John & Sandra offer relaxed, fun and informative
classes as they balance professional instruction with practice time and
opportunities to experience the fun and joy of dancing. Tuesday night group
lessons are offered to the public between September and June at Tracy Hall, the
town hall in Norwich, VT. You may browse through the schedule below and
register on this page for any of their classes.
They presently offer two group classes in Norwich. "Introduction to Swing
Dance" and "Intermediate Swing Dance". The primary influence for the material
in both classes comes from Smooth Style Swing, a style of swing dance first
introduced by Dean Collins in the 1940's. Smooth Style Swing is both a popular
style of Lindy Hop today and the basis from which West Coast Swing was
born.
John and Sandra draw from the vast material handed down over the years from
Dean's work to present a unique approach to East Coast Swing and Lindy Hop.
Their Intro class focuses primarily on East Coast Swing/Jitterbug styles while
their Intermediate class extends the range of instruction through Smooth Style
Swing, Lindy Hop and other styles of swing dance, depending on the particular
interests of the students. All of their classes include an emphasis on
technique, lead & follow skills, and on the roots and original character of
swing dance.
Classes are organized in five-week sessions. The first week of each series
contains fundamentals and a focus on technique to help dancers build a base for
learning. Then, in the weeks that follow, they build on the material
progressively and provide each class of students with a broad range of skills.
They welcome students of all ages and ability levels.
No partner is required, but students are encouraged to team up with partners to
practice between weekly classes. Students are invited to join their classes
during either of the first two weeks of each series. Weeks three through five are
reserved for students who have participated in the first two weeks or for
returning students who have had previous instruction from John or Sandra.
Each series of classes contains different material. It is common for students
to take several series of classes at the same instructional level.
"Introduction to Swing, Series A" contains different material than series
"Introduction to Swing, Series B" and so forth. |
Swing dance instructors, John & Sandra are
well-known for their emphasis on lead and follow technique and for their
ease at demonstrating the otherwise difficult concepts of counter-balance,
compression, and resistance that make partner dance look and feel
effortless.
John has been teaching and helping to build the Upper Valley dance community
since 1994 when he began publication of the "Twin State Dance News" and started
teaching dance workshops in White River Jct, VT. In 1998, with the help of
Robin Russell and other local dancers, John began hosting dances at Tracy Hall
in Norwich, VT, from which the Upper Valley Swing Dance Network was born,
bringing the newsletter to the Internet and expanding oppportunities for
classes and events.
Sandra studied traditional Lithuanian country dance in Lithuania and became
interested in Lindy Hop when she moved to the United States. She joined John as
a teaching partner shortly after they were engaged in 2003. Together they host
monthly dances, offer special dance workshops, and teach group classes
in Norwich, VT. They also teach private lessons in their
home in Hanover, NH.
John & Sandra study swing dance from a variety of instructors including
World Swing Dance Champions and American Lindy Hop Champions, Nathalie
Gomes & Yuval Hod, of New York City. They occasionally travel to teach
classes and special workshops. Among other places, they have taught for dance
communities in Portsmouth, NH, New York City, Boston, MA, Greenwich, CT,
Burlington, VT, Syracuse, NY, and at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in
Rhinebeck, NY.
Prior to teaching together, John was a part-time faculty member at Richmond Middle
School in Hanover, NH, teaching swing dance as part of the phys-ed curriculum for
seventh and eight grade students. They are both faculty members for Swingin' New
England, one of the premier swing dance events in the US, and they are faculty
members and performers for the annual Vermont Dance Festival in Lyndon Center, VT.
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