Jaime Jesus and Mary Grace workshops MUST ATTEND!

[smiling28]

Hey all,

A quick recommendation to you guys. Just had workshops with Jamie Jesus and Mary Grace from LDA in Sydney.

WOW WOW WOW!!!

They were great! So friendly, so fantastic technically, so open to sharing!

I STRONGLY recommend them as a MUST attend workshop. Even just one.

One of those amazing workshops that are of such a high standard that they are like a private lesson from most instructors despite being a group session.

I LOVED how knowledgeable, controlled and experienced Jamie was. I LOVED how Jamie came across as very authoritative on all subjects yet not at all in a dictating sense. Very down to earth and someone whom I am sure would fit in teaching at a local pub one day and then teaching the Royal Family the next. A very smooth teaching manner that everyone can relate to. I now know why all the girls love dancing with Jamie and why the line to dance with Jamie was longer than for some rides in amusement parks…..ha ha


Mary Grace, wow. SOOOOOOOOOOOO beautiful and delightful!!!!!! My tongue is still hanging out so tough to speak/type
The keyboard is soaked with drool. WOW, this girl is SOOOO full of wonderful energy which erupts through her body in the coolest expressions! Love her body movement and smile. That smile is GOLDEN. Killer I tell you !!!




I really improved my leading from the comments on using 7 and 8 to really position yourself to soften and gradually build your lead instead of just a shock 'lead this move' then 'lead this move' etc. Allowed everything to flow. Also, the weekend helped me think about body isolation, techicality and inspired my dancing beyond my dreams!

Thanks again Jamie and Mary Grace and I look forward to seeing you guys soon!

 

[azzey]

Hey, Sounds like you had a fantastic learning experience!

One thing that comes across strong in your posts is not only your positive energy but also your openness to new experiences. I believe that's an important feature in why you progress quickly, because you are receptive to new ideas.

There is always more than one right way to do something in any art (and many wrong ones) and people who are willing to try new ideas (and sometimes rule them out as the wrong idea) will often progress much more quickly than someone who already thinks they know the one true path.

Maybe that's why learning other styles can be such an enriching experience for some or a negative experience for others.

Nice to hear you are still on top form.

 

[smiling28]

Hey, Sounds like you had a fantastic learning experience!

One thing that comes across strong in your posts is not only your positive energy but also your openness to new experiences. I believe that's an important feature in why you progress quickly, because you are receptive to new ideas.

There is always more than one right way to do something in any art (and many wrong ones) and people who are willing to try new ideas (and sometimes rule them out as the wrong idea) will often progress much more quickly than someone who already thinks they know the one true path.

Maybe that's why learning other styles can be such an enriching experience for some or a negative experience for others.

Nice to hear you are still on top form.

Thank mate!

REALLY SINCERELY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT, INSPIRATION AND LEAD!

This board has been so instrumental in helping me along my journey. Such a beautiful place and I thank you all (not leaving so not a farewell speech….ha ha)

I AM CONSTANTLY OVERWHELMED BY THE QUALITY OF DANCERS, INSTRUCTORS AND PERSONS INVOLVED IN DANCING!!!

Truly I am. From dancing where I literally see performances or dancers or social dancers and I think HOW CAN IT GET BETTER? HOW CAN PEOPLE DANCE BETTER THAN THAT? The expression and interpretation. The hard work to get to that point. Wow!

Same with instructors. I KNOW Jamie Jesus has a great reputation but try not to go in with expectations. Then I was so impressed with the VALUE in those workshops. Especially as I am budget conscious. I LOVED the lead aspects. The focus on FLOWING and making the experience as smooth and as enjoyable as possible. Also, the communication and demonstration methods were so down to earth that it made you feel that anyone could do what they were saying as long as you listened.

I really love that!

I love how different instructors have their different focuses. I believe that NO ONE DOES SOMETHING BADLY INTENTIONALLY...ha ha. Why would we. So there must be A positive REASON for habits, even bad ones. Eg. smoking a bad habit done for positive reward (feel better/feed addiction/relax/fill time etc) SO when you understand WHAT the person is trying to achieve by the action then you can correct it or apply it (if good technique). So instead of getting people to quit smoking because you think they need to stop a BAD habit, you need to replace their GOOD feeling/reason for doing it. So do not quit smoking but take up a good habit to replace the bad one such as dancing ha ha  A dancing example:

Swinging arms in open basic. WHY DONE - Properly, correct body movement in turn moves the hands in a flowing motion.

Improperly: Done because the advanced dancers do it so must be right (trying to copy what it looks like NOT what it is). Or done because of bad technique. Thus the reason is they do it is to flow. So you need to give them something ELSE TO CONCENTRATE on to ensure flow. So if they keep their hands still and focus on the basic step and weight change to flow.

It may sound elementary but so many teachers say do not do [bad habit]. So that means you are CONSCIOUSLY trying to NOT do something bad. Thus you are thinking about a bad habit. When instead the instructor can give the GOOD habit to focus on thus removing/replacing the bad habit.

Exposure to many teachers has allowed me to realise to understand things in context. One of the best things I ever heard/learnt was from the LEGEND super Mario who said:

AT ALL TIMES, AT LEAST ONE OF THE DANCERS MUST BE ON BALANCE!

Then this helped allow me to understand moves taught by other instructors as they focused on other things. It was easy for me to say things from other instructors were contradictory (in regards to everything not just balance) BUT overriding principles such as the balance one above, allows me to fit everything in.

Such a great journey and I am so happy to share it with all of you!!!!!!!

thanks

 

[Jag75]

That's great to hear! I live in Canberra but will be heading to the Congress in January - I'll definitely try to do some of the workshops involving Jamie.

I'm still to experience the salsa scene in sydney - I hear so many good things about it! I'll be going up there this December to the Suave xmas party so I'm counting down the days...