TED 26 | Enabling ALL Body Types in Salsa with Sarah Balzat

The Empowered Dancers Podcast

Despite starting out in singing, Sarah Balzat has been dancing most of her life. Sarah has an incredible mind when it comes to her approaches to teaching salsa and salsa dancing itself and today she joins us to talk about her unusual entry into salsa in Germany in the 90s and the power of bringing philosophy and vulnerability onto the dance floor, both in terms of teaching and learning. With nearly 25 years of teaching experience, Sarah has been learning about different body types in dancing and has accumulated a variety of solutions for different body types of all ages and levels Being part of transforming peoples' understanding of their bodies is a huge honour for Sarah and something she is always working to improve on. Whether you are new to dancing or have been dancing forever, Sarah will challenge your way of thinking and leave you wanting more.
What to expect in this episode:
(01:03) - Finding salsa through family and community
(04:08) - A VHS video as a way to learn salsa!
(07:28) - How our childhood music influences our groove
(08:47) - The confrontation within salsa dancing
(12:28) - We are all vulnerable - that is our superpower
(15:30) - Classes have the culture that the teacher promotes
(17:48) - We all have different body types - let’s celebrate that
(21:45) - You don’t fit in the box? Throw the box away!
About Sarah Balzat
Sarah has a Bachelor's degree in Classical and Contemporary Dance and a Master's degree from Palucca School Dresden in Choreography and Dance Education and this helps her to build a bridge between the arts and education. While her professional education was focused on Ballet, Contemporary and Modern forms of expression, Afro-Cuban Movement culture has been her focus since 1999 along with a dedication to the study and analysis of different dance techniques and embracing all body types on the dance floor.
Connect with Sarah Balzat
Online: https://www.yerba-buena.de/Teachers-Program
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_balzat/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yerba_buena_art/

About Bobbie Miles:
Bobbie Miles is a social dancer and empowerment coach in the salsa, bachata, and kizomba scene. Dancing is a happy place for Bobbie, as it is for so many. In order to foster safer dance spaces for all dancers, Bobbie is on a mission to promote more accountability and responsibility surrounding boundaries, consent and safety within the community through education and conversations that matter. Bobbie is a coach and advocate for speaking up, boundary setting, and promoting respect in the dance scene. Through The Empowered Dancers Podcast, she promotes transparency, understanding, and accountability and as a coach and public speaker, she focuses on boundary setting and respect in practice, both on and off the dance floor.
Resources:
Download my 5 Top Tips to boost your confidence on any dance night! https://empowereddancers.com/5tips
Practice saying NO on the dance floor: empowereddancers.com/no
Connect with Bobbie Miles
Follow me on Instagram @theempowereddancerspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/theempowereddancerspodcast
Find me on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bobbiemilesbailadora
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA8pcAq9lXttVf9w9lDb1bQ?sub_confirmation=1