New Classes starting in September, 2011!!!

We will start Viennese Waltz Group Lessons with David Flowers in September beginning Saturday, September 17th.  (No class the first Saturday/Labor Day weekend).

10:00-10:50am – Viennese Waltz - $30 per person/3 classes – Sept. 17, Oct. 1, and 15.

11:00-11:50am – West Coast Swing – $30 per person/3 classes – Sept. 17, Oct. 1, and 15.

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To view past lessons:

Waltz Lesson with David and Judy Flowers - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiwiaOemicU

Quickstep Lesson with David and Judy Flowers - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFkvBrSqpRE

West Coast Swing Lesson with David and Judy Flowers - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=159x8eUxsk0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk-QlJ-ou28&feature=BF&list=UL-F_enZ0HwCw&index=2

Bonita Brockert

Bonita started her classical training with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, under Marcia Dale Weary & danced in Richard Wilson’s Harrisburg Performing Arts Company. As a teen she received a scholarship in dance with a secondary major in theatre from the Pennsylvania Fine Arts Program for Gifted Students. Modern training was under Shirley Mordine (Mordine & Company, Chicago) and ballet under Betty Lowe 

of Ballet Russe. She started her ballroom career at age 19 and went on to win innun1erable regional titles as well as 2 major titles at the prestigious La Classique du Quebec. She is a three-time United States finalist, and placed second in the U.S. in American Smooth and third in American Rhythm. She won the Standard Rising Star at the Dancesport Super Bowl, the Latin Rising Star at the Eastern U.S. Championships, claimed the Boston Cup three times in three divisions, and is a former New England 10­dance champion. She represented the American Smooth division in the U.S. Grand National Championship. Her competitive success includes the four major ballroom dance styles, International Standard & Latin and American style Smooth & rhythm.

During her years with Arthur Murray International, Bonita was a member of the International Dance Board, served as the Northeast Region Dance chair in charge of training instructors, and co-wrote the professional technical manuals fro111 Silver through Gold Bar. She also co-created the exhibition syllabus Gold and Gold Bar and was featured in the professional video demonstrations of the syllabus. Her career spans ll1any aspects of the dance industry from teacher to dance director, supervisor, franchisee, regional chair, adjudicator, traveling consultant & coach, coach for Ohio State University Dance Sport Team, and choreographer.

Ms. Brockert was a featured dancer in Peter Maxwell’s international tour of “Dancing Nights”, performed at the opening ceremony of the U.S. National Championships, danced a featured exhibition for the PBS special “Championship Ballroom Dancing”, appeared in the American Express video series “Private Dance Lessons”, and performed with the Joffrey Ballet and Chicago Symphony Orchestra in “A Tribute to Vienna”. She performed in “Fashion Aide Japan” in Tokyo & at the Kintetsu Theatre in Osaka, Japan, the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, Symphony Space in New York, and has danced throughout the U.S. in ballroom and theatrical venues.

Her choreography has been seen on PBS’ s “Evening of Championship Dancing” and in  many regional industrial and convention productions.

Bonita has lent her talents to local charities through her performances with the Tri State Ballroom Dance Theater, The Yellow Ribbon Foundation, and CAA’s “Dancing For the Stars”. Her local stars have included Hamilton County coroner, Dr. O’Dell Owens (the 2007 winner in tango), Cincinnati Bar President, Phil Schworer (2009 winner in waltz), and Hamilton County sheriff, Sim0n Leis Jr. (2008 second place recipient in swing).

She received ACT Cincinnati’s awards for Excellent In Dance Performance, Choreography, and Ensemble Work for her part in the Drama Workshop’s production of “Swing”. Other local performances include “Tango Desparado”, “Bal1roOln”, “Christmas In New York”, “Viva Las Christmas”, The Nutcracker Ball & the governor’s Inaugural Ball in Columbus.

Her articles have appeared in the Performing Arts Health Letter associated with Spectrum Rehabilitation at Christ Hospital, Dance Notes, Dayton Dance News, and Dance Cincinnati’s newsletter.

