Mambo workshp with Sean Bristol by Sofia Ivanova

Seaon and his partner Amanda were in Chicago April 5th and 6th, to teach a mambo workshop.

Saturday's workshop started with a spin class that challenged everyone. Seaon demonstrated spinning drills that will definitely improve one's spinning capabilities with practice. He talked about proper posture, relaxing the shoulders, tightening your abs, and prepping for multiple turns.

The next three classes focused on partner moves and footwork. There were quite a few beginners in the class and Seaon kept it basic. He appeared rather tired and mentioned that he and Amanda have been through a rather grueling schedule for the past 3 months working 7 days a week.

Seaon has been dancing for the past 10 years, and one thing that he mentioned was the fact that every time he has danced, he always counts. He said that's the only true way to know whether you're dancing on time.

Sunday's workshop began with a styling class. Seaon demonstrated body isolations and how to put it all together. This was an excellent class because he broke down the moves so that we could master them little by little without trying to do everything all at once.

One of the men in the class commented that he didn't feel very masculine doing some of the styling moves such as rolling his hips and shoulders. Seaon had a lot to say about this topic. He told us how 10 years ago when he first started dancing and was incorporating body and hip rolls back in New York, many people made unflattering comments about his style, as he was one of the first men to also follow. After 4 years he went to Los Angeles and said he received more support in 4 days than he ever did in his 4 years in New York. Shortly after that he moved to LA and has been there ever since.

His dance company is the only one in LA that dances on2 (New York style mambo). He said in LA it really doesn't matter because all of the dance companies support each other. If one of them is performing somewhere, all of the other dance companies come out to cheer for them. If one of them is having a party, the other companies show up and perform for free. He said they all dance with each other and genuinely like one another. They treat each other like family.

Seaon also said that when it comes to dancing, we should take the racism and sexism out of it and just move to the music. That's what the dance is all about, expressing it through the movement of one's body. One thing is certain, he and Amanda know how to move. While watching Amanda during the styling lesson, she moves in one fluid motion; from her arms, to her body, and down to her legs. She makes it look so effortless and so beautiful. As one of the students said, she is one complete dancer!

The rest of the workshop included more partner moves and footwork. The shine combination that Seaon taught was especially challenging and many of the students stayed after class to practice it.

All of the visiting instructors have their own unique style, and Seaon is certainly no exception. Regardless of how others originally felt about his dancing, he didn't let it dissuade him from expressing himself in his own way.

Today he is a highly sought after instructor and performer.