Katja
Bachata has quickly grown into the dance and love of my life. After 30 years of dancing and teaching competitive Latin, Hip-Hop and video-clip dancing, I found myself in Bachata.
While I am in love with all the developments of Bachata – from the Dominican originals through to the variations of Bachata Moderna – my passion absolutely belongs to Sensual Bachata. This is because it opens new places for creativity for followers. It involves bodies and minds, tension control and surrender in versatile ways that I think can be taught!
Following to me is an art that is not spoken about enough.
It is the ability to connect your inner dancer, to the spontaneity of a connection, the storyline of a melody, that special moment of fleeting beauty. Following is a feeling.
In my teaching I want to make the art of following accessible. I want to shed a light on the empowering parts of being led. I want to create a space in which followers are encouraged to find a personal way of expression…rather than following a trend.
In my teaching I will try to address:
- The sometimes not so easy to be moderated split between ‘following’ and expression of individuality.
- How to not ‘just’ surrender our dance to the leader
- How to comfortably relax into a connection rather than worrying about the next move
- That dancing a social dance means trusting a fleeting connection in a world where trust = danger
- Feeling good with the way our individual bodies move
- And most importantly I will aim at connecting followers & leaders
Website: https://katjabehrens.wixsite.com/theartoffollowing
Filip
I have been dancing in some form or another for 25 years. I have in some combination taught, performed, and competed in ballroom, salsa, bachata, hip hop, and contemporary dancing – just to name a few!
For me, dancing is all about connecting with one another, with the music, and with ourselves. Far more than the steps and combinations, dancing is about the feeling of the floor underfoot, the bass vibrating in our chest, and the smiles of those we dance with.
My teaching, then, stresses not what we do on the dancefloor, but how we do it. I work on how to move our bodies in a way that is safe and comfortable, how to better listen to one another when we’re leading and following, and how to express our creativity and individuality in our dancing.
In the coming year, I hope to help people explore their own range of movements, develop their technique, and discover their own personal style. It’s going to be a blast!