Bonita is a National Judge and holds a Fellow certification in Standard, Latin, Ballroom, Rhythm, and Theatrical Dances styles.

To see Bonita in “Sing, Sing,” click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhWpU4LOH10&NR=1

Bonita Brockert - Bonita has been introduced to belly dance audiences as a “cross-over” artist, coming from her extensive successful dance career as a Latin American and ballroom competitor, performer. teacher, and choreographer.

She holds a Silver and Bronze Medal respectively from the United States National Professional Championships in Rhythm and Smooth Ballroom, achieving the Final three times with two different partners. She is a former New England Ten Dance Champion, with three Boston Cups, two top titles from the Classique du Quebec as well as many regional titles in International and American styles of ballroom dance.

Please view Bonita’s full bio to see her dance and teaching background preceding her journey into Belly Dance.

She started studying Belly Dance six years ago with well known belly dance artist Conchi Madson. Her show, Mediterranean Echoes, and particularly Conchi’s performance, inspired Bonita to move into belly dance and from there to explore fusing it into the styles she has taught for the whole of her career. The following year Bonita performed her first Belly Dance number in Mediterranean Echoes, and often delights ballroom audiences as well, exposing many to Belly Dance who have not appreciated it before.

With a lifetime of training in multiple dance styles, she started teaching belly dance after a year of studying and performing.

Her amateur performing group “Mirage” presented their first performance last year in “A Christmas Cruise”. The Arabian dance is a classical piece from “The Nutcracker”, so it is presented with a classical influence and Oriental flavor. The choreography is appropriate to the level of the performers who had all started taking class less than a year from the show.

Bonita uses her classical background as a format to many of her class drills, working through the basic arm and body positions with various styles of hand and wrist articulations as well as zill rehearsals and body disciplines. She emphasizes an elegant carriage of the upper body and awareness of stage profile and presentation.

To see a clip of Bonita’s amateur performing group “Mirage”, click on this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIXJQlx1rKc&feature=related

National Dance Day

Special Thanks
to all who helped
us Celebrate 
National Dance Day

Saturday, July 31, 2010!

To celebrate and participate in National Dance Day, we  hosted a dance Saturday, July 31, from 7:00pm-until…

Each Friday night leading up to the 31st, Kathy Diehl taught a Mambo Line Dance (Crazy Foot Mambo) that we  video  taped on the 31st and submitted to “So You Think You Can Dance”/FOX.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FWtbJQTY8Y 

We also had demos performed by Carolyn Miller and the Jewels of Agape (Belly Dance), Ken and Carol Crone (West Coast Swing and Night Club 2 Step),  Bill and Lynette Baker (Hustle/Samba Medley), Sally Meints and George Winchell (Ballroom Medley).  Proceeds to benefit our local York USA Dance chapter to help start a Youth Outreach Program.

We are hoping to bring the York Community together through Dance!

Supa Star!

“Super Star” and her “Bling” take over the Friday Night Dance at Agape and everyone has a blast!

 Friday, July 23, 2010, we had a fantastic evening at Agape!  We were visited by local “Super Star,” Ann Marie Donegan, and her posse of “Bling.” (as in smaller points of light!)  The thing about Ann Mari’s posse of “Bling” is that it seems to include most of the Central Pa Ballroom Dance community. 

I think we celebrated the birthdays of Ann Marie, Kirby Smith, and Kitty Verzi, there may have been a few anniversaries, as well!

Ann Marie used her powers of persuasion to bring Studio 5 Productions down from the Great North to DJ for her Birthday Gig!!! Her main Courtier, Sally Deitz, filled a large cooler full of liquid refreshments so that we could all stand the heat form being so amazingly close to our beloved “Super Star.” It should be noted that there is a certain cadence for uttering the words “Super Star.”  It’s kind of like Rumba but with the energy of Cha Cha. It’s a “quick, quick, SLOOOOOOOOW.”  “Super Star” is 3 syllables…so, properly pronounced its “Sue-Pa-Star,” said with a “quick, quick, slow” timing – emphasizing “Star!” Now, if you’re really going to utter these words in the true Character of their essence, then, you also need to LUNGE straight forward, throwing both hands up as if you’re creating a set of goal posts, and utter “The Words of Tribute”….”Sue-Pa- STAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!”  Are you feeling me?!

