Current State Of Mind

Hello beautiful humans!

I’m back home after teaching in Warwick last weekend. I had intended to write this newsletter during the weekender in my spare time, but I booked more private classes than anticipated and started developing the beginnings of a sore throat. I’m not at 100% yet, but I feel the sinus pressure has eased enough to allow me to gather my thoughts for this newsletter.

I'm incredibly proud of the content I delivered in my teaching. I originally started teaching kiz in November 2012, so it's been ten years! An interesting perspective of mine is that I started teaching before urbankiz was even a term. Back then, it was just called French Style kizomba. We have indeed come a long way.

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On this topic, I prefer to base my teaching on kiz fundamentals and from there, I can adapt the degree of urbankiz depending on the proficiency level of the follower I’m dancing with.

Another one of my strong principles is 'gentle urbankiz', which means 'less is more', actively exhaling throughout the dance, and using body movement as the basis of leading, not a rigid frame.

Since I’ve talked about the 42 communication channels a lot in these past newsletters and highlighted the importance of feedback and variety in classes, I've focused on being intentional about offering bite-sized variations of the MSPs I was teaching. I also allowed for about 10-15 seconds of feedback before rotating partners.

I had concerns about potential ego clashes that might occur by opening up the feedback channel, but the students were quite humble and kind overall. I found it super helpful in general, even for me, to give intentional feedback to each student as I joined the rotation. This approach emphasized communication channels 2.9 and 2.13 and hopefully makes 3.9 and 3.13 easier and more common in future practice sessions.

What I love about my teaching and other fields of thought is how I can zoom into the smallest details and also zoom out to cover multiple levels of possibility; it’s quite fascinating.

Last week, I also discussed the conversation I had with Alejandra. I observed that she was teaching the majority of the class, at least for the small part I attended because I wasn’t there for the whole class.

A related perspective is the lesson planning that went into the class with Douglas. It’s definitely a 50/50 split in terms of knowing the content to be taught and getting on the same page about the MSPs and content delivery. Perhaps in the podcast with Alejandra, we can talk about the lesson planning process she undergoes with her partner Douglas.

Other aspects to consider are choosing a demo for the song, deciding what to wear to class - and even before the festival - figuring out who’s talking to the organizer and getting the bookings, and all the behind-the-scenes activity. These considerations reflect communication channels 1.1 and 1.4!

This has all proven to be thought-provoking and has even sparked my interest in adding some of this to my Dancepreneur University course.

Thank you for opening up another newsletter! Enjoy the rest of the week, and next week’s newsletter will happen on Monday, and I’m also patting myself on the back for consistency.

1.0 Before Classes
1.1 - Lead Instructor To Follower Instructor
1.2 - Lead Instructor to leader students
1.3 - Lead Instructor to follower students
1.4 - Follower Instructor to Lead Instructor
1.5 - Follower Instructor to follower students
1.6 - Follower Instructor to leader students
1.7 - Leader students to Lead Instructor
1.8 - Leader students to Follower Instructor
1.9 - Leader students to follower students
1.10 - Leader students to other leader students
1.11 - Follower students to Leader Instructor
1.12 - Follower students to Follower Instructor
1.13 - Follower students to leader students
1.14 - Follower students to other follower students

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2.0 During Classes
2.1 - Lead Instructor to Follower Instructor
2.2 - Lead Instructor to leader students
2.3 - Lead Instructor to follower students
2.4 - Follower Instructor to Lead Instructor
2.5 - Follower Instructor to follower students
2.6 - Follower Instructor to leader students
2.7 - Leader students to Lead Instructor
2.8 - Leader students to Follower Instructor
2.9 - Leader students to follower students
2.10 - Leader students to other leader students
2.11 - Follower students to Leader Instructor
2.12 - Follower students to Follower Instructor
2.13 - Follower students to leader students
2.14 - Follower students to other follower students

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3.0 After Classes
3.1 - Lead Instructor to Follower Instructor
3.2 - Lead Instructor to leader students
3.3. - Lead Instructor to follower students
3.4 - Follower Instructor to Lead Instructor
3.5 - Follower Instructor to follower students
3.6 - Follower Instructor to leader students
3.7 - Leader students to Lead Instructor
3.8 - Leader students to Follower Instructor
3.9 - Leader students to follower students
3.10 - Leader students to other leader students
3.11 - Follower students to Leader Instructor
3.12 - Follower students to Follower Instructor
3.13 - Follower students to leader students
3.14 - Follower students to other follower students

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Song I'm Currently Jamming To

This song has been out for a while but it's always a jam when I hear it on the social dance floor!

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Recent Content

• Demo at Bailame with Rika focusing on axis play to Arrepios by Soarito.
• A video (part 1) of a training session with Ninja in Boston.
• A FB post on “What’s the different between following and being pushed/yanked around on the dance floor?”
• Tinkering with hook steps with Sarah - Part 3.
• A carousel on actively seeking out feedback in your dancing.
• An image of the communication channels in a dance class and the 42 channels being used with the timeframes of before, during, and after a dance class.
• An image showcasing the 6 lanes of kiz.
• An image showcasing permutations of innovation syncopations & also on the whiteboard.
• Showing possibilities of syncopation across an 8-count.
• A fun dance with Kinnera at the Boston Kizomba Festival.
• A video explaining diamond saidas with clockwise rotations.
• The 16-count phrase mapping worksheet is now available for download!

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Photo of the Week

Awesome time teaching in Warwick again with Eddie & Elina of Sunset Dance Studios

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Dance Meme of the Week

Speaking of communication channels between leaders and followers!

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Cool Video I'm Watching

A cool video on the meaning of abracadabra!

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Upcoming Travel

2023

10/26-30: Bailame Dance Festival - Minneapolis, MN

11/3-5: Neokiz Weekender New York - Warwick, NY

11/17-20: Neokiz Intensives - Atlanta, GA

12/1-4: Attending Elevation Zouk Festival (Available for Privates) - Denver, CO

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2024

01/11-15: Attending Interfusion Festival (Available for Privates) - Arlington, VA

05/3-6: Neokiz Weekender in Edmonton - Edmonton, AB, Canada

05/17-20: Kizowna 2024 - Kelowna, BC, Canada

07/20-24: 8th Annual Neo Kizomba Festival - Austin, TX

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Question Of the Week

Before festivals or weekenders and such, do you find yourself talking to other friends before making a decision to attend the event?

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Answer of the Week

How do I distinguish between a rock step and touch step in urbankiz?

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In a rock step, both knees are bent and softer, during a touch step typically one leg is straight, the height of the dancers shift ever so slightly in a positive Z-axis!

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Past Newsletters

You can view past newsletters here.

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‍Dope Dance Resources

• A cool project to create a global directory of dance events for dancers, artists, and organizers!
• Find out how you can thrive at your next dance event with the Ultimate Dance Event Survival Kit.
• Find out how you can organize your dance journey with the Dancer’s Training Journal 1.0.
• Level up your kiz online with Mr. Neokiz!
• Learn more about the Ultimate Musicality Course For Dancers to level up your musicality!
• Get the 16-count phrase mapping worksheet download for free!
• Join me at my urbankiz festival in Austin, July 18-22, 2024!
• The WhereCanWeDance.com Podcast - Check out my dance podcast!

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Thanks for reading!

Thoughts and feedback on the newsletter or on anything covered within are always welcome, just hit reply. The thing I love most about writing this newsletter is follow-up interactions with readers.

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Feel free to forward this to other friends in your circle!

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Charles