Always an adventure, we are thrilled to welcome them back to the New River Valley and see what new thing they can add to our dancing. Don't miss out on this awesome opportunity!

Mark your calendars - details will be available soon.

- Workshops

- Semi-Private lessons

- Private lessons

Sam and Denise are available for private lessons on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Slots are filled on a first-come, first-choice basis - so don't wait to reserve your spot.

The Millers, awesome at every dance they do, would be especially good to work with in the following styles: West Coast Swing, East Coast Swing, Hustle, Cha Cha, Waltz, Polka, Night Club Two-Step, Country Two-Step, Salsa, Argentine Tango, and more. Or, rather than limiting yourself to one style, work on general movement, turn techniques, lead and follow connection, or (my favorite) posture.

Singles, couples, or small groups of students with similar interests and dance levels are all welcome. While we'd be happy to make suggestions for small groups, we do ask that you organize/coordinate your own partners and groups.

The cost is $75 for a full hour private lesson, made payable to Sapphire Ballroom & Dance Center. Cost of semi-privates is determined by participation.

Please contact Sapphire as soon as possible if interested: info@sapphiredance.com or 540-382-8782.

About the Millers' "Mechanics" of Dance

Sam and Denise split their dancing into a few levels, the first, and most important, of which is called "Mechanics." Anyone who has taken lessons with them in past has heard of their revolutionary “Language of Dance” (i.e. dance in place, walk forward, walk back) and gravity connection. No doubt, with practice, you will experience the ease that these techniques add to your dancing.

If you have not heard these concepts at all, we strongly recommend you take the Friday evening “Better-Than-A-Movie” workshop before embarking on the 1-hour workshops given on Saturday or Sunday.

The workshops planned for Saturday and Sunday all address Mechanics concepts and are designed to help you achieve results that follow natural movement and the laws of physics. The wealth of concepts, techniques, and types of patterns at this level include the following:

• Language (dance in place, walk forward, walk back)
• Posture, frame, and leading through posture and core movement
• Rhythm and leading patterns with alternate timing
• Connection and embrace, dealing with patterns that require more several changes or alter the basic flow of the dance
• Positioning, focusing on some patterns that require precise, detailed positioning
• Spacing (personal vs. intimate) and moving in & out of closer body connection or embrace
• Leading and following direction, distance, and head positions
• Turning, foot placement, timing weight changes, spotting and head position, open arm versus closed arm, and meeting the lead
• Leading turns, timing, 4 energy points, turn position with hands, and more
• Footwork, foot articulation, and other concepts related to the characterization of the dance
• Vertical preps, linear preps, and contra body preps

Our goal is to rotate through these concepts, adding some new ideas and having some overlap and review with each visit from Sam & Denise. Varying material each time will allow you to apply the familar concepts in a new context, in addition to mastering each workshops' highlighted concepts.

We hope that you'll come back over and over again: there's always more to learn and room to get better and better.