IT’S MORE THAN JUST A JOB. IT’S A CALLING.
MY BIOGRAPHY
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Michael Schmalzbauer
Dance Professional & Movement Analyst
“when quality is your choice.”Here you can find out more about my professional career and dance background, expertise, training, qualifications, and interests. What does DaProMovA stand for and which projects am I passionate about and what else enriches my life?
Get to know me personally
MY CHARACTERISTICS
Of course, it is very difficult to describe yourself in a truthful manner – one always wants to present themselves in a good light.
However, through this interactive tool, you will learn a lot about me and will find out WHY and HOW I am doing WHAT I do.
If you would like more information about any of these points, apart from my Service, I would gladly take the time to discuss them in detail with you. Just contact me by mail at contact@michaelschmalzbauer.at or phone at +43 676 490 80 83 in order to arrange a non-binding meeting, so we get to know each other.
THE PHILOSOPHER
“I only know what cold is like when I have experienced what hot is! Although I like exploring the limits in order to expand my horizons to the “internal” and the “external”, I always try to find the balance and harmony in the middle. Based on this, the truth for me lies in bringing both aspects closer together.”
THE STUDENT
“Meeting unique characters and personalities, exchanging ideas and vision with them, but most of all learning what moves you, is what motivates me, nurtures my hunger for knowledge and shapes my educational goals.”
THE TEACHER
“My goal is to inspire people and take them where they feel at home. Through dancing and my approach to movement I strive to open the door to new insights; to strengthen your own perception and contentment and provide access to the autodidact appropriation of topics.”
THE DANCER
“I love to engage myself in movement, learn in an autodidactic way, listen attentively to the music and discover its characteristics. In the creative fusion of different styles, I combine and express my dance choreographic form and emotional content.”
THE ARTIST
“The human body, as an expression medium with its unique form and substance, fascinates and impresses me. To recognize body aesthetics and geometrical structures and provide contents, defines my creativity and my broad-spectrum interests as an artist.”
THE SCIENTIST
“The understanding for the small, as well as the big things of life is my catalyst. Whether space or quantum, everything is mysterious and interesting. The constant questioning, the building of
hypotheses and the curiosity for the material and the non-material are the foundations of my empirical research.”
Reaching Goals Together
MY SERVICES
To explore all 6 different services, position the cursor between any two icons and press while scrolling.
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©AIM-Teaching
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Choreographing
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Coaching
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Lecturing
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Consulting
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Judging
©AIM-Teaching
I teach dancers on all levels on a daily basis – from beginners to advanced, in individual, couple, or group lessons – in accordance with the training philosophy that I created called © AIM model. Through my expertise as a state-certified dance coach (ÖTSV) and dance master (VTÖ), as well as my experience as a performance artist and founder of a dance ensemble, I teach ballroom dancing, mental and strategic guidance in dance sport, dance theory and body work, dance-specific music theory and basic knowledge about dance and movement.
In order to make it easy for you to grasp, understand, and be able to reproduce the content of the dance in a long-term perspective, I use systematically reproducible tools according to the individual type of learner that you are. A clear verbal communication (auditory aspect), combined with the method of active movement demonstration and imitation (visual / motoric aspect), with precise hands-on techniques (tactile – kinesthetic), is important to me. Feedback, consultation, and a joint discussion (communication exchange aspect) about the learned topics, as well as concrete exercise instructions and the plan for our next lesson, complete the learning process.
The joint development of different didactic-methodical concepts is a result of the combination between my activities for various training institutions on a national and international level.
In order to find out details contents-wise, refer to section MY PRODUCT LINE (Private Lesson). For further information on the scope of activities I engage in, continue exploring MY SERVICES section.
Choreographing
Dance movement is based on simple, mechanically coordinated basic actions that are organized in a defined temporal and qualitative relation with one another, thus enabling an economic movement flow and creating a functionally aesthetic form. Those dance figures built up from these basic actions or combined movement patterns can be put together into attractive choreographies in a variety of ways within the framework of the technical characteristics of the corresponding dance style. Each dance (style) has its own movement vocabulary and its rules regarding presentation and performance.
