DR. MARTIN D’COSTA

Dancesport Champion from Goa       By Nancy De souza

For a full-fledged resident doctor at the Sanjeevani Hospital, Vasco da Gama to win the 5th All India Dancesport Championship is certainly no mean achievement. While medicine suggests serious business, ballroom dancing brings to mind having a fun time, twirling and swirling around the dance floor with one’s partner. But there’s nothing further from the truth as Dr. Martin elucidates.

Most   international dance champions start early, as young as age six! But Dr. Martin got interested in dancing in his late 20′s   about   the ..time   when he started courting Flossy, now his lovely wife. Wanting to learn to dance, the young couple initially bought instructional tapes that taught ballroom dancing and started off. Soon Dr. Martin developed an insatiable passion for dancing and went all out to learn the A to Z of dancing, which process has not yet stopped.

When he first started to tango or waltz, Dr. Martin discovered that he was almost a natural and almost everyone admired him and Flossy each time they took to the dance floor. After a stint of working in Mumbai, he returned to Goa and friends egged him to start a dance school that taught authentic ballroom dancing. Although Goa is the most westernized Indian state with many Goans   dancing weddings and balls,  such institutions were pretty non­existent. So   Dr.  Martin started “Dance Illusions” five years ago at Vasco.

As  passionate  as he is  about dancing, Dr. Martin is equally enthused about teaching the correct techniques in ballroom dancing. He joined the All India Dancesport Federation and soon started the Goa Dancesport Association.  As  he explains,  ballroom dancing is not merely a method of chilling on the dance floor but an art form and a physical sport which involves not only proper techniques, footwork, line figures and flow craft as well as being attuned to the music and keeping to the beat.

Ballroom dancing is divided into two categories, Latin and Standard. The Latin dances include the Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Jive and the Paso Doble while the Standard dances consist of the Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep and the Viennese waltz. Each dance has its own steps, music, technicalities, syllabus and even examinations!

In order to teach properly and to train his students to qualify for Dancesport and other competitions, he has invested in studying advanced dancing skills and regularly visits Asian champions in Bangkok and Singapore for personal lessons. This investment in time and money paid rich dividends in that he and his team won the 5″‘ All India Dancesport Championship held in Mysore in June beating Maharashtra which includes more than 10 dance schools! Besides, Flossy and he were Gold Medalists twice in earlier Dancesport competitions.

As part of his contribution to society, Dr. Martin has held special 10-day classes for the prisoners at Fort Aguada Prison and at Sada Jail where he taught around 55 students totally.

Dr. Martin now holds regular classes in Vasco, Margao and Panjim in Authentic ballroom dancing.   He has around 30-35 student-clients of various age groups. They include doctors, teachers, engineers, executives, Naval officers and school children. His social ballroom dance classes, held on Sunday mornings at Margao, are tailored to his clients’ requirements where he teaches social ballroom only

Dr. Martin makes every effort to learn, practice and teach with perfection authentic ballroom dancing, all this between his work and his family. He hopes that in future Goans will dance the International Style of ballroom, the authentic ballroom and that Goa will always be National champions. The Sports Authority of Goa needs to recognize this achievement and encourage team Goa financially Let’s applaud Dr. Martin D’Costa, Goa’s very own professional Dance Master and Indias Standard Dancesport Champion!

Dance Illusion : GET SET THIS CHRISTMAS TO DANCE THE Illusion way NEW BATCH FOR SUNDAY SOCIAL BALLROOM CLASSES starts on NOV 13 at clube Harmonia 10.30AM to 1.30 pm for 5 consecutive Sundays

Rs.1,000 per person with certification and Free music cd

FOR REGISTRATION CALL 9823014397

Dance Illusion : Dr Martin and team would be starting basic regular classes from 12th September in Margao, 13th September in Vasco and from the 14th September at  Panjim for children and adults. All classes are held twice a week / one dance for one month /12 hours session. Modern Goan Jive in Margao, Samba in Vasco and International Jive at Panjim. Kindly contact 9823014397 for details

MODERN GOAN JIVE

“Modern Jive is a dance style derived from Swing, Lindy Hop, Rock and Roll, Salsa and others, the main innovation being to simplify the footwork – by removing syncopation  such as chasse. The term French Jive is occasionally used instead, reflecting the origins of the style. The word modern distinguishes it from ballroom Jive.”

Starting date: 12th September, 2011 Mondays/Thursdays at 8.00 p.m.

SAMBA

Even though the Samba is originally from Africa, it is the national dance of Brazil, so it is also known as the Brazilian Samba. Even today, the Samba is danced solo on the streets of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro during carnivals. It has a lot of upper and lower body movement with a lot of head gear and very little on the body as costumes.

In 1950, an American play called ‘Street Carnival’ did over 200 shows all over Europe, making the Samba tremendously popular. This play was the first to have a man and a woman dancing the Samba together.

When the Latin American Ballroom Association was formed in 1955, it set rules and regulations for the Samba and made it one of their official dances. The Samba is said to be RHYTHMIC… ANIMALISTIC… EXOTIC… and SEXY… and is popular for its variety of rhythms and body isolation moves.

The Samba is one of the fastest of all the Latin American Ballroom Dances. It is danced at the rate of 50 beats per minute.

Its count is 1A 2.
The mood of Samba is – ‘FESTIVE’.

Starting date: 13th September, Tuesdays/Fridays at 7.15 p.m.

