Quote:
Originally posted by DavidB
I know Ceroc didn't invented the dance. The only common theme to any of the claims are that it started in France, not London. The first people to teach it (whoever they are) learned it in France. |
Ceroc never started in France as such, the inspiration for Ceroc in the UK (London to start with), came from France. To its great loss, France does not have any Ceroc (or other similar) dance classes / nights. Most Rock'n roll classes in France are very similar to the format used in Jive / Swing classes in the UK, with a strong emphasis on footwork / technique.
The only reason France inspired the creation of Ceroc, was that most French people are either very lazy or very relaxed, and they would take a few classes to pick up a few useful moves, and then proceed to make up the rest on any dance floor; with the main aim to be able to ask a girl for a dance!
That general attitude is what you can see at most French Balls, discos, clubs, etc... There are (quite) a few serious dancers in France, and from my experience, they spend their time criticizing those that dance for personal enjoyment rather than show!
I learnt a bit of French Rock'n Roll when I was 12/14 in secondary school, picked up a few moves, was pretty useless at it, but it served me in reasonably good stead at all the 14th July dances, so I did not have to be a wallflower
Quote:
| PS Ceroc did not invent good teaching, or simplifying dancing, or including other dance styles, or stringing together moves. They do not have a monopoly on teaching non-dancers to have fun, or dancing to a range of musical styles & tempos. Jive is not the only dance where you don't have to do footwork, or can improvise. |
Indeed not, Ceroc did not invent any of those things in isolation, but certainly brought them all together and standardized them across all Ceroc classes.
We do not have a monopoly on teaching non-dancers to have fun, but again from my perspective / experience, most other dance classes take the technique / footwork so seriously that they put off new people before they get the chance to discover the fun aspects! I would be interested in hearing otherwise though, and I agree, that there must be classes out there that deliver, but not on the same scale and with the same guarantees as Ceroc!
The only exception I know, is Ceilidh dancing in Scotland, where everyone gives it a go, everyone learns the basic steps on the night (if required) and most people don't care if things don't work out, they just laugh it off and keep dancing!
I wish there was more of that in the dance world!
Franck.