The road to Ceroc.

[Will]

Originally posted by Gus


Then made the huge mistake of going to Hammersamith freestyle ... spent whole night as billy nomates not getting a dance ... and so ended Cerco for me .. or so I thought.

Another victim of Hammersmiths famous Refusal Row!

[Jon]

I knew that my dad had joined something called LeRoc and the fact that he was out pretty much every evening made me think prehaps there's something to this. Then I first saw him dancing at my sisters wedding and I had seen him dance before doing LeRoc classes and I thought wow. If he can do it then so can I. So after I moved house up to London and didn't know many people I looked for a jive club and found Ceroc.

The first 5 seconds of doing it and I was addicted. My first teachers were Cliff Ellis and Kelly Hudson and I don't think I'd be the dancer I am today if it wasn't for them as they gave me so much encouragment.

Now I'm never at home, unless it's too rest my aching feet!

[Gadget]

I love to dance, and I have been dancing for years; I can head-bang to metal, I can mosh to rock, I can ponce to soft rock, I can stomp to goth, I can big-fish-little-fish to techno, I can even boogie along to pop.
I used to frequent the Palace and Student Unions quite regularly, along with a few other clubs and have know Craig for years (probably the same Craig that is so highly praised in another post) and it was he who convinced me to come along to a ceroc night {then in the Palace - remember those suction floors?}.
The first night I simply watched; seeing if it was for me. The second I was on the dance floor and I was in the intermediate class by the fourth or fifth night of classes.(at the prompting of the taxi dancers I hasten to add)

The one thing that dancing in clubs lacks is the physical contact and really dancing with your partner as an extension of yourself. Don't get me wrong; I can move to the music with a partner as one entity with no need of contact, but as a mirror to there style, not my own. (I have found that females more naturally know how to pick up a rhythm and can dance with a lot less effort than most men - I would think that the hardest part of Ceroc for women to learn is to trust the lead and go with the flow. A man just has to learn how to dance. )

Instead of the question of how did you get into Ceroc, I think a more telling question is why are you still here?

Me? I can dance to just about any music, and fake any style. I chose to dance ceroc because I can offer my hand to someone who swears they can't dance and have them come off the dance floor with a huge smile and spring in their step, looking for more.

[Sandy]

Originally posted by Gadget
[BInstead of the question of how did you get into Ceroc, I think a more telling question is why are you still here?

[/b]

well Gadget where else would you have the opportunity to dance great moves with a wide variety of guys/gals to some fantastic music and all for a fiver!

Sandy

[Gadget]

Originally posted by Sandy
well Gadget where else would you have the opportunity to dance great moves with a wide variety of guys/gals to some fantastic music and all for a fiver!
Sandy

Thursdays at O'Donaughs perchance? I prefer the floor in the mills club - smoother and with 'elbow room' {I was getting fed up of combat dancing for a space on non-cobbled flooring }.

...Although the 'great moves' bit is debatable in my case

[Sandy]

Originally posted by Gadget


Thursdays at O'Donaughs perchance? I prefer the floor in the mills club - smoother and with 'elbow room' {I was getting fed up of combat dancing for a space on non-cobbled flooring }.

...Although the 'great moves' bit is debatable in my case

O'Donaghues is a bit of a nightmare at times but has the right "clubby" atmosphere. We need a much bigger space but who knows.

See you on Tuesday

Sandy

[Gary]

How I got started? I was chasing a girl who was into ceroc, so I went to classes so I could dance with her. The girl-chasing didn't work out, but I'm glad I started with ceroc. I'm kicking myself because for a couple of years before-hand I shared an office at work with a guy who occasionally said I should try this "ceroc" thing, and I laughed it off. Idiot!

Originally posted by Gus


ANYWAY ..started the classess ... OK so far, then got persuaeded to ask one of the lasses to dance freestyle .... she looked me up and down then said NO Exit Gus stage right with ego in small jar vowing never to return.

I also nearly quit a couple of times after some ego drubbings. Not so much girls refusing to dance, but several who made it pretty darn obvious that they'd rather be clipping their toenails than dancing with me. Granted, at the time toenail-clipping was more entertaining than dancing with me, but most girls didn't make it obvious. A couple of girls (bless them) were actually encouraging, which (combined with pig-headedness) is why I didn't quit.

I think a bunch of folks who would eventually have turned out to be great dancers drop out after a bad experience or two. There are two morals to the story: "stick with it and eventually you'll become more interesting than toenail-clippings" and "be encouraging with beginners - it's a good investment (and basic kindness to folks in a very vulnerable position)"

[TheTramp]

Well. Just over 4 years ago, I moved up to London. I was still in touch with a friend who I went to high school with back in Cardiff, and at that point, she'd been dancing and taxi-ing for about 6 years.

Anyhow, she kept telling me that I should start dancing. And I kept telling her that I shouldn't (I'd got through 30 years of my life without dancing a step, why would I need to start now??). In the end, she was right. So, I went along to my first night, on a Thursday, at Fulham Town Hall. I don't normally drink, but that first night, I had 2 double whiskies before I went anywhere near the dancefloor.

The second time I went, a week later, was also very nearly my last. Hanging round the edge, after the class, wishing that I wasn't too chicken to ask anyone to dance, this late middle-aged lady, who could only be described by the term 'battleaxe' came up and asked me to dance. Anyhow, by the end of that one dance, I could touch my knees with my hands, without bending over. I didn't ache that much in 7 years of martial arts!!

Fortunately (maybe you ladies won't see it this way), I was persuaded to return the next week, and for about the first month, I would only go if my friend was going - which wasn't that often as she was in the final throes of her PhD. By the second month, I was going on my own, and by the end of the third month, I was a taxi-dancer! Never really looked back from there!

Steve

[Fran]

I was pursuaded to go dancing by a couple I am friends with, but at first I did not want to go as I thought it must be a couples thing ( and I was not a couple) and then I thought it might have been a singles club and they were on a mission (as friends can be somtimes)for me to meet some one. so I did not go for quite while.

when they finally convinced me it was neith or the above I did go to Leroc for 2 weeks and then I found ceroc.

Obi was my first teacher. for the first few nights I hid behind the pillar at St Stephens for quite a while just watching and was so scared when Obi asked me for a dance. Spent the next 6 months appologising for my existance on the dance floor, Scott said he can still remember 1st dancing with me - and he said it was awful!! I looked at the floor all the time and was so nervous.but I had some very kind, supportive and wonderful dance partners who encouraged me depiste my lack of confidence, shyness and lack of co ordination due to dyslexia. Had they not been there for me I doubt I would have had the courage to keep going. I am not a athletic person and have had never been involved in phyically sporty stuff/ aerobics etc. I stated taxiing 5 months later oddly enough I was never nervous when doing that - bit like teaching in the classroom - its a bit of a front. Bill said I did things back to front, learnt the harder moves first then I had to learn the beginners - it would have been so much easier doing it the other way around!

I look back and am so glad that martin and louise persuaded me to go!

fran

[DavidB]

Years ago I used to take my mother to an evening class in wine tasting. I couldn't stay without getting drunk, so I tried to find another class I could do. I picked fencing, but when I turned up they were full and had no spare equipment. I took the wrong door when I left, and walked into a ballroom class. The teacher saw me, and said "A man! YOU ARE NOT LEAVING". (They were 10 men short!) I went home trying to remember a basic waltz.

I then joined the ballroom dance club at university, and started Ceroc when I was looking for a gym, and joined Pineapple (where Janie used to teach).

David

[TheTramp]

I guess that's what you call Fate, David. Or maybe just sheer blind luck

Steve

[DavidB]

Originally posted by TheTramp
sheer blind luck

For the world of fencing - probably...

[Emma]

Originally posted by DavidB
For the world of fencing - probably...

And your liver!

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally posted by DavidB
For the world of fencing - probably...

having seen the size of you - was it sabre or claymore you used? I expect the rapier would have been a knitting needle in the hands of a giant

[Gadget]

Originally posted by Emma

And your liver!

Hmmm... you don't know any of the fencer's I do, do you ?

Originally posted by DS
having seen the size of you - was it sabre or claymore you used? I expect the rapier would have been a knitting needle in the hands of a giant

I know of a few people that have had to have their jackets specially made - believe me size is not an issue in fencing when there is three feet of steel between you.

{Btw modern fencing utilises three weapons; Foil, Sabre and Epee, each with their own combat rules. A claymore is a two handed weapon (sometimes hand and a half) closest practiced equivelent is Kendo, a rapier is closest to Epee. There are schools that teach these weapons, but mostly they are for stage play and not competitive. }

[TheTramp]

There are schools that teach these weapons, but mostly they are for stage play and not competitive

It'd probably be pretty competative if someone came towards you waving one of those....

Steve

[DavidB]

Originally posted by Gadget
A claymore is a two handed weapon (sometimes hand and a half)

I hope the 'hand and a half' is a technique, and not an observation at the end of a bout...

David

[Gadget]

Originally posted by DavidB
I hope the 'hand and a half' is a technique, and not an observation at the end of a bout...

{ Have known a few broken fingers/hands, but I believe that no-one has lost any bits yet.}
It refers to the grip: 'Hand and a half' is actually a slang term for 'bastard swords', but this is commonly used to refer to a distinct weapon instead of a class of weapons. The grip and weight of the sword allows you to wield it one-handed or two handed as the situation demands.
Not as big or heavy as a broadsword, not as small or light as a short-sword.

Originally posted by DavidB
It'd probably be pretty competative if someone came towards you waving one of those....

No competition - I'd be moving rapidly in the opposite direction!!

[Emma]

Originally posted by Gadget

Hmmm... you don't know any of the fencer's I do, do you ?

Hee hee, nooh, DavidB said he couldn't go to the wine tasting without getting drunk..soooh... you know, thingy.

Btw anyone who ever does the Evening Standard crossword will know what an Epee is. It's one of their regular clues

[horsey_dude]

Originally posted by Will
Another victim of Hammersmiths famous Refusal Row!

I can't wait to go to hamersmith and see the refusal row for myself. The fact that I am coming from the other side of the world to see this for myself qualifies it as an international tourist attraction!

I really hope no-one agrees to dance with me because I am going to take a phot of them and it will ruin the story if I can't say to the people back home "Yup, I asked them to dance and they all turned me down, thats why its called refusal row!"

To answer the original post. I was in a shop with a friend from work and we ran into one of the local teachers who said "You should come along we always have too many women....". Of course for the next few months their was always too many guys!

My friend sometimes comes to class and it doesn't matter how many weeks of extra women there have been, on the night that he comes there will be heaps too many guys......