manager
who hired me to train for 6+ months, who saw something in
me, Mr. Bill Nickle, who I will always be indebted to for the
opportunity, pulled me aside and said, “Remember, you have
the rest of your life to learn, practice, and become the best
that you can be.”
I went from rookie instructor, going through my different levels
– Bronze, Silver, Gold, Theater Art, and more – and along the
way his words of encouragement resonated within me. And
even in today’s instruction, as I am teaching, those words are
still forever present.
Today, when I am teaching students, I can see in their faces,
and in their movements, their need to get it right. But as I tell
them, some of these dance patterns – box step, underarm
turns, promenade – some of these will be easy to ascertain,
and other ones will have a little more difficulty attached to
them, which means it will take a little longer. For some, the
Latin dances are easier, and for some the smooth dances are
easier. But inevitably, they all try to get it right the first time
out.
Remembering what Bill Nickle said, I try to show and teach
how to become patient with oneself. In the art of dance, we
will always have the rest of our lives to become the best
dancers that we can be. Isn’t that wonderful! Thank you, Bill,
for giving me the understanding that I have the rest of my life
to be the best dancer I can be – or, in this case – instructor.
And I am still learning…
Carlos
June 10, 2010
I started teaching over three decades ago. As a young man
in the world of ballroom dancing, I was intimidated by both
experienced teachers and students. Having to learn all the
different parts of ballroom dancing, and being new, I could
say it was a bit overwhelming. One day, the studio manager
who hired me to train for 6+ months, who saw something in
me, Mr. Bill Nickle, who I will always be indebted to for the
opportunity, pulled me aside and said, “Remember, you have
the rest of your life to learn, practice, and become the best
that you can be.”
I went from rookie instructor, going through my different levels
– Bronze, Silver, Gold, Theater Art, and more – and along the
way his words of encouragement resonated within me. And
even in today’s instruction, as I am teaching, those words are
still forever present.
Today, when I am teaching students, I can see in their faces,
and in their movements, their need to get it right. But as I tell
them, some of these dance patterns – box step, underarm
turns, promenade – some of these will be easy to ascertain,
and other ones will have a little more difficulty attached to
them, which means it will take a little longer. For some, the
Latin dances are easier, and for some the smooth dances are
easier. But inevitably, they all try to get it right the first time
out.
Remembering what Bill Nickle said, I try to show and teach
how to become patient with oneself. In the art of dance, we
will always have the rest of our lives to become the best
dancers that we can be. Isn’t that wonderful! Thank you, Bill,
for giving me the understanding that I have the rest of my life
to be the best dancer I can be – or, in this case – instructor.
And I am still learning…
Carlos
June 10, 2010
The Keys to Learning
The keys to learning "Ballroom Dancing" in a group class
setting are:
1. Fundamentals - foot pattern, weight change, directional
movement
2. Being Cooperative - With your partner and listening to the
instruction.
3. Understanding - Giving yourself as well as others the time
to assimilate
4. Dancing the movement - Moving with and through the
music with your D/P (dance partner)
When a student uses these directives in this order they will
learn faster, achieve their personal goals, and save money
along the way.
When anyone tries to dance the lesson before they
understand the lesson, it fails and causes frustrations.
Carlos
October 14, 2010
The keys to learning "Ballroom Dancing" in a group class
setting are:
1. Fundamentals - foot pattern, weight change, directional
movement
2. Being Cooperative - With your partner and listening to the
instruction.
3. Understanding - Giving yourself as well as others the time
to assimilate
4. Dancing the movement - Moving with and through the
music with your D/P (dance partner)
When a student uses these directives in this order they will
learn faster, achieve their personal goals, and save money
along the way.
When anyone tries to dance the lesson before they
understand the lesson, it fails and causes frustrations.
Carlos
October 14, 2010
The Beauty of Dance
Isn’t it a wonderful thing when a gentleman walks up to a lady and says,
“Shall we dance?”
When I think of that movie, I do so enjoy the character development that
you see in Richard Gere as he goes from having zero concept of
ballroom dancing to running across the floor doing a Quickstep as
though he had been doing it all his life.
That part of the movie puts such a big smile on my face that my muscles
start to hurt.
But the reality of it is that he had to put a lot of work, a lot of effort, and
most importantly a lot of time into his dance development.
Instructors must be patient in getting their students to that place where
they feel comfortable enough to ask someone to dance or to be asked to
dance. So we all have to have patience, most of all with ourselves.
Learning to dance takes time. I have been doing this for over thirty
years, and as I have stated before, I am still learning. But I can truly say
that I love my job. It has taught me so much about patience, because to
get it right, it will indeed humble you. But, wow! When you move across
the floor, and you have the confidence that you can do this, there is no
greater feeling on the dance floor. When there is a cha-cha playing in
the background and you are smiling because this feels great, the
person that you’re dancing with is enjoying this as much as you and they’
re smiling… what a wonderful gift to yourself and to each other! A
moment of enjoyment through sharing this thing called dance…
But we can only get there via good instruction and giving ourselves
permission to enjoy the learning process – not to be angry with
ourselves because it is not coming quickly enough – understanding that
more times we will get it wrong than get it right – and that with each
mistake we make on the dance floor, we get many times to try again.
