2018 the Ethos

So what have I been doing about Mambalsa in the last year?
To tell the truth not much!


I did a new logo!
The old one was looking like a VW Golf c.1984 - stylish but square, a bit like two magnifying glasses.

 The new one is curvy and I've got rid of the awful font.


Hold on a minute! There's not been much out there in the public domain but I've spent a year learning psychotherapy and got a bucket load of psychology and people skills from it. I've also been to talks an discussions about isolation in our communities and decided to do something about it.
Mambalsa has also proved very successful at corporate events and parties. And I hear that one couple used Mambalsa for their first dance at their wedding.

What has changed is that I've developed a detailed ethos at Mambalsa's core.
Basically I've built in well-being through empathy and confidence.
This gives Mambalsa a purpose. Through practising confidence and empathy we become happier and better at being us. I'm sure all dances have that effect but if we place it at Mambalsa's core, we'll stay on track and have yet another unique selling point.

There's now three main tenants that guide my dance teaching (Salsa and Mambalsa)

1) Natural Mechanics- working with our bodies to move in a natural pre-learnt way. e.g. The vast majority of people are more comfortable spinning in the direction they are stepping onto, so if they're placing their weight onto their left foot, they're more comfortable spinning to their left. Many will recognise this as my Salsa Rapido rule No.5 and of course it's also a rule for Mambalsa. Now ballet dancers often spin the opposite way but most people arn't ballet dancers and spotting an ex ballet dancer twenty years down the line can be a bit tricky, so I stick to the rule which is an extension of consideration which in turn may be described as empathy in action.

Natural mechanics also covers the footwork sequence and mirroring, both of which come from the need to synchronise (Salsa Rapido rule 2)  to satisfy our mirror neurons. The effect is we can dance very slowly and very close if we choose.

2) Confidence and Consideration. Now that's been in Salsa Rapido since dot! Confidence inspires confidence in your partner, which in turn inspires your own self confidence. An upward spiralling tornado of confidence.
Confidence allows us to find the edge of our abilities and the thrill of being the best we can, which in turn leads to 'Flow' or Peak State as it's sometimes know. This is a state of mind that gives us a continual hit of happy brain juice (dopamine).
Consideration is empathy which sets us up for the deepest human to human connection possible.

3) Presence and Participation - Presence is the here and now. Most of our errors can be seen as a distraction from presence. Future based errors e.g. anticipation and pat based 'inner critic' errors abound. Presence allows us to focus in on the moment of inspiration and read move through action /reaction cycles. Participation is community. Our partners, the group, the space, the scene and the world.

Much of my ideas are on the  Salsa Rapido Blog including many short detailed video clips on Youtube's Salsa Rapido play list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrhL8giTa8k.

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