... and she dances everyone home ....
Georgia dances Afro-Cuban rumba for the first time. The Afro-Cuban rumba is a music genre from the Caribbean repertoire. It is the origin of salsa. When the deported slaves from Africa had to work in the sugarcane fields around the old capital Santiago de Cuba, they danced the rumba around the campfire in the evenings after a long day. Georgia moves her hips (pushing them) from left to right. She sets the tone by incorporating as much “body movement” as possible into her dance. For blind people, this is quite a challenge. Using different isolations of the body is often demonstrated and reproduced with the help of a mirror. However, she understood the message and performs the basic posture exceptionally well.
Georgia dances with Mario Charon Alvarez at a party. Mario Charon Alvarez has the nickname “El Diamante” because he was named the top dancer in the Latin American world. Mario Charon Alvarez has a dance career of more than 40 years. During his workshops and dance lessons at Etage Tropical, he came into contact with blind dancers for the first time in his long career! The core audience found this astonishing. A world-class artist who made hundreds of thousands of people dance had never taught blind people before. We conclude that there is much work to be done to promote dance for the blind, not only within the blind community but also to sighted trainers. Georgia dances casino, sombrero, vasilala, setenta, delique no, vuelta, el dedo, evelyn, …. She dances and masters eight classical Cuban salsa figures with exceptional ease.
Manuel and Georgia train in Brussels. Manuel and Georgia are both blind and dance exclusively in this video. They dance the figure “prima con hermana,” another classical salsa figure. Without music but with the correct count through their synchronized dance steps.
Blind dancers tend to drag their feet if the ground is smooth. The exercise is to create more body movement in the legs—the entire legs. Higher feet, bent knees, pressure on the thighs. This results in more aesthetically pleasing motor skills and better mobility. Manuel and Georgia always enjoy exploring this with me.
video 1: Georgia dances Afro-Cuban rumba for the first time. The Afro-Cuban rumba is a music genre from the Caribbean repertoire. It is the origin of salsa. When the deported slaves from Africa worked in the sugarcane fields around the old capital Santiago de Cuba, they danced the rumba around the campfire in the evenings after a long day. Georgia moves her hips (pushing them) from left to right. She sets the tone by incorporating as much “body movement” as possible into her dance. For blind people, this is quite a challenge. Using different isolations of the body is often demonstrated and reproduced with the help of a mirror. However, she understood the message and performs the basic posture exceptionally well. In the background, Vincent and Annelien, both sighted dancers, also give it a try. It is equally difficult for them.
tip: work with a stretch cord as a tactile point for the hips.
video 2: Georgia dances with Mario Charon Alvarez at a party. Mario Charon Alvarez has the nickname “El Diamante” because he was named the top dancer in the Latin American world. Mario Charon Alvarez has a dance career of more than 40 years. He is medium height, athletic, and wears long dreadlocks, a gold earring, and a gold tooth! During his workshops and dance lessons at Etage Tropical, he came into contact with blind dancers for the first time in his long career! We found this astonishing. A world-class artist who made hundreds of thousands of people dance had never taught blind people before. We conclude that there is much work to be done to promote dance for the blind, not only within the blind community but also to sighted trainers. Georgia dances salsa, including the following figures: casino, sombrero, vasilala, setenta, delique no, vuelta, el dedo, evelyn, …. She masters eight classical Cuban salsa figures.
video 3: Manuel and Georgia train in Brussels. Manuel and Georgia are both blind and dance exclusively in this video. They dance the figure “prima con hermana,” another classical salsa figure. Without music but with the correct count through their synchronized dance steps. Then they dance the figure “de dile que no.” This video proves that dance is possible without any sight from both dancers.
Blind dancers tend to drag their feet if the ground is smooth. The exercise is to create more bounce in the foot and legwork—for the entire legs and just the feet. Higher feet, bent and stretched knees, pressure on the thighs. This results in more aesthetically pleasing motor skills and better mobility. Manuel and Georgia always enjoy exploring this with me.