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This January, Bees’ Knees Dance will be offering two opportunities for Advanced Lindy Hoppers!
We’ve wanted to offer more of these kinds of opportunities for a while. One of the primary reasons that we haven’t is that Advanced opportunities don’t work on a drop-in basis. For them to really work, the courses must be progressive.
Another reason is that I don’t like to offer something that is called “Advanced” and then let in people who are not at a truly Advanced level.
The third reason is that we usually have trouble balancing the classes, and it’s not fair to the followers to hold something like this unless we can guarantee an even number of leaders and followers.
Well, we’ve addressed the progressive-series this fall with an experiment to hold 2 dance troupes, each of which run for three months. That’s working well so far and the participants have all expressed interest in doing more in this kind of format.
As for the level, these opportunities are all geared toward people at what I consider to be a Level 3. Level 3 means that people are at the top level of what I feel that students can learn in a normal class environment. After people have reached Level 3, they generally need to branch out and find different kinds of learning opportunities including a lot of solitary training time, traveling to events, private lessons, performance experience, etc. At that time, some people do benefit from returning to Advanced classes for more practice and direct focus. Other people progress to what I consider a Level 4.
Level 4 is not a normal class level. Level 4 is a kind of level where it’s not regular classes that are needed but mentoring, training, guidance and practice. At this point, it’s more of a coach than an instructor that people need. We will be offering a Level 4 opportunity in the Spring of 2011 that will be by invitation only. Level 4 is not for everyone; it’s for people who are truly hooked, obsessed, and ready to live, breathe and push themselves underneath the Lindy Hop umbrella.
As for balancing the classes, it’s important that we limit the registration for followers until we can guarantee an equal number of leaders. That’s why followers are asked to register for only one of the two partnered opportunities and then they can be put on the waiting list for the second group if they’re still interested in doing more.
- Lindy Hop Performance Troupe*, Wednesdays @ 6pm to 7pm (limit 5 couples + 1 sub), 13 weeks for $130
- Advanced Social Dance Training Group*, Thursdays @8:15 to 9:30 (limit 6 couples), 13 weeks for $140
Lindy Hop Performance Troupe*, Wednesdays @ 6pm to 7pm (limit 5 couples + 1 sub), 13 weeks for $130
We will be accepting just 5 couples for this troupe, and a 6th couple will be accepted to train as subs. The room just isn’t big enough to accommodate more people than that for fast Lindy Hop. And please note that we WILL be dancing fast! That’s one of the highlights of performance Lindy Hop. Requirements: In order to participate, you must feel comfortable dancing at 200+ beats per minute for a minimum of 3 minutes. This group will be trained by Mandi and guests.
Advanced Social Dance Training Group*, Thursdays @8:15 to 9:30 (limit 6 couples), 13 weeks for $140
Our newest series will be devoted specifically to social dancing. All aspects of Advanced social dancing will be confronted over this 13 weeks. Fast dancing, slow dancing, related Lindy Hop dances, connection, styling, advanced moves and repertoire, footwork, technique, everything and anything. Requirements: in order to participate, you must be comfortable doing fast swingouts (at least 200+ bpm), slow Blues, basic footwork such as scissor steps, Charleston transitions from side by side to hand to hand to 1920s to Tandem, 6 count steps, and both forward (Frankie) and round (smooth style) swingouts. This class will be longer, 75 minutes, 
and will be taught by Mandi, Jasper and Phil.
NB:
Registration is open for these opportunities, however filling out the registration form is a submission only and does not guarantee your acceptance. Some students may be asked to audition, to do additional private lessons before the start of the sessions, or may be asked to work on their dancing and re-submit a request of our spring sessions in April.
Thanks for your interest in these opportunities. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.