Diving Deep on Monday Nights

Hello Dancers! Thanksgiving has passed and we are moving into the intense part of the holiday season, but don’t let gift shopping and holiday stress completely take over your brain! Make time to dance, even if it’s only in your kitchen while doing your dishes.

Remember, you can give the gift of dance lessons: they are always the right size and don’t take up any space in your closet or garage. More on this coming in a newsletter soon!

Monday Night Deep Dive Workshops

(TLDR) Starting in December, Advanced Line Dance and Balance Exercises will be on the same Monday, and other Mondays will feature 90 minute, advanced workshops, focused on a Deep Dive into one partner dance per month. Keep reading more for details!

Before the Dives

Since Sapphire opened nearly 20 years ago, we’ve devoted Monday nights to higher level group classes, intense technique, complicated patterns, and challenging routines. When I started with Sapphire, Monday classes were called Steppin’ Up Variety Classes and would combine advanced material for 2 or 3 dance styles. Oh boy, they were wonderful and intimidating. When we changed to a workshop format, they became Upper Level Workshops (ULWs). And ULWs eventually became What’s Next Workshops. But the idea has always been the same: start your week with a blast of dance information. What better way to liven up your Monday? Some of our long-term students rely on that bit of Dance-fix to get through their Mondays. I know I do.

Monday Workshops are undergoing another transformation and getting a new name: Deep Dives. This is an experiment - we don’t know if it will be better or not until we try it. So, please bear with us as we figure out the details. And let us know your thoughts - your feedback is incredibly helpful!

Diving Goals

There are lots of reasons why we feel a change is in order, but here are some of the highlights. We are hoping that the new format will accomplish these goals and more:

• Provide more of an on-ramp for new Monday Nighters.
• Include more practice time for these understandably challenging classes.
• Encourage more consistency in class material, without giving up the freedom of workshops.
• Lighten the burden of planning the schedule, publicizing the classes, and preparing material, so that teachers can spend more time making the classes enjoyable for you.

The Diving Plan

Every month will have one Monday devoted to Advanced Line Dance at 7pm and Exercises to Improve Balance at 8pm. These workshops are valuable to several of our students and seem to work best with a regular, once-a-month schedule.

The remaining Mondays will each (typically) have an hour and a half workshop, from 7 to 8:30 pm, on the same dance style - the Deep Dives.

The first of these workshops will generally be the most welcoming to new Monday Nighters - the best time for new Divers to take the plunge. Participants will only need to know the basics of that style (picture 3-4 hours of lessons) or have a foundation in a complementary dance. Following Mondays will expect Divers to either have been at the first Dive of the month or to have a solid foundation in the dance style taught. Please remember - none of the Monday night material is intended for new dancers - we have lots of options on Tuesdays, Fridays, and soon Thursdays for you new folks!

If you want to see an example, check out “Bolero rocks Mondays in December” (below). December is a short month because of holidays, so also be sure to check out January’s schedule (available soon) for a more typical month.

The Cost to Dive

The basis will be $21/person/class. A Deep Dive class is 1.5 hours long. WNWs were $14/person/hour when bought individually, so the hourly price has not changed.

When you register for all the Dives for that month, you will receive about 25% off (we round things to make the mental math easier). So a month that has 2 Dives, like December, will cost $32/person for both dives. A month like January will have 3 Dives, and if you register for all of them it will cost $48/person.

We have always said that the Monday Night 4-packs will never expire (unless we go out of business) and we stand by that. If you have purchased a Monday 4-pack, you will still get credit for those classes. In fact, the Monday 4-Pack will still work, without any modification, for ALD and Balance workshops (both of which are 1 hour long). To use the 4-packs for Dives, you will use 1.5 workshop slots.

If you have questions, please let us know! We're happy to help in any way we can.

Sound like fun? Sign up today! Please register by noon the day of the event online at SapphireBallroom.Square.site or by emailing us and paying at the event - just reply to this email with your name and the names of anyone you plan to bring.

Want to help make these events a success? Bring your friends, bring a snack to share, share the Facebook event, like our Instagram posts. It all helps!

Remember, you can keep up with our news on Facebook at SapphireBallroom and Instagram at SapphireBallroom.

Bolero rocks Mondays in December

Hey established dancers - finish off your year with a new dance or master a familiar one with us in December!

You might ask, what is Bolero? Isn’t it a jacket? Did Ravel compose it? Well yes, but Bolero is also a beautiful, slow, intense, and challenging ballroom dance. Picture International Rumba with the elegant frame and graceful rise-and-fall of Waltz. That’s what I’m talkin’ about. And we’re going to do our first Deep Dive ever into Bolero.

Monday, Dec 4 - Dive into Bolero, 7-8:30pm

We will be diving into what makes Bolero uniquely Bolero and not just a strange Rumba. Participants will learn and practice several moves, apply Bolero motion to all of them, and learn a short routine that can be used over and over again while social dancing.

To participate, dancers do not need to know Bolero. But you should be comfortable dancing in a closed frame and have a solid foundation in a Latin, break-based dance style like Rumba, Cha Cha, or Salsa. Bachata and Merengue won’t help you with this class.

Monday, Dec 11 - Climb Higher, Diver Deeper, 7-8:30pm

Take the plunge and learn more, more, more Bolero. This workshop is still not a “high dive,” not intended to be super challenging, but will give you some more coolness to play with.

Cost for each workshop will be $21/person or take them both for $32.

What would you like to see for January’s Deep Dives? I’m thinking of 3-Count Hustle, Tango, Country Two-Step, but have not settled on anything yet! I hope to make a decision in mid December.

Schedule Highlights

Well. Fall is flying past. We are already planning classes and events for next spring - hints of what's to come in the schedule below! And 2023 is winding down in the process. Check out SapphireDance.com or our next newsletter for more details about all the coolness coming with 2024.

In the meantime, here's a preview of the next few weeks. I'm always working and devolping our schedule - feel free to make requests! I looove requests.

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Sapphire's group classes and workshops are always small, low stress, and fun. They are a great way to meet other people who have also decided to learn to dance, as well as get to know our teaching staff. It doesn't take any long-term investment to get started, no special clothing or shoes - just something comfortable to wear and a sense of adventure. So, take the plunge and try it out.

All classes (in person or online) require registration by noon the day the class starts. We are happy to add late-comers if we can, but classes may be cancelled or rescheduled if registration is low.

Five ways to register, just choose one and we'll take care of the rest:
1 - reply to this email info@sapphiredance.com;
2 - register and pay at the same time at our online store at SapphireBallroom.square.site;
3 - talk to your favorite Sapphire Staff member;
4 - give us a ring at 540-382-8782;
5 - Blacksburg Group classes are best registered through the Blacksburg Community Center webpage.

Thanks for reading; we hope you found something you liked. Until we see you again, happy dancing!

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