We’ve put together a Solo Argentine Tango dance routine for you, incorporating a selection of basic Argentine Tango steps. Lesson breakdown and timestamps to jump ahead below.

Our apologies also as it appears there were a few connection issues during the lesson so we had to make a couple of cuts, but you don’t miss any of the tuition thankfully. Hopefully it doesn’t affect your ability to enjoy the class but we will be moving to pre-recorded classes for future videos.

Solo Argentine Tango full lesson videos

You can find the full lesson video below as well as a demo of just the routine too:

Full Lesson

Routine Demo

Want to see a demo of the full Solo Argentine Tango routine? You can find our summary video below:

Full Solo Lesson Breakdown

You can find a breakdown for the lesson elements below:

[00:01:09] The routine starts with a Reverse Basic danced as both leader and follower. Before a Left Giro danced as a leader [00:05:50].

[00:08:30] We then introduce some Ganchos to finish off our first section (and we’ll finish the routine with these too).

We repeat the Basics and Left Giro.

[00:13:07] The Right Giro as a follower comes next once we’ve repeated the basics. There was a slight issue with our connection at around 15 minutes but it was restored and we go over the moves again for you so nothing is missed.

[00:18:51] Our final sequence is called the Fan (with a little flourish!).

There will be some tricky moments in the Solo Argentine Tango routine but we hope you’ll enjoy it as much as our students.

[00:25:30] Is our run through of the routine to music.

Argentine Tango Music Playlist

An Argentine Tango music playlist for practicing the individual movements can be found below:

Not looking for Solo Argentine Tango? We also have a Partner Argentine Tango routine as well as a lesson looking at the Sequence Dance Argentine Stroll.

We hope you enjoy this routine and keep an eye on our YouTube channel for all our videos.

The post Solo Argentine Tango Dance Routine Videos appeared first on Learn To Dance.

On Sunday 14th March 2021 we held another free live-stream class on YouTube, this time a Beginner Basic Samba dance class.

In this class we started with the Samba Reverse Basic. This is a step forward with the left foot, a bounce on the spot, and then a step back with the right foot (repeating the bounce).

Some time is then spent discussing the Samba pelvic action, using a mild thrusting action by ‘pulling in’ your belly button.

Next we introduce the Samba Whisk. This is a side step with a bounced cross behind.

The Stationary Samba Walk followed which involves a close with one foot, a point back with the other, and a slip back of the front foot. When you then do the subsequent close on the next foot it is closed slightly forward (where you had originally started) to keep the overall movement on the spot.

Bota Fogos are introduced next, moving forward and backward before we start looking at the Voltas. Initially we do our Voltas in straight lines, at both half and then full speed, before looking at the Solo Spot Volta that rotates around on the spot.

Finally, just when we need a little breather, there’s a basic Rhythm Bounce.

Watch the Beginner Basic Samba Lesson

You can watch the roughly 30 minute lesson below. If you want to jump ahead to certain moves we’ve included the timestamps below it:

Lesson Timestamps

[00:01:50] Reverse Basic
[00:07:31] Whisk
[00:11:52] Stationary Samba Walk
[00:17:32] Bota Fogo
[00:23:30] Voltas
[00:26:47] Solo Spot Volta
[00:30:25] Solo Samba Routine

Solo Samba Routine Demo Video

The lesson ends with a basic beginner Solo Samba dance routine to help you practice the steps learnt.

We have chosen the song Lady De Rojo by Bassio for this routine. Before demonstrating we quickly remind you of the basic steps included too!

You can find just a demo of the Solo Samba Routine below:

If you want to check out some more of our solo routines we have a playlist over on YouTube.

Samba Dance Music Playlist

So that you can practice the basic beginner moves we’ve also uploaded a playlist of a selection of Samba tracks. The songs start off slowly then ramp up in speed, and we’ve also included songs used in some of our other lessons.