The party brought Ken Crone out to help keep the ladies happy, Sally Meints and George Winchell, who provided the week 3 of 4 lessons on Salsa, stayed around and celebrated with some of their old and new found friends. Cindy and Rick brought a banner so we could all be reminded of the “Super Star” with us for the evening.

…I imagine that I have forgotten a few other contributors like Kenna Rotz and Sharon Swank who get stuck with door duty and Joe Jason who brought the most amazing White Pizza!!!

…And to top it all off, the newspaper, who interviewed Kenna and Steve Rotz that morning regarding the National Dance Day to be celebrated Saturday, July 31, came and took pictures for an article to run in the paper Friday the 30^th about the Fund Raising Event for a Youth Program to be started a the York USA Dance Chapter!!!

…And we set a record for atten”dance” at a Friday Function!!!

…The Final And…..Thanks to all who are the “Bling” for making Agape a Place for Community and a hangout for “Sue-Pa-StarrrrrrrS!!!”

Our model demonstrates the knee bearing weight in the danger zone, too far forward of the foot and no commitment to the backward movement.

Here our “dancer” is collapsing into the weight-receiving leg and hyper extending the front leg. The compromised knee is forced to pull the remaining weight to the new standing leg. A balanced weight transfer is never achieved and the joints suffer with every walk taken.

Here the dancer is moving easily from foot to foot with the knees and feet appropriately supported, illustrated in mid stride where the weight is split as it moves out of the back of the front foot and the front of the back foot.

“Protecting the Knee Through Proper Technique….Part 1″
(published in the Nov/Dec. 2010 issue of “Dance Notes” )

The knee is the most injured part of the body in athletes and dancers. The reasons are many, and in dancing, the opportunities for misalignment and misuse are as varied as the movements we perform. For the sake of brevity in this article I have addressed just one possibility. Because it is so fundamental to ballroom dancing and so frequently cheated in it’s development, I will look at the common weaknesses in the backward walk.

The Backward Walk

There are two danger spots in the back walk where knee and ankle injury can result. Usually these are repetitive stress/strain injuries rather than singular incidents, like an impact or strong twist, resulting in immediate disability to the dancer.

The supporting leg is vulnerable as the weight is loading to send the body backward, or as it receives the weight into the foot as the backward walk is accomplished.

If the dancer allows the knee of the standing leg to move forward past the toes and does not commence the backward movement of the body properly through the heel bone, the knee joint is compromised as it takes too much load in a vulnerable orientation. Because this fault creates heaviness in the dancer, the person moving forward will add his or her weight to the partner’s body putting even more demand on the knee.

Ladies often set up this chain of events by “waiting” to be “led” or by putting body contact too high on their priority list. If students learn the appropriate mechanics of the walk and how to shape the body atop a competent action. the body contact will develop in time without the threat of injury.

The man can also force the lady into this situation by holding her too tightly so she cannot stand on her own feet, or by presenting in a back weighted stance which forces the lady’s weight to remain forward in the foot. Many men stand flat footed and stick their leg out in front of them without releasing the weight to move, preventing the lady from moving her own body backward safely and creating stress in her neck, back, knees, and ankles.

Stress on the leg receiving weight occurs when the heel of the extending leg drops to the floor too quickly, the knee hyper flexes, and the forward leg is locked, forcing all the weight to the backward leg while the knee is well forward of the safety zone. It is difficult to learn the back walk without making this mistake at least some of the time, but it needs to be addressed with consistency in the training. Care should be taken that the effort to “drag the heel” is not overzealous as this encourages the locking of the forward leg and the resulting strain to the weight receiving knee. The drawing of the heel on the floor should be a light action with a timely reflexive knee release rather than a heavy assault to the floor.

