Eric Jacobson is an accomplished dance instructor specializing in technique, partnership, and musicality. He is well-known for his fun, engaging teaching style and his articulate, detailed instruction.

Eric has been dancing since the winter of 2000, when he learned lindy hop, ballroom, and latin. Two years later, he began his study of West Coast Swing and he quickly moved up the ranks to become a top-level competitor. He has not only mastered technique, connection, and partner communication, but he also brings an innate sense of musicality and soul to his dancing.

Eric is acclaimed for his innovative and flexible teaching style and his ability to effectively communicate with all kinds of students. He has studied adult learning and instructional design, and he has even trained other teachers to deliver high-quality instruction. He founded Mission City Swing in San Francisco and developed the educational program there, which grew to train hundreds of dancers each year. While he emphasizes a strong foundation in technique and partnership, he always infuses important aspects of the social nature of swing into his lessons, including musicality, improvisation, and especially communication.

If you’re interested in private lessons, workshops, or intensives, please contact Eric.

NAKED WHAT?

naked basics started as a blog dedicated to advancing social dancing through observation, analysis, and discussion. The content presented in the blog ranges from technique and dance concepts to the competitive and social worlds to teaching and learning. Hopefully, through greater awareness and understanding, we can help ourselves to improve and make our dance community grow and thrive.

So what’s with the name?

The idea is simple: by stripping your dancing down to its bare essentials you can better understand the universal principles of movement and partnership. With clean, naked basics you can achieve better flow and mechanics, create consistent and effective communication, and, ultimately, discover more creative opportunities within the dance. Once you master the basics, you can dress ’em up however you like (or however the music tells you to dress ’em up).

So take off your clothes, explore the fundamentals of movement, open yourself to a greater partnership, and have a better dance experience!