Steve
is a life-long
musician and creative artist. Before tango, Steve
developed his teaching skills as an IT trainer for a national charity
and as a horse-riding instructor. Both roles helped him to evolve a
pedagogical interaction with people and an
understanding
that effective
teaching requires a development of a student's mind, body and
spirit.
Steve and Debbie have been
teaching Argentine Tango for ten years and run a dance studio that
specialises in the art of Argentine tango in Bramshaw in the New Forest
(picture below).
The
124 sqm dance studio at Bramshaw within
easy reach of Southampton, Salisbury and Bournemouth,
5 minutes from junction 1 on the M27 MAP
They also organise regular
social events and teaching weekends with visiting teachers from around
the world.
Feedback from a local dancer who had
a
series of private lessons with Steve
to prepare for a trip to Buenos
Aires.
Where
can I learn to
dance with
Steve and Debbie Morrall?
We
teach group
workshops, weekly classes, private lessons at our dance studio in
Bramshaw,
New
Forest only 5 minutes from junction 1 on the M27. Directions
If
you are a beginner, you can learn to dance with us on Tuesday
nights.
The course will
teach you how to
dance salon style tango, 'walking in an embrace to
music'. This takes
place on Tuesday evenings from 8pm - 9.30pm followed by a 1 hour
practice session (see below for the next start date, cost and course
content). BOOK
ONLINE
If you can't make Tuesday evenings, we
also
offer one day intensive starter courses called Tango Toolkits at the
weekend. MORE
When
you graduate from the first level 'walking in an embrace to music'
class, we offer an second level class on Wednesday night which focuses
on devveloping the language of the dance based on the five
moves, and rotating
in an embrace to music.This also takes place
in the dance
studio at 8pm - 9.30pm also followed by a 'practica' (practice
session). The
next second level term will start in the autumn.
When you
graduate from
this
class, we guide you
towards our Thursday night advanced musicality class, private lessons
and week-end
workshops, advising each dancer on the format that best suits their
needs.
Occasionally,
we lead
workshops and teach at festivals
and other tango events around the country which we publish on our events
page and via our 'opt-in'
emailnewsletter.
Our teaching method
Steve
is a natural and
intuitive teacher who draws on strengths that
Myers-Briggs (MBIT)
would categorise as eNFJ (extravert,
iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging)
a rare mix of qualities only found in 2-3% people.
Steve
is an advocate
of the possible, someone
who will say 'half full' rather than 'half empty', a teacher who
instinctively looks to and expects the best in people. He inspires
confidence and self-belief because he is enthusiastically confident and
believes in himself.
As
a
teacher, he encourages with positive feedback, celebrating the smallest
improvement. In mixed level workshops, Steve is at his best and can
spontaneously and effortlessly dream up activities and imagery that
will help students acquire dance skills.
He
teaches tango as a
process of
engaging mind, body and spirit and will draw on all his life skills of
theatre, music, dance, clowning and art to help people bring out their
inner potential.
Steve
and Debbie do not to teach choreography which traps dancers in
sequences and
makes them slaves to their memory.
Tango
is about the
music and dancing from
the heart. In a recent class, Steve and Debbie were working on breaking
the dance down into taking one considered step at a time. In the class,
Steve said "....think
of
tango as non-verbal
communication. A conversation with a
stranger will start simply and grow in depth and complexity as we learn
how they respond, what they are interested in, what moves them and what
they don't like."
To illustrate this, he showed the dancers exercises to apply
this
concept in the way mind and body could understand.
"Start
every
dance simply - even with
a partner you know well. They can have off days too and need to refocus
on you and your dance. Don't hurry steps, savour moments of simply
walking together in an embrace. Ask yourself - can you feel her heart
beat? Can you
feel tension? Are you tense? Don't forget to breathe. A deep, slowly
exhaled breath in an embrace will encourage your partner to relax."
Read
other articles by
Steve on argentine tango inPink
Papers.
Curriculum
for our 8 week Tuesday
night beginners class at Bramshaw, 8pm - 9.30pm
Week:
Objectives:
Price:
1
Secrets
of the tango embrace and the tango walk. Introducing
floorcraft.
£8*
2
Side
step or change of weight. So similar yet so different.
£8
3
Collaborative movement through non verbal
communication.
£8
4
Walking
in an embrace to music. Tango is ALL about the music, so lets learn how
to dance simply to it.
£8
5
Learning
to dance tango is like learning another language. Lets tell
each other a story in 'tango-speak'.
£8
6
Walking
the dance or dancing the walk - understanding the difference will help
you move like an Argentinian.
£8
7
The
whole dance is made up of 5 core movements, 3 linear, 2
rotary.
£8
8
A
review of all the above and gentle assessment of participants' needs to
improve their dance
£8
After
each class there is a free 1
hour
supervised practice session when you can put the moves into practice,
ask questions,
and build your confidence.
You
can book your place(s) for the beginners' course
online now.
The next courses start on these
dates:
January 3 2012 £64 for 8 week course BOOK
Tuesday 6 March 2012 £64 for 8 week course BOOK
Other
workshops and classes that progress and augment our teaching philosophy
Tango
Bodyshop is aimed at
dancers of any level who feel their dance needs a boost. It uses the
latest video technology to give instant visual feedback to dancers and
is a very powerful learning and refining
tool for posture, style, axis and balance.
The Tango
Tangk
is a weekend workshop organised by
us in three levels. Teaching is provided
by visiting
maestros from around the world who we know and trust to provide the
very best tuition. Steve is available for private lessons during Tango
Tangks.
Our musicality workshops and seminars separate the processes of (a)
learning to understand tango music and (b) moving with understanding to
tango music. Using a grand piano and bandoneon, Steve Morrall teaches
these workshops using a mix of seated audience
participation to
build an understanding of musical structure and movement to music. This
process draws on his experience of engaging left/right brain through
teaching techniques.
Download lesson notes for our beginner's course here