Sarah Balzat last joined us to talk about her entry into salsa and her focus on learning about different body types in dancing. We are lucky to welcome Sarah back to talk this time about Embodied Philosophy - her toolkit for salsa teaching, dancing, choreographing and even everyday life. Embodied Philosophy seeks to create synergy between top down (verbal information) and bottom up (sensations through movement) forms of learning to become better in touch with the balance between body and mind. Learning is a process and Sarah suggests that we should lean into this process - let’s spend less time adding new moves upon new moves to our repertoire and instead take the time to fully acquire new knowledge and enjoy the learning process.
What to expect in this episode:
(00:42) - What is Embodied Philosophy?
(03.54) - A feeling in practice - sadness - how does our body express this?
(05:14) - We all want to be part of a community - now we need to practise the skills
(07:50) - Do you use dancing as a way to get out of your head? Is that even possible?
(10:40) - A worked example of Embodied Philosophy
(14:09) - From mind to body to create a salsa learning cycle
(18:44) - Challenging how we think about learning - changed behaviour
(20:38) - Learning through sensation vs learning through information
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