Merengue Dance Lessons
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Our Master Dance Class Example.
One can easily and constantly enjoy a summerish feeling of fresh sea breeze and warm tropical sunlight not only being right at the sandy beach of any Latin-American country. Surprisingly, energetic sounds of Latin music perfectly combined with the engaging Merengue steps always create an easy-going atmosphere and a festive mood throughout a year in any corner of the planet. No matter what a place is, either it is a freezing location somewhere around the North Pole or green bushy forests in a south-east part, as long as there is a place, inviting to dance, and music, Merengue will inevitably win over hearts of all the admirers, becoming a crucial and the most enjoyable life chapter!
Music and dancing play a very important role in the lives of the Dominican population. All the events are accompanied by this fantastic combination which leads to a unique and uniting dance rhythm of all the islanders. Skin-to-skin contact is a well-known special characteristic of Merengue. However, in the Dominican Republic, a country of its origin, people tend to dance it at a certain distance. The main purpose of that is to show how skillful and creative a dancer is. Meanwhile, an international community of Merengue admirers throughout the globe took over a variant where a close body contact sets the whole “widespread” idea of the dance!
Joyful, groovy sounds of music never let anyone keep silence and remain still. Driving sounds invite everyone to dive into this world of fascinating tunes and exciting dance combinations of Merengue, erasing the daily routine at least for a while! Merengue is a dance where steps are so easy to learn whereas arms movements are not that strict to follow. That is why all the admirers become already dancers at the very first class to the very first song. That was what made Merengue quite popular outside the Dominican Republic.
A dynamic couple dance has one more distinctive peculiarity, a limping movement, which marks certain accents of rhythmic sounds of music, creating an individual style of the dancers. Mainly it is performed in pairs, nonetheless there might be rare situations when Merengue is danced as a solo or show variant, keeping the same, pretty flirting tone of the dance where a key feature is IMPROVISATION.
Merengue is a highly “adjustable” dance. Having learnt the basic steps the dancers tend to add their own “icing on the cake” thanks to numerous of beautifying elements, such as circled hip movements, body rotation, shoulder movements and so on. All these dance patterns are combined in a flexible way, the way the dancers feel right and enjoyable to this or that style of music. Partners, surprisingly, never separate neither in merengue de salón, nor in merengue de figura. They just improvise as much as possible, getting loose to the hot, warm blooded sounds of music.
One may spot straightaway expressively vibrant sounds of Merengue music because it is performed on various instruments. Either it is guitar, saxophone or other wind instruments the feelings of featheriness and harmony are guaranteed. With flirtation in disguise Merengue holds no commitment but sensational spirit, tremendous atmosphere and TWO people, moving to strikingly driven tunes. Bien pegado or separado, closeness is determined only by the dancers themselves. Regardless of the distance Merengue, as a social dance, 100% promotes new acquaintances. How much they want to get to know each other depends directly on them! Having let Merengue in one’s life once, it will surely stay forever!
Choose desired course level:
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Beginner Merengue Course
Beginner Merengue course is designed for:
- Absolute beginners who have never danced before or who consider themselves to have 2 left feet.
- For people who have taken Merengue classes in the past and who are not sure or have forgotten their fundamental steps.
- For people who want to practice their basic steps.
- For people going to vacation to Latin American countries and want to have basic knowledge of Latin dancing
You will learn:
- Explore the posture and basic moves and figures.
- Learn the correct technique of how to follow a partner’s lead during a combination of freestyle steps.
- Learn how to develop the ability to transform simple basic steps in articulated sequences with rich decoration and embellishment.
- How to connect with your partner.
- How to Lead (men).
- How to Follow (women).
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Intermediate Merengue Course
Beginner Merengue course must be completed. Approval from instructors required to start the Intermediate Merengue Course.
You will learn:
- New combinations every session.
- Improving the posture and movements to be able to dance in partnership and in proper Merengue frame.
- Advanced moves and figures.
- Learning how to develop the ability to transform simple basic steps in articulated sequences with rich decoration and embellishment.
- Basic, Intermediate patterns and combining those patterns.
- More connection and leading & following exercises.
- How to understand music, counts, syncopations and accents.
