WichitAwesome – AiR, Teacher Thoughts

Currently, I’m enjoying my last day in Wichita before I return to Denver. After 4 workshop hours, 1 group class, 1 team training, 10 private lesson hours, 2 dances, and multiple times chasing a 3 year old, I’m nearly finished. This was Wichita’s first Artist in Residence and it was very successful from my perspective. I had great hosts, full classes, many private lesson hours, invested students, a good teaching partner, and I met the Engineer’s Guide to Cats’ guy. A winning week!

This Wichita weekend marked my third straight 2013 weekend with a good teaching partner. It started with Nadja Gross and Elissa Gutterman in Zurich (recap here). Then I taught with Carla Saz in Valencia, Spain (she of the quick translation, student reading ability, and rotation reminders). Finally, here in Wichita, I had Chelsea Rothschild who, along with Evan Borst, brought me out for this AiR.

I often teach by myself or as the principle instructor. This means I often arrive early into a dance scene to prepare classes with the local instructor and/or organizer. Classes and the material will be planned, but prep work must still take place. I want my teaching partner to be confident with the material.

Fortunately, I’ve worked with really engaged teachers recently. They’re invested into making the weekend a success and you can tell. It helps that they are strong and capable without me. It’s like a good social dance. We have our roles and for those 3-4 minutes we choose to coexist. This was most noticeable when I asked Chelsea several times to demonstrate specific bad and good examples. She was able to immediately understand what I was asking and provided the appropriate examples each time. That is a handy skill, the ability to decipher your partner’s verbal request through active listening.

Thanks for the good times, Wichita. Good luck with your next AiR!

Valencia Recap – Paella, Dips, Tricks, Black Bottom

Valencia, Spain offers a great time especially when I get to work with Miguel and Carla, the proprietors of Black Bottom Lindy Hop. This was my second visit to Valencia and I was looking forward to it. February 1-3 would be my final weekend before I returned to the US. They had a great weekend planned featuring must eat foods and 6 hours of workshops.

That weekend was my last hurrah and seemingly, a coming out party for Black Bottom Lindy Hop. A student made cookies and a lindy sweets train, there were t-shirts and a special inappropriate move – Miguel’s Black Bottom. I attended a Black Bottom (not the jazz step) class where Miguel and Lucia taught a move from Skip Ups and I was inspired.

Most importantly, I had paella for the first time! I’ve been tempted by paella in the past, but the advertisements, the shrimp, restaurant commercialization have been turnoffs. Two years ago or so, I had a dish called paella at Ondo’s Spanish Tapas Bar in Denver. It came out in a cylindrical shape and contained chorizo, bacon, and shrimp for its proteins. I mainly remember the rice tasting and feeling wet, maybe slightly oily. And if you visit Madrid and Barcelona, you will find many restaurants advertising paella. Is it paella? Mmmmmm…. not really.

This is true paella from the Albufera region of Valencia, Spain. Rice, green vegetables, chicken and rabbit served in a large round paella. Delicious, hearty, authentic. Just how I like my swing dancing. Once you get to know the taste of authentic paella, you can’t go back to the cheap substitute. It won’t work, you’ve been spoiled.

This leads into other reasons why I enjoy visiting Valencia so much. The dancers have individual style, Miguel and Carla have great branding, they know what makes food and lindy hop so great (quality ingredients, authenticity, uniqueness), there’s a beach, and it’s cool, quirky, and there’s great architecture. Other dance scenes just have a permeating sameness, not Valencia. So, if you get the chance, visit Valencia, eat some of their fabulous regional cuisine, and say “hi” to Black Bottom Lindy Hop for me.