I would like to tell you what a great workshop Max Perry gave us last Sunday at the Westchester Ballroom in Pleasantville, New York. What wonderful instruction and selection of dances! I am always impressed that despite Max’s relaxed style I learn and retain dances like he literally beat them into my thick, pirate-head! Yet without ever feeling a single stroke of the lash, I come away from every one of his lessons moving my feet and my body in ways I didn’t (or couldn’t) before. A lesson with Max is not just a dance…it’s dancing!

He moved us through 5 dances in 4 hours! 3 are student favorites, 2 are ones we never would have experienced otherwise and 1 has already been taught in class. How great is that?

Max warmed us up with UP, SIDE, DOWN. A fairly easy dance, it was a competition winner Max brought from Las Vegas. The music is appealing (the disco hit by My Baby) and it featured some exciting (wow-factor) arm movements, which confounded some to the point of refusal. Poor Dee!

Properly softened, Max then hit us with a dance that he described this way, “none of the steps are hard, but it makes you feel like you really danced something.” He was right, but CHAMPAGNE ON ICE by Paul & Karla Dornstedt is not for the meek. This two-wall waltz is deceptively fast, but it is absolutely a must to learn! It features some beautiful footwork that swirls and sweeps you over large areas of the dance floor, if you will let it. Sounds like a lot of effort? Actually it’s as comfortable as slippers. My favorite part is two graceful sweeps stepping back (similar to Noel Castle’s AMAZING) into a rock, which drives you forward into a wonderful full-turn spiral.This dance was the particular favorite of one of my dancers but all clearly enjoyed it. Champagne has one restart on the back wall and we all hear it in the music now!

WHEN THEY BEGIN by Kim Ray is danced to “Begin the Beguine.” (Do you know what that is, Delilah?) Having heard of the dance I was prepped for something different (it’s not unusual, you say?) The uncommon feature to this dance is that the music increases tempo steadily, and not just slightly. Unnoticeable at first, movements that were lazy and swaying become a bopping Swing of-sorts! But don’t follow me; I wasn’t particularly comfortable making the transition. Just follow Max… (Whoa, Max Perry!) You will have to work to keep your styling while you accelerate the languorous sweeps into Jive sidekicks, or not.

Then we did one of Max’s latest dances, 40 DAYS, to the song of the same name by Will Faeber. Kudos to Max. It has that wonderful quality like BLUE FINGER LOU that makes you feel like you’re in a Performance! Ahhh, nothing like a good Vaudeville step! Yes, there is a restart, but little brainpower is required to master the dance over the phrasing of the music. I taught this just last night to my class and it went over really well. Remember; drop the Third kick-ball change on the Third wall! (Nix the 3rd kick, 3rd wall, got it?) The restart simply fast-forwards to the middle of the dance, then turn to the front wall when you’re done. An especially endearing section Max accredits to THE SHIM SHAM, a Line Dance done by tap dancers in the Thirties. This particular section has a rocking motion with a heel lift (think the sways from Denise Boyle’s IT HAD TO BEYOU and add a half-hearted “hop.”) Easy footwork in great combinations, there is little syncopation. The hands-down-best-part-of-the-dance is the “sloppy” kick-ball-change rocks that look like a tap routine; they hit the lyrics perfectly! Fun stuff!

Max saved the best for last; PIECE OF A DREAM is exactly that! A beautiful nightclub two-step, Max gleaned this from the opening sequence of his LIVE & LET DIE, which premiered at the Worlds this year. The music he has chosen is “I Belong To You” by Anastacia & Eros Ramazzotti and it evokes the romantic movements this dance embraces. Although we didn’t have a step sheet to check ourselves, we danced this last night. We’re sure that we’re doing it right…because it just feels right. It made me realize this dance totally by-passed our heads and went straight into our hearts. You must know that there’s not a single step that requires years of dance training to master and yet this is one of the most beautiful dances you will ever see. Certainly one of the most beautiful dances you will ever do with your friends.