Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! As many of you may know, we are expecting the birth of our first child in early February. We are very excited, and, as you would expect, very busy getting ready for the new arrival. As a result, we will be taking a hiatus from teaching for a little while. However, dancing and teaching is a big part of our life and we do plan to return once the little one is on a schedule. At the moment, here are our plans for early 2012:

Group Classes: Normally, we start classes for the year in early January. However, we will be postponing our first classes of 2012 until sometime in April. Shortly after the baby is born we will have a better idea of the exact time frame and will be scheduling classes then. To stay up to date, please sign up for the email list (on the right) to get the latest updates on when classes are announced. If you are just starting out dancing, we highly recommend going to the beginner swing dance lesson before the 2nd & 4th Saturday dances. That will give you a great head start!

Private Lessons: As of mid-January, we will be putting private lessons on hold for a while. We plan to return to group classes first and private lessons sometime after that. Again, keep an eye on the website and the email list for updates.

Thank you to everyone for your understanding and support! We’re very honored that we’ve already gotten many inquiries on when we will be returning to teaching. With the help of some close friends, we plan to return in spring. If you want to be one of the first to know when the little one arrives, be sure to follow us on Facebook.

Christmas Swing Gala (12/10): Don’t miss out on Orlando’s premier Holiday swing dance event! This event features live music by the “New Traditions Jazz Ensemble” big band. Never danced before? No problem! The night kicks off with a beginner swing dance lesson. Click here for more info.

Rob & Dawn’s Christmas Party (12/17): We would like to invite all our friends, neighbors, and students (past and present) to our annual Christmas Party to say thank you for a great year! We’ll provide the music and the dance floor. Please feel free to bring light snacks and/or drinks (no alcohol please) for yourself or to share. There will be an open dance floor and we’ll be playing lots of great holiday swing music. Feel free to dance, or just come out and socialize! The event will be on Saturday, December 17th from 8pm to 11pm at the Longwood Ballroom.

In December, we will be offering two “mini” series classes at the Longwood studio. These classes will run three weeks (as opposed to the normal six weeks) and will start on Sunday, December 4th and will end the Sunday before Christmas.

Beginner Lindy Hop (4 pm):  This will be a condensed version of our regular six week class and will cover just the essentials to get you up to speed in Lindy Hop. Unlike our six week class, this class will not cover the six count basic, so you must know that in order to join in. However, you can pick this up at the beginner lesson before the dances or if you are in our current swing class, you are all set. This “mini” series class is designed to take you from six count moves into the Lindy Hop swing out (eight count) and give you the essentials to get you out on the dance floor. The full Lindy class won’t be offered again until late spring or summer, so be sure to sign up now.

Lindy Hop Style (2:30 pm): This three week series class will focus on style and footwork variations for Lindy. It is designed to teach you how to be creative with your footwork while still adhering to strong basics. It will also focus on the connection used to communicate and interact with your partner while you “style it up”. From variations to slides to kicks, this class will cover a wide variety of tricks and techniques. You must know the Lindy Hop basic to join in.

Both classes? If you are just starting out with Lindy Hop, we don’t recommend that you do both classes at the same time. However, if you are doing the Lindy Hop class as a review, you are welcome to do the Lindy style class at the same time.

Winter Schedule: Normally, we wind down group classes in the Holiday season and start again in January. As we’ve mentioned before, this year will be a bit different with the new arrival due in February. As a result, we are still working on our schedule and may teach a few “mini” classes in December and/or early January. Keep an eye out on the website for updates on this. We know we will be taking a hiatus from teaching in February. We are tentatively planning to return to teaching group classes in some capacity in March or April.

With a new addition to the family, we will be revamping how we offer private lessons in 2012. Until then, we plan to keep teaching private lessons until the end of the year. Be sure to take advantage of them now before our schedule gets busy! We will go on hiatus from teaching private lessons at the start of the year and don’t plan to return until sometime after we start group classes again in March or April.

In case you haven’t heard the news, yes, there is a new member of the Flyin’ Footwork family on the way. We are expecting a new arrival in February. The pregnancy is going great so far and we are looking forward to being parents!

Naturally, this means we won’t be starting our 2012 classes on time in January as we usually do. We fully plan on returning to teaching (thanks to the help of some great friends) sometime in the spring. The exact date will most likely be determined by the little one. Keep an eye on the website for updates. In addition, you can follow us on Facebook for class updates… plus the big announcement and photos once that time comes.

That’s right, less than two weeks left to register for the upcoming series classes starting on Sunday October 9th! Register before midnight, Saturday October 8th and save $10 off the day of rate (which is $70/person). Hurry because space is limited in the Swing Dance class!

Ready to get started with swing dancing? We have two great classes in store for this fall! The six count swing dance series class will start from scratch and teach you all the fundamentals of swing dancing. No previous experience is needed. We’ll start with the six count basic and progress into moves and combos. Each class will build on the information from the previous class to make learning easy. The classes are an hour long with an extra half hour of practice and individual help. This is a great way to get started and get comfortable on the dance floor!

We’ll also be offering our beginner Balboa series class. Looking to look smooth dancing to even the fastest of tempos? Then Balboa is for you! This is the ultimate swing dance when it comes to connecting with your partner. It has a rhythm and flow like nothing else and is seriously addictive! This six week class will teach you all the core fundamentals and basics of the Balboa and start adding in moves and combos.

Classes start on Sunday, October 9th. These are the last series classes for 2011, so don’t miss out. We look forward to seeing you in October!

Even though our Intermediate Lindy Hop already started this past Sunday, we still have room for Leads. Please contact us if you are interested in joining on the second week. This class will be designed to challenge those who know the foundations of Lindy Hop by exploring style, footwork and timing variations, and move combinations.

We have just opened for registration two new classes to start in early Fall. The two classes are the Balboa Series Class in the 2:30pm time slot followed by the Swing Dance Series Class at the 4pm time. Both classes start from scratch so no previous dance experience is necessary. The Swing Dance Class is perfect for those looking to get a good well-rounded foundation in the basics of swing dancing (so you can look like you know your way around a dance floor).

Our next set of classes will start in the late summer (August) timeframe. We will be taking a bit of a break and only offering one series class this time around. Our next set of beginner level classes will probably start in the fall. But don’t worry! If you want to get started with swing dancing, we highly recommend the classes before the 2nd and 4th Saturday swing dances. You’ll get a solid start there and be a step ahead when we start our fall classes.

The one class we offer in August will be Intermediate Lindy Hop. We’ve had a large number of requests to do a “Lindy 3″ class following our recent Lindy 2 class. We don’t want to exclude other people who know Lindy Hop from joining in the class, so instead of sticking with the numbering sequence, we’ll tag the class as “Intermediate Lindy”. This class will be designed to challenge those who know the foundations of Lindy Hop by exploring style, footwork and timing variations, and move combinations. Registration is now open!

Have a great summer!

Only a little over a week left to register at the early registration rate for the next set of series classes. Reserve your spot now and save $10 over the day-of price! Both classes start from scratch and no previous dance experience is needed to join in. Classes start next Sunday,  June 19th at the Longwood Ballroom. Be sure to reserve your spot soon!

Lindy Hop Series Class: Ready to get started with swing dancing? This class will teach you the original form… Lindy Hop! The class will start with the six count basic and take you step-by-step and progress to the eight count swingout. We’ll focus on technique and connection to give you solid foundation. This is our most popular class, so be sure to register soon. Click here for more information.

Collegiate Shag Series Class: Fast paced and fun! Shag is an energetic dance that is perfect for faster tempos. It’s really EASY to learn and this class will take you from the basics to moves, variations, and style! If you can remember “slow, slow, quick, quick”, then you can learn Shag! We only teach this class once a year, so don’t miss out! Click here for more information.

Our friend Anna singing for the very first time with the New Traditions big band. I think she was a little nervous at first, but really hits a home run on the ending. Her grandmother, who sang with big bands in the swing era, would be very proud! I know we all are!