constructive comments on dancing videos and stuff

[Lee Bartholomew]

Soz couldn't think of a better tiitle but have had a few pints (for once I have an excuse for the spelling!!!)

Me and Coni (BlueEyes) have recorded a few moves we wanted to get on video before we forgot them.

They were done this eve on Conis patio in trainers so dont expect any slides or 18 spins .


We are up for some constructive critique on tthe moves we have done. Again make allowances for the floor and the fact it's outside and the sun was in my eyes and there was a wasp nearby (enough excuses).

What we really want to know is what moves you think look good and what moves yo think suck. Cheers. WF and BlueEyes



YouTube - Coni and me putting some moves in to practise

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by woodface

Again make allowances for the floor

What we really want to know is what moves you think look good and what moves yo think suck. Cheers. WF and BlueEyes

(descriptions just for reference)
Move 1 - manhattens into unwrap. Floor's messing it up a bit, but potentially yeah a nice move

Move 2 - first move hook (never really liked that move) to walk (always liek ladies walking) into block spin - this does look good - into dip - not so sure about this, maybe different body alignment for WF would clean it up?

Move 3 - spinning around by neck into drop - don't really like it, though her coming back up to standing looks good

Move 4 - catapult - blues hug - drop. Ok. Again her coming up looks good

Move 5 - slide by. Definite potential for musicality

Move 6 - knee drop. Not sure about the bouncing the knee part (As an aside you get a serious from her as you brgin her up which is a major plus)

Move 7 - Nigel's swizzle into double body roll. Looks ok.

Move 8 - Connie's Leg over - doesn't quite look right, but does suit the music

Move 9 - catapult push away - Ok this I really like

Move 10 - wrap in and out - then kinda side to side swapping - looks ok

Move 11 - lots of arm twisting - sorry but this does look a mess

Move 12 - double leg over - don't really like it, though once again she looks good coming up at the end

Move 13 - change of places stuff - not sure if this was moves or just thinking time for you. Looks ok but nothing "wow!"

Move 14 - neckbreak teapot - needs more polishing

Move 15 - basket to spin, ok

Move 16 - spins to pause - pause looks good, again I think the floor's mesing you up

Move 17 - kinda a pretzelly thing - looks good with the music, into combs

Move 18 - manspin into combs - didn't quite come off but I suspect would look a lot better if you stopped cleanly

Move 19 - beginning of shoulder drop kinda thing to jumping - not my cup of tea but

Move 20 - cleaver in to spin out - liked the spin out

Move 21 - wrapin spin stop - liked the stop

Move 22 - teapot?

Move 23 - mambo into backwards drop - not really a fan of the move

Move 24 - another falling angel type move - looks a bit rough going in, but once it gets going it looks nice and agian a big from her



So Move 9's probably the only one I'd consider nicking. If you were thinking comps, I wouldn't be particularly blown away by the rest - sorry. If it helps, my taste runs more to Val and Dave, Marc and Rachel, Amir and Cat / Kate which is different from what you're going for I suspect.

For putting this up though and for doing that many moves in order

[Double Trouble]

Very brave of you to do that, so

Coni...you still look gorgeous, even dressed as Vicki Pollard - I hate you.

So, to the dancing. That clip gave your dancing ability no justice whatsoever. It looked untidy. Of course thats down to the concrete floor, no dance shoes and limited space.

When I saw you dancing with Coni in the Blues room at Camber, it was much smoother and altogether more professional looking.

Coni looks a little uncomfortable on some of the drops. If it were me i'd prefer you to take more time over them and add some more breaks/musicality to slow it all down a bit.

On a separate note. You two make a lovely couple. Don't fek it up Woodface. Coni is a keeper.

[Lory]

I like the move where Coni nearly kicks you in the groin,... if only!

[Minnie M]

Originally Posted by Double Trouble

Very brave of you to do that, so

Coni...you still look gorgeous, even dressed as Vicki Pollard - I hate you.
So, to the dancing. That clip gave your dancing ability no justice whatsoever. It looked untidy. Of course thats down to the concrete floor, no dance shoes and limited space.

When I saw you dancing with Coni in the Blues room at Camber, it was much smoother and altogether more professional looking.