I have to say that I have seen more of the first error described in this discussion, where the dancer’s weight never releases back through the heel. In that case the back heel is dropped to soon and the toe of the forward foot is still in contact with the floor. putting the poor knee through even more punishment. This is particularly injurious to the lady dancers who often dance years with this poor quality of weight transfer and attempt to top it off with advanced body shapes and top line.

In closing, remember that the walk is the first element in dancing and that walking backward is not natural to us. It requires correct practice with awareness and commitment. the proper technique not only supports pleasurable and balanced dancing, but prevents injury as well. Moving backward can become easy and natural if you give it the attention needed in your training. happy, pain free dancing!

                                      It’s About The “BUTT”

Well, that’s quite the refrain, isn’t it? Just a bit of an anecdote to lead into a song of praise for the powerhouse we sit on (those of us who actually do sit on our butt, and not on our poor tailbone). A few years ago, my Pilates trainer was working at the rehab center of a major hospital here in Cincinnati. One of the athletic trainers, a self proclaimed “total jock”, always looked down his nose a bit as she worked with dancers, a lot of work involving the plié, turnout, re-education on placement, and, of course, proper utilization and strengthening of that all important derriere. She was floored one day when he came to her, excited and sincere, “It’s all about the butt, isn’t it?? That’s where the power is! You need to show me what you’re doing!” She looked at him in amazement, thinking he HAD to know that, but had been skeptical of her methods, but in fact, he didn’t really “know”. He finally really woke up to the power of the plié in dance, the squat from which the football player explodes, the advantageous angles of the pelvis and legs from where the tennis player springs.

I’m reminded of the book that many of us have read through the advise of our teachers, a great book for anyone attempting to learn any skill, and a “must read” for coaches, “The Inner Game of Tennis”, (Tim Gallwey’s classic guide to the mental side of peak performance). A similar story of sudden enlightenment is relayed. A student seeks out a new coach, having heard from many that his backhand is too high. He says, “ I need to correct my backhand, it’s too high”. The coach asks him to observe himself in the window reflection and relay what he sees. The student miraculously exclaims, “Why…my backhand’s too high!!”

This is an interesting phenomenon having to do with the way our intelligence is applied to our physicality. We say we “know”, but when we become truly enlightened in the “mind/body” experience, then we realize we really “know”.

 F. J. Alexander, in his research, discovered a very important key to correcting and enhancing our ability to facilitate movement and to learn new patterns. He found that humans absolutely move in harmony with their actual knowledge, or lack thereof, of the body structure. In addition, when the reality of structure is understood, we need only to think in the direction of creating space where the joints are, and that space will release. If we can learn the proper method, the body can lengthen without unnecessary tension. This seems logical, but it is surprising how much attention is required to facilitate this ease. Most dancers have gone through a phase of “too much tension” and most of us have certainly “worked hard”, often fighting with our bodies as we attempt to get more speed, more power, stand up, lengthen, etc. etc.

 We’ve all heard the phrase “perception is reality”. Of course reality is truly what “is”, but the meaning of the phrase is that we act in accordance with what we perceive as true. This is absolutely demonstrated in the human approach to movement. If a person perceives that his head balances on a “neck”, (which is also a different concept in different individuals), somewhere in line with the chin, then the highest cervical joints will not articulate, resulting in strain and discomfort in moving the head.

William Conable, now retired professor of cello at the Ohio State University, developed the “body mapping” concept as an effective way of teaching and visualizing how to use the Alexander technique. If the choice is between the reality of structure and the mind’s “body map”, the perception of where movement occurs, the map will always win. The violinist who’s map says that the wrist itself rotates, who may not understand the rotation of the lower arm, will attempt to play with this restriction which has been mentally imposed, to the detriment of the body and the music.