In addition to striving to perfect the form of the dancers’ sequences, the requirement for quality involves substantial analysis of the dance movement stylistic. However, just a form or an aesthetic movement without meaning and contents, is nothing more than merely kitsch. Whether the goal is to convey a traditional-classical, contemporary-abstract, avant-garde-extravagant or artistic-polarizing thematic message, choreography should always contain with a message for the viewer; this is my personal vision and criterion for a touching and powerful choreography.
Check out www.dance-characters.at for some of my group and show choreographies.
Coaching
The first step in the development of a successful coaching concept is to ask yourself the question WHY you are doing a certain dance project, or WHY you want to build a dance (sport) career, or WHY you and your partner want to pursue this particular goal. The next step is to answer the question: “HOW do I / we imagine our cooperation?” So we can define the framework of our joint interaction. The WHAT in the implementation is the last step, the step of open communication and mutual trust. The confidence in qualitative mentoring, however, is never a result from the intensity of a single supervised unit, but is manifested only in the sum of many small actions, combined with a broad spectrum of approaches, over a period of time.
How are you today?
Do you have any deep concerns?
Do you still enjoy your exercises and training?
Does the plan still meet your needs and goals?
Are we coming closer to our common goal or have we already reached it?
I am looking forward to working with you towards developing single, couple or team coaching solutions, through of cyclic training, competitive dance plans, defined methods and training content, as well as structures for certain topic practice.
Lecturing
Together with private and group lessons, lecturing is the third most common form of information sharing in dancing. Of course, some topics are more suitable for practical training, but it is also important to provide theoretical information through lectures, as an alternative approach. This form of presentation serves to make the learning of the dancers adaptable, to address different types of learning and to complement existing pedagogical concepts.
On one hand, theoretical lectures promote an intellectual exploration of the relevant topic by usage of more detailed and additional background information, and on the other hand – they provoke writing down and documenting the information for a later reflection.
Within my wide range of services, there are presentation topics like historical backgrounds in dance, dance characteristics, musical basics, as well as sports science mental training and competition content in the sense of sport-specific requirement profiles.
On my download platform, I have provided some of my presentations. Kindly review the copyright notice, please.
Short instructional videos and further information about my brand can also be found on my YouTube channel.
Consulting
I often cooperate with companies, clubs and educational institutions, and support them in organizing team buildings, take care of their employees ‘/students’ health, physical and mental fitness, and motivation through suitable dance and sports programs.
In the form of a supervised workshop or within a defined period of time, I provide meaningful assistance to dance and sports projects through sharing advice and ideas, with the help of convenient communication means via online conferences, social media, or telephone conversation.
Further, my expertise allows me to support TV, film, and music projects, as well as assistance in directing private productions or public broadcasting formats.
Judging
By being a judge of the Austrian DanceSport Federation (ÖTSV), I have the honor and responsibility to evaluate the performance of dance athletes. In this capacity, one has the opportunity to indirectly shape the sport and its development through the personal feedback. This requires continuous education and engagement with the relevant matters, including thorough knowledge of the evaluation criteria of the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF). In order to be able to decide responsibly and honestly on the basis of the given guidelines, it is necessary to have technical competences, perception qualities, ability to make decisions and a clear, objectivity, and impartial manner.
Maybe you would also like to receive personal feedback regarding your dance performance according to my quality standards?
Comparative feedback on the selection of candidates for auditions, castings, and stage performances is also within my area of expertise. I am able to identify potentials, general condition prerequisites, but also recognize mental and emotional stability, will, motivation and commitment, based on years of scouting experience.
Educational Philosophy
Educational Philosophy
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©The AIM-Model
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©The AIM-Model
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©The AIM-Model
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©The AIM-Model
- Arise Intelligence in Motion – Model
The “Arise Intelligence in Motion” Model, in short AIM-Model, with its three correlated components (A) Knowing – (B) Sensing – (C) Performing, describes my personal educational philosophy with a goal to develop an individual self-organized movement intelligence.
