My new teaching methods accelerate learning. Spend less time learning and more time having fun. No matter how many steps and turns you learn you will never be a good dancer until you learn rhythm, timing and Latin motion. Take my 4 week classes. Then when you dance you will go home happy, refreshed and ready for the next day and week and all of its challenges.

I challenge professionals, non-professionals, intellectuals, doctors, lawyers, office workers, techies, factory workers, locals, celebs and all walks of life to come have fun and learn something new and self fulfilling.

4 Week Classes--You Can Start Anytime

Call for Schedule: Instructor: Alberto (503) 872-9999
alsheppard@1stgmc.net

Here is what you can gain from the class:

• Rhythm, Timing and Latin Motion--Not Just Steps & Turns
  
• Fun
  
• Liberation
  
• Healing
  
• Ecstasy
  
• Personality Enhancement
  
• Escape
  
• True Moments of Clarity
  
• A Near Religious Experience
  
• Improved Health and Cardio Vascular Strength
  
• Happiness
  
• A Spiritual Experience
  
• Communication That Transcends Language
  
• People See A New Attractiveness In You That They Never Could See Before
  
• Great Joy In Your Life
  
• Relaxation
  
• Stress Relief
  
• Relationship Enhancement
  
• Marriage Strengthening
  
• Self Fulfillment
  
• A Rhythmic Poetic Art Form
  
• A New Style of Dance
  
• and...You will become a great dancer!
  

Alberto
(503) 872 9999

The History of New Free Expression Latin Dance

Many years passed and I forgot all this until I spent many months in the Caribbean: Puerto Rico, Martinique, Panama, Curacao, and the Virgin Islands. It was while I was in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands that I was befriended by the both men and women at a local dance and taught to salsa. ...or at least they got rid of my Gringo upper body movements and taught me the foot work.

Again years passed and I had no more exposure to Latin music and dance even though I had settled in California. It was not until I felt the embarrassment of being at the bi-annual San Francisco Bay Area Formal Black and White Ball and also a Latino New Years’ Eve party and could not dance very well with my lady friend that I vowed to learn to dance Ballroom and Latin. I felt left behind when she and others were going out to fun and exciting Latin night clubs without me.

I began to secretly take lessons at the Starlight Ballroom in Sunnyvale, The California Dance Center in San Jose, The Cubberly Pavilion in Palo Alto, Alberto’s in Mountain View, The Monterey Peninsula Dance Association in Monterey, Dance Spectrum in Campbell, Club Caribe in Burlingame and Planet Gemini in Monterey. As if that wasn’t enough I enrolled and took Ballroom and Latin dance classes at San Jose State University and West Valley College simultaneously.

Right after all that and about 4 years ago I moved to Portland, Oregon. I still have the 3 tattered yellow pages that I ripped out of the 1998 U.S. West phone book’s Dance section to find all the happening dance places. Right away I began to take classes under Jose Ortiz (DJ Jose), Guillermo Calvo (DJ Memo) and later Remos Reynosa. I learned from watching the local Cuban dancers. ...and took the dance class at Portland State under Rachel Lidskog.

Before long women were telling me they liked my style. Even macho men were coming up to me and outright complimenting me on my dancing. Their comments ranged from "You know that you don’t dance like anyone else don’t you", "I haven’t seen dancing like that since I left my country" and "You know you have an unorthodox style" ...and "You should be a teacher".

You may be wondering did I ever dance again with the lady friend who made me feel left out when she and her girl friends went out to Latin dances. Yes! I did. We have danced here and also in California.

Beauty, Romance & Aesthetic Communication

Just like mixing many different chemicals, once in awhile something new is created. When a new dance appears its steps are tried by hundred even thousands of dancers and teachers who quite naturally begin to change it. It begins as a folk dance of the people. It is then picked up by the sophisticated dance organizations and modified. In other cases the dance is picked up by travelers and taken back to their countries. Dances never stay the same.

After all, that is the history of dance itself. The desire to dance is one of the most primitive instincts of people everywhere. The relationship of rhythm and its connection to sexuality and life is well known. Even primitive cave drawings show people dancing. Civilization has taught much of our society to suppress this natural tendency to move and act out our deepest thoughts and wishes. There in lies the cause of much pain, dysfunction and sickness. We have relegated ourselves to spectators watching performers instead of freeing our own hearts and expressing our souls through dance and movement.

Many of the Latin dances have their roots in Cuba. It is said that Mambo developed in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. Mambo and Salsa are deeply rooted in African drum rhythms and spiritual practices brought to Cuba by the slaves. Historians believe that mambo may have evolved from Congolese sacred music and means conversation with the gods. Mambo was transformed by fusion with Bantu, Yoruba, Spanish and Afro-American jazz musicians. New York dancers developed a distinctive version of Mambo with more fluid, body styles and movement of the hips and shoulders. They also fused mambo with ballet, jazz, tap, etc. Mambo/Salsa continues to evolve. Cuban Salsa looks nothing like the Salsa done in the USA today. In the USA Salsa is from Puerto Rico style Salsa which was created from Mambo.

The dance that I teach, Nuevo Baile De Libre Expresión Latina (New Expression/Nuevo Exprêsion), is first of all NOT a new dance. Rather it IS a NEW fusion of New York, The Caribbean, The Bay Area and Portland; Latin and Ballroom; and Salsa, Tango and Rumba. This STYLE combines the beauty, the romance, and the sexuality of dance with focused aesthetic communication between dance partners.
I emphasize rhythm, timing and Latin motion. It’s life altering!

alsheppard@1stgmc.net
salsa@1stgmc.net:

Cost: $30.00 for 4 classes
Drop-ins $8.00

Alberto
(503) 872 9999