brazilian samba = teh awesome.
Jun. 4th, 2008 06:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swingchickiehad my first samba class last night, and i really liked it. the dance itself is a blast, very sexy and energetic... and what a workout! within 5 minutes i was drenched in sweat. (note to self: 2 taco bell tacos before class is not a good idea. from now on, eat something light a couple of hours before class so you've had time to digest and you don't have meat blorping around in your stomach while you're trying to shimmy.)
i'll be curious to see the class dynamics as we go... the teacher and students are definitely an interesting mix. the teacher told us she's taught samba before, but you wouldn't know it -- she didn't explain things clearly, was more like "do this and then do this"... she started moves on a 3 or 7 sometimes instead of a 4 or 8 without explaining if that was a samba thing or just bad counting... and would have to correct herself after she showed us a move. i actually didn't mind her casual style too much, because the dance is all about having fun and being energetic and it kind of fit.
in contrast to the teacher, though, you had a room full of women who it seems were used to very technical dance instruction (this is a studio that does ballroom and competition-level salsa). and wow were some of them intense, each one demanding and complaining because the class wasn't exactly like other ones they've taken. "can't we rotate front to back so the back people can see more?" "can't we rotate from the outer edges in so the side people can be in the center sometimes?" "can't we split the class so that half does the combo while the other half watches, instead of all dancing together?" sweet baby jesus people, just dance and have fun! i can understand a bit wanting to rotate if you can't see... but don't suggest it in that pissy, whiny tone. they sucked all the positive energy out of the room. grrrrrrrrr.
one extra benefit of this class: i slept like a freaking ROCK last night. sweaty dance class + cool, rainy night with the windows open = zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. absolutely glorious.
i'll be curious to see the class dynamics as we go... the teacher and students are definitely an interesting mix. the teacher told us she's taught samba before, but you wouldn't know it -- she didn't explain things clearly, was more like "do this and then do this"... she started moves on a 3 or 7 sometimes instead of a 4 or 8 without explaining if that was a samba thing or just bad counting... and would have to correct herself after she showed us a move. i actually didn't mind her casual style too much, because the dance is all about having fun and being energetic and it kind of fit.
in contrast to the teacher, though, you had a room full of women who it seems were used to very technical dance instruction (this is a studio that does ballroom and competition-level salsa). and wow were some of them intense, each one demanding and complaining because the class wasn't exactly like other ones they've taken. "can't we rotate front to back so the back people can see more?" "can't we rotate from the outer edges in so the side people can be in the center sometimes?" "can't we split the class so that half does the combo while the other half watches, instead of all dancing together?" sweet baby jesus people, just dance and have fun! i can understand a bit wanting to rotate if you can't see... but don't suggest it in that pissy, whiny tone. they sucked all the positive energy out of the room. grrrrrrrrr.
one extra benefit of this class: i slept like a freaking ROCK last night. sweaty dance class + cool, rainy night with the windows open = zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. absolutely glorious.