Movement Intelligence = conscious situational sensorimotor adaptation to the surrounding conditions.
Although each individual component can be observed as equal and isolated for itself, the dancer achieves the desired quality and satisfaction only through their combination and interaction. “What I know, I can learn to feel – what I feel, I can express – I always want to know more about what I express…”
Therefore, I offer a PROGRESSIVE LEARNING PATH, resulting from many years of empirical experience, which is based on the natural, functional, and rhythmic human walking, as well as biomechanical parameters. This approach allows through the following aesthetic-characteristic techniques, to design and make own interpretations and can be followed by individual and autodidactic methods corresponding to the unique path of learning.Contents:
Dance Nomenclature, Origin and Meaning
Biomechanics – Techniques – Movement characteristics
Movement repertoire and Choreography
Dance and Music Theory – Rhythm Training
Dance Anatomy and Holistic Body Concepts
History and Philosophy of Dance
Career Coaching – Mental Techniques – Training Design
- Knowing
“Knowing”: In order to be able to make conscious decisions “live” (in a certain situation), it is necessary to bring about the intellectual discussion to question the WHY, WHAT, and HOW of each movement or action. On the basis of facts and principles, as well as the knowledge of the processes in the human body, one chooses a particular movement with a certain form for a defined purpose, according to their personal pool of experience. However, in order to understand the essence of the dance in its complexity, it is not enough to make a basic historical research; a continuous, targeted training, and an interest in additional various dance styles, trends, and alternative body concepts are also of utter importance. Music, intuition (feeling and emotion), experience as well as the repertoire of stored movement patterns are catalysts of making a conscious movement decision. The form of a particular movement pattern is always a compromise between a naturally functional and aesthetically designed performance. → → →
- Sensing
“Sensing”: Our 5 senses are a gift from nature. Nevertheless, one must not only be able to sense the aroma! The continuous training to hear the musical contents as well as the development of an optic and tactile kinesthetic feeling for the relationship between space and time is essential for the internal “kinesphere” or surroundings-related rhythmic movement sequences. The improvement of body perception is fundamental to advancing the technical skills in the corresponding dance style. A distinctive technique as a means to reach a particular purpose combines perfect balance, musical execution of the movement and the connection with the environment (floor, dance partner, audience, judge). Anthropometry, constitution, and universal biomechanical movement principles together with the coordination of active and passive movement structures and their infinite degrees of freedom, create a distinctive hybrid movement style. → → →
- Performing
“Performing “: the nature of it can be defined as the expression of a movement to musical background in the form of dance. The passionate exploration of art, culture, sports and entertainment are important factors for the pursuing of the dancers’ goals (mental and / or sports). The perfect execution of routines, as well as the effort of each dancer to develop a wide variety of movements, requires an individual career planning with regard to the corresponding qualifications profile. The implementation of discipline-specific training and learning methods (e.g. differential learning approaches such as improvisation or learning through “trial-error”) must be equally integrated into the training process with the psychological sensitization (e.g. enjoyment of the movement, team spirit, self-assessment) as an intervention tool against conflict and negativity.
Whatever you may need – just a click away
MY P(rivat)RODUCT L(esson)INE
Whether you are a competitive dancer in need of career coaching or you enjoy dancing as a leisure activity, or would like to have a choreography created for your special event… I will do what it takes to make it work according to your prefernces
Competitive Dancing
45min /unit
Book a private lesson corresponding to your level: beginner (D- / C-class), intermediate (B- / A-class), advanced (S-class / professional division)
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Beginner Level
Basics & Fundamentals
Includes a systematic build-up of all basic actions, positions in the couple, and dance characteristics. Learn the relevant dance nomenclature and the contents of the basic competitive choreography. Get acquainted with the structural and physical condition requirements, as well as dance sport regulations and etiquette relevant to your future career. Develop your basic technical skills and recognize the basic parameters of dance music. -
Intermediate Level
Variation in Movement & Music
Explore the possibilities to understand and be able to execute different interpretations of the basic elements with regard to music, dynamics, and shape. Get guidance to improve the quality of the couple and refine your technical skills. -
Advanced Level
Development Of Individual Skills
Explore the possibilities to understand and be able to execute different interpretations of the basic elements with regard to music, dynamics, and shape. Get guidance to improve the quality of the couple and refine your technical skills.
