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Entertaining & Effective.
High-energy Comedic Chemistry.
Technical & Well-rounded.
Social & Approachable.

Print-ready Bios (for dance events)
Myles & Tessa:
Myles Munroe and Tessa Cunningham are Canada’s West Coast Swing Champions and the highest ranked international dancers on the NASDE circuit, consistently placing 1st or 2nd in the Showcase division and placing 2nd at the US Open for the past two years. Myles 24 years of diverse dance training includes 6 UCWDC World Championship titles, and Tessa brings academic expertise to the partnership with university degrees in both Kinesiology and Education. As performers, they are known for their cutting-edge artistic choreography, innovative and high-risk acrobatics, and enviable musical expression. Their extensive teacher training and experience and loveable delivery of correct foundational technique inspires and empowers students of all levels. They are ambassadors for modern, authentic West Coast Swing: teaching, judging, performing and competing all over the world. www.canadianswingchampions.com
Tessa Only:
Canadian West Coast Swing Champion Tessa Cunningham is one of the most admired followers on the Westie circuit. She is the highest ranked female international dancer on the NASDE circuit, and the winner of the first ever Jo Szymanski Pro Social Dancer Award. She has university degrees in both Human Kinetics and Education, and 20 years of teaching/coaching experience, which give her an incomparable insight to dance teaching methodology and movement analysis. She is known for her versatility, body control, and enviable musical expression, and has used her endless feminine creativity to produce the first ever ladies’ styling dvd trilogy. Her positive, high-energy, palatable delivery of correct foundational technique inspires and empowers students of all levels, and allows faster progression and access to more fun! www.canadianswingchampions.com

Events
Myles and Tessa are two of the hardest working professionals you will have on staff. Their deep technical understanding and magical comedic partnership allows them to deliver new technology to students, achieve maximum retention, and make it seem like a party. On post-event participant feedback forms, they are consistently ranked at the top of the list of “instructors you learned the most from”. Known for their humble Canadian character and approachability, they stay on the social dance floor till the wee hours of the morning, dancing with beginners and peers alike. They are a “complete package” draw to the event: they perform, they teach, they judge, and they social dance.

For dance events offering multiple workshops by multiple Pros, we can teach a variety of topics a la carte. In this case, event directors can choose any workshop title (from the Workshop Menu below) that suits the needs of their event and fits in their workshop schedule. Our recommendation is to place technique workshops towards the beginning of the weekend, so dancers have a chance to work on those skills over the course of the event. See Menu & Descriptions below.

Residencies
One step beyond a weekend intensive, we have a success with an artist-in-residence format in communities where West Coast Swing is very new and in demand. We reside in a community or region for multiple weeks, teaching not only intensive workshops, but also guest teaching in regular studio classes and doing private coaching and choreography. The key feature of this format is the ability to reach out to the dance teachers in the community and offer teacher training in West Coast Swing. The enables the teachers to continue the momentum generated through the weekend intensive.

Workshops

The Intensive Format
Our preferred method of teaching is the Intensive Weekend Workshop. It involves 3-5 hours of instruction per day, 2 or 3 days in a row. This format takes maximum advantage of our expertise: although a few patterns are taught to apply key concepts, the focus is on FUN technique, rather than patterns, which you can learn anywhere. This format allows us to get deeper and go further in explaining key concepts to students. It allows the content to follow a logical flow which maximizes students’ learning. Each class is a prerequisite to the ones preceeding. Students must have at least a basic understanding of West Coast Swing. Students should be STRONGLY ENCOURAGED or required to attend the whole workshop, and should be advised to expect both theory and practice.

The Master Class
 It is intended for the advanced dancers or instructors in your area who want an additional challenge or who share more specific goals. This can be an addition to a weekend intensive or a stand-alone workshop. If it is offered during a weekend intensive, interested students must attend the Intensive in order to gain access to the Master Class in order to avoid repetition. Event promoters should regulate access to the Master Class by making it “by invitation only”. The structure of the Master Class is up to you:
1. Semi-private Critique Session: Myles and Tessa offer individual feedback.
2. Teacher’s Inservice: Myles and Tessa explain their teaching methods and recommendations from the instructor’s perspective.
3. Skill Development: Intensive instruction and feedback on a particular topic such as spins, dips, lifts or Jack & Jills

The Crash Course Format
 This is designed to attract and inspire non-dancers and raw beginners to try dancing and sample different styles of Swing. The Crash Course would involve a minimum of 2 hours per group and can be Lindy Hop OR West Coast Swing, or a Lindy-WCS conversion class.

