Advanced Dancing

[Gus]

Originally posted by Ronde!
Work may be sending me in your direction within the next year or so. I'd be honoured if I might dance with one of your lovely ladies, and you can judge for yourself.

Live passionately,

And which specific direction would that be ... to the sophistication of the North West, the warm friendliness North of Hadrians wall or the dank cesspool of despair South of the Watford Gap?

[Ronde!]

Originally posted by gcapell
Multiple spins are a generic style thing here. Most of the better guys and girls do them a lot. Once you get used to them they're no big deal. On BIG moves versus musical interpretation, I'd say it's generally easier to teach and learn big moves than musical interpretation, so probably guys get into those earlier. I'm looking around for models of guys with great musical interpretation around Sydney, and they're kind of few and far between. There are a lot more girls who are very strong with interpretation.

Sounds pretty spot on...

If you're ever in Canberra, get in touch and I'll bring you to class... Intuitively, I think we have fewer Advanced dancers than in Sydney, but we try to make up for it in enthusiasm, which helps with interpretation.

Live passionately,

[Ronde!]

Originally posted by Gus
And which specific direction would that be ... to the sophistication of the North West, the warm friendliness North of Hadrians wall or the dank cesspool of despair South of the Watford Gap?

Ha ha hee hee hee!

Alas, if the south is a cesspool, then I shall be amongst the pondscum at its bottom, for I would be in Paris, which is even further south than you could possibly have imagined from my intentionally vague description. However, I worked in the UK for a year previously, so any trip to Europe will definitely require a trip around the UK for old time's sake.

Thus, I look forward to your sophistication and warm friendliness.

[DavidB]

Originally posted by gcapell
they edited out the best (in my opinion) showcases (I'm guessing to stop people stealing moves).

I've never had any problem with people stealing moves. Just as long as they don't blame me when they go wrong!

I was looking at getting the US Swing Open DVD(s), but $US200 is a bit harsh when I've only got Australian pesos.

If you are into musical interpretation, this could be the best USD200 you could spend. The standard is so far in advance of jive in the UK.

I have heard they might also have a single highlights video for this year, and a compilation of the best from the last 19 years. These might be cheaper. I've asked them for more information - I'll let you know what I find out..

David

[DavidB]

Originally posted by DavidB
I have heard they might also have a single highlights video for this year, and a compilation of the best from the last 19 years. These might be cheaper. I've asked them for more information - I'll let you know what I find out..

They have a compilation of the best performances from the last 20 years, and it costs USD45, +shipping.

For more details see US Open Videos

David

[Dreadful Scathe]

has anyne bought any of the videos/dvds ? on a scale of 1 to 10 how brilliant are they ? (Im justifying the spend)

[TheTramp]

You mean that a recommendation from DavidB isn't enough to go scurrying off to your browser, credit card in hand??

Now, if I only had a credit card. When do you suppose they'll start taking switch in the US?

Steve

[Jayne]

Originally posted by TheTramp
When do you suppose they'll start taking switch in the US?
Steve

Do they not take switch in the States? Gosh! And I thought it was a civilised country... Definitely have to clear stuff off the credit card before I go then... Cheers Tramp!

Jayne

PS if you tell your bank that it's for expenses only they'll give you a credit card... well, it worked for me anyway...

[TheTramp]

Ah. But that would be assuming that I'd want one Jayne. I'll just stay clear of them thanks, and wait for the lesser civilised countries to catch up

Steve

[Jayne]

Originally posted by TheTramp
Ah. But that would be assuming that I'd want one Jayne. I'll just stay clear of them thanks, and wait for the lesser civilised countries to catch up

Steve

Yeah but you can hire cars with them and stuff...

Anyway... advanced dancing - you any good?

Jayne

[TheTramp]

Anyway... advanced dancing - you any good?

Allegedly. Though, I maintain that I'm just a beginner. I have a long way to go in dancing in general. Though, apparently, I'm catching onto this jive thingy now.

Steve

[Jayne]

Originally posted by TheTramp
Allegedly. Though, I maintain that I'm just a beginner. I have a long way to go in dancing in general. Though, apparently, I'm catching onto this jive thingy now.

Steve

So do you have any tips for us mere mortals? A voice of experience perhaps? After all, Life's too short to make all the dancing mistakes yourself (let alone all the other mistakes I manage to squeeze in *sigh*).

Tips?

Jayne

[TheTramp]

Tips??

Well, lots of better dancers than me have already posted lots of tips in this part of the forum.

How about we have a dance on Saturday, and see what happens

Steve

[PeterL]

Originally posted by Jayne
Life's too short to make all the dancing mistakes yourself (let alone all the other mistakes I manage to squeeze in *sigh*).

A mistake is just a new move waiting to be invented.

[TheTramp]

I dunno. You should see some of my mistakes.

However, I will bear that in mind next time my partner complains!!

Steve

[Sal]

Originally posted by PeterL
A mistake is just a new move waiting to be invented.

Oh, I like that! I think this will be my new excuse!

[Jayne]

Originally posted by TheTramp
Tips??

Well, lots of better dancers than me have already posted lots of tips in this part of the forum.

How about we have a dance on Saturday, and see what happens

Steve

I was just trying to get back on topic...

:sorry

Jayne

[PeterL]

Originally posted by Sal
Oh, I like that! I think this will be my new excuse!

I think most of my moves are old mistakes.
just look knowledgablle and the partner presumes you were taught it somewhere.

It is quite funny when you make a mistake one week and then you see it taught as a move the next.

[DavidB]

Originally posted by Dreadful Scathe
has anyone bought any of the videos/dvds ? on a scale of 1 to 10 how brilliant are they ? (Im justifying the spend)

10/10, but I'm biased. I have only just ordered the 2002 videos. I have the 1999 and 2000 videos.

The US Open lasts 3 days, and there are quite a few different divisions. The two main ones are the 'Classic' and the 'Showcase'. Both are choreographed routines - the Classic has no lifts, whereas the Showcase has at least 3. There is a Cabaret division - anything but swing. They also have Strictly Swing (ie freestyle) where the pro's are not allowed to dance with their regular partner. There is no 'Dance With A Stranger' at the US Open - they don't have enough time to run one.

The top dancers are far better than anything you see over here at lead/follow, musical interpretation, performance and choreography. They are not so keen on lifts and drops. Virtually all of them are full-time dance teachers, and they usually compete 2 or 3 times a month. However anyone can enter any division, so sometimes you see some pretty bad couples who just wanted to say they had taken part. And obviously they do West Coast Swing, so you might not be able to pick up too many moves (unless you are good at adapting them.)

Each video set consists of 4 or 5 3-hour VHS tapes. They video everything - all the heats, the finals, a lot of the general dancing. They are professionally produced - they typically have 3 broadcast-quality digital cameras at the event, and use the latest digital mixing hardware/software. The tapes are usually available in NTSC format. If you don't have a dual-format video player, they can convert them to PAL format.

I'll let you know what I think of this year's videos when I get them.

David