Tips sought - dancing in time

[joanna]

Oroginally posted by Rougeforever
I know I have to start asking more men to dance - but at the moment I've only been asking my fellow beginners. I'll get onto it.
Honestly I will. It's just that some of them are just so *good* !

I'm usually open-mouthed with awe!

I am in much the same situation - totally addicted, have been dancing 2 months, have started going twice a week, have signed up for a cerocshop, and bought a ticket for the champs (I am foolhardy friend of purplepony, we are really looking forward to going now, ref: "In too deep ?")
I started freestyling the first week because I didn't have a chance to think it through and let common sense prevail. I have stomped on people, missed a thousand moves, apologised profusely and been fairly embarrased. I have though met some lovely people who have never made me feel bad and some of the time now I can follow thier moves which is such fun.
Good luck!

[Alfie]

Originally posted by Rougeforever

I know I have to start asking more men to dance - but at the moment I've only been asking my fellow beginners.

You could always ask me I'm only a beginner

[Minnie M]

Originally posted by Alfie
You could always ask me I'm only a beginner

You must have gone to the same school as Trampy

[Alfie]

I am really, ask anyone

[TheTramp]

Originally posted by Alfie
I am really, ask anyone

Ditto!!

Trampy

[Rougeforever]

Originally posted by Alfie
You could always ask me I'm only a beginner

I know you're pulling my leg... but of course. Will ask you to dance as soon as you make yourself known to me

Will be at Leamington tomorrow night and Solihull on Thursday.

See you there ?

[Bill]

Originally posted by Rougeforever
nothing is too far (Even Scotland !)

and so the sooner you can get yourself up here the better

The great thing about beinga taxi dancer is that it keeps reminding us of what it was like when we all started - the nerves, the fear that we'll never remember any moves- won't follow, can't lead etc........ but the very fact that you can look at these great dancers just shows what you will be doing in a very short space of time

People who have only been dancing a few months can look wonderful to someone who is completely new and will be amazed to think that anyone considers them even half decent.

Anyway, have fun ( that's what it's all about) and see you when you get to Scotland - you'll need some time as you'll have to get up from Edinburgh to Dundee then Aberdeen and back through Perth, Stirling and then Glasgow. Couple of weeks should be enough

I've got a similar, but worse problem. I'm a bloke and one of the (many) complaints my girlfriend has is that my timing is wrong. The problem is I don't naturarlly listen to rhythm - I listen to melody. Indeed in many songs I really struggle to pick out a beat at all, some I simply can't.

In order to hear the rhythm I need something as obvious as the baseline to 'Black Velvet' by Alanah Miles. Even then me and my girlfriend disagree about where the beats are. I count twice as many as she does. Apparantly it alternates between a normal and snare drum - I can't hear the difference without really concentrating, more than I could manage while dancing. This is actually an odd case - for most song where I can find a beat she counts four times as fast as me - I can only hear the emphasised beat, and am sure thats what ceroc teachers are normally counting. She however counts three intermediate beats too - which is in general faster than I consider physically possible to dance too.

At the moment music is a distracting noise, not an aid to dancing.

Quite frankly I'm not sure what to do other than just give up. The only other option I can think of is private practice at home to silence or clasical music without a beat. That way I'd at least get to dance with her while still letting her dance with people she considers any good at classes. Unfortunately shes not keen on helping me.

HELP!

[Gadget]

A couple of brief tips:
- I would dance with other people; especially taxis.
- try counting out-loud.
- try tapping your feet/fingers when (if) sitting some dances out.
- try watching other dancers and see were they are on the beats you recognise.
- listen to music and try to seperate the instruments in your head, following each as it dives in and out of the music.

If you can work out what your partner is listening to (as opposed to what you hear), then you are 99% of the way towards being a good dancer.

Please don't give up - once it 'clicks' you will discover a whole new level of enjoyment

{PS you really should register so we know what to call you }

[TheTramp]

Originally posted by Gadget
{PS you really should register so we know what to call you }

Is it just my cynical nature, or do you think that maybe we should be calling whoever posted that (and presumably the other posts in this section), Mr Wind-up Merchant??

Trampy

Originally posted by Gadget
A couple of brief tips:
- I would dance with other people; especially taxis.

I do try - but find the good dancers are dancing with the other good dancers! Taxi's are impossible to get hold of when they're concentrating on the 'six weeks or less' people - I've been trying to get the hang of this for 8 months, they probably assume I don't need them any more.

- listen to music and try to seperate the instruments in your head, following each as it dives in and out of the music.

I've been trying this. While its working to some extent its totally destroying my enjoyment of music.

If you can work out what your partner is listening to (as opposed to what you hear), then you are 99% of the way towards being a good dancer.

Please don't give up - once it 'clicks' you will discover a whole new level of enjoyment

I don't want to give up, but might have to. Its already destroying my girlfiends enjoyment of ceroc. Maybe I should stop before it kills the relationship?

[/quote] {PS you really should register so we know what to call you }[/quote]
Yeah probably

[ChrisA]

Originally posted by TheTramp
Is it just my cynical nature, or do you think that maybe we should be calling whoever posted that (and presumably the other posts in this section), Mr Wind-up Merchant??

It's not just yours, Steve.

And I don't see the normal horde of helpful people rushing forward to post on thumbless leading, beat counting and the like.

If you fall for an April fool by responding to it on April 2nd does it still count? If not, is it Ok if I wait till tomorrow to be helpful?

Chris

No its quite genuine. I AM that bad. You know the phrase 'two left feet?' Well I got the two right feet that were left over...

I'm only staying anonymous because I don't want my girlfriend to be able to find this easily. I find it insulting to have genuine difficulties dismissed as an april fool. If thats what I can expect then I definately don't want to register.

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally posted by Unregistered
I do try - but find the good dancers are dancing with the other good dancers! Taxi's are impossible to get hold of when they're concentrating on the 'six weeks or less' people - I've been trying to get the hang of this for 8 months, they probably assume I don't need them any more.

They may well do, in which case ASK THEM...thats what they're there for. The 6 weeks or less is a guidline for the intermediate class and the estimated time to cover beginner moves, it is not the time it takes you to be able to dance! Some can dance brilliantly in a few months some will never dance brilliantly, but the stumbling block you've hit can be helped if you tell people about it.

Which venue to you go to ?

[ChrisA]

Originally posted by Unregistered
No its quite genuine. I AM that bad. You know the phrase 'two left feet?' Well I got the two right feet that were left over...

I'm only staying anonymous because I don't want my girlfriend to be able to find this easily. I find it insulting to have genuine difficulties dismissed as an april fool. If thats what I can expect then I definately don't want to register.

Historically on the forum there have been people who register or post purely to wind up others with controversial posts - sometimes their userids are even alter egos of people already quite well known here.

There may be a little sensitivity about the possibility of another such, so don't take it personally if people are a little reluctant to dive right in - particularly today!

Mostly you'll find people here are very keen to help - but we're real people, and it's a little difficult to relate to someone that is reluctant to identify themselves as a real person.

You don't need to use your real name - very few of us do, or at least not our whole name - but "unregistered" is somewhat impersonal. Part of the fun of the forum is that it isn't just an impersonal message board, and people here get to know one another over time, which makes the community stronger.

Maybe your girlfriend would be pleased that you were seeking to improve as a dancer - so even if she did find out you were here it wouldn't be so awful. Is she here too?

Chris

Um yeah. Point taken. Sorry - just not in the best of moods right now. Still recovering from not getting any sleep last night due to stressing over this and the resulting argument with my girlfriend.

Originally posted by Dreadful Scathe
Which venue to you go to ?

Various ones in and around Birmingham - couldn't find a local place to ask these questions.

[Gadget]

Originally posted by twoRIGHTfeet
Um yeah. Point taken. Sorry - just not in the best of moods right now. Still recovering from not getting any sleep last night due to stressing over this and the resulting argument with my girlfriend.

I would guess that you're stressing too much to relax into the song and you're girlfriend is criticising instead of advising (which may be a good point: I would only apply advice from 'trusted' sources like teachers, taxis or dance gods.)

A few more things that may help:
- Sing allong. It's a good way to relax and just dance rather than concentrating too much on moves, timing, leading, footwork, floorcraft...etc.
- If you "loose" the beat or timing within a move, find a way to collect both hands and go into an 'arm-jive'. It's the most rhythmic and easiest move to find the beat again with.
- try mirroring the lady; when they place a foot, you place a foot. there should be no delay or hesitation (although there may be for the first couple of counts). Try it with the arm-jive - just don't do a full 180º swivel.
- try to count in with the teacher when they start the class to music: anticipate the count.
- don't just dance with "good" dancers or a select few; leading beginners or "new" people is a sure way to discover how many different ways what you thought you were leading can actually be interpreted.


Re: Cynics I did think that there was a possability that this was a crank posting - but only for a milisecond: Cranks and april-fools are intended to make a fool of someone. How can I be seen as {even more of} a fool by posting an honest answer? I think that those (normally helpfull) people have been made more of a fool by not posting.

[ChrisA]

I have no disagreement with any of the suggestions posted so far.

However.

Forgive me, but if in 8 months of Ceroc you still have trouble hearing the beat, then I do think you have a problem, and IMHO, it is your most serious one. If you overcome this, then a lot of other things that may seem to be a problem will become a lot easier to deal with.

It's not insuperable, particularly if, as you say, you can hear the one emphasised beat per bar.

But it does say to me that you need to go back to some really basic basics. And it also says to me that you will need to put some serious work into it.

You need to decide whether dancing is a high enough priority for you - if it is, then you will find the motivation.

FWIW, I think all this stuff about listening to the different instruments is all fine, but it's for further down the line.

For now, you need to find some tracks with a strong beat, expressed clearly in the bass and/or the drums, and learn to hear the four beats per bar. If you need help from someone to do this, then get it - but do it as far from the dance floor as you can. You want a low-pressure learning environment, IMHO.

Learn to clap in time, and then learn to walk in time. The counts in Ceroc actually take two beats - what you're aiming for to start with is to be able to walk in time, one step per Ceroc count, ie one step per two beats of music.

When you can do this reliably, you will be able to start learning to dance in time. You may be able to overlap this with learning the moves, but you might want to concentrate on the hearing the rhythm first.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Chris

[Rougeforever]

Hello twoRIGHTfeet !

Glad to see another local. Have you tried Solihull or Leamington yet ?

I think Black Velvet isnt the easiest song to tap a beat to. Maybe it's just me - I am fairly beatless.

I think you'll get a lot better with a bit of practise. Not that it's any of my business, but I try and make a point not to critique my boyfriend on dancing style - I figure we're both beginners, and there are plenty of teachers and taxis who can help.

I've noticed some good female taxis at Leamington - try and get some help from them - I know the taxis I have asked for help have gone out of their way to help me. I had 20 minutes with one taxi trying (mostly in vain) to help me with the sway !

Nice to see another W Midlander.