MyCharleston specialise in teaching 20s Charleston, it is a playful dance full of character and you don’t need a partner. Learning through fun is key and you will be dancing the Charleston by the end of you first class. We run six week courses so you can develop your style, swivel and learn a dance routine.
Class Structure
Each class starts with a simple warm-up, this is just to get you moving, stretch out and get you in the mood to dance. Week one is all about learning the basic Charleston, over the coming weeks we will introduce short exercises that will teach you the moves coming up in the routine. Charleston has a wide vocabulary of dance moves each with a name and a character which making them easy to remember. Even when these exercises go a bit wrong, the room is full of laughter and having fun is definitely more important than always getting it right.
The final half of the class is dedicated to learning the routine, this is often people’s favourite part. If you’ve not learnt choreography before then this will challenge you in a good way. Musicians and dancers have highly developed frontal lobes, this comes from exercising the part of the brain which aids memory recall.
Benefits of Dance
Dance requires concentration and anchors your brain into the ‘here and now’. A lot of research shows how dancing can maintain and even boast your ability to think as you age. To me the greatest benefit of dance is that it gives you some distance from your worries and improves your mood.
As you get into the routine of coming to a regular class you will develop your skills and discover great music. The fitness benefits of dancing are an added bonus. You get a great cardio workout - Charleston is famous for being fast and furious. Charleston dance incorporates movement on all planes of motion from all directions, this variety of movement means no muscle if left behind as you exercise. In our dance classes you will burn over 400 calories an hour.
Practice and achievement
There are many benefits to dance, by committing to a regular class you are more likely to attend. The key thing about the six week course is there is a progressive learning path therefore you can build up your knowledge week by week. There is a clear outcome because people are committed to learning the routine. For those who want to practice at home, MyCharleston give you a free video of the dance routine when you sign up for a course.
By week six you will know the choreography and we celebrate this by dressing-up and dancing the full routine (this is sometime followed by a cheeky drink after class.) For those who wish to show their friends and family, we regularly offer opportunities to take part in video and performance projects.
Dancing is both a personal thing and something to celebrate and share. I often say there is a dance out there for everyone, so if you like to have a little bop around your kitchen, then have a look to see what dance classes there are in your area. Take a risk and you will soon be feeling the benefits of a dance.
Take a look at our latest timetable below: