Swing sessions: Movement with Andrew and Jane

Build confidence and expand your repertoire in this intermediate workshop. These classes will improve your dance flow and quality of movement, broaden your dancing horizons, and have you feeling more comfortable and confident on the social dance floor.  This workshop is aimed to enhance your dancing and is applicable to a variety of dance styles, including: lindy hop, west coast swing, balboa, blues, and fusion. 

For these workshops we require that you are comfortable with the following:

• dancing in closed position (especially for the pivots workshop)

• switching between 6 and 8 count patterns

• knowledge of swing outs and/or whip

1st Class: Efficiency of Movement 

Using compression and grounding to improve the efficiency of movement when dancing. 

2nd Class: Travelling Fundamentals

Basics of where movement begins in the body. How footwork and  body mechanics work together to move you.

3rd Class: Travel Geography

How to change your orientation on the floor to take advantage of space and the music.

4th Class: Yay! Spinny stuff!

Adding rotational movement to your dance: an introduction to pivots.

The Swing Dance Association of Victoria has a Financial Assistance Fund to help dancers who require financial assistance to attend Swing Dance Association of Victoria workshops and events. If you need to access the Financial Assistance Fund please email us at hello@swingvictoria.net

You can learn about the fund or contribute to the fund here: https://www.swingvictoria.net/faq/financial-assistance-fund

Andrew Sanderson (He/Him) and Jane Rizhanovsky (She/Her)

Andrew and Jane met at the UVic Ballroom dance club at the tail end of the 90s and began competing together shortly thereafter. Their first competition was at the Okanagan Classic where they found themselves on the podium for three of their four events. During their competitive years, Andrew and Jane reached the Pre-Championship rank level and competed in a variety of competitions on the West Coast of Canada and the United States. Although their competitive career has ended, they've been dancing together ever since. 

Andrew enjoys attending workshops in a variety of cities, and as a life-long lover of jazz often times his travels for live music at exchanges and jazz festivals. His wide knowledge of dance styles and ear for music breaks often has him improvising steps from one style of dance into another. 

Jane grew up in a household filled with classical music, and her musical training lets her easily pick up on the beats and counterpoints in the music. When not dancing with Andrew, she's taken several adult ballet classes and is fascinated by the body mechanics required to achieve the "effortlessness" of dance. 

Together, Andrew and Jane bring a wide knowledge base of technical skills and musical awareness. They love helping people learn to express themselves through the musicality and movement of dance. 

Broad Stree Studio (formly Solwood Studio): 1303 Broad St, Victoria, BC V8W 2A8

note: there is a steep staircase to go up to access the studio.

Taking BC Transit? Victoria has a public transit system. Check out the BC Transit website for bus information. 

Riding your bicycle? Getting to the Broad Street Studio is very bike-able. Check out the City of Victoria website and the Victoria Bike Valet website for secure bike lock up information.

Driving to the Broad Street Studio? The City of Victoria has parkades and some pay street parking is available but please review the parking restriction signs and pay particular attention to the restrictions. Check out the City of Victoria website for parking information.