First Rehearsal
Afro-Cuban
First blocking of Afro-Cuban section to music. We covered the entire section, approx. 1 minute. Looking Good ! Great Progress.
Notes:
- entrances to each section of music is correct ! Now I need to clarify steps, arms, etc, and synchronize men’s and ladies movements.
- I would like to modify the ladies’ canon so that the “rain” move happens as a cannon
- I’d like the ladies’ circle to stay tighter, then spread out to a V
- the men’s formation needs to get all the way to the front. I’ll modify the steps to give you more travel.
Afro-Cuban Reference Video _ Ivan Valdespino
Please watch this video in its entirety. Pay attention to the bent knees, chest movement, and timing. This is what we’re after.
Ivan is the Master. He is the director of the Folkloric Dance Company in Havana, Cuba.
Bachata
Bachata basics review to our music. We reviewed basic timing, hesitation step, cheat step, and swing step. only the basic step is recorded in the video. If you master the steps listed above, you will have everything you need for the bachata section.
Second Rehearsal
Bachata Section
Initial blocking of bachata section with partnerwork and guys solo section. Thanks Tetyana Dolotova for the assist !
Remember, we’re still at the blocking stage so details, difficulty level, and styling will change. We’re just trying to see how it fits with the music, dancers, and formations.
Afro-Cuban
Partnerwork
Men’s solo
Third Rehearsal
bachata partnerwork
salsa cannon
Fourth Rehearsal
Fifth Rehearsal
This is the first time we’ve attempted to run through all 3 sections in one go. It’s good to see the whole piece blocked together, and now we can start working on transitions and filling in details.
Take a look at your dancing. Identify sections that need clarity and go back to the previous rehearsals to figure out what needs improvement. If you have questions, write them down and ask at the next rehearsal.
Sixth Rehearsal
Donna Flournoy looked at our work so far and was happy with our progress. The MC Dance Faculty gave some useful suggestions and we’re in the process of trying them out.
Afro Cuban arm styling for men’s entrance
We’ve tried various arm styling for the guys as they make their entrance. I want to emphasize that the posture, chest, and shoulder movements must be the starting point. The arm moves as an extension of the chest expansion and contraction. To illustrate this concept, take a close look at Yasbek Cervantes dancing Afro. Yasbek is a world champion salsa dancer. He and I studied with Ivan Valdespino (Cuba) so we share the same approach to Afro-Cuban. He just dances it lots better ! (the last arm section is our reaper movement)
Bachata – Ladies shines
I worked with Tetyana on the Ladies bachata solo. She looks much better than I do when dancing the moves, so enjoy 🙂
At the end, ladies come together for a pose. This is part completes the choreo for the bachata section ! (Hint: try using the picture-in-picture option to view the video without the cropping)