Dance Illusion : Dr Martin and team would be starting basic regular classes from 8th August, 2011 in Margao, 9th August, 2011 in Vasco and 10th August, 2011 in Panjim for children and adults. All classes are held twice a week / one dance for one month /12 hours session. RUMBA the first dance to start your Latin dances will be in MARGAO. Ballroom Samba in PANJIM and JIVE in Vasco kindly contact 9823014397 for details

JIVE

Like the cha cha, the Jive has no country of origin. The mix of the Jive is similar to BOOGIE, JITTERBUG, WEST COAST SWING, LINDY HOP and most of all the ROCK ‘n’ ROLL… To dance the Jive effectively, one must be able to do a great mix of all… the Jive is a FUN FILLED… CARE FREE… and a RELAXED dance…

In 1954, The Latin American Ballroom Association mixed the all the above dances, and came up with the JIVE, keeping it either fast or slow depending upon the interpretation of music, style and choreography.

The Jive is one of the fastest of all the Latin American dances with a speed of 44 beats per minute. This dance, with all of its kicks and flicks, requires a tremendous amount of stamina.

Its count is 1 2 3A 4 5A 6.
The mood of Jive is – ‘FUN’

Dance Illusion : Dr Martin and team would be starting basic regular classes from 11th July in Margao, 12th July in Vasco and from the 13th July at  Panjim for children and adults. All classes are held twice a week / one dance for one month /12 hours session. Rumba the first dance to start your Latin dances will be in Panjim. Ballroom Samba in Margao and Waltz in Vasco kindly contact 9823014397 for details

SAMBA

Even though the Samba is originally from Africa, it is the national dance of Brazil, so it is also known as the Brazilian Samba. Even today, the Samba is danced solo on the streets of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro during carnivals. It has a lot of upper and lower body movement with a lot of head gear and very little on the body as costumes.

In 1950, an American play called ‘Street Carnival’ did over 200 shows all over Europe, making the Samba tremendously popular. This play was the first to have a man and a woman dancing the Samba together.

When the Latin American Ballroom Association was formed in 1955, it set rules and regulations for the Samba and made it one of their official dances. The Samba is said to be RHYTHMIC… ANIMALISTIC… EXOTIC… and SEXY… and is popular for its variety of rhythms and body isolation moves.

The Samba is one of the fastest of all the Latin American Ballroom Dances. It is danced at the rate of 50 beats per minute.

Its count is 1A 2.
The mood of Samba is – ‘FESTIVE’.

WALTZ

“The waltz is a ballroom and folk  dance in About this sound 3/4  time, performed primarily in closed position. Waltz is a smooth progressive dance characterized by long, flowing movements, continuous turns, and rise & fall. Graceful and elegant, Waltz dancers glide around the floor almost effortlessly. At 28-30 measures per minute, the tempo is slow at best, but the expressive quality of the music often invites very powerful and dynamic movement from dancers. ”

As reported in Herald – Heartbeat

Dance Illusions were declared the winners in standard Ballroom Champions 2011 with 13 Golds Medals, 3 Silvers Medals and One Bronze Medal.

Click to view slideshow.

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Dance Illusion : Dr Martin and team would be starting ballroom classes Level 1 (prebasis and basic) from 12th May, 2011 at Margao with WALTZ on Monday and Thursday at 8 pm at BM hall . From 13th May, 2011 at Vasco with TANGO on Tuesday and Friday at 7.15 pm at Flintstone and from 14th May, 2011 at Panjim with JIVE on Wednesday/ Saturday at 7.00 pm at Hotel Campal, all classes are twice a week each session 4weeks / 101 mins duration, Call 07709787671 or 9823014397

Sunday Social BALLROOM batch starts on 22 MAY MArgao

WALTZ

“The waltz is a ballroom and folk  dance in About this sound 3/4  time, performed primarily in closed position. Waltz is a smooth progressive dance characterized by long, flowing movements, continuous turns, and rise & fall. Graceful and elegant, Waltz dancers glide around the floor almost effortlessly. At 28-30 measures per minute, the tempo is slow at best, but the expressive quality of the music often invites very powerful and dynamic movement from dancers. ”

TANGO

The word ‘Tango’ is thought to be of African origin and denotes a ‘Meeting Place’ or ‘Special Place’. However, the Tango itself is not African in origin. The Tango actually comes from Argentina.

Passionate, sensual and tantalizing, the tango is many things to many people. In the 19th Century due to war and economic uncertainty, many Europeans were moving to South America to start new lives. By 1914, the Europeans had out numbered the natives of Argentina. There were also many more men in Buenos Aires than women. Fifty men for each woman. So, to get more women to dance with them, men started to hire café waitresses.

Soon, women started to dance only for money and not for the pleasure of dance. They would hold themselves back, grounding themselves so that it became difficult for the man to move them around the floor. That got the men angry, which is why the mood of the Tango is ‘Passionate yet Angry’. The knees bent position of the men that dance the Tango is because of the gaucho’s (cow boys’) boots that had hardened from excessive use. The lady would have her head turned away due to the excessive sweating of the man.

In 1924, a movie titled ‘The Four Horse Men’ starring Rudolph Valentino made people notice the Tango. In 1930, the Standard Ballroom Association accepted Tango as one of their official dances by making lots of changes in its style and calling it the ‘Modern Tango’.

They gave it a speed of 33 BPM.

It is counted in Slows and Quicks.
Keeping the mood the same – ‘Passionate yet Angry’.