Cordoba & Szekely follow-up

Robert Cordoba and Deborah Szekely were here giving a two-day workshop at the Palladium this past weekend. Due to schedule conflicts, Debra and I couldn’t attend all of their sessions. However, we did manage to go to their Hustle segment. All we can say is these two are fun, informative, and are well capable of showing you how it’s done.

Because I provided some background about Robert and Deborah in a prior blog, I won’t go into their credentials again. If you missed my blog and are still curious about this couple, here’s the link: http://townelite.blogspot.com/2011/11/cordoba-szekley.html I also scanned one of their cards, which I posted below.

In addition to the Saturday afternoon Hustle session, Debra and I went to the Swing Dance Club Hawaii’s social on Sunday evening. While we were there, we chatted with some friends, including Sandy, who told us that all of the workshops were great and, especially, the West Coast Swing workshop where they spent some time on pauses and hesitations which give each dancer a lot of freedom of expression either individually, or as a couple. Too bad we missed that session. We’re trying to learn WCS - well . . ., me, more than Debra, because I have to be able to lead it and Debra seems to be a natural. :-)

What really caught our attention was their little demonstrations or mini-exhibitions. I’m not sure if this couple is still actively competing, but they have some pretty slick moves. I’ve attached a brief clip of their impromptu dance. I didn’t get their permission to video or to post any videos of their performance so it’s just a really short clip just to give you an idea of what they look like - just casually dancing for a small social audience. I think you’ll agree, they’re pretty good. Those of you who were there and saw their performance know what I mean.

We also talked briefly with Robert and Deborah at the social. We found out that they do like to occasionally vacation in Hawaii. And, while they’re here, they certainly wouldn’t mind getting in a little workshop or coaching time to cover some of their travel expenses - hey, why not. And, they do welcome private lessons at a reasonable cost.

In addition to West Coast Swing and Hustle, they also teach the Nightclub 2-Step and some of the American Rhythm dances. We also found out that Robert danced and competed, at one time, with Brian Watson’s former partner - before Carmen. So, he’s got a little experience competing in International Latin, and Standard as well. And, Deborah is no pushover. She's a powerhouse that keeps everybody on the right track. Anyway, if you like these types of dances, keep an eye out for their return to Hawaii.

Carolyn Noah did a great job organizing and coordinating the Cordoba-Szekely workshops. Hope she does it again in the near future.

With Aloha,
Calvin & Debra