Coni looks a little uncomfortable on some of the drops. If it were me i'd prefer you to take more time over them and add some more breaks/musicality to slow it all down a bit.

On a separate note. You two make a lovely couple. Don't fek it up Woodface. Coni is a keeper.

DT said it all - I don't need to say anything
especially the highted & coloured bits

[David Franklin]

Firstly, I do much prefer this to the "spinning" clip you posted a while back. (It is a bit more untidy, but I'm sure that's the floor).

The drops at the beginning are interesting, but they do look a little rushed, and (probably because of that and the floor), Coni doesn't hold her frame too well. You might want to consider trying to bend more in the legs and keep your own frame more upright on the drops as well.

The leg stampy drop at 1:05 or so was a nice idea, but I don't think it worked from a spectator point of view.

Really liked the comb into body roll at 1:17.

The Coni "leg-over and spin Woodface" move at 1:26 is interesting, but seemed out of place here.

Liked the "side-to-side" pops at 1:37 or so, worked well with the music.

I don't like the "look through the arms" move at 1:40 or so at the best of times, but this really did look rather messy. Not that I've done this move, but I think you need to bend your knees a little so you can do the "look" bit without ruining your posture.

I liked the leg over spin move, but the entry into it was somewhat telegraphed.

I liked the way you did the slight "body roll" going through the pretzel at 2:29, it adds a lot of visual interest into what can look a fairly boring move.

I know the floor doesn't help, but the spin at 2:40 is really not good. To be honest, when I watched the huge leg prep I thought "uh oh, train wreck approaching...". We've been over this ground before, so just add me to the group of people who think you look better doing 1-2 spins with control than over-egging things.

I really liked the "shoulder drop into bouncing train" at 2:55 or so, thought it worked very well with the music and showed good lead/follow.

With the first aerial, a big part of "selling" this move is to emphasize that you are not using your arms. So be confident! Look up rather than down, chest out, and arms properly out horizontally. I find my arms tend to be a lot lower than I think they are so I actually think about having them at about 30 degrees above horizontal, and then they are roughly in the right place. (Too high looks better than too low, anyhow). And obviously you couldn't do it here, but if you have room at a comp, this move looks a lot better when you spin it.

With the second aerial, you look a bit uncertain about getting your hands into position. Instead of interlocking fingers, you might find it easier to have one arm definitely 'closer' and then hold on to that arm with your other. (As if you were going to do this move only using one arm, but then put the other one "on top" for extra backup). I'd say that in general you should avoid using interlocked fingers for an aerial if you can avoid it, because it makes it very hard to do anything if the move goes wrong. In terms of looks, if you are going to do this move slowly, the girl needs to concentrate on her shape for as long as possible. In the clip there's a relatively long period while coming up and then exiting the move where Coni just looks like she's worrying about how to get down as opposed to trying to look nice.

Some other general comments:

Coming from me, this is very pot-to-kettle, but watch out for your posture.
Again pot/kettle, but it's amazing how much better your dancing looks when you smile!
Finally you might want to think a bit more about "light and shade" as opposed to always doing moves. In particular, give Coni more time to express herself.

[Lee Bartholomew]

Originally Posted by Lory

I like the move where Coni nearly kicks you in the groin,... if only!

Oh it's happened when we have practised it. Infact it has happended when we haven't even been dancing.

Thanks for coments so far. will try and get a better one done on a better floor at some point but for time being stuck with what we have got.

[BlueEyes]

Originally Posted by Double Trouble

Very brave of you to do that, so

Coni...you still look gorgeous, even dressed as Vicki Pollard - I hate you.

Thanks DT As Vicki Pollard comes from the West Country, and that's where I am living , I only thought it right to wear the obligatory tracksuit bottoms Plus I didn't know woodface was going to put it on YouTube, otherwise I would have worn the pink sequined shell suit

Originally Posted by Double Trouble

When I saw you dancing with Coni in the Blues room at Camber, it was much smoother and altogether more professional looking.

It was very dark in the blues room and you had been drinking copious amounts of alcohol

Originally Posted by Double Trouble

Coni looks a little uncomfortable on some of the drops. If it were me i'd prefer you to take more time over them and add some more breaks/musicality to slow it all down a bit.