INQUIRE NOW
*Guaranteed response within 12 hours! Career coaching upon request
Social Dancing
45min /unit or
Book a block of 10 units (prepayment cash or by bank transfer) and get the 11th unit GRATIS – also available as a stylish gift voucher!
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Steps & Choreo
Easy or unique figures
I enjoy teaching at every level, so whether you’re a beginner or already advanced, or you want to improve your skills from the dance school, learn a few interesting moves, or just to spice up your favorite figures with some spectacular poses, lines or even lifts.. I will support you and you will shine like a star on your next practice or social dance party. -
Functional Dancing
Tools & Technique
At the center of this type of lesson is the mediation of reproducible technical tools with regard to health, functional, and aesthetic aspect. Individual movements are analyzed in their organic nature and then logically developed. “Beautiful dancing is pleasing to the eye.” -
Music, Feeling & Crossover
Combining different styles
Learn methods of perception training, approaches to dance-specific bodywork and expand your musical knowledge. Understand the principles of “leading” and “following”, and develop skills to “feel” and communicate with your partner. With my help, learn how to combine different dance styles and create your own movement characteristics.
INQUIRE NOW
*Lessons can be cancelled free of charge no later than 24 hours before the appointment
Customized Dancing
90min /units
Special package price tailored to fit your wishes, ideas, and needs and… many surprise extras
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Wedding Dance
Music – Theme – Choreography
You would like to prepare the traditional wedding waltz or something very extraordinary – unique and unforgettable, totally fitting to your taste? Together, we design your individual choreography, your own “Wedding Dance”! I will combine your favorite songs, your personal story, and your most beautiful moments, right up to the emotional marriage proposal. We will take the time to prepare for your special day in a relaxed atmosphere, so you can enjoy it to the fullest. -
Ball, Event & Party
In view of the occation
You want to be perfectly prepared for the birthday party of a friend, the company celebration, or for one of the numerous balls? Everyone can dance, if they would like to! I guarantee, we go stress-free and enjoying every step of the way to becoming a “Dancing Star”, while having fun! -
Show & Presentation
Motto – Art & Act – Performance
Do you want to create a fantastic performance with the support of experienced background dancers? Or maybe you are just looking for a professional ensemble for your event: www.dance-characters.at. I would readily assist you with the artistic presentation of your product, slogan, and vision through relevant choreography and costumes. I also enjoy being involved myself, as a performance artist, for selected projects!
INQUIRE NOW
*In case of cancellation, 50% of the price is due.
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Wei-Ken LiaoDancer – Singer – Actor – Choreographer @weikendoit -
Celine SchrenkMiss Austria 2017 -
Sandra MockerErgotherapeutin & Spiraldynamik® – Dozentin -
Sascha GentMember of Dance CharActers -
Michael R. HerdlitzkaDiplom-Tanzsport-Trainer -
Christian HeelFachleitung Spiraldynamik® Akademie Zürich -
Gerald Aigner – V-I-P.tvVideo Imaging Professionals -
Barbara Nagode-AmbrozAcknowledged expert in Dancesport -
Anne-Marie Encandre-Lasure & Jeroen LasureExclusive Wedding Dance -
Daniela Karner aka Danie CellUrban Dance Professional & Performance Artist -
Manuela Waldbauer & Günther WaldbauerExperienced Social Dancers -
Rene StrassnerUrban Dance Professional & Performance Artist -
Christina Hartlieb & Nikolaus HartliebExclusive Wedding Dance -
Julia BurghardtDancesport Professional & ORF “Dancing Star” -
Danilo CampisiDancesport Professional & ORF “Dancing Star” -
Ani Karadzhiyan & Felix NeidhartInternational competitive Latin Dancers – Team Austria -
Olessya Antochshuk & Erik SteinerMembers of Austrian Dancesport National Team -
Magdalena Bartolovic – Mikic & Igor BartolovicExclusive Wedding Dance -
Alexandra Neagu & Alin NeaguExclusive Wedding Dance
WITH PASSION AND INSPIRATION
MY PROJECTS
This variety of projects is a result of my collaboration with different people and the strive to learn and experience ideas and attitudes, as well as develop sustainable tools.
