Kirsten and Chip FreeBox TV Episode 2

In an earlier post I mentioned working with couples who've been together as long as 41 years. Chip and Kirsten have been together just 2 months. Look how great they move together. They are using their dance lessons as a way of getting to know each other and grow together as a couple. Listen to what they have to say:

Jeremy and Abby

This is Jeremy and Abby. This episode is the first one filmed on my new MacBook. They were great sports showing up and letting me film them. This is the first in a series so keep tuning in to watch their progress and maybe even learn something yourself!

Couples Dancing

I've been teaching dance for over 18 years. Throughout the years, I've noticed that my client roster usually has a theme. Some years I've had lots of single men, other years many single women. Some years my client base is heavily skewed with wedding couples. In the past I focused on competition style dancing...in recent years my teaching, while still honoring technique and form, has emphasized using the art form of dance to enhance the experience of the person dancing rather than simply molding a person into another form. (FREEBOX)

This year my student base is made up of mostly couples. I have couples who are taking lessons for their own pleasure and self improvement and they range from as newly acquainted as 1 month (6 weeks now) to 41 years married! I currently have several couples who are getting married soon, a couple that's been married for 13 years, one that's been married 28 years, another that's been married 21 years .

Each couple has come to me for a different reason on the surface. To learn to dance for an upcoming event, to have a hobby we can enjoy together, to prepare for a trip to Argentina, etc. What each of them find is that they are building a new foundation together. Whether they've been together for eons or just moments, learning to dance together is new territory for all of them and a great place to recreate themselves moment to moment.

I love working with couples and helping them to love each other more fully through dance. Sometimes it's obvious how this happens....a close embrace, a bit of seductive choreography, a conscious loving touch. It's less obvious how learning technical alignments and body mechanics can increase the romance in a couples life. But it's just these shared experiences of learning something together and experiencing a shared feeling of accomplishment that bond people together.

"I learned something that was difficult, I am improved from doing this thing and I did it with you --with your support."

This is powerful. The beautiful thing about dance is that once you learn how to do this difficult thing, it's entirely joyful and you get to do it over and over again with your favorite partner!