JAKE HANING COMES TO NEW YORK CITY!

Picture Courtesy of Marlon Int'l

JAKE HANING blew into town like a TUMBLING TUMBLEWEED on a gentle breeze.

A good old TEXAS country boy ... Jake CHAAARMED the locals and ENTERTAINED our dancers with his unique style.

It was a day of WORKSHOPS bursting with humor, humility and FUN!!!

Dance community leader Chrissy Bridgeman, with the assistance of Jacqueline Joyner & Jes Ann Nail ... 
developed the event in which 4 excellent lessons were offered to a PACKED room at Chelsea Studios.

People came from all over New Jersey, Philadelphia and down the coast as far as Maryland.

Dancers came in from Long Island, Westchester and Connecticut, too. 

In fact, a lot of people turned up that we never saw before.

AAAffable Jake ensured a pleasant day. He put people at ease with his leisurely country style and was completely unafraid to be himself. Everyone learned, laughed and danced all day. I don't know how west coast swing gets any better than this!!!

Chrissy is the genius, in my un-humble opinion, who will lead west coast swing into the future in NYC.

She's taken risks and losses as well as  successes in her quest to redevelop the New York City market for dance. We are very challenged here ... for affordable space ... and by distraction of the myriad of things to do.

Thanx to Chrissy, this special event showed that enthusiastic Allstars sharing their special blend of training can make quite a contribution.

Interestingly, Jake keeps turning up in the east coast dance communities. 

I first met him in 2009 at Summer Hummer when he was partnered with Taletha Jouzdani. Most people don't make much of a first impression. Jake is NOT one of those people.

Check out their performance!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuoweqD4lTM

(If you were at "Hot Westie Nights" you'll recognize a few of these patterns!)

We are very fortunate for the friendship that Jacqueline has developed with Jake because it has brought him into our community more often. Jacqueline is becoming a well liked and respected local dance teacher. 

The chemistry between Jake and Jacqueline is undeniable. They should get a ROOOOO-UTINE!!!

The workshop set was designed to cater to New York City and New Jersey dancers which Chrissy knows well. Each of the four workshops were assisted by our local dance teachers and presented skillfully. Jake is quite well trained ... not just in west coast swing but in country and ballroom, as well.

Jake sized up the levels before starting the workshops. He incorporated some tips for improvement based on what he actually saw us doing.

The day started out with:

“All About That Base” with Jake & Jacqueline

This lesson was all about building a better “base” for dancing and learning to combine body movement on anchors, clean up spins and turns, footwork in triples, hooks, and crosses, and rhythm changes. 

Jake pointed out the difference between dancing on top of the ground and IN the ground. There was a drill designed to illustrate connection and help alleviate momentary loss of connection, as well. 

Jake also explained the difference between an anchor that is a post or drift ... and how to judge.
 

There was a very interesting point about the difference between flat dancing and using body rotation.

He also addressed the elbow and talked about that nagging issue of controlling the amount of arm to hold back and keep available when necessary. 

I've heard about most of this stuff along the way in my dance journey. I just wish someone would have told me this clearly ... much sooner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hap-bpl9Os

“Rock Me Baby” with Jake & Chrissy

The “rock & go” has been brought out of semi-retirement in an effort to show how to splice patterns together to create more movement, energy, and complex patterns.

This was a really good exercise in remembering the rock & go which seems to have fallen out of favor. Everything old is new again. 

First it was applied to the push and pass. Then it was applied to a sugar tuck to side roll out. For those newer to west coast swing, it was a very easily learned and useful pattern. 

More complex roll in and out exercises followed. Chrissy is a particularly proficient teacher and she was able to contribute a great deal by pointing out the skills to be developed in this exercise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVLpRiflyuU

“Lookin’ Like That” with Jake & Jacqueline

This workshop was all about learning to apply shaping and individual styling.

Jake has developed an interesting style to his footwork and he shared his secret. By adding crosses and hooks to the anchor and push ... it looks like his feet are doing quite a bit. 

The application included traveling sideways, timing changes and added a rondé.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M9rQIZd_-k&t=1s

Jake Dancing with Jes Ann Nail

“Showstopper” with Jake & Jes Ann

This lesson in Micro-Musicality included everything from the previous lessons and applied to expand expression while dancing with anyone. 

This was the highlight of the day. Jake is wonderful with musicality. This is the reason for dancing west coast swing.

We love to play with the music. But it's a skill set ... and builds on previously acquired skill sets.

One of the drills was a pause in before accenting. Sort of a build-up to the moment. He also gave leaders ideas of how to set up for the break or accent. And we tried it to really cool music!

Everyone seemed to get the idea regardless of level. Jes Ann is another excellent teacher. Her technique is so clear that one can take a mental picture. She is definitely a SHOWSTOPPER!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GEO7TEdmAY

The workshops were a fun learning experience and yet NOT expensive!

Jake's drawling style is very organic and seemingly pulled from his collection of experiences.  We found him to be particularly likable. The room was relaxed and comfortable all day.

We are quite happy to spend a day with Jake and others at his level. Sometimes we just want the opportunity for structured practice and review. Why do we always need to have expensive A+ list pros? Jake was a unique interpretation of all those people. 

The dance that followed was at Club 412, which is the party room at the dance studio in Manhattan called "You Should Be Dancing." There was also a room for hustle and a room for ballroom dance.

Adam Schenk Dancing with Alena Ulner

The westie room, which was packed to overflowing, was run by Brett and Ksenia Nomberg and they've titled their party "Hot Westie Nights." 

This dance does not always get such a big crowd, since it draws ballroom and hustle dancers as well. But, everyone came to see Jake.

Jake Dancing with Ksenia Norberg

A dance demo was performed in which Brett and Jake danced with Jacqueline, Jes Ann and Ksenia in a group steal style. It was amusing and entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF5d7Kx1ivw&t=79s

Alison Urban  Dancing with Jake

Jake danced with everyone that he could. We enjoyed his company as much as his lessons. 

The most important part of this whole event is the enthusiasm he created in our NYC dance community.

Justin Bozinta "Dancing" with Alison Urban

Chrissy has hit on the solution to growing the dance community in NYC.

Add to the A+ list pros by bringing in Allstar level pros to give fun, reasonably priced lessons and then just party!

Thanx Chrissy, Jacqueline and Jes Ann! You guys gave the westie community a WONDERFUL present for the Holiday Season!!!