What happens in a consolidation class?

[Lou]

Hiya.

Errrmmm. This is a bit embarassing. It's time to 'fess up, especially after reading some of today's postings.

I've never been to a Consolidation/Review/WhateverIt'sCalled class taught by Taxi dancers. What actually happens?

[TheTramp]

Starts off by sacrificing a chicken to the gods of Ceroc....

[Lou]

Originally Posted by TheTramp

Starts off by sacrificing a chicken to the gods of Ceroc....

Why didn't they tell me sooner?! All these years wasted....


It's a serious question, Steve!

[MartinHarper]

My experiences (some months ago now, so memory may be unreliable, and/or things may have changed):

We were taught the first two or three moves of the beginner routine. There was about the same level of detail, but we had a few more goes to practice each of them. Smaller group, so a little more interactive/personal. I recall one person asking if it mattered which foot they should step back on, for example. Also, our thumbs were checked out. The guy teaching took part in the rotation. I can't recall if he was introduced as a taxi or as a trainee teacher. There wasn't any music, so we danced to the "5 6 7 8" song. There was a bit of cheerleading for us to go out and dance with each other during the freestyle. Finally, we wandered out to watch the end of the intermediate class.

Don't worry, you didn't miss much.

[Lou]

Originally Posted by MartinHarper

There wasn't any music,

Ewwww. Seriously? That's what I'd guessed from some of the remarks. See - when I learnt (about 3 squillion years ago), there was a similar type class held at Elmgrove. But they had music & teachers & stuff. I'd just assumed (before today) that Ceroc did the same.

Doesn't it make it.... well... dull?

[MartinHarper]

Floor surfaces of review classes I've taken part in include wood, carpet, and outside on a handy patio area. Fortunately this last one was in summer!

The lack of music didn't bother me at the time. I don't know if it helped or hindered my learning.
The only review class I've seen with music provided was in a very small venue where the review class took place in the same room as the intermediate class, and shared the music with us. That worked surprisingly well.

[RogerR]

The cynic in me suggests it's any method to reduce the loss of first night beginners who will not return unless they feel confident.
The group-theorist in me says that if you introduce people to others in the same situation then the members gain confidence from the group.
The ex-teacher in me says that it gives the beginners something to do while the inters do their class. Otherwise the beginners leave, or join the inter class and lose the plot and leave.

It should be a revision of the beginners class with much personal tuition and then a group entry to the freestyle so that the group can freestyle their limited repertoire with each other for a start.

[David Bailey]

Originally Posted by RogerR

The cynic in me suggests it's any method to reduce the loss of first night beginners who will not return unless they feel confident.

That's not cynical!

Cynical would be, for example, "it's a cheap way to use free labour to provide the impression that beginners are getting two classes for the price of one."

Now that's cynical...

[under par]

For all the beginner leaders out there and for those we hope to join us in the future I feel strongly that we should encourage any chance to practice the moves learned with as much personal tuition as possible.

A consolidation class is a good thing.

It enables novice leaders an extra bit of practice hopefully with some help to go over a lesson just taught whilst the more advanced dancers get on with their second lesson.

All help and additional tuition can only be a benefit and hopefully encourage new leaders to return and persist at what we all know to be an initially awesome task of learning to dance well with numerous partners.

I started a thread some while back asking what we can do to encourage new leaders to stay within MJ, it is vitally important that all venues do their utmost to retain them and good consolidation classes could and should help.

You only have to visit most classes and all weekenders to see anything from 10 to 75 (yes 75 women over at one lesson at Camber) more followers than leaders.

So for the confident cynics out there, please don't knock the consolidation classes, they are there for the less confident absolute beginner who hasn't a clue what is happening to him( do you not remember those first few weeks and months ? I do!!!!)

Some consolidation classes maybe better than others but anything is better than move OVERLOAD, doing the second class too early!

Having given up dancing myself twice for over six months a time I know how close I came to giving it up altogether.

Circumstances where such that I persevered and consolidation classes did help a lot so please don't knock it just because you are now too good to benefit from them,
Please allow novices the chance to learn from them and gain additional confidence which may make them stay with MJ.

[David Bailey]

Originally Posted by under par

A consolidation class is a good thing.
{ snip excellent points }

I know, and my apologies for OTT cynicism... It's just a bit of a bugbear of mine. These classes are clearly important, and I'd never diss (OK, I wouldn't oftern diss!) their value. But I just don't like the way they're done.