Dont worry...I had my plastic pants on

Will keep practicing - See you soon at Southport

[Double Trouble]

Originally Posted by BlueEyes

you had been drinking copious amounts of alcohol

Moi?

[Trouble]

hi you two lovely chaps

Well as sis said, very brave of you to do this muchooo respect to u.

i think the moves you did were great, messy some of them but that would account for the situation you were in. You need to neaten up somehow getting out of the swan dive (thats what i call it) and the drop back when her legs are around you.

One thing that was missing for me though and in a big way was chemistry. I think two dancers, regardless of their abilities lacking in sexual chemistry on the dance floor tend to look bland. This is a big miss on the dance and is something i think you should work on quite a lot. Eye contact again, hardly there but this could be your surroundings.

Hope thats useful and again, brave brave brave.. love to you both.xxxx

[Gus]

Originally Posted by Trouble

Well as sis said, very brave of you to do this muchooo respect to u.

This reminds me of something said some time back on another thread about doing 'Dance Surgeries' online. Think it was originally said as a joke ... but it looks like tomorrow is here. How long before an enterprising group of 'Great and Good' offer to do online consultancies. Just think ... all you have to do is shoot your vid, post it on YourTube and Dr Ceroc could give you a diagnosis in 24 hours complete with a guide as how to get better.

Come to think of it ..... all I need to do is get exclusive rights to Nigel, Amir, Kate, DavidB, Dave Franklin, Roger C etc and I could corner the market

[Lee Bartholomew]

Originally Posted by Gus

Come to think of it ..... all I need to do is get exclusive rights to Nigel, Amir, Kate, DavidB, Dave Franklin, Roger C etc and I could corner the market

Would need a few others too to cover non-bland styles




* I joke. Only seen Nigel dance. Want to see the others though esp DF.

[spindr]

For technical reasons have watched it without the sound -- you both look a bit disconnected -- there's a couple of times when it comes to life when you both look at each other and smile/laugh. It's probably the wasp, or maybe concentration.

One thought -- you could (both) think about the spare arm a bit?

SpinDr

[Lee Bartholomew]

It was really more about getting the moves down on video so we have something to go back to when we say "how did we do that move?"

The actual "dancing" side of it is nigh on redundant and should be ignored. It's the actual moves within the vid that we are wanting to get right.

[under par]

Originally Posted by Gus

This reminds me of something said some time back on another thread about doing 'Dance Surgeries' online. Think it was originally said as a joke ... but it looks like tomorrow is here. How long before an enterprising group of 'Great and Good' offer to do online consultancies. Just think ... all you have to do is shoot your vid, post it on YourTube and Dr Ceroc could give you a diagnosis in 24 hours complete with a guide as how to get better.

Come to think of it ..... all I need to do is get exclusive rights to Nigel, Amir, Kate, DavidB, Dave Franklin, Roger C etc and I could corner the market

There could be some money made too shhh! don't shout it out too loud you may have something there...

[MartinHarper]

Best move: the "Connie's Legover" at 1:25 to 1:27. Innovative, fun, well executed.

Worst move: the "man's spin into combs" at 2:37 to 2:40. I think this is in your standard repertoire? You need to take it out or make it better. Sorry. You look like you're about to fall over and crush your partner.

Honourable mention: the "knee drop" at 1:04 to 1:05. Again, innovative move, but I think you can make more of a performance out of it. Can you sync up bouncing Coni and waving your hand over her head, so it looks like you have magic powers? I'm thinking puppetry or Paul Daniels.

[WittyBird]

Originally Posted by MartinHarper

Honourable mention: the "knee drop" at 1:04 to 1:05. Again, innovative move, but I think you can make more of a performance out of it. Can you sync up bouncing Coni and waving your hand over her head, so it looks like you have magic powers? I'm thinking puppetry or Paul Daniels.

Martin I'm really shocked at you, I can't believe that you can take the mickey out of someone with Epilepsy. I think it's quite thoughtless to be honest.

1:05 Coni is obviously having an attack and Woodface is saving her life.

In future can you please be a little more sensitive, by rights I should neg rep you for that.