Movin' Easy Dancewear

Do you need 4 or 5 pairs of pointe shoes to last you through summer intensives? Then get ready for summer by ordering your pointe shoes in advance. To order or schedule a fitting:

• Please call 512.474.0980, email dance@movineasy.com or just come on in!
• Buy 5 pair and 1 pair FREE when you remember your Pointe Promotion Dream Card*
• Join our Customer Reserve Program and have us hold your size.

After a year of not dancing, I am completely blindsided by the learning curve of learning Ballroom Dancing.  Yes, I can remember a few steps but all the essentials I have obviously not learned or forgotten.  The most gorgeous Big Band music plays while I clunk flatfooted across the floor, holding Ginger too close, and throwing her off balance with my forceful moves.

I love dancing so much.  When the music begins, it is as if my tether has been untied.  I fly across the room as if I was a helium balloon headed into the sky, and in my total exuberance I drag Ginger with me.  It is not my intention to be inconsiderate to her; I just enter another state of consciousness hoping that she will join and that I will remember some steps in my unfocused state.

As usual that state does not work for any of us.  Back to the drawing board, I have to realize that learning to dance is like learning to walk again.  And here we are again. 

My internal question is “What is it I have to learn in order to fly?”  First lesson was how to propel from one foot to the other rather than slamming my foot down like a toddler wanting to make sure the earth wont move under the first steps.  Second lesson was to hold my body up erect rather than crunching down over myself like a monkey accustomed to hunching before leaping from branch to branch. 

Patience is not akin to flying or maybe it is since a baby bird does totter around on the limb a while deciding it is time to leap.  So in my journey to the dance floor, I will take the time to learn to walk a new way.

I assume most people can either fake it or have a natural finesse that makes their partners comfortable enough to get through a dance.  When I learn to walk, I will hold Ginger at a comfortable distance, support my weight as a homo erectus or some such species, and propel my entire body into the dance so that Ginger can read my moves.  Back to the dancing room for me.

092111   Tim Hurst

A friend came to Movin’ Easy for tap shoes to begin tap dance at Tapestry Dance Academy in Austin.  I said, “This will be a great opportunity for you to deal with all that confusion in your life.”  I was speaking from experience since dance is my friend in this respect almost every day.

She asked me, “What do you mean?”  I said, “Have you taken Tai Chi’.”  “Yes.”  Do you remember how it felt to shift slowly from one side of your body to the other?”  “Kind of.”

“That’s the point.  Tai Chi integrates the breath as you shift left side, right side.  That seems subtle to us. 

“Tap dancing requires clear commitment in moving from one side to the other.  You shift from using one side of the brain, then the other.  Plus you are sealing that commitment into the hard wired rhythmic part of the brain.  Or at least you are getting into your psyche through a set of wiring used since the earliest humans.”

The Fluent Body with Sarah Brumgart offers group Yoga classes for all skill levels and ages, Wednesdays noon-1pm and Thursdays 6-7pm.

Classes held @ Austin Center for Holistic Healing & Yoga, 5515 Balcones Drive, 2nd floor, near 2222 & Mopac, across from Chez Zee Restaurant, above Independence Title, entrances to staircase by Pakmail or Nails.

Register at  sarah@sarahbumgart.com

512-241-1915

www.sarahbrumgart.com

The Dance Zone’s popular,  sexy/nightclub style cardio classes are back and better than ever with a new instructor, Amber Prowell, and new vibe Wednesdays 7:45-8:45pm. This class will focus on combining sexy choreography and freestyle dance techniques to help tone and build stamina. Done in a nightclub environment with dark lighting and bangin’ beats from Lady Gaga to Beyonce, this class will be “lots of booty, cute and sassy, high energy and upbeat”!

Prowell has been a member of the GoGo Gadgettes, a high energy dance troupe made up of contemporary dancers, hula hoopers, flag and fire spinners since 2007. The Gadgettes perform regularly at Austin’s top nightclubs, music festivals, with many of the world’s top headliners and at major events like the P-Diddy Superbowl After Party.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=181191835260610

www.inthedancezone.com

The Dance Zone is hosting a Pro Dance Prep Workshop and Team Training Camp on April 30th from 1-4pm taught by instructor and owner,  Liz Walter.

You will learn style-specific routines from  professional dance teams, kick lines, special pro team specific workout moves to get you in your best shape as well as tons of other tips and tricks to help you prepare for the upcoming audition season. Including how to get the judges attention, what the directors/judges for each of these teams is looking for ie: what to wear, how to do your makeup and hair, what technical skills to focus on most in your private lessons, why you should add cardio classes and whether or not this is really right for you.

Special guest and Dallas Cowboy’s Cheerleader, Alyssa Sarasani, will also be attending and is eager to share her extensive knowledge about auditioning for professional dance teams. Sarasani began her dancing career in Austin by taking Walter’s UT Informal Street Jazz classes before The Dance Zone opened in 2003 and since then she has danced and cheered with the Ice Bats Batgirls Dance Team, Texas Wranglers, Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Cowboys. She will be an invaluable source of information regarding the audition process for these professional dance teams.

To  RSVP ASAP for this event email liz@inthedancezone.com

Pre-registration is open and recommended.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=199546603412908

www.inthedancezone.com

Feb 26-27 @ Third Coast Dance Center, 2565 Jackson Keller Rd, San Antonio TX 78230, Beg & Adv levels, 210-863-5190, www.pilarandujar.net

NEW ballroom shoe styles available @Movin’ Easy, Pics available @Movin’ Easy Dance Blog

NEW Zumba and Dance Sneaker selection @Movin’ Easy, Pics available @Movin’ Easy Dance Blog