 |
| Picture Courtesy of John Calvo |
Ben Morris & Victoria Henk, quite possibly, gave the best set of workshops that New York City has ever seen. BIG SHOT pros blow into town all the time and Gotham Swing Club gets nothing but the best.
But Chrissy Bridgeman, (west coast swing entrepreneur), topped them all!
But Chrissy Bridgeman, (west coast swing entrepreneur), topped them all!
 |
| Chrissy Dancing with Jerry Wang |
Many pros are nothing more than great dancers ... and some pros are more personality than skill.
He's as good at teaching west coast swing as Bill Gates was at running Microsoft.
Victoria Henk is an excellent teacher ... offering an interesting perspective as well as meaningful insight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sXQfG2-Tg4&t=56s
 |
| Tammy dancing with Chuck Yee |
We are tired of hearing the same ole’ music from the same ole’ DJs.
Hustle pro and event director of "Millenium Dance Party," Lori Brizzi, (which hosted social dancing) sure noticed!
Lori could not stop talking about how good Tammy’s music selection was.
Since nobody could stop dancing … Lori was right!
The three workshops offered by Ben & Victoria were tailored to our community and presented extremely well.
 |
| Ben Dancing with Laurie Ehrlich |
We started with a connection workshop including compression drills.
Ben addressed transition issues that result from ineffective gauging of space, speed and velocity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJWPvHJbLVQ
There were a lot of good dancers in that room and I danced with all of them. Every single person benefited from those exercises.
Musicality was the next topic.
Ben & Victoria described three approaches centering on partner communication.
One partner can set the tone at the beginning of the dance that establishes predictability.
Another approach is to lead the musicality and thereby encourage styling and embellishment.
The leader can also plan to hit a particular sound.
This is how to create a special moment in the dance.
Musicality was the next topic.
Ben & Victoria described three approaches centering on partner communication.
One partner can set the tone at the beginning of the dance that establishes predictability.
Another approach is to lead the musicality and thereby encourage styling and embellishment.
The leader can also plan to hit a particular sound.
This is how to create a special moment in the dance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI_xFpDaTaQ
The third workshop was started off with apache and crossbow whip variations which were relatively intermediate in level. However, Ben & Victoria upped the ante when they added the RIDE. Watch!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A06tyR25raw
Words to live by: Victoria said: “Don’t blaze through the patterns!”
After the workshops were done, we played “Spin the Bottle” for a personal critique.
How fun! Four individuals were chosen and so was the person directly across. We then danced in spotlight style. They gave us special insight into our progress. In private lessons, the teacher usually focuses on connection. In a competition, judges are only able to focus on snippets of our performance. BUT, in this instance, these two premier teachers and judges were able to give us the BIG picture … the good, the bad and the UGLY!
The dance that followed was part of “Millenium Dance Party.”
Lori Brizzi hosts a three room event for west coast swing, hustle and ballroom at "You Should Be Dancing" on 8th Avenue & 31st Street in NYC.
The westie room, which was packed to overflowing, was run by Brett & Ksenia Nomberg.
Interestingly, what began as a DJing gig … has turned into "Hot Westie Nights." They made this venue their own distinctive party.
They offered a lesson, which I didn't attend, so I can’t comment. However, I did attend the dance and Brett’s DJing was outstanding.
Ben & Victoria graced us with a demo that ooooo’d and aaaaa’d everyone in the room!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srjwDTOreig&t=18s
This dance gets an unusually large crowd whenever there is a special guest. People we haven't seen in a while turned up. John Calvo, above, is the pride of my home in Tucson, AZ.
The girl in the red top is Laurie Goldfarb Wang. She's about to have her second child. Laurie & Jerry go back to the good old days of Strictly Westie, when west coast swing was very popular in NYC.
The space designated for ballroom dancing did very well … drawing many westie cross-overs. The atmosphere was pleasant and welcoming.
The hustle room, however, which was twice as large as the other rooms, experienced a much smaller turnout. Moreover, we didn’t feel welcome. The hustle community in NYC has a reputation for arrogance and its taking a toll.
Words to live by: Victoria said: “Don’t blaze through the patterns!”
How fun! Four individuals were chosen and so was the person directly across. We then danced in spotlight style. They gave us special insight into our progress. In private lessons, the teacher usually focuses on connection. In a competition, judges are only able to focus on snippets of our performance. BUT, in this instance, these two premier teachers and judges were able to give us the BIG picture … the good, the bad and the UGLY!
 |
| ori Dancing with Matt DiVia |
Lori Brizzi hosts a three room event for west coast swing, hustle and ballroom at "You Should Be Dancing" on 8th Avenue & 31st Street in NYC.
Interestingly, what began as a DJing gig … has turned into "Hot Westie Nights." They made this venue their own distinctive party.
They offered a lesson, which I didn't attend, so I can’t comment. However, I did attend the dance and Brett’s DJing was outstanding.
Victoria has such a great style. Everything she does is classy and actually do-a-ble.
Even though the girl is very young … and I am NOT so much … I felt like I could emulate quite a bit from her example.
Even though the girl is very young … and I am NOT so much … I felt like I could emulate quite a bit from her example.
The girl in the red top is Laurie Goldfarb Wang. She's about to have her second child. Laurie & Jerry go back to the good old days of Strictly Westie, when west coast swing was very popular in NYC.
The hustle room, however, which was twice as large as the other rooms, experienced a much smaller turnout. Moreover, we didn’t feel welcome. The hustle community in NYC has a reputation for arrogance and its taking a toll.
It was a mistake to host the west coast swing party in a too small room and some people left early.
Anyways … getting back to the spectacular party in the westie room … it was sooooo good that Brett kindly extended the party another half hour.
He didn’t just DJ, he danced with his guests (Ksenia was also out on the floor) and made sure everyone had "a night to remember."
The Ben & Victoria workshops were among the best I’ve ever attended. Chrissy Bridgeman is just the person to revive west coast swing in NYC.
She knows what we want and need.
The girl makes things that matter … actually happen.
He didn’t just DJ, he danced with his guests (Ksenia was also out on the floor) and made sure everyone had "a night to remember."
She knows what we want and need.
 |
| Chrissy Dancing with Jerry Wang |