Here you will not only find the Download section of this website, but also learn a lot about my attitude to books, reading, and life-long self-improvement.
Further, I offer assistance with the preparation of your scientific papers, such as publications, dissertations, or academic research projects. Just contact me by e-mail at contact@michaelschmalzbauer.at or by phone / sms at +43 676 490 80 83.
Upon request, I can review your manuscript or lengthy text sample, and make you a written offer for a detailed editing and proofreading. Please, send the information as a Word .doc file, if possible.
I proofread and edit texts on topics, whose vocabulary I am familiar with. Any other writings from scientific fields with which I am not acquainted in depth during my formal training or self-education, I may review in exceptional cases.
The fee for proofreading is calculated on the basis of standard pages, one standard page comprising 1,500 characters, including spaces. The final price depends on the complexity of the topic and the invested efforts on my side. Still, I will not check your work for plagiarism.
Dancesport School – the „other“ way of learning DanceSport
Dancesport School is an independent project, founded in 2010. This is a special method of training and learning DanceSport (both, Standard and Latin). DSS offers an extensive range of sport activities through workshops with various profiles (e.g. DSS, DSS Seniors, DSS Ladies only etc.).
The goal of the DSS team, Julia Burghardt, Michael Schmalzbauer, and the founder Danilo Campisi, is to offer the “students” a contemporary, qualitative, and scientifically-oriented training in areas, which directly or indirectly influence their performance in DanceSport. Therefore, the professional exchange within the trainer team, as well as an ongoing orientation towards world-famous dancers, experts, and trends, are an indispensable part of the DSS project.
The DSS motto the “other” way stands for the individual development of each dancer. This is achieved through focus on the required sport-specific profile. A measurable progress of the performance level is demonstrated, by using scientific methods. With the help of an “academic” structure, the “students” are mentally and physically well-prepared for their upcoming competitions and, as a result, improve their performances and ranking.
The newly-acquired knowledge is reaffirmed through the so-called “expert talks” held at the end of each DSS season. Within this framework, a theoretical and practical knowledge review of the contents is held, in which the “students” demonstrate the information and skills, they learned throughout the season. If the presentation is successful, the “student” receives a diploma, as well as the opportunity to benefit from various bonuses (e.g. free private lessons, free DSS participation in the following year etc.) according to a specially-developed system.
The annual curriculum is based on the official evaluation system “Judging System 3.0 of the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF)” with its 4 judging components”: Technical Quality, Movement to Music, Partnering Skills, Choreography & Presentation.
The contents concept combines theoretical lectures and practical units (discipline-specific group lessons), as well as supplementary units in the field of sports psychology, training science, biomechanics, competition strategy, and the comparison of different DanceSport techniques (e.g. Walter Laird Technique and WDSF Technique Books).
Furthermore, lectures by the founder of the “Institute of Healthy Life” (IGL) and member of the Medical Commission of the WDSF – Dr. Thomas Quinton cover medical contents, such as anatomy, physiology, and methods of regeneration, injury prevention, and rehabilitation.
The cooperation with outside DanceSport trainers and specialists with other competencies is presented in the module “The Expert Speaks”, as well as with successful athletes in the module “The Champion Speaks”. These special modules enable the “students” to gain insight into other kinds of sports and the lives of famous athletes.
Mobius Kinetics is a multidimensional movement analysis system, which strives to adapt and describe the changes of time and location for the corresponding expression in dancing, on the basis of the naturally-aesthetic movement of man, with the help of scientific, anthropometric, philosophical, somatic, and energetic laws.