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Advanced Merengue Course
Ongoing Merengue classes with more challenging patterns, spicy moves & figures. This class is for those who are at the Intermediate/advance level (Approval from instructors required). Merengue has many patterns, combinations, variations. We recommend taking 3 to 4 intermediate Merengue courses before taking Advanced Merengue Course. If you missed the first class, it’s not too late to join us for the second class!
You will learn:
- Learn how to transform simple basic steps into articulated sequences with rich decoration and embellishment.
- Learn advanced Merengue moves and figures with separate embellishments for ladies and men.
- Learn more articulated figures of Merengue .
- Improve your ability to dance Merengue sequences with faster timing and with more styling.
- Learn how to combine all the figures studied during the course into a unique and fluid routine.
Common options for all courses:
- All courses are available as group and/or private lessons.
- You may choose male or female teacher, as you prefer.
- Certificate of Achievement is available, read more.
- We have dance lessons for kids, mixed lessons (children and parents) are available.
- We can modify the courses to better suit your needs.
Available lesson formats:
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Individual Dance Lessons
Nervous about dancing in public? Private lessons take the edge off and allow you to really let loose and see what you’re made of!
Private dance lessons are the quickest, most effective way to improve your dancing. We personalize each lesson based on your individual needs, desires, and goals, adjusting our teaching style to your ability, personality, and expectations. You’ll discover the difference some one-on-one attention can make in your dancing! This ensures the most thorough and rapid learning process, all while keeping it fun, easy, and comfortable.
Benifits of private dance lessons:
- Personalized attention and custom lesson guide
- Scheduled at your convenience
- Fastest way to learn and progress
Private lessons are designed to focus on your own dancing needs. This is where you will be able to learn technic, especially how to use our feet, understand timing, and develop body awareness, the more challenging aspects of your learning and in the same time enjoy the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere of our studio, have fun, and enjoy the feeling of dancing.
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Group Dance Lessons
Focus on having fun and we’ll take care of the rest! Group classes learning is one of the most exciting ways to learn how to dance. Classes focus on lead and follow skills and how to put dance patterns together in a way that makes sense.
Benifits of group dance lessons:
- Helps growth in the social ability of your dance skills
- Broad experience growth: dancing with multiple partners at all levels and get introduced to patterns at a fast pace
- Meet students of all skill levels and practice dancing with them
- Provides an environment for students to share their experiences, giving newer students advice on how to get the most out of their dance training experience.
- Another blessing from learning with others in a group is developing relationships with those you can now practice what you learned with
Group classes are designed to teach you the school figures and to develop your sense of balance. For the majority of the class the ladies are on one side of the room and gentlemen on the other. We learn the figures and solidify them with a considerable amount of repetition. Because the majority of the time we are dancing on our own, our balance, which is so important is being developed.
We cater for all aims and goals, for great fun, for those who are looking for the health benefits of dancing, for those looking to be the center of the dance floor or to challenge themselves, or perhaps just to spend time with their partner (couples lessons) dancing is one of the best activities in the WORLD!
We are waiting for you on our group dance lessons:
- Tuesday
- 8:15pm
- Thursday
- 8:15pm
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Practice Sessions
“Practice Sessions” means that all students are welcome and encouraged to come.
While the format of a practice session is much like a typical social ballroom dance, the purpose is different. You can come to just enjoy dancing. You do not need to have a particular move or routine that you are practicing. It is a great opportunity to dance on the biggest dance floor. The instructors will take care for a dancing environment of the session, including providing appropriate music carefully chosen for the correct tempo for each type of dance and for the characteristics that make each dance unique. Instructors hosting the practice session are often pleased to make suggestions when asked.
Benifits of practice sessions:
- Practice sessions offer an opportunity to practice steps or routines on Dance For You Studio spacious floating floor
- Every week our ballroom is available for our students to use for practice sessions
- The ballroom is equipped with a state of the art sound system and provides the perfect environment to focus on and enjoy improving your dancing
- Excellent opportunity to practice what you’ve been learning on your private lessons as well as the Group Lessons
Practice sessions are designed to prepare you for dancing in the real world. At these sessions many of the students attend. This creates the need to develop our traffic skills and maneuverability. You will have the opportunity to dance with a variety of partners. Everyone feels different and our job is to prepare you to dance with anyone. You will also practice to the music the entire practice session.
Look forward to see you on our practice session:
- Wednesday
- 9:00pm
Visit our photo gallery to see more photos from weekly dance practice events.
