TED 26 | Enabling ALL Body Types in Salsa with Sarah Balzat

Despite starting out in singing, Sarah Balzat has been dancing most of her life. Sarah has an incredible mind when it comes to her approaches to teaching salsa and salsa dancing itself and today she joins us to talk about her unusual entry into salsa in Germany in the 90s  and the power of bringing philosophy and vulnerability onto the dance floor, both in terms of teaching and learning. With nearly 25 years of teaching experience, Sarah has been learning about different body types in dancing and has accumulated a variety of solutions for different body types of all ages and levels Being part of transforming peoples' understanding of their bodies is a huge honour for Sarah and something she is always working to improve on. Whether you are new to dancing or have been dancing forever, Sarah will challenge your way of thinking and leave you wanting more.

What to expect in this episode:
(01:03) - Finding salsa through family and community
(04:08) - A VHS video as a way to learn salsa!
(07:28) - How our childhood music influences our groove
(08:47) - The confrontation within salsa dancing
(12:28) - We are all vulnerable - that is our superpower
(15:30) - Classes have the culture that the teacher promotes
(17:48) - We all have different body types - let’s celebrate that
(21:45) - You don’t fit in the box? Throw the box away!


About Sarah Balzat
Sarah has a Bachelor's degree in Classical and Contemporary Dance and a Master's degree from Palucca School Dresden in Choreography and Dance Education and this helps her to build a bridge between the arts and education.  While her professional education was focused on Ballet, Contemporary and Modern forms of expression, Afro-Cuban Movement culture has been her focus since 1999 along with a dedication to the study and analysis of different dance techniques and embracing all body types on the dance floor.


Connect with Sarah Balzat
Online: https://www.yerba-buena.de/Teachers-Program
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/sarah_balzat/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/yerba_buena_art/


About Bobbie Miles:
Bobbie Miles is a social dancer based in Bristol. The salsa, bachata, and kizomba scene is special to so many, Bobbie included. The more she danced however, the more she became aware of inappropriate behaviours in the scene, ranging from low-level “creepiness” to undeniable abuses of power. Bobbie realised that she will no longer keep quiet, be subjected to any sort of misconduct, and nor should anyone else. She is an advocate for speaking up, boundary setting, and respect in the dance scene. Through The Empowered Dancers Podcast, she promotes transparency, understanding, and accountability and as a public speaker, she talks about putting boundary setting and respect into practice, both on and off the dance floor.

Resources:
Download my 5 Top Tips for a great dance night! https://empowereddancers.com/5tips

Connect with Bobbie Miles!
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