Workshop Menu
See WorkshopDescriptions for each title

Modern Shape of WCS

  • Space: The Final Frontier – Int/Adv
  • Thinking Outside the Slot – Beg/Int
  • Dance Sandbox – Adv
  • Speed Contrast – Int/Adv
  • The Progressive Slot – Int/Adv
  • What’s Your Angle? – Beg/Int
  • You Want Me to Put My What, Where?! – Int
  • Let’s Get Vertical – Int/Adv
  • SmartPartner – Beg/Int
  • “Post”er Child (Int/Adv)
  • Avoid “Post”traumatic Stress (Int/Adv)
  • Oh Snap! (Adv)

Elasticity & Momentum

  • The Boing Supremacy – Int/Adv
  • Stretch: The No-Brainer – Beg/Int.
  • The Slingshot Solution – Beg/Int
  • King of the CASL – all levels
  • Sustainable Swing – all levels
  • Thou Shalt Boing – Beg/Int
  • Momentum Mysteries

Footwork/Bodywork

  • Soul Train
  • Addition & Subtraction
  • Call & Answer
  • Stop & Go – Int/Adv
  • HitchHiker’s Guide to the Anchor – Int/Adv
  • Rhythm Section – Adv
  • Groove it or Lose It – all levels
  • Lower Body Lubrication – Beg/Int
  • You Want Me to do What with my What? – Beg/Int

Efficiency Upgrades

  • Mythbusters – all levels
  • Move like a Human! – all levels
  • You’re Working Too Hard – Beg/Int
  • OldSkool vs. Obsolete – Int
  • Problem-Strategy-Solution – all levels
  • Sustainable Swing – all levels
  • Swing Therapy – all levels

Turn Technique

  • A Turn for the Better – all levels
  • Rotation Rotation Rotation! – all levels
  • You Spin Me Right Round Baby – all levels

Musicality

  • Groove It or Lose It
  • Show Me the Music – all levels
  • Musicology 101,102, etc – all levels
  • Musical Movement – Int/Adv
  • The Emergency Break – Int
  • Lyrical vs Rhythmic Movement – Int/Adv
  • Song Study – Int/Adv

Lead/Follow

  • Hands On – Beg/Int
  • Under Pressure – Beg/Int
  • Drivers’ Manual – all levels
  • The Invitation Lead – all levels
  • The Conversation of WCS – Int.
  • The Art of Play – Int
  • The Art of Closed – Int/Adv
  • Down & Dirty Blues - Int
  • Synergy Skills for Advanced Lead/Follow – Int/Adv
  • The Puppet Effect – all levels
  • Make Lemonade – All levels
  • What Women Want – Int.

Patterns

  • Click Magnet
  • Stop, Drop & Roll?
  • Busting the Blender – all levels
  • Graceful Exits – Int/Adv
  • Lego My Patterns: Pirate Ship – Int/Adv
  • Lego My Patterns: Space Ship, etc… – Int/Adv
  • Rollercoaster – Int/Adv
  • Whip me, Dip me, Slide me, Ride me – Int/Adv
  • Double Your Pattern Vocabulary – Beg/Int
  • Moves that Make You Giggle – Int
  • Dip It Good - Int.
  • Just Desserts – all levels
  • The Whip Kit – Beg/Int
  • Nice Pass, Wanna Tuck? – Beg
  • Quack – Int/Adv

Mens/Womens Styling

  • Sensual Styling Secrets for Women
  • Diva Training
  • The Goddess Movement
  • Masculine Movement Mysteries for Men
  • Dance Like a Dude
Specialty Classes
  • Swing C.L.I.C. (Community Leadership Inspiration Challenge)
  • Strong Start (Newcomers teaching methodology: teachers may audit)
  • Critique Session
  • Keynote Sessions (at beginning and end of weekend)
  • Competition Prep
  • Teachers Q&A
  • Performance Points: the difference between Finals and Placing
  • Choreographed Routine

Beginner Basics

  • WCS From Scratch – Beg
  • WCS Starter Kit – Beg

Conversion/Crossover

  • Intro to WCS for Experienced Lindy Hoppers
  • Intro to WCS for Experienced Salsa Dancers