THE ARTISTS: Derrick Curtis & Trudie Olsen-Curtis
DANCE AT THE TOP OF THE HILL!
photo: Am Wu
Years Dancing: Derrick Curtis has been teaching and dancing in Santa Barbara over 20 years. He and his wife/partner have been teaching and dancing together for 11 of those 20 years.
About Derrick and Trudie: Derrick Curtis is a physical education specialist and recreation therapist at Montessori Center School. Derrick has taught dance in Santa Barbara for more than 22 years as a recreation therapist and ballroom dance instructor. Trudie’s experience as a classroom teacher, coupled with years of professional ballroom training and dancing has given Trudie the capacity to guide you with patience, compassion and humor towards a high level of expertise and comfort. Trudie received her dance training from David Alvarez, Leslie Sack and Derrick Curtis at Santa Barbara Dance Center. In addition to performing for BASSH at the Lobero Theater for the past eight years, Trudie offers instruction and performance for private and corporate parties, weddings, private and group lessons, as well as school-based children's programs.
Derrick & Trudie offer instruction in Ballroom emphasizing both Smooth & Latin rhythms, Club Dances (Night Club Two Step, Salsa, Chicago Two Step, West Coast Swing) Line Dances (Cha Cha Slide, Electric Slide, Hustle) and Party Dances (Cotton Eye Joe, Virginia Reel, Macarena and more) through their business, Embody Dance. They teach movement and motor skills development for toddler’s ages 3 to 5 years and together they implement ongoing youth dance programs at Santa Barbara Dance Center.
Derrick was an assistant instructor with Kay Fulton at Santa Barbara City College and the Adult Education ballroom dance program. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance and The Brotherhood of Santa Barbara. He has been the production director for BASSH (ballroom, argentine tango, swing, salsa and hip hop) the annual dance concert showcase at the Lobero Theater.
He has performed in the swing dance troupe, “The Flying Lindy Hoppers” and choreographed dance routines for Santa Barbara Youth Theater, BASSH, Multi-Cultural Festival, and Solstice. Derrick created the Stomp Out Tobacco Swing Nights and promoted the Yucatan Swing Nights. Derrick is the recipient of SBDA’s 12 Lifetime Achievement Award for contribution to dance in Santa Barbara.
About the dances:
Swing, Lindy Hop & Charleston - Boogie Woogie Dancin' Shoes (Swing Kings)
The granddaddy of all swing dancing was created in Harlem in the late 1920's. This exciting dance incorporates footwork based on the Charleston, Boogie Woogie break away steps, freezes, and 6-count and 8-count traveling steps. It's an energetic, swinging', happy dance that can be danced to slow or fast swing music.
Cha Cha Cha - Hola Chica (unknown artist), a medley of rumba and cha cha. Rumba music by Robert Thicke; cha cha composer, unknown. The Cha-cha is the youngest of the "Latin" dances. It is a true American dance, developed in the dance studios in the early 50's as a mid-tempo variant between Rumba (a slow dance) and Mambo (a very fast dance). The dance is flashy, sassy and full of itself. The Cha-cha styling is very similar to the Rumba and the Mambo.