1:1 Dance questionnaire

Below are some questions (along with my answers) asked by Francesa in preparation for our upcoming 1:1 dance private scheduled this Friday. Also included a couple of my favorite dance clips that inspire me.

• What are 3 house steps that you are comfortable with and use frequently?
  • Pas de bourree
  • Loose Leg / Chase
  • Cross Step
  • Shuffle
• ⁠What are 3 house steps that you struggle with or tend to avoid?
  • Farmer
  • Skate
  • Train
  • Sidewalk, Salsa (and others that I’ve practiced that sometimes don’t make appearances during rounds/sessions etc)
• Can you identify what in particular you struggle with for those steps?
  • Falling off beat (exclusively with the farmer)
  • Not quite aesthetically where I want it to be (Skate / Train)
  • Inability (or have not yet attempted really) to convey different rhythms beyond the foundational, syncopated rhythmic pattern
  • Develop a groove (where I doing more dancing than steps) that I can dance and intertwine these steps with
  • Often forget that I’ve even trained these steps and thus rarely come out
• ⁠Who are 3 house dancers who inspire you or whose style you enjoy?

  So difficult to name just three so going to toss out a few more at the risk of violating the constraint in the question 😊
  • Brian Green
  • Kwame
  • Yugson
  • Rick Indigo
  • Shan S
  • J Soul Zuberi
  • Rachad
• ⁠Can you identify what is about those dancers that you appreciate?
  • One common theme is the beautiful simplicity in their movements
  • Ability to dance both masculine and feminine energy
  • Laid back while also energetic and crisp and clear
  • Versatility and their ability to adapt to different types of (house) music
  • While the steps are “beautiful”, the ability to gracefully move other parts of the torso
• Is there anything in particular you’re really keen to get out of this initial session?
  • Curious to hear your observations from the past 3 weeks of Kev’s Kitchen
  • Incorporating double time without looking or feeling so robotic
  • Turns and space without looking robotic / stiff in the torso
  • From the wide array of “elements” (e.g. levels, space, rhythm, musical, isolation, footwork) how to manage training routine and practice and develop them over both the short and long term