Teaching

Rhythmical Dancing & Power of The Boom Chakka!

Dax and Alice are known of their unique style of teaching – now you have the chance to try a long weekend with Dax and Alice!

This workshop builds on the understanding of dancing as rhythmical movement, which can often be described in lindy with the saying "Boom Chakka". The workshop aims at giving every participant tools for developing their own dancing – making everyone better, not different.

Dax and Alice as the main teachers

Dax and Alice teach the majority of classes for every group and they are the main teachers of the workshop. The other lindy hop teachers, Aleksis Nokso-Koivisto, Minna Marttila and Anni Heikkinen have worked intensively with Dax and Alice for several months including personal training and teacher training. All the lessons have been planned and coordinated to offer a coherent and progressive learning experience.

Teaching philosophy

The workshop is designed to give every participant a learning experience – to enable taking the next step in everyone's own dancing. The workshop progresses lesson by lesson.

The cooperation of teachers enables us having a progressive workshop – not a regular workshop with different teachers each giving miscellanous lessons. In other words, the classes have been planned to fit together, and give you a nice journey through secrets of good dancing.

To whom

The workshop is for all the lindy hoppers, who are eager to develop their skills in rhythmical dancing, body awareness, leading and following - and most of all dancing. The participants will be divided into groups for parts of the workshop, and the more experienced will be served with more challenging content. We await to have a bunch of people, who have taken plenty of Dax and Alice’s classes, and also several newcomers – the classes are planned from this starting point.

Contents of the workshop

The workshop will include the following themes.

Lindy Hop Classes

Focus on rhythmical dancing, partner connection, and natural body movement. Dax and Alice teach effective variations that work on the social dance floor, feel good and are musically flexible! Understand tension, relaxation and the importance of rhythmical body movement. Most of all, learn to Dance.

Technique Simplified

How do you lead it? - Do it! How do you follow it? – Release and React! Dancing has never been made so simple, yet so effective. Discover how to dance, by actually dancing instead of focusing on an overload of complex sequences and complex dance technique.

Feel the music and dance

What makes swing music swing? How to live that with our bodies? Learn to understand the music as a starting point for dancing.

Solo Training

Enjoy special solo lessons designed to help your personal dance technique, rhythm and body movement.

Extra classes

Bonbon-classes will be offered including balboa and aerials – and you name it! Please make requests in the registration form.

Lindy Sauna

Some of the best dance ideas are distributed during the workshops aftermath, in sauna! Relax the body and educate the mind during the "heated" sauna discussions. "I learned so much about Swing by talking with Dax in the sauna that I think it should be a required part of the workshop!"– Aki Luoma

NOTE

Dax and Alice visited Finland for 4 months in Spring 2008 giving both weekly classes and workshops for hundreds of Finnish dancers. For the first time, Dax and Alice were able to focus on teaching long term, plant the seeds and watch them grow. We welcome everyone to come enjoy social dancing, learning and partying in this unique scene heavily influenced by the boomchakka-based rhythmical lindy hop taught by Dax and Alice!

Schedule

There will be approximately 4 hours of teaching of lindy hop + 1-2 hours of extra lessons every day.

See e.g. the bonbon topics from >> Preliminary schedule for each day

On Thursday evening we have reception open from 19-20 at Swintti, where you can enroll to the camp. This is mainly for those who accommodate already on Thu-Fri.

In the first day (Friday) enrollment to the camp starts at 9.00. You need to be enrolled by 10.15 when a welcome session starts, so please be there in time - the welcome session is mandatory for all camp participants.

Dax Hock and Alice Mei

Dax Hock has been teaching, competing, and performing internationally for the past nine years.

Highly regarded for his teaching abilities, creativity and energetic performances, Dax Hock is one of the world's top influential Swing Instructors today. For the past 4,5 years he worked professionally as a performer/dancer/choreographer.

Dax began lindy hopping in San Diego California in 1997, where he soon became an instructor and has been professionally dancing ever since. His 8 years of real swing experience combined with 7 years of professional dancer/choreographer experience sets the foundation for his unique and creative style.

Dax is well known for his novel approach to instruction that is changing the way Swing is learned today. He focuses mostly on the basic fundamental principals that make up not just swing, but dancing as a whole. Students learn the art of connection-based movements, while emphasizing swingin' body movement and rhythms. In Dax's classes you learn how to DANCE, swing hard, and most of all have fun!

Alice Mei one of the best follows in the world. She is widely recognized throughout the Swing World as the ultimate social dancer. Her ability to combine an amazing dance ability with a fun and loveable personality lead to her acceptance of the Special Recognition Dancers Choice Award at the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown 2006. We could write on but when the people take a vote for their favorite follow, those results say more then any bio, trophy or competition credit.