Join Theresa Manney and Lauren Smith for their Follow Focus Balboa Workshop, an exciting exploration of individual expression and technical nuance in partner dancing. This workshop will benefit primary follows, primary leads, and switch dancers alike!
Follows, learn how to style and add rhythmic variations to your dancing, exploring musical and connection ideas. Follows will gain the tools to communicate rhythmic and energy changes, and a variety of stylings to bring more personal flavor to their social and competitive dancing.
Leads, learn how to inspire and collaborate with your partner to bring about more conversational and enjoyable dances. Leads will learn the frameworks necessary to give their follow workable content to explore and stylize each dance.
Prerequisites: Completion of Balboa 1, and at least two series of Balboa 2, or equivalent. Comfortable adjusting techniques, moves, or styling choices for slow, medium, and fast songs. Comfortable in the standard Balboa foundations at a variety of tempos: lollies, toss outs, out and ins, Balboa swivels, and pure Balboa (crab walks, paddles turns, adlibs, etc.) Email contact@cloudlanddance.com with questions about prerequisites.
$50
10:00am-1:00pm Saturday, February 1
Hosted by Cloudland Dance
Location: Gotta Dance Studio
17945 NE 65th St # 100, Redmond, WA 98052
Meet Your Teachers:
—Theresa Manney—
Theresa Manney has been dancing for as long as she can remember. Her journey as a swing dancer began in 2010 and her passion for the art and its history hasn’t stoped since. You can find her regularly traveling to Balboa, Lindy Hop and Collegiate Shag events all over. Theresa is known for her follower influence in musicality, quality of movement, and powerful stylings.
When she’s not tearing it up on the dance floor, you can find her learning how to pole dance, spending time outside, tending to her plants and hanging with her pup, Hondo.
—Lauren Smith—
Lauren Smith is a lifelong dancer in many styles, and started swing dancing in 2007 when a friend brought her to LA’s Lindy Groove. After that, she could be found dancing almost every night of the week, competing regularly, and teaching locally and around the world.
Lauren has headlined events across the globe, teaching at: Balboa on the River (Australia,) Minor Swing (Sweden,) Camp Jitterbug (USA,) Edinburgh Balboa and Shag Festival (Scotland,) Northwest Balboa Festival (USA), Cologne Balboa Festival (Germany,) and Swinging' by the Sound (USA,) to name a few. She specializes in jazz era dances, including Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, Charleston, and Slow Jazz. Her degree in vocal music education allows her to bring a unique approach to classes, incorporating natural musicality, body efficiency, and Alexander method techniques.
Lauren regularly competes as both a lead and a follow, winning and placing in a number of international dance competitions: Balorado, Hot Rhythm Holiday, Camp Hollywood, and All Balboa Weekend, among others. She is a sought after competition judge and DJ at major events, including California Balboa Classic, Snowball, Camp Hollywood, Camp Jitterbug, Hot Rhythm Holiday, The Balboa Experiment, and Balorado, as well as many other events around the world.