We hope you enjoy the below playlist:

About Learn To Dance

Learn To Dance is a Ballroom and Latin American Dance School based in Burnham, Buckinghamshire.

Offering regular live-stream classes, as well as useful dance uploads, subcribe to be kept informed when new videos are going live. Send us your suggestions of what you’d like to see us release and we’ll do our best!

Looking for more personal tuition on your Basic Beginner Samba? We provide both in-person and streamed lessons and classes. Check out learndance.co.uk/online for more information.

You can check out our website, or follow us online, at:

Website: learndance.co.uk
Youtube: youtube.com/learndance
Facebook: facebook.com/learndance
Instagram: instagram.com/learndance
Twitter: twitter.com/learndance

The post Beginner Basic Samba Solo Dancing YouTube Lesson appeared first on Learn To Dance.

The video lesson will last for around 30 minutes and we’ll start you off with a few basic beginner Salsa dance steps. There will be a range of steps taught and hopefully you’ll be confident in them all by the end of the class.

Throughout the class we’ll also teach you a simple basic Solo Salsa dance routine.

We’ll talk you through how to do the basic Salsa steps as well as a little on improving the technique of the beginner steps.

The Basic Beginner Salsa Lesson Video

Our lesson will go live on our YouTube channel at 11.30am on Sunday 7th March.

You can join us during the live broadcast and the video will be available to re-watch after the lesson has finished.

Whilst you’re waiting check out our Solo Salsa Dance Routine that we released during lockdown 1.0. This also features some of the basic beginner Salsa steps, as well as a few trickier movements thrown in.

It was our first ever online lesson video, so was a learning curve, but we hope you enjoy it!

Don’t forget if you want to be among the first to know about new videos and lessons subscribe for free to our channel. Make sure to click the ‘notification bell’ to be notified as soon as a new video is available or going live.

We’ll also upload a video demonstration of just the Solo Basic Beginner Salsa dance routine as well as a Salsa dance playlist for you to practice to.

About Learn To Dance

Learn To Dance is a Ballroom and Latin American Dance School based in Burnham, Buckinghamshire.

Offering regular live-stream classes, as well as useful dance uploads, subcribe to be kept informed when new videos are going live. Send us your suggestions of what you’d like to see us release and we’ll do our best!

Looking for more personal tuition on your Basic Beginner Salsa? We provide both in-person and streamed lessons and classes. Check out learndance.co.uk/online for more information.

You can check out our website, or follow us online, at:

Website: learndance.co.uk
Youtube: youtube.com/learndance
Facebook: facebook.com/learndance
Instagram: instagram.com/learndance
Twitter: twitter.com/learndance

The post Basic Beginner Salsa YouTube Lesson appeared first on Learn To Dance.

It was announced on Tuesday 23rd June that Dance Studios, along with venues such as indoor gyms, nightclubs, swimming pools, spas and bowling alleys must remain closed.

We are waiting for further guidance to be released today however we may be looking at August or September before we are permitted to reopen.

Amongst all the questions regarding how the government plans to bring us out of lockdown, the biggest on our lips is when can the dance school reopen?

On Sunday 10th May 2020 Boris Johnson announced plans and a rough layout of how the UK could begin to leave lockdown.

Today the government have uploaded a more indepth report on how the next few months are going to be handled.

We have being analysing this to ascertain when they might permit the Dance School to reopen, with the safety of our teachers and students being paramount.

Obviously we are not experts, and we have summarised large areas of the report. Please take appropriate advice or read the report directly, before acting on anything we comment on.

How Do We Know When It Is Safe To Leave Lockdown?

On 16th April the government announced their 5 tests that would have to be met successfully, for the lockdown measures to start to be eased.

1. Protect the NHS’s ability to cope
2. See a sustained drop in the daily death rate
3. Reliable data that the rate of infection is decreasing
4. Be confident that access to PPE and testing will meet future demand
5. Be confident that adjustments will not risk a second peak

There are three main factors that the government have said they are taking into consideration when reviewing lockdown:

• Health effect – not just through Covid-19 related deaths but also through the NHS not being able to deal with regular issues. The main aim being to ensure no second peak of the infection.
• Economic effect – how to get people back working, safely, as quick as possible. Also to ensure that the public finances are able to be maintained.
• Social effect – not missing too much education. The effect on people’s mental well-being from extended isolation. Getting people back to a sense of normality.

We are now entering Phase Two of the government’s response to the Coronavirus. This looks at ways of controlling the infection so that businesses, including Learn To Dance, and schools can reopen.

How Can We Control The Infection?

The government have said that Phase Two is about using smarter controls to make social contact less infectious.

Obviously to allow the Learn To Dance school to reopen we need to ensure that all of our teachers and students can visit the studio safely.

The ways that the government are currently looking to help social contact be less infectious are:

• making contact safer by redesigning spaces to reduce infection by contact
• reducing infected people’s contact by better tracing and monitoring of those infected
• stopping hotspots developing by detecting outbreaks effectively

For a ballroom dance school to reopen, where contact is inherent within the activity, we need the infection risk to be as low as possible.

We will be keeping an eye on the government’s guidelines as they are released to ensure that our return is as safe as possible.

So When Is The Dance School Likely To Reopen?

As many of you are probably already aware the government announced on Sunday 10th May a number of stages to lifting the lockdown.

• Step One (from Wed 13th May)
  • The opening of outdoor spaces, where the risk of infection is lower.
  • The allowance of travelling further to exercise, but still maintaining social distance
  • Returning to work if you absolutely cannot work from home, but staying home where possible
  • If returning to work avoid using public transport where possible
  • Unlimited external exercise now allowed, but still maintaining social distance
• Step Two (no earlier than 1st June)
  • Schools reopen for the youngest children, in phases
  • Non-essential retail to reopen in phases
  • Cultural and sporting events behind closed doors for broadcast
  • Increase in public transport available
• Step Three (no earlier than 4th July)
  • Places of worship, hospitality and leisure facilities to reopen
  • To be phased in and monitored to ensure no significant increase in infection.

The government have made it clear that businesses such as our Dance School are not permitted to reopen during Steps One or Two.

We do not yet know whether there will be the opportunity to provide non-contact private lessons during Step Two. However we may consider opening up the studio to hire for practice time if the rules allow.

What Can I Do Whilst I Wait For The Dance School To Reopen?

So at the moment the only way we can continue to provide dance lessons is via our online dance lessons.

If you haven’t checked them out we have been recording and releasing videos since the start of April. We’ve tried to provide lessons that can be learnt and practised in confined spaces.

Releasing four videos a week is proving to be a mammoth task, especially with two little ones. But we wanted to hopefully be able to provide an option for everybody, regardless of their situation.

Our online lessons include:

We know it’s no substitute for the classes, lessons and social events that you enjoy attending. But hopefully these will help you get through this difficult time.

How Are We Doing?

As many of you will know we completed on the sale of our house the week lockdown began.

Since then we’ve been imposing on Emma’s parents down near Bristol, and the home office and daily exercise options aren’t too shabby!

This has also helped us to keep our personal expenses down to a manageable level whilst we wait for the Dance School to reopen.

We have been confirmed as eligible for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme and hopefully will be receiving the payment by the end of next week.

Whether the government will extend the scheme for those of us not permitted to carry out our normal business remains to be seen but we have our fingers crossed.

Our landlord for the Cherry Orchard has allowed us to defer our rent until the Dance School is permitted to reopen. This has certainly helped with some of our budgeting short term, although we haven’t discussed the repayment plan yet!

The business grants that were initially announced back in March would have covered a large portion of our rent for this closed period. Unfortunately we were not eligible due to an exemption on the Cherry Orchard site.

We have raised a query on this with South Bucks council, and are waiting to hear back from them. There has been another scheme announced that may help to catch those of us who slipped through the gaps of this much-needed support.