The Möbiusband, as a mathematical and energetic structure, allows an abstract logical description of the human movement quality, and combines my personal ideas and vision with regard to an efficient execution. My passionate research of historical, specialized, and biographical books on the subject of dance and movement, as well as the access to literature on complementary topics like natural sciences and humanities, philosophy and pedagogics, characterize both – my professional aspiration to a steady continuing education, and my hobby to build up my personal dance library.
Motto: Scientific and philosophical curiosity combined with imagination and creativity.
What does “Dance CharActers” stand for?
The name “Dance CharActers” represents the individual and unique quality of movement and embodies the very being of each and every one of its members. It is both a gift and an incredible enrichment for the entire ensemble that every dancer can bring in their own personality, style and character without any limitations, in their genuine form.
What is the goal of “Dance CharActers”?
The goal is to touch and capture the audience with the acquired dancer and artistic skills, always presented in the form of group-specific dance shows with various topics and a focus on Latin-American movement patterns.
„No Dance without Character“
What makes “Dance CharActers” unique?
Our common path encompasses a kind of interdisciplinary dance and artistic education on the basis of Latin-American rhythms combined with different dance styles, arranged in an innovative way and introduced to the audience in an artistic manner through the complete form of a dance show. Thus, traditional couple and formation dancing becomes more lively, approachable, and close to the observer.
How professional is the concept “Dance CharActers”?
The concept prioritizes the acquisition of a certain degree of social competence and, indirectly, personality development, as well as the appropriation of multi-layered dancer and artistic qualities, to be “invested” in the individual and professional expression of each member and their presentation. In addition, it brings health benefits to its members in the form of a relevant physical condition level necessary to achieve quality and aesthetics of movement.
How does “Dance CharActers” relate to competition dancing and entertainment?
The team maintains an image independent of competitive dancing. The individual possibility to express oneself through unregulated group choreographies defines a performance exclusively “ruled” by external confirmation or a title acquired thereby. “Dance CharActers” measures its success and enjoyment through the satisfaction of the client / event organizer, as well as the enthusiastic applause of its audience.
All 3-dimensional human movement principles, as they are used in the individual dance techniques, are described clearly and pragmatically by the concept of Spiraldynamik®. It combines the aspects, functional aesthetics, design and expression, as well as preventative healthcare benefits, in a biomechanically reproducible way.
Based on the therapy and movement concept, the principle of the helix is at the center of its evolutionary and scientific mechanical approach. The wave principle embodies the temporal aspect – rhythm, frequency, and amplitude of the oscillating 8th-movements which emanate from impulse centers. Leading concepts are the bipolarity, the uprightness, the vault and the spiral principles. The movement pattern produces as a result, leads not only to structural health and muscular tension balance, but ultimately is the key to expression and aesthetics.
Intelligent movement is a consequence of the intelligence of the anatomical body construction
Just like in the tuning of an instrument, a specific biomechanical change is required. An increasingly subtle structural change – the anatomy determines the technique, not the other way round – makes it possible to understand how different body parts behave and move in relation to one another. All elements can be combined in one dynamic unit. Angle poses, lever arms, acceleration forces and transfer of the center of gravity are scientifically optimized during a movement.
A work of art is aesthetic, as a perfect unity of contents and shape.
It is my goal to integrate these concepts in couple dancing (DanceSport), as a part of my Spiraldynamik® training.
- Clear presentation and description of mechanical movement principles
- Training of reproducible systematic movement sequences
- From the “natural” through the efficient movement to design and expression
- Development of movement standards
- Influence of Spiraldynamik® principles in other aspects of couple dancing
During and after the dance career:
- Implement preventive healthcare
- Prevent structural wear-off
- Avoid incorrect alignment through bad weight distribution
- Oppose movement inefficiency
- Reduce the risk of injury
- Shorten regeneration times
JUST TAKE A PEEK
MY LIFESTYLE
Step by step with love towards happiness … “One has to dance life.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
