Intermediate Plus...Course!

[Jive Brummie]

James & Melanie, along with Ceroc Scotland are bringing you another tip-top course.

Taking place in Fiz Fitness, Old High Street, Perth over a 4 week period, the course will look at;

Dancing to differing musical genre's. From Swing and Blues to Latin and Club/Pop.

Styling specific to those genre's including moves and routines.

You will also look at musical appreciation, dancing to the music and not just with the music, lead, follow, tension, compression, rapport, presentation and improvisation.

Throw in a course CD and video along with written notes AND tea and biccies and you've got yourself a bargain.

It's aimed at people who can dance the intermediate class comfortably, both men and women, individuals and fixed couples.

As already mentioned, it's going to be in Fiz Fitness in Perth in Studio 2 (the upstairs one). This is a fantastic venue with a superb wooden floor, wall bars and mirror's.

The course starts on 3rd April for 4 weeks. Each session lasting from 12 midday going on until 3pm.

Places are limited so get in quick. For further details including cost then please give either myself or Franck a quick pm and we'll be only to pleased to give you the gen.

Dare to be different....

James x x

[Little Monkey]

HOORAY!!!

Little Monkey wanna come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Yliander]

this elf would like to come to but it's the wrong Perth

[Tiggerbabe]

Best PM James, as Franck is on holiday and won't be back until the 29th March.

[Jive Brummie]

Don't read this post, read the top one.....

j

[Jive Brummie]

Hey guys,

Just a quicky to add to the details already given.

One of the classes for the course takes place over a Beach Ballroom weekender...Don't worry this happened last time. All we did was do the class later in the evening, so that if people needed to travel south from Aberdeen, then they could do. This was based on participants wishes and decided upon the week before.

So if you are going to the Beach Ballroom and still want to do the course....you can!



James x x x

[Piglet]

Any other Aberdonians going to this and fancy car-sharing with me?

[Jive Brummie]

Originally Posted by Piglet

Any other Aberdonians going to this and fancy car-sharing with me?

Any men interested would be a good thing.

Come on guys...we need you...don't be shy.

James x x

[johnthehappyguy]

sounds brill,

Wouldn't be able to go to all of them tho' because of family commitments.


john

[Jive Brummie]

RIGHT, STAND BY YOUR BEDS...

We need men for this course to run....

If you are a man and reading this...think 'Could I or Should I do this course?'

At the moment we have couples and singles...

Men, don't delay get on the course today and don't let these fantastic women slip through your fingers...it would be a great shame....and besides that they've all told me that if more men don't sign up then they're going to personally inflict pain and suffering on you all...which is a shame...if you'd done the course that might not have happened...

Thanks then...


James (teacher who wants to run a fab course but can't if he keep's getting let down by men)

[bigdjiver]

General comments on workshops:- I find that if I am taught a new move I have to practise it repeatedly until it really sinks in and can be done with the minimum of thought. This is impossible, for me, with the amount of material that is presented in a normal workshop, and I often have the impression that if I had been taught less I might have learned more. I also think I might have liked small freestyle breaks, where I could try and incorporate what I had learned into freestyle, or just give my brain a rest.

The other thing missing from the workshops I have been a reprise. I believe things are learned better with a teach - break - reprise - break - reprise ... system. A quick run through of morning moves in the afternoon might have helped me considerably.

[Lynn]

Originally Posted by Jive Brummie

James (teacher who wants to run a fab course but can't if he keep's getting let down by men)

You'll just have to come and run one in NI then... we tend to have the opposite problem, last workshop we had to actively recruit women to even up the numbers.

Sounds like a fab course btw!

[Jive Brummie]

Now there's an idea...

Originally Posted by Lynn

You'll just have to come and run one in NI then... we tend to have the opposite problem, last workshop we had to actively recruit women to even up the numbers.

Sounds like a fab course btw!

[Gadget]

Originally Posted by Jive Brummie

James & Melanie, along with Ceroc Scotland are bringing you another tip-top course.

Thought I would post some stuff here on what this course is teaching me: a couple of reasons -
- I think that James & Melanie are very good dancers who seem to have a very good eye for spotting things going right/wrong in a dance: hopefully this thread will result in more recognition for them as teachers as well as dancers.
- Someone else may benifit from my musings; and that can only be a good thing
- I need to write stuff down so that I can think it through at a slower pace and it sinks in more: I may as well share it and give feedback at the same time. {I'm lazy }

expