CITA classes - brief roundup
Monday, March 19, 2007
Wow. I'm posting this from the tail-end of our CITA workshop schedule and have had some great experiences. Quite easily the stand out teachers from our schedule have been Sebastian Arce & Mariana Montes & Chicho Frumboli and Lucia Mazer in relation to technique and ability to explain their idea of the passion behind particular movements. Adrian and Alejandra are just beautiful and I´m really sorry we didn´t do more workshops with them. Esteban and Claudia have explained things beautifully and also managed to personally attend to everyone while they were trying out the new steps and movements. Julio and Corina were very funny. I found that they didn't explain things as well as the other teachers but their classes were still fun... maybe too fun as noone really seemed to be concentrating. The noise levels for one of our Vals classes was so loud I couldnt hear the music enough to dance to it properly.
Sebastian and Mariana's as well as Chicho and Lucia's have been very well attended and have been quite hard to get space to do the steps (especially in one venue which was tiny, hot and had to accommodate more than 30 couples -- given that it was about soltadas and piernazos space was definitely at a premium). I have become more attuned to the space around me and making space if needed (in a non-violent way... although I have been kicked enough by other dancers to make me want to try a violent approach =) hehe).
The skill levels in the classes have varied greatly and has been frustrating at times where in one class a lot of the people we not getting the step so that Julio pulled the plug on the rest of the program. Even those of us who had understood the step had to concentrate on just the two or three that they´d showed us originally. Sebastian has been good but has been visibly frustrated at particular people's lack of knowledge of how to lead simple things like giros and backwards & forwards ochos. Esteban and Claudia have been very patient with people and their technique is great. Chicho's style of teaching is interesting in the sense that he is so quiet it makes you concentrate even more. In one of our musicality workshops with him and Lucia, he absolutely blew everyone away demonstrating the different ways you can dance to a rhythm with some simple steps. It was just amazing. Adrian and Alejandras class was great, but I think a few people were surprised at the level ... it was listed as Intermediate but more than likely that is what a real ¨Intermediate¨ level is like. It was challenging but the steps are beautiful.
All of the ones that we participated in has definitely given us some food for thought for dancing back in Adelaide.
We have just two CITA workshops to go now. It starts in just over an hour, so I´d better wind up and get some lunch. See you soon.
Posted byAndrew at 4:02 am
I'm all nostalgic.......coffee and pizza not what you're used to; Taxi drivers with their own rules; Sebastian Arce getting frustrated with the level of dancers in his class and Julio Balmaceda mucking about then spitting a little dummy...
you've been away from the computer for a while there gibbers... nerrr... feeling ok? hope you're still having fun.
The classes were still absolutely amazing. Found that we really needed to ask for help and be a squeaky wheel in most classes by Sebastian or Chicho as there were so many people it was impossible to help everyone. Their helpers were great dancers in their own right.