TED 31 | Why Embodied Philosophy is a Must-Have Salsa Tool with Sarah Balzat

Sarah Balzat last joined us to talk about her entry into salsa and her focus on learning  about different body types in dancing. We are lucky to welcome Sarah back to talk this time about Embodied Philosophy - her toolkit for salsa teaching, dancing, choreographing and even everyday life. Embodied Philosophy seeks to create synergy between top down (verbal information) and bottom up (sensations through movement) forms of learning to become better in touch with the balance between body and mind. Learning is a process and Sarah suggests that we should lean into this process - let’s spend less time adding new moves upon new moves to our repertoire and instead take the time to fully acquire new knowledge and enjoy the learning process.

What to expect in this episode:
(00:42) - What is Embodied Philosophy?
(03.54) - A feeling in practice - sadness - how does our body express this?
(05:14) - We all want to be part of a community - now we need to practise the skills
(07:50) - Do you use dancing as a way to get out of your head? Is that even possible?
(10:40) - A worked example of Embodied Philosophy
(14:09) - From mind to body to create a salsa learning cycle
(18:44) - Challenging how we think about learning - changed behaviour
(20:38) - Learning through sensation vs learning through information

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

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