How many before moving on?

[gtman]

Ok, so How many beginner moves are there anyway?
Think I know 26 but maybe some of those are intermediate.
Shall I be really boring and list them. Look out girls, I always try to follow this sequence on the floor till one of us goofs up, or my memory goes then its every dancer for them selves

Some of these names may not be ceroc but its all jive.

Push pull (armjive)
American spin (push spin)
turn and return
first move
figure of eight
yoyo
lady spin
comb
neckbreak
hatchback
wurlitzer
backhander
swizzle stick
drop kick
man spin
first jump
side to side
step across
catapult
half windmill
full windmill
pretzel
butterfly
sway
wrapper
open neckbreak
twirl
neckbreak
shoulder slide

well I'm bord now, how about you, typed those from memory, honest. Never yet got right through all those in one dance, I goof up or the girl doesnt know what I'm trying to do. But I will get them all in one of these days
I'm now trying to add 2 intermediate moves each time i go out.
4 is a bit beyond my poor short term memory.
so, am I intermediate yet?
is adding 2 at a time enough.

[Bill]

Originally posted by gtman
Ok, so How many beginner moves are there anyway?
Think I know 26 but maybe some of those are intermediate.

Some of the ones you list are in fact Intermediate moves so you've passed the beginners stage

If you can do all those moves well - and in any order then that'll keep you going for a whole night. And if you can do them with a little bit of style you'll really impress the girls

[gtman]

ah, your giving away my cunning plan.
well, I have to impress them some how.

[fruitcake]

Originally posted by Bill
Some of the ones you list are in fact Intermediate moves so you've passed the beginners stage

If you can do all those moves well - and in any order then that'll keep you going for a whole night. And if you can do them with a little bit of style you'll really impress the girls

I don't know why you think you're a beginner if you can do all those moves. Do youthink you are not any good for some reason.
My opinion is that if a man's got some rhythm the girl enjoys dancing with him, so if you an't got no rhythm get practiicng in the mirror with wife, sister, dog, boyfriend, what ever!!

[gtman]

I don't know why you think you're a beginner if you can do all those moves.
well, I dont know, thats why I'm asking how many moves are beginner. So I can guess when i've moved up. Although I guess I have, at a certain venue up here one of the taxi's asked me to dance with a bunch of beginners to give them some practice.
Do youthink you are not any good for some reason.
guess I dont get hugged enough
My opinion is that if a man's got some rhythm the girl enjoys dancing with him, so if you an't got no rhythm get practiicng in the mirror with wife, sister, dog, boyfriend, what ever!!
steady on, the second last item on that list would not appeal at all. Although I did bump into a guy at a salsa class one day who seemed keen. NO THANKs.

[fruitcake]

Originally posted by gtman
[b]steady on, the second last item on that list would not appeal at all. Although I did bump into a guy at a salsa class one day who seemed keen. NO THANKs.

2n last item was the dog, depends how big i spose, great dane or yorkie!

If you don't get enough hugs praps you should give some.
"give and ye shall receive!"
I love hugging.
i'll hug anyone or anything!

[gtman]

Nah, it was the one after dog that had me worried.

If you don't get enough hugs praps you should give some.
"give and ye shall receive!"
oh, OK, does that work with kisses too

[fruitcake]

Originally posted by gtman
Nah, it was the one after dog that had me worried.

If you don't get enough hugs praps you should give some.
"give and ye shall receive!"
oh, OK, does that work with kisses too

Well it does with me!!!

[Bill]

Originally posted by fruitcake
so if you an't got no rhythm get practiicng in the mirror with wife, sister, dog, boyfriend, what ever!!

erm........steady on Fruity.....................

[ChrisA]

Originally posted by gtman
Push pull (armjive)
American spin (push spin)
turn and return
first move
etc, etc, ..

...Look out girls, I always try to follow this sequence on the floor till one of us goofs up

Missed this the first time.

You don't *really* do this lot in the same sequence all the time, do you, to every track???

If you do, then stop it

Freestyle is not about memorising a 26 move routine. It's about dancing with your partner, and choosing moves in real time that suit her and the music. Learn to vary them and change their timing to suit the phrases and accents in the music.

No disrespect (and I sure as heck didn't know 26 moves after 7 months), but one of the things that happens when progressing beyond beginner level, is being able to dance without memorising a routine.

A 26-move routine in freestyle isn't the mark of an intermediate - it's the mark of a clever beginner. Or someone practising a showcase...

Chris

[DavidB]

gtman - if the choice is between doing your 26 move routine, or not dancing, then don't let anyone stop you. Just let your mind and your body get used to the moves. When you get more comfortable, then change the routine a bit. Once you can start changing the routine during a song - then you are doing freestyle...

It might not be the quickest way to learn how to freestyle, and it is not the way I'd recommend, but if it works for you then who cares!

Learn to vary them and change their timing to suit the phrases and accents in the music.

Musical interpretation is an 'optional extra' in dancing. You don't need to do it. 5 years ago no-one did it.
Having said that it is a very desirable skill to master, and can really make you stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately it is not as easy to learn as, for example, another move. Your dancing will get worse when you start trying it.

If you don't have confidence in your dancing to start with, it can really set you back. Get comfortable with the moves first, then worry about the music.

[ChrisA]

Originally posted by DavidB
Musical interpretation is an 'optional extra' in dancing. You don't need to do it. 5 years ago no-one did it.

But it's not 5 years ago any more.

Not that I count myself as anything but the rawest beginner when it comes to interpretive dancing, but I would have given up completely long ago if I hadn't encountered it. I'd been able to freestyle intermediate moves easily enough for several years, but it just wasn't fun any more - because I had been through several cycles of learning and forgetting hordes of intermediate moves, none of which was much more interesting than any other any more.

I sooooooooo wish that someone had taught me the basics of interpretive dancing long before.

I'd also dispute that you don't need to do it - unless you want to seriously limit yourself.

I had got to the point where intermediate classes were easy enough, and I was confident enough to ask some of the better dancers to dance during freestyle, in circumstances where more interesting music was being played - and I started to find that I'd get funny looks when I did nothing with the breaks and other accents in the music.

The better the dancers, the more, it seemed, that they were expecting something to happen in the breaks - and the looks I was on the receiving end of caused me no little pain - I could see that the good dancers could do interesting things with the music, and I wanted to give pleasure to these great ladies on the dance floor.

So I started to learn. And though I can't do much, I don't get the funny looks any more...

... and dancing is fun again.

...and (at least for social dancing) I now get more pleasure from the tiniest extra thing I can learn to do with accents in the music than any number of new moves.

Chris

[DavidB]

Chris

I agree with everything you say. Especially :

I'd been able to freestyle intermediate moves easily enough for several years, but it just wasn't fun any more - because I had been through several cycles of learning and forgetting hordes of intermediate moves

- But gtman is a beginner just trying to make a big step up to intermediate.
- He is trying to learn how to freestyle at the same time.

You can only concentrate on one thing at a time whilst dancing. Everything else has to run on auto-pilot. If you are still concentrating on the moves, then you can't think about freestyle. From the sound of it, gtman is almost comfortable with the moves, so now he can work on leading moves in freestyle.

(Freestyle is wierd. When you can't do it it seems impossible. When you can, it is difficult to explain. The time in between is that one song when it clicks, and is probably the best dance you will ever have.)

Then when you are comfortable with freestyle, you can think about the music. I just don't think now is the right time.

David

[ChrisA]

Originally posted by DavidB
Then when you are comfortable with freestyle, you can think about the music. I just don't think now is the right time.

I agree with this too.

My mistake was in mentioning interpretation at all, when I said

Originally posted by ChrisA
Freestyle is not about memorising a 26 move routine. It's about dancing with your partner, and choosing moves in real time that suit her and the music. Learn to vary them and change their timing to suit the phrases and accents in the music.

No disrespect (and I sure as heck didn't know 26 moves after 7 months), but one of the things that happens when progressing beyond beginner level, is being able to dance without memorising a routine.

My intention was to emphasise the freestyling, not the interpretation.

However, in my defense, he did answer "yes" on another thread when I asked him:

Originally posted by ChrisA
- Do you dance them in time with the music 100% of the time?
- Do you lead them accurately, adapting your lead to your partners' ability to follow, with no excessive force at any time?
- Can you abort one of the 26 and turn it into something simpler instantly if the lady is a beginner and fails to follow?
- Do you listen to the music, and start and finish moves at the start and end of phrases respectively?

Chris

[gtman]

Ok, NO I dont try and follow the same 26 each time.
Maybe once, then maybe again later. But I do mix em up and try to do what ever is needed according to the music. In fact to be honest, I probably get stuck in a loop of about 10 moves for each dance. In random order. Then after a sit down I'll try and do 10 others.

Think I've added a few extra in the last week or so. I'll mix these in to, in various order as needed.

The only move I do repeat a lot is the armjive. Always seem to start with that till the music picks up or I decide to move.

DOES anyone else have a move to start off with. or is the armjive normal.

[ChrisA]

Originally posted by gtman
Ok, NO I dont try and follow the same 26 each time.
Maybe once, then maybe again later. But I do mix em up and try to do what ever is needed according to the music. In fact to be honest, I probably get stuck in a loop of about 10 moves for each dance. In random order. Then after a sit down I'll try and do 10 others.

Totally normal. You're freestyling. It just gets easier with practice. Sounds like you're doing fine for 7 months

So for ****'s sake will you just stop worrying about what label to attach to yourself, beginner, intermediate, or whatever, and just enjoy the dancing

DOES anyone else have a move to start off with. or is the armjive normal.

I don't any more, but lots of people do, and the arm jive is perfectly fine. Providing you do it "cool" with hands down at hip level, and not "dorky" up at shoulder level

Chris