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 The Center has just turned two, and is
about to make tidal waves in the local ballroom scene. It came about as a result of our
desire to share our dance knowledge with social dancers in the Philippines. Within its
first six months of operations, the Center conducted several beginner classes in ballroom
dancing, trained 3 dance instructors, and managed debutante balls.
The Center however encountered
several organization problems while the one of its directors had to visit the United
States in mid-1997, so that in the second half of the year, the Center concentrated on
choreographies for special group presentations, as well as those for Christmas
presentations and office dance competitions. All eight competition choreographies played
either first or second overall among an average of 8 competing groups.
All the while up until
recently, the principal teachers, long-time friends and dancing partners Vikky Bondoc-Cabrera and Rene "Smile" Canlas, have been
conducting individual dance lessons for friends, completed a dance book as reference
material for its students entitled "Secrets of Modern
Ballroom Dancing", developed and managed its web home which was launched on 16
March 1998, and initiated the first steps in producing a series of individual dance books,
instructional videos, and interactive CDs on dance.
Now, after months of concentrated vision, the Center
is starting to be recognized for its comprehensive yet down-to-earth approach to dance
education. Organizations have seen the potential of Heritage Dance Center's team as savvy
event organizers and as serious yet bubbly teachers. Many of it's students have come back
for more advanced private lessons.
Together, Smile
and I have developed a simple and easy style of sharing our combined knowledge and
experience with those who care to listen, feel and move with us.
We realized that Filipinos are so adept at copying
the moves of professional dancers, and are especially challenged by the most intricate
step patterns and exhibition moves. Visit any ballroom outlet and you'll see what I mean.
There will definitely be at least a couple or two who'd challenge other dancers to a
silent duel competition for the newest and most intricate step sequences and
amalgamations.
It's often very interested to watch these couples,
except that most of the time, they show their amateurish moves and ignorance of the
principles of body movement and even music. Often they'd look like waddling ducks, and at
worse, simulate the 'tikling' bird.
So, Smile and I thought, how can we get as many
fun-loving dancers to dance with more grace and finesse?
The answer: Teachers had to make learning to dance
real fun and easy, so that even after the first lesson, they'd see dramatic changes. That
gave birth to our teaching approach.
We haven't
allowed our lack of capital to set up our own studio to prevent us from sharing what we
know. Thus we offer
- Studio-based dance classes
which we conduct in our partner studios.
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- Offsite dance lessons for
groups and individuals conducted in their own residence, clubhouse or office.
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- Online dance lessons some
of which are freely available on these pages, and others which are specialized and
available for a minimal fee.
Our dream for the Heritage Dance Center
is quite extra-ordinary -- though for now it's still a dream -- not just a physical dance
studio, but an honest-to-goodness center for dance addicts. Yet we can already see the
glimmer of light leading to the long hard road to the dream. And we know that as long as
we keep our focus and determination, we will be able to finally touch that dream,
which we know we can share with all other dancers here and abroad.
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Side Steps