As young children we still move in harmony with our perfect design, much as animals do. An animal, which has not been injured, will instinctively articulate at the joint spaces, sequentially and with the appropriate muscular effort, no more or less than required. Our advanced brain is then both our enemy and our friend, as we learn to move in heavy, inefficient ways through the many cultural, physical, emotional, and psychological forces we meet in our daily lives. The good news is that when we learn the reality of the body structure, we can release the instinctive reflexes, which allow ease in movement. An animal will display the grace of natural movement, but does not have the advanced brain of the human, who can take this knowledge and invoke emotion through intentional movement. So we pay for our gift, perhaps, by having to rediscover instinct and use our minds in this fascinating way.

Alexander discovered that core movement in vertebrates is initiated by the freeing of the neck, and the head moving up and forward, the spine following in sequence. Watch the way a cat activates its spine by lifting its head at the joint where it articulates with the spine. This is the first key to free movement, but I have found, in teaching, that the student often cannot “float up” and allow the spine to follow, because they have not mapped the pelvis as part of the spine. Unconsciously they believe that the spine stops at the “waist”. Therefore the entire spine will be inhibited and the body will feel heavy. The effort toward moving up creates strain.

 The misunderstanding of the pelvis and its relationship to the spine and to the legs, seems to be a very common handicap, particularly in adult students. Years of sitting at desk jobs, among other factors, can cause shortening of the hip flexors, causing the pelvis to roll under. As muscles shorten, the resulting posture feels “right” after a time. This posture is often also seen in teens who frequently have already developed postural abnormalities, often imitating their peers who project the image that slouching is “cool”.

All elite dancers and most children who learn dancing at early ages do not normally display these restrictions. Many dancers who articulate beautifully do not even know how they do it because it is as natural to them as breathing. Those who become coaches will need to enhance their awareness to be effective trainers. Most people who begin dancing as adults will have some erroneous concepts about this area in particular. Though they may think they have no idea at all, the brain certainly has formed a concept of the posture, and that is what we see.

Some students may take years to accept the idea that allows the pelvis to be free of the leg and to bend effortlessly at the hip joint. They are so convinced that the release of this important joint means that their “butt is sticking out”, that the mental shackles will not let go. In addition, the forces of habit are so strong that even when a person believes he is making a change, the body may stubbornly resist. Therefore, the student will go to practice and the old familiar ways will persist and of course, in the stress of performing, the old ways come back with a vengeance. Patience and persistence!

Let’s look at the details of the relationship of the pelvis to the legs. Physiologically, the upper body and lower body are divided at the pelvic floor, not at the “waist”. The pelvis is part of the spine in movement. Look at the relationship of the lower spine, the five lumbar vertebrae, the sacrum, and the pelvis (figure 1). The pelvis connects with the lowest part of the spine at the sacroiliac joints. The iliac crest refers to the top of the pelvis, the sacrum is the portion of the spine creating the curve you see behind the line of gravity. Note that the line of gravity is central to the large lumbar vertebrae and the body’s center of gravity is located close to these large bones and at the area where the sacrum begins to curve behind the line of gravity. Note that the lumbo-sacral curve is not the unhealthy curve of a “sway back”. The pelvis serves as a distribution center for the body weight, which passes through the sacrum, into the pelvis, out to the top of the femur at the hip joints, and on through the leg bones, through the feet, and into the floor.

When the perception is that the pelvis belongs to the lower body, instead of the lower torso, the tendency is to restrict the natural swing of the leg from the hip joint. Usually this is compounded by tilting the crest of the pelvis backward (retroverting the pelvis), jamming the hip joints and resulting in multiple stresses throughout the kinetic chain. The lower back is compromised as the wedge shaped lumbar-sacral disc is compressed anteriorly, forcing the posterior portion into the spinal nerves. The large gluteal muscles (buttocks) are inhibited and unable to do the functional work of moving the legs. The quadriceps (anterior thigh muscles) are therefore overused. The imbalance of muscular activity and the inability of the hip joint to function properly cause additional stresses to manifest in the vulnerable knee joint as it carries more load than it is designed to carry. The compromised muscles are not able to properly support the knee. The tissues supporting the ankle and foot will strain as gripping takes place as the ankle struggles with impingement and the foot is unable to distribute weight through the appropriate bony structures.