In Conclusion

All things considered, we’re fit and healthy and the Dance School will survive. Whether we’ll all be dancing in facemasks for the forseeable future remains to be seen!

We hope you’re all keeping safe and well and we look forward to seeing you in Step Three and beyond.

The post When Can The Dance School Reopen? appeared first on Learn To Dance.

Enquiries with Burnham Parish Council revealed that the nearest AED (Automated External Defibrillator) would be at Burnham Park Hall, around a 5 minute drive from the studio.  Whilst AEDs have been shown to double the survival rate of someone suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, their effectiveness reduces by around 10% for every minute delay in their usage.

Given that our studio is based within football playing fields and is a hotspot for dog walkers and joggers, we felt the benefit of having an AED outside the studio could not be overlooked if it meant the difference between life or death for someone.

Burnham Parish Council offered to pay for the installation and hosting of the external cabinet if we were able to raise enough to cover the net cost of the equipment and cabinet of £1,366.25.

We looked at a variety of options for how we might raise the funds required, and eventually decided on a fun day of dance sessions on Monday 28th May.

Any excess funds raised would then be donated to the Check Heart Appeal, a fundraising page set up to raise money for C-R-Y (Cardiac Risk in the Young), a charity close to Antony & Emma’s heart.

In the morning we had an American Smooth workshop, a FitSteps taster and a lunchtime Tea Dance; whilst the afternoon saw ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, Bollywood and Charleston inspired workshops.

All of that did mean that Antony had to have at least 5 costume changes!

We received a number of donations, both before and after the day, from those that were unable to attend and we also held a raffle with a variety of prizes including a LearnToDance gift voucher and the top prize of a family photoshoot with Emma-Louise Walton Photography.

The raffle was closed and drawn a week later live on our Facebook Page, although we started to panic when a number of duplicate winners started being drawn (regardless of how much Antony shook and mixed up the tickets) but it evened out in the end!

https://www.facebook.com/learndance/videos/10160843462305221/

Between the fundraising day, raffle and donations LearnToDance raised a total of £1,855.63!

We instructed Burnham Parish Council to order the defibrillator and are pleased to announce that this has now been installed!

We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved in the running/administration of the event, everyone that donated or attended the day, and Burnham Parish Council for their support.

Much appreciated,

Antony, Emma and the LearnToDance team

About LearnToDance

LearnToDance is a Ballroom and Latin American Dance School run by husband and wife team Antony & Emma-Louise Holeksa and has been running since 2006.  Classes for all levels and ages, and personal tuition, take place throughout the week, as well as dance breaks and private events.

In 2016 we moved into our own dedicated studio at the Cherry Orchard in Burnham and now offer sessions most days of the week.

About Check Heart Appeal

The post Defibrillator Fundraising Success! appeared first on Learn To Dance.

Learn To Dance
Sunday Social Tea Dance

WHEN: SUNDAY 24th MAY 2015

WHERE: ETON WICK VILLAGE HALL

TIME: 1.30PM-3.30PM

PRICE: £5pp
(BOOK ONLINE)

Our LearnToDance Sunday Social Tea Dances take place at Eton Wick Village Hall, Eton Wick Road, Eton Wick, SL4 6LT. They’re a great opportunity to come along and practice the steps you’ve been learning, as well as meet other dancers and make friends.

The afternoon features a variety of Ballroom and Latin American dances and includes tea, coffee and cake.

The post Social Tea Dance Sunday 24th May 2015 appeared first on Learn To Dance.

Learn To Dance
Foxtrot
Beginner Workshop

WHEN: SUNDAY 17th MAY 2015

WHERE: ETON WICK VILLAGE HALL

TIME: 1.30PM-3.30PM

PRICE: £20pp or £30 per couple
(BOOK ONLINE)

Our LearnToDance monthly beginner workshop classes take place at Eton Wick Village Hall, Eton Wick Road, Eton Wick, SL4 6LT.

