|
Rhythm and Timing for Dancers Workshop at Latin Motion |
|
|
|
Written by Torqueo
|
|
Sunday, 04 November 2007 |
I visited the Latin Motion Halloween all-dayer at St Annes in Birmingham. I arrived a little late, at 2pm, just in time for the lunch break (!), during which a 'Rhythm and Timing Workshop for Dancers' had been scheduled.
My initial thoughts were to come back later, but I thought i'd stay and watch for a bit. I'm glad I did!
The workshop, hosted by Mauricio Reyes and Richard Sealey, was engrossing, and covered all the main percussion instruments and how they integrate with each other and influence dance timing.
Assisted by a variety of projected slides and sound clips, Richard and Mauricio progressed through the Clave, Cowbell, Bongos, Congas, and Guiro (No Timbales, however). They gave a fairly thorough overview of how the timing relates to peoples dancing, and the slides gave a good visual representation of their timing structure. For each instrument, there were also a couple of sound clips, not of the instruments on their own, but of a popular salsa track that emphasised that particular percussion instrument - this would have been a track that the dancers in attendance would have been dancing to on a regular basis, so helped build the association.
During the workshop, Richard Sealey also gave brief explanations of how some of the rhythmic patterns and Salsa footwork evolved and encouraged people to appreciate the roots of the dance.
As the workshop progressed, the layers of percussion were played together and volunteers were called upon to have all the instruments contributing, with Richard even adding the bass, vocally, to further build the association between what was being demonstrated and the tracks that people hear when out dancing!
Overall, I found the workshop thoroughly entertaining and educational. A lot emphasis is placed on routines, turn patterns, etc, while the roots of the dance and the musicians seem to become an afterthought!! Scheduling the workshop at lunchtime also meant that people could rest while watching something interesting.
At only 50 minutes long, the workshop didn't delve into too much depth, but just covered what was relevant to the dance, while remaining interesting and encouraging the audience to research further.
|