Sense the head moving up and forward by freeing the neck and lifting it at the highest joint located closer to your ears than where you may think. Allow the spine to also move up. This can be aided by sensing the back muscles releasing upward, rather than pulling down, and noticing lightness in the pelvis as it also moves up and back in relation to the legs. Look again at the spine to see the sacral curve behind the line of gravity, enabling the buttocks to produce power. The weight of the buttocks is felt in the large heel bone. The center of the head aligns over the ankle joint. The foot now effectively delivers weight efficiently through the arches, both backward and forward in the foot, not into the toes.

As the dancer prepares to move and to “lower”, it is important to understand the harmonious releasing of the ankle and the hip joints, as well as the knee. I have seen many students struggling to get more depth by attempting to increase the angle of the knee while holding at the ankle and the hip. The only result of this action is knee pain and excessive gripping in the front of the thigh.

For most performers the first exposure to the Alexander method is at the university level. The artist has certainly achieved a degree of success to be accepted into a performing program and has many habits and methods, which have brought them this far. Often there is resistance to new approaches even though the resulting ease is apparent. Some may say, “It can’t be right, it’s too easy!” Of course the reality is that “feeling right” means feeling familiar or habitual, and the grasp of habit is like iron! I often, in a joking manner, tell my students that they love their mistake because they hold onto it so tightly!

Much material is available on the Alexander technique for those who wish to investigate further. A great deal is written with the musician in mind, but this is also of great benefit to the dancer. The musician who utilizes the technique will grow deeply as they feel how the music flows out of the free facility of the body through the instrument or the voice. As dancers, we truly ARE the instruments of the music and great musical, artistic, and efficient dancers heighten the sound experience by expressing it in visual space.

I believe that the dancer with great body intelligence can continue to grow in deep and musical ways. All students should work toward the full facility they are capable of. Do not be discouraged if you are not gymnastic and cannot get back up if you put your head on the floor and your leg through the ceiling.  You dance because you have desire to express what you hear in the music. You love the feeling of moving. Learn how to free the body and remember, your butt is your friend. Let it fly!

The illustration shows the five lumbar vertebra, the discs separating them, the sacrum, tailbone, and the outline of the pelvis. The large vertebral bodies shown here are the body’s central support. The vertical line of gravity is central to the cervical (neck, not shown) and lumbar (low back) spinal curves, while the thoracic (upper back, not shown) and sacral curves are behind the line of gravity. Note the posterior curve of the sacrum and the angle of the lumbo-sacral articulation. A “sway back” compresses the disc posteriorly, while a “tucked” position compresses the anterior portion of the disc.The illustration demonstrates normal alignment. The pelvis will move in appropriate compensatory relationship with the spine and legs when the lady’s spine expresses the shape required for ballroom dancing, as the lady allows her poise with the ankle joint to change. However, care must be taken to respect the natural sacral curve as we move through the shapes demanded by our art. This activity is beyond the scope of this article, but deserves to be mentioned in any discussion of the spine and pelvis.

This illustration, from the promotional photo of a world class partnership, Mirko Gozzoli and Alessia Betti, shows the excellent body mechanics of elite dancers. The lady is in the foreground, so I have imposed the x-ray on her pelvis and legs. Even with the froth of her skirt swirling around her legs we can observe the beautiful and balanced flexing of joints. Note the angles at the hip, knee, and ankle joints, as well as the placement of the heel bone. The distribution of weight moving into the floor is balanced through the heel and the arches of the foot. Many students do not visualize the heel as it exists in it’s true position, but view the foot’s articulation with the lower leg bones as an “L” shape, which results in stress to the more delicate bones of the forefoot.