Designed for beginners our monthly beginner workshops are a great way to learn the basics of a dance in a concentrated 2 hour workshop.

We look at a different dance each month. This month’s dance is the Foxtrot.

Smooth, sophisticated, elegant. All words to describe Antony, but also his favourite dance the Foxtrot. Classic Sinatra and Bobby Darin are best but Paul Anka’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ is a great twist on a modern classic.

As with all LearnToDance classes and workshops a partner is not required.

The post Beginner Foxtrot Workshop Sunday 17th May 2015 appeared first on Learn To Dance.

Last night saw the first public announcing (previous year’s have just announced the winner in the magazine) of the winner of Dance Today magazine’s 2015 Dance Teacher of the Year.

The results were announced at a special Gala Night being held at Blackpool Tower, considered by many to be the home of Ballroom Dancing.

There were four shortlisted teachers from the National competition.  As many of you know, our principal and co-founder, Antony Holeksa made it onto this shortlist.

Joining Antony were Ballroom and Latin teachers Warren and Jane Bullock (pictured left), who have represented the UK in major competitions around the globe and featured in numerous British, European and World finals, run a large dance school, Zig Zag Dance Factory, in the Midlands.

Also, Strictly Come Dancing‘s assistant Charleston choreographer Scott Cupit (pictured right) moved to London in 2009 to open Swing Patrol London, which now runs classes and weekly social dances in venues all over the capital and last year received investment from Deborah Meaden on Dragons’ Den to spread the love for swing further afield.

And finally, Michelle Moss (pictured left) has run the Michelle Moss School of Performing Arts, in Stoke-on-Trent, for 14 years. She teaches ballet and tap and many of her students now train at the Royal Ballet School, the Hammond and Northern Ballet, to name but a few.

The evening kicked off with a workshop run by Warren & Jane Bullock, covering a simple but elegant line sequence for Foxtrot and a fiesty Cha Cha step.  We then had general dancing first to recorded music and then later, from the iconic Ross Mitchell Orchestra.

After a cabaret from some rising stars it was time to announce the winner.

Nicola Rayner, the editor of Dance Today magazine, took to the stage and gave a brief bio of each of the shortlisted teachers before passing to Ross Mitchell to announce the winner.

…

The winner of the 2015 Dance Today Dance Teacher of the Year is Scott Cupit from Swing Patrol London.  You can read the full announcement on the Dance Today website.

Whilst Antony was obviously disappointed not to have won, the achievement of a second consecutive shortlisting, in such a big national competition is an amazing result and we can’t thank our student and their friends and families enough for all the votes they placed.

This was apparently the closest year of the competition and we congratulate Scott on his win.  Not only is he a really great guy but Antony & Emma have been to a Swing Patrol workshop a few years ago (back when they had spare time!) and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We look forward to the 2016 competition and another chance to go for the title!

The post 2015 Dance Teacher of the Year Results appeared first on Learn To Dance.

WHERE: ETON WICK VILLAGE HALL

TIME: 1.30pm-3.30pm

PRICE: £20pp or £30 per couple

(BOOK ONLINE)

Our LearnToDance monthly master classes take place at Eton Wick Village Hall, Eton Wick Road, Eton Wick, SL4 6LT.

Designed for experienced dancers these look at adding more complicated steps or sequences to the dance being taught and are a great way to expand your repertoire of steps.

As with all LearnToDance classes and workshops a partner is not required.

The post Waltz Master Class Sunday 11th January appeared first on Learn To Dance.

Gift vouchers are delivered via email and can be printed or sent directly to the recipient.

You can choose from our various packages for private lessons and group classes, or just select a value to present them with.

Gift vouchers are sent automatically after payment and we’ve even had students purchasing vouchers on Christmas Day!

Vouchers are valid for a year from purchase and each comes with a unique code that can be redeemed when booking online.

To purchase vouchers just visit our ONLINE SHOP, or contact us if you have any questions.

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