Teaching: Private Lessons

Teaching: Private Lessons

Teaching: Blues/Tango Privates

First, I'd like to reflect on your teaching method. I was rather skeptical of your 'focus on the strength approach'. While I think it is good to recognize a person's strength, and identify it for them in case they are unable to do so themselves, I was worried that I would just get better at what I knew and magnify my weaknesses by contrast. However, having thought further about the lesson and putting what I learned into practice on the dance floor I realize you did in fact address my shortcomings without overtly admitting it. I found your encouragement to be sincere and confidence-inspiring and you're corrections and suggestions to be direct, yet gentle. If anything, I worry that your assessment of my dancing was overly generous -- but that could be part of the effectiveness of the lesson since confidence in one's dancing tends to inspire a positive feedback loop where dancing improves as a result. In short, I think you method was effective and my original skepticism is assuaged. If we do further lessons together, I think I'd like it if you gave me more constructive criticism and less complements though.

I'm afraid my commentary on specific topics covered will be less insightful, but here it is anyway.
* I'd never thought much about level-changing in a partner dance until you pointed it out, but I've since used it and had follows specifically mention that they enjoyed it.
* Now that you've improved my closed embrace form, I wish more follows would take lessons with you too! Its a really great way to dance with the right person and to the right music, but either I'm leading it wrong still or quite a few follows aren't sure what to do with it.
* Rising before moving horizontally has opened up a whole new set of doors for me. Coupled with the level change, I'm able to create much more excitement in my dancing.

Thanks again for the lesson. I've been telling just about everyone about it, especially those people that paid me complements on Tuesday. Be sure to let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, and when you're coming back to Portland.--Ian Bone, Portland, April 2008

Your private lesson that I had on Friday felt focused and of great value to me. The pointers you gave me were particular to me and essential for me to become a better follow as in matching tension - surprisingly heavier than I imagined and responding from my core. Thank you for your patience and sensitivity. --Andolie Marten, Hilo (Dec '06)

You absolutely understood what I needed to learn to become a better dancer and tailored your lesson to that. I really felt like I grew more as a dancer in that hour than in eight hours of studio lessons I had taken before." --Joe Neff, Portland (Nov '06)

As for the lesson, I enjoyed working with you a great deal. I thought you were engaging, attentive, and responsive to what I needed and wanted to work on. It was obvious that you were quite interested in not only helping me learn but also in expanding my understanding of what connection truly is. I wasn't exactly sure what I needed before we began but you quickly picked up on a number of points and displayed wonderful patience in helping me understand what you wanted to convey.

I've taken lessons in various sports with a wide variety of teachers and the best are always interested in teaching as well as learning. It was gratifying to know that I was able to help you in clarifying some of your thoughts and techniques and I'm looking forward to working with you again, hopefully before too long :) Have a safe trip and enjoy your time in Hawaii." --Marie Daniels, Portland (Nov '06)

My partner and I spent two hours with Mihai. First hour was learning blues dancing and the second hour we put it together with tango. In just two hours, we really got a good sense of what to do. Not saying we can move like him on his video, but we got the basis for it. He showed how to transition well between blues and tango moves by pausing and changing one's posture (more upright for tango, more down for blues). And we worked on musicality - smaller or more amplified movements at different points in the song.

Mihai's teaching abilities are among the best I have ever seen. He tells you exactly which muscles to move - and he can look at you and immediately tell what you are doing right or wrong, and point to the exact spot where you might need to change your movement. His understanding of body mechanics is amazing.

Equally great was Mihai's leading and sense of connection. He explained how, when each move finishes there is a 'click' meaning the moment where you clearly finish the move and are ready to go to the next one. He didn't mean actually stopping at the end of each move; it's a split second kind of thing. He also worked with me on how to feel a lead more sensitively from his hand on my back. He even led me to do body rolls that way, by moving his fingers in sequence, kind of like the keys on a saxophone. (Insert quip here about playing a woman like an instrument! ) You can see him do it (with someone else) on this video.

Most important, when he dances, he is fully present. He's there for his partner in a way that very few are. I felt completely safe and relaxed dancing with him. I wish he was on the East Coast so I could do his "Tangoed Up in Blues" nights. Any of you in the SF area, it's the first Saturday of the month, more info here. BTW he calls blues dancing "tango with hips". I like that! --Jenny Robinson, Philadelphia, Jan '08

"We were hooked about half way through the lesson. I can report that we have used some of the blues you taught in the two milongas we've had since the lesson and are excited to practice more. We are looking forward to your return.

Besides the excitement of a new form for expressing tango, I especially liked how you focused on musicality. It came through from your first explanations of the differences between tango and blues, to getting us comfortable in just trying to move to the new music and especially the exercise of listening to the music and identifying how the music moved us emotionally and intellectually.

Just as you worked the class the actual "steps" were just the icing on the lesson, tasty and fun. You will get lots of recommendations from all of us for any workshop you offer on your return." --Stan Sitko, Boulder (Sep '06)