The beauty of dance with all of its complexities has this wonderful side
to it: that when it happens that we’ve led something or have followed
something, and we have that moment of, “Wow, I didn’t know that I could
do that,” we come to realize that the teaching we received came from a
teacher that cared, and gave us the mantle by which to enjoy – truly enjoy
– this thing called ballroom dancing.
Carlos
April 23, 2011
Isn’t it a wonderful thing when a gentleman walks up to a lady and says,
“Shall we dance?”
When I think of that movie, I do so enjoy the character development that
you see in Richard Gere as he goes from having zero concept of
ballroom dancing to running across the floor doing a Quickstep as
though he had been doing it all his life.
That part of the movie puts such a big smile on my face that my muscles
start to hurt.
But the reality of it is that he had to put a lot of work, a lot of effort, and
most importantly a lot of time into his dance development.
Instructors must be patient in getting their students to that place where
they feel comfortable enough to ask someone to dance or to be asked to
dance. So we all have to have patience, most of all with ourselves.
Learning to dance takes time. I have been doing this for over thirty
years, and as I have stated before, I am still learning. But I can truly say
that I love my job. It has taught me so much about patience, because to
get it right, it will indeed humble you. But, wow! When you move across
the floor, and you have the confidence that you can do this, there is no
greater feeling on the dance floor. When there is a cha-cha playing in
the background and you are smiling because this feels great, the
person that you’re dancing with is enjoying this as much as you and they’
re smiling… what a wonderful gift to yourself and to each other! A
moment of enjoyment through sharing this thing called dance…
But we can only get there via good instruction and giving ourselves
permission to enjoy the learning process – not to be angry with
ourselves because it is not coming quickly enough – understanding that
more times we will get it wrong than get it right – and that with each
mistake we make on the dance floor, we get many times to try again.
The beauty of dance with all of its complexities has this wonderful side
to it: that when it happens that we’ve led something or have followed
something, and we have that moment of, “Wow, I didn’t know that I could
do that,” we come to realize that the teaching we received came from a
teacher that cared, and gave us the mantle by which to enjoy – truly enjoy
– this thing called ballroom dancing.
Carlos
April 23, 2011
Thanks Bill
I started teaching over three decades ago. As a young man
in the world of ballroom dancing, I was intimidated by both
experienced teachers and students. Having to learn all the
different parts of ballroom dancing, and being new, I could
say it was a bit overwhelming. One day, the studio manager
who hired me to train for 6+ months, who saw something in
me, Mr. Bill Nickle, who I will always be indebted to for the
opportunity, pulled me aside and said, “Remember, you have
the rest of your life to learn, practice, and become the best
that you can be.”
I went from rookie instructor, going through my different levels
– Bronze, Silver, Gold, Theater Art, and more – and along the
way his words of encouragement resonated within me. And
even in today’s instruction, as I am teaching, those words are
still forever present.
Today, when I am teaching students, I can see in their faces,
and in their movements, their need to get it right. But as I tell
them, some of these dance patterns – box step, underarm
turns, promenade – some of these will be easy to ascertain,
and other ones will have a little more difficulty attached to
them, which means it will take a little longer. For some, the
Latin dances are easier, and for some the smooth dances are
easier. But inevitably, they all try to get it right the first time
out.
Remembering what Bill Nickle said, I try to show and teach
how to become patient with oneself. " In the art of dance, we
will always have the rest of our lives to become the best
dancers that we can be". Isn’t that wonderful! Thank you, Bill,
for giving me the understanding that I have the rest of my life
to be the best dancer I can be – or, in this case – instructor.
And I am still learning…
Carlos
I started teaching over three decades ago. As a young man
in the world of ballroom dancing, I was intimidated by both
experienced teachers and students. Having to learn all the
different parts of ballroom dancing, and being new, I could
say it was a bit overwhelming. One day, the studio manager
who hired me to train for 6+ months, who saw something in
me, Mr. Bill Nickle, who I will always be indebted to for the
opportunity, pulled me aside and said, “Remember, you have
the rest of your life to learn, practice, and become the best
that you can be.”
I went from rookie instructor, going through my different levels
– Bronze, Silver, Gold, Theater Art, and more – and along the
way his words of encouragement resonated within me. And
even in today’s instruction, as I am teaching, those words are
still forever present.
Today, when I am teaching students, I can see in their faces,
and in their movements, their need to get it right. But as I tell
them, some of these dance patterns – box step, underarm
turns, promenade – some of these will be easy to ascertain,
and other ones will have a little more difficulty attached to
them, which means it will take a little longer. For some, the
Latin dances are easier, and for some the smooth dances are
easier. But inevitably, they all try to get it right the first time
out.
Remembering what Bill Nickle said, I try to show and teach
how to become patient with oneself. " In the art of dance, we
will always have the rest of our lives to become the best
dancers that we can be". Isn’t that wonderful! Thank you, Bill,
for giving me the understanding that I have the rest of my life
to be the best dancer I can be – or, in this case – instructor.
And I am still learning…
Carlos
| Copyright Carousel Ballroom, 2012. All rights reserved. |
| UPCOMING dance parties Friday, February 10 Beginner Practice Dance Saturday, February 11 VALENTINES DANCE with Waltz Lesson dance lesson schedule Monday: Novice/Beginners Tuesday: Intermediate 1 Wednesday: Advanced Beginners Thursday: Intermediate 2 Read more about dance lessons |