Quote:
Originally posted by DavidB
I doubt that most people are interested in this.
David |
You may be wrong!
Yes jive is 4 fun. But, beginners like to be taught well. They deserve that. In order to teach, one needs to REALLY understand what is going on. This is not taught in the lessons. Well - after all, lessons are not teacher training sessions!
I used to get frustrated when taxi dancers told me "it will come with practice". It took me 6 months to get the basket to feel right, just because no one told me i) you sway back, forth and THEN 'get rid of her', and ii) you step back and twist which is only possible if the lady is on the right foot.
I think that David has thoroughly enjoyed and learned a lot from his thinking and will be a benefit to anyone he teaches. Questions like "how come jive moves are 4 5 6 7 8 etc steps long? How does this fit into the music? have been asked of me a number of times.
When a lady asks wheat foot she shold step back on - you can reply 'any' and let Darwinian science take place and she may or may not choose a good foot and perhaps it will work or not. is it not better if she is not told exactly which one to step back on but some basic rules...like she will want to turn clockwise on her right and anitclockwise on her left - so think about it!...or that in order to change foot she will perform a longer step, triple step, tap etc. I think that if people ask they deserve an answer, but if they are happy just enjoying a low-tech experience, then this is fine too. Many do not wish to analyse.
So in conclusion, jive is for those who want maximum enjoyment with little effort - it is marketted for these. Teachers or would-be teachers should personally rise above this. After all techers in real life have to go to teacher training!
Hope this helps.
Richard