Repeat Moves?

[gtman]

Hi all,

Ok, I guess I'm still a beginner. Been doing this ceroc stuff for about 15-20 weeks and now 'Think' I know about 26 beginner moves. (are there 26? maybe an intermediate or 2 there to)
anyway, I just wondered. In freestyle I cant always remember ALL 26 moves but tend to repeat maybe 10 or so in various orders. Then I sit down and think, darn why didn't I do 'That move' thinking of one of my other 16.
So, is this normal. Or should I have a clear idea what moves/routine I'm going to do with each Girl. Does each girl expect different moves, or is repeating OK?

Thanks

[Pete]

I'd really like to know the answer to this question too. I seem to use the same moves over and over again and I do wonder if the woman gets bored, particularly if she experienced the same 'repertoire' when she danced with me the previous week.

[Minnie M]

One of the best dancers I have danced with (and a popular forumite) only uses about half a dozen moves - BUT how he performs them

I am sure lots of female forumites will recognise who I am talking about and agree

I would assume the moves you remember are the ones you feel most comfortable doing and therefore you become an expert in them, however I would have thought your repetoir would increase with more of these 'comfortable' moves with the addition of more classes.

(look forward to a dance at the BFB )

[gtman]

Yeh, I hope I'm getting better all the time. Always trying. And trying to add new moves. I'm even going to an advanced class tomorrow. Could be a disaster but what the heck. Couldn't be worse than my salsa. Been doing that for 7 months and still not confident with it.

Like I said, just wondered if other guys repeat stuff and if Girls notice. Or should i just have fun and not worry.

[Dutchginger]

Just have fun and don't worrry

[fruitcake]

Dear gtman.
What yer need m'love is to perfect the 10 moves or so you do well already, though it sounds like you are getting on fine with that.The gradually add one in from your repertoir of 26!
Every bloke has his own favourite moves, so the girl doesnt get fed up as she is changing partners all the time, getting plenty of variety.
But have fun, that's why your there!!!
Fruitcake

[jivecat]

Originally posted by Pete
I'd really like to know the answer to this question too. I seem to use the same moves over and over again and I do wonder if the woman gets bored, particularly if she experienced the same 'repertoire' when she danced with me the previous week.

Hi Pete (and Gtman)

I don't think you should worry about this at all. It is much better from the woman's point of view if you do a few simple moves well than attempt more ambitious moves and do them badly. A dance only lasts a few minutes; I think it would be unreasonably impatient if the lady got bored within this timeframe. In any case, repeating simple moves is a stage the leader has to go through in order to make progress and I am perfectly happy to help someone with that. It feels good to know that I have helped someone to practise and achieve something.

Speaking for myself, I very much doubt if I would notice or remember the exact sequence of moves that you were doing from week to week- especially when I first started, the evening would pass in a frenzied whirl(quite literally) and I would have trouble remembering my own name by the end of the night. And the ladies move from partner to partner and will get variety in that way, so you are probably far more conscious of repetition than they are.

Having said that, after dancing for a couple of years I am beginning to notice "trademark" combinations of moves. One of the guys at my local venue has a favourite, slightly unusual, move which hardly anyone else ever does- but he does this move every time I dance with him. Let me see, approximately once a week for 18 months or more, comes to, er, (fumbles with calculator) 72 and rising. It's got to the stage where a dance with him wouldn't be the same without it, like a kiss without a moustache. Or is that an egg without salt?

[DavidB]

10 standard moves seems about right, plus a handful of others that you might only do once a night when you remember. And after you have been doing classes for a few months, you will probably only like 1 move in 5 that you learn anyway.

If you gave me time (say a day!) I could probably come up with 40 moves, and I've been dancing since 1986. But I usually stick to about 15 that I can remember without taxing my brain. A lot of the time I'll start one move, and finish it with the ending of a different move. It looks like I know a lot more, but it is an illusion. I probably started about 50 Yoyos and 50 First Moves last night, and maybe finished 5 of each.

There are some people who know a lot more (eg teachers). And there are some people who love learning and doing as many moves as they can. But most men just do their own small set of moves.

The ladies don't get bored, because your set of moves are different to everyone else's set

David.

[Nick M]

Originally posted by gtman
Hi all,
In freestyle I cant always remember ALL 26 moves but tend to repeat maybe 10 or so in various orders. Then I sit down and think, darn why didn't I do 'That move' thinking of one of my other 16.
So, is this normal.

Yes its normal

One way to counter this is to be aware of the people next to you, and watch what they are doing. Use their moves as a reminder for you (If you can be aware of what they are doing, at the same time as concentrating on your partner of course. Which isnt easy)

But at the end of the day, its not about numbers of moves, its about style, and about how you fit those moves to the music

[gtman]

Hay, good points there.
I like that idea of starting with one move and finishing with different ones. Makes it seem like you know double the moves you actually do.
A new venue I started going to recently seems especially good at teaching this (Gateshead)

So, JIVECAT what is the UNUSUAL move this guy you mentioned does?

[Martin]

Originally posted by gtman
Hay, good points there.
I like that idea of starting with one move and finishing with different ones. Makes it seem like you know double the moves you actually do.
A new venue I started going to recently seems especially good at teaching this (Gateshead)

So, JIVECAT what is the UNUSUAL move this guy you mentioned does?

I am doing less and less moves now, taught 100's. I keep it basic but PLAY as much as possible.

Sooo much good fun

[jivecat]

So, JIVECAT what is the UNUSUAL move this guy you mentioned does?

I don't know the name of the move but he sort of ducks under his own arm and looks rather like a man drowning. I know that doesn't make any sense!
I don't know if he reads the forum or not- I might be in trouble next time he sees me! Honestly, **** I love it, really!

[DavidY]

Originally posted by jivecat
I don't know the name of the move but he sort of ducks under his own arm and looks rather like a man drowning. I know that doesn't make any sense!
I don't know if he reads the forum or not- I might be in trouble next time he sees me! Honestly, **** I love it, really!

*hastily runs through own repertoire of moves to think of any that might meet above description*
erm... where in the Midlands do you dance, Jivecat?

[Bill]

Don't worry about the number of moves you do' know...... in a few
months and years you'll know plenty of moves but still do your own favourites.

As Fruitcake says - women don't mind and actually much prefer fewer moves executed well than a lot of badly led moves. We still say this to new dances when taxi-ing but I don't think many new men believe us.

Some men still try tooo hard to throw ( literally) every move they know into every dance and so confuse women and actually provide a poorer dance than the men who lead fewer moves but lead tem well.

Relax, have fun and concentrate on the moves you like.

[jiveoholic]

Originally posted by Pete
I'd really like to know the answer to this question too. I seem to use the same moves over and over again and I do wonder if the woman gets bored, particularly if she experienced the same 'repertoire' when she danced with me the previous week.

My question to you is whether YOU are getting bored with your own moves. After all you do not get a new set each time you dance with a lady! I regularly add a new move (and an old one flushes off then end). Also try changing your style with the same moves. You can change style because perhaps the music is different, perphaps the lady hops'n'skips rather than glides, perhaps you just feel in a different mood, or perhaps you are "experimenting"!

[Pete]

Originally posted by jiveoholic
My question to you is whether YOU are getting bored with your own moves. After all you do not get a new set each time you dance with a lady!

Hmm. I think you may have hit the nail on the head there. I am getting a bit bored with my moves. I tend to prefer moves that don't involve lots of complicated-arms-twisted-round-partner's-neck combinations (trying to keep my casualty rate to a minimum ) so I tend to rely on moves that I actually like doing, and there aren't many of them.

The advice generally seems to be to focus more on style and I think I will try to do that for a few weeks. Thanks for the tips

[Lory]

For me, it all depends on who I'm dancing with. Sometimes, when the man's nice and relaxed and looks like his enjoying himself, I hardly even notice what individual moves we're doing at all, as long as it's in time and flows but when a man looks like his concentrating too hard or struggling to think of another move, I get anxious for them and then I can't help noticing.

My tip would be, every week or 2 weeks, pick 1 move out of your lesson that u really like and add it, when u have that one perfected, add another.

I agree with Jivecat, lot's of men DO have a signature move.

[Gadget]

When dancing with first-timers, I try to keep to the same moves that were done in the beginner's class (Admittedly, it takes me half the dance to remember them all ) - that's only four moves. Mixing the order of them, changing the timimg subtally, getting them used to a pattern, then leading them into a simple variant. I think that it's more important that they relax so that they can enjoy the dance more.

I with almost everyone else, I experiment and throw different bits of different moves together. Unfortunatly, I don't think that I've had any dances that go exactly how I imagined But I'm really good at faking it now {Honest gov. That was meant to happen - it's a new move I've been working on }

I think that the first thing to aspire to is 'attitude' - the self confidence that the lady will not walk off in a huff if you only do three moves or screw one up. Just keep dancing. Secondary to this is learning how to lead the lady. Once you have worried enough about these, only then should the number of moves even be considedered.

[gtman]

Yeh, so the key seems to be just relax. Try to enjoy it and look cool. Or if your not any of these just try and look as if you are

I like the tips about just adding a move or 2 each week from each lesson, if you like a new move and feel comfortable with it. Just what a dance teacher told me last night.

[jivecat]

Originally posted by DavidY
*hastily runs through own repertoire of moves to think of any that might meet above description*
erm... where in the Midlands do you dance, Jivecat?

No. it's not you, David! Enjoyed the dance at Nottingham last Sat, though. Shame the music was so dire all evening. Real school disco music.