By taking the taxi's away from their primary function of demonstration in the intermediate classes, this weakens such classes - no official demonstration of "This Is How It's Done, No, Really It Is". And no help in moving people up and down rows - the poor teacher has to do all this class management work now, as well as teaching a routine, which again reduces the effectiveness of the intermediate classes.

In addition, taxi dancers aren't trained teachers, so the consolidation classes themselves are less effective than they could be.

So, I fully accept that beginners are being taught excellently now, but I feel this is at the price of a reduction in the effectiveness of the intermediate class.

Originally Posted by under par

So for the confident cynics out there, please don't knock the consolidation classes, they are there for the less confident absolute beginner who hasn't a clue what is happening to him

My cynicism (boy, that's a toughie to type!), tongue in cheek though it was, is directed at the "on the cheap" method, rather than the principle. My apologies if that wasn't clear.

[Yliander]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

In addition, taxi dancers aren't trained teachers, so the consolidation classes themselves are less effective than they could be.

a class not being taught by a teacher is a scary concept for me.

as a student I found consolidation classes the most important class I attended - as it was smaller and I had the chance to ask questions if something wasn't feeling right and the teacher also had the opportunity to teach some finer technique points as well. These classes were taught in a seperate room and had music and everything.

As a teacher I find consolidation classes the most challenging and the most rewarding - they are challenging as I have students from the first timer to those about to leave the saftey need and head for intermediate. the Challenge is to make the class easy enough for the 1st timer as well as the beginner. Ours take place in a seperate room and have music and everything - and in addition to covering that nights moves we answer questions, offer advice and tips on how to use the moves, make the work better. I find these classes the most rewarding as a teacher as you really get to see the light blub's come on for people when things start to click - also it is more personal than teaching from a stage and I get to know the students more as individuals - sadly i struggle to remember anyones name though

The format for our consolidation classes is - cover basic hand hold and stepping - ie no thumbs, little steps etc, then cover the moves taught that evening answering questions etc - during this time will also teach a fundamental linking it's application to the one of the moves from the class, & or same basic spining technique - once all moves are covered then link them together - getting them to dance through the looped moves 2-3 times - both calling the moves out, counting them in, and start in your own time. And then is the speil of the best thing you can do is go out their and dance and most importantly Smile. At this point the intermediate class has finished and everyone troops of to the floor for a dance.

the exact structure of a consolidation/revision/progression class varies in Australia depending on the state, company and location - but the premise seems to be the same all over - it's a chance for students to consolidate what they have learnt that evening and ask questions of a teacher.

[El Salsero Gringo]

Whenever I (as a Taxi-dancer) ran a consolidation class, I made an effort to have some music around - I even brought a CD player along a couple of times before the venue manager provided one.

We used to go through the moves taught in the beginners class, and it meant that I had a chance to look around the room to see that moves were basically coming out correctly, that everyone was turning in the right direction at the right time and so on.

It also meant that the newer dancers had already had some interaction with the Taxi-dancers, hopefully remembered our names, and were therefore more comfortable with asking us to dance later (if we didn't ask them first) or to ask questions that hadn't cropped up in the workshop.

It functioned as an opportunity to talk about lead-and-follow, which I did, even then as a dancer of barely a year's experience, to talk about thumbs and hand-grips and other 'details', and to give a quick pep-talk on how important it is to get out there and actually do it rather than just talk about it. And because I was a relatively new dancer myself I was able to draw on my very recent experience of going through exactly what the new dancers were feeling (or something like it, anyway.)

Remembering back a little further to when I was a beginner I found the whole process very helpful, and I remember with grateful thanks the Taxi-dancers that assisted me along.

[El Salsero Gringo]

Originally Posted by Yliander

a class not being taught by a teacher is a scary concept for me.

{snip}

the exact structure of a consolidation/revision/progression class varies in Australia depending on the state, company and location - but the premise seems to be the same all over - it's a chance for students to consolidate what they have learnt that evening and ask questions of a teacher.

That sounds quite similar to what I always tried to aim for, with the proviso, as you have pointed out, that the Taxi-dancer isn't a trained teacher, nor are they trained to the role.

Hands up for a CTA-operated Taxi-dancer qualification to include some training and a test?

[Russell Saxby]

Originally Posted by DavidJames

I know, and my apologies for OTT cynicism... It's just a bit of a bugbear of mine. These classes are clearly important, and I'd never diss (OK, I wouldn't oftern diss!) their value. But I just don't like the way they're done.

By taking the taxi's away from their primary function of demonstration in the intermediate classes, this weakens such classes - no official demonstration of "This Is How It's Done, No, Really It Is". And no help in moving people up and down rows - the poor teacher has to do all this class management work now, as well as teaching a routine, which again reduces the effectiveness of the intermediate classes.

Since when has a Taxi Dancers primary function been to demonstrate or be in the intemediate class.

I was a taxi for a number of years starting back in 1996, and in all this time I have never seen / or known it to be a Taxi's responsibility to show the Intermediates which way to move up and down the rows.

Taxis are there for Beginners - hence introducing them on stage at the end of the beginners class.

In fact I make a point of asking Intermediates to not dance with the Taxis until the very end of freestyle when they are off duty.

Russell

[Gus]

Originally Posted by El Salsero Gringo

We used to go through the moves taught in the beginners class, and it meant that I had a chance to look around the room to see that moves were basically coming out correctly, that everyone was turning in the right direction at the right time and so on.

It functioned as an opportunity to talk about lead-and-follow, which I did, even then as a dancer of barely a year's experience, to talk about thumbs and hand-grips and other 'details', and to give a quick pep-talk on how important it is to get out there and actually do it rather than just talk about it.

Pulling out the above to comment on a few points made previously.

1) A few clubs still do the 'traditional' put the beginners ina separate line during the Intermedite and see if the sink or swim. Think Ceroc have mostly phased this out but I know that a few Blitz clubs still do this. This is a BAD thing. It scares hell out of beginners and the survivors end up with really bad habits (and sometimes bad attituides).

2) The 'giving confidence' aspect of a consolidation class justifies its assistence if only for that reason. A beginners class can be a very scary place. A consolidation class can make a huge difference.

3) Taxi dancers teaching? YES .. if they have had training. The 'teaching' from stage in a beginners class is mostly 'showing' not teaching. A good taxi dancer can show where dancers are going wrong.

4) Re 3) ... and the main reason I have a doner on consolidatoon classes. 99% of taxi dancers have never been trained ... so many end up aching things WRONG! I make this point from personal observation. I have a number of horror stories from my time teaching at a certain North Manchester venue .. sufficeth to say I've come across a fair few taxi dancers who's dearth of dance technique knowledge is only exceeded by their ego ....

Does this ring true with anyone else?

Oh ... forgot to say .... (IMHO) the failure to properly train taxi dancers is one of the greatest sins MJ Clubs are guilty of.

[David Bailey]

Originally Posted by Russell Saxby

Since when has a Taxi Dancers primary function been to demonstrate or be in the intemediate class.

I don't believe it's ever been their primary function, sorry if I gave that impression. But certainly, taking part in the intermediates class was part of the job description when I did it at Ashtons, but this is dating me
(1996? I thought it was more recent than that, but I could be just losing track of time as I get older. Anyone know when Ashtons started up?)

Originally Posted by Russell Saxby

I was a taxi for a number of years starting back in 1996, and in all this time I have never seen / or known it to be a Taxi's responsibility to show the Intermediates which way to move up and down the rows.

Well, again I don't know if it's an Official Duty, but it's pretty useful - class management is difficult enough in a large hall with dodgy acoustics, so having some help on the floor to progress the class more efficiently does not seem unreasonable to me.

Surely allowing the teacher to focus on teaching (rather than saying "No, up the third row!" or whatever) is good?

Originally Posted by Russell Saxby

Taxis are there for Beginners - hence introducing them on stage at the end of the beginners class.

Well, yes, that's the situation now - but that's not my point, my point is that I'd like them to help out in the intermediates, for the reasons I stated.

Perhaps we need "Super-taxis" ("Stretch Limos"? ), possibly, as suggested, with some level of teacher training, to do this consolidation class / intermediates?

[David Bailey]

Originally Posted by Gus

Oh ... forgot to say .... (IMHO) the failure to properly train taxi dancers is one of the greatest sins MJ Clubs are guilty of.