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Please Note:  As of 2010, Claudine has taken a leave of absence from teaching.

INSTRUCTOR REVIEW
(Originally posted on Salsaweb NY)
Claudine Curry is yet another female to hit the New York Mambo scene. This talented next generation Mambo Instructor has a background in Mambo, Cha-Cha, Hustle, Swing, Ballroom, Jazz and Flamenco. A student of Jimmy Anton, she began by assisting Jimmy with his classes before heading out on her own. Though relatively an unknown in NY, she has developed a loyal following of students since beginning her teaching career in 1996. Like many other of the NY Instructors that I respect, she doesn’t actively seek publicity. She loves to teach and dance mambo. Most of her students arrive at her doorsteps mainly via word of mouth. As a performer she has traveled to LA and Washington, DC. She was member and director of the Curvas Peligrosas Dance Team which performed at Jimmy’s Anton’s Social Dance, the 1^st Annual Salsaweb Convention (1999) and the 1^st Congreso Mundial de la Salsa in NY (1999).

Claudine teaches all her classes by herself. She has made it a point to learn how to lead, just like many of the more popular male instructors have learned how to follow. Her classes are evenly populated by both men and women with an interesting age range varying between the young dance generation to those who are at the age of retirement (Which goes to show you that Mambo does not discriminate or has age barriers). Claudine is a soft spoken, humble and gentle woman who surprises people with the ease in which she manages to communicate concepts and skills during class. That’s because this mambo instructor also teaches English and Spanish to high school freshman students and applies those skills to her dance class.

As in most mambo classes, Claudine divides her classes into two segments (open floor shines & partner work). During the first half of the class, she leads her students through a series of open floor shines. Claudine will begin by reviewing some of the older shines known by the students in class before moving onto new ones. Shines are broken down verbally to the count of the clave (1,2,3-5,6,7), then performed to music. She’ll stop after each shine to go over any rough spots students may be experiencing at that time. Students are taught shines in both men and ladies timing so that her male students can relate to the timing they are expected to use during partner work. Her thoughts are clear, easy to understand and well organized. She projects an aura of calm/patience which puts students at ease with whatever difficulty they may be experiencing at that time. This lets them know that its okay to mess up and that they’ll get better with a little more practice.

The second half of the class focuses on partner work. Students are asked to pair off and form two rows. Claudine positions herself in line to play the lead or male role. In order to get them started, she’ll begin with a warm-up pattern that students already know. The pattern is first done to the count of the clave and then to music. The pace only stops whenever time is needed to clean up rough spots or provide pointers. Partners rotate every couple cycles so that everyone has a chance to learn what it feels like to dance with different partners. This rotation system also keeps the class alive and buzzing with energy. A new turn pattern is then broken down. First students run through the pattern with no count to get familiar with the sequence of moves. Then the pattern is broken down to the count of the clave and finally its practice to music. Detail is given to movements for both men and women. At this point Claudine will demonstrate how to get in and out of the close position, then add the warm-up pattern to the entire sequence. The idea is to challenge students and provide them with a blueprint on how to smoothly flow from one turn pattern to the next when dancing. Its an excellent way for beginners to get their feet wet.

Claudine's Style in a nutshell
Claudine is an old friend and one of my favorite people to dance with. I’m so happy that she has evolved into such a good instructor. If I were to describe her style of mambo dancing, I would say that she has a smooth, elegant style of dancing. The emphasis is not on what I would call Latin "Sabor", but rather a delicate, dainty method of expressing herself. She is always smiling and is a pleasure to dance with. So if your looking to add a little more grace and elegance into your dancing then Claudine Curry may be the instructor for you.

Please Note:  We currently have no up-to-date information on Claudine Curry's salsa activities.

Social Dance:

Website:

Articles:

• Photo Essay of Curvas Peligrosas Performing on 5/17/99

Instructional Videos

• None at this time.

Dance Company

• Claudine is the former Director of "Curvas Peligrosas Dance Company" and currently
  has periodic student performing groups.
• See listing in the SalsaNewYork Directory of Mambo Performing Groups
• Check SalsaNewYork Calender for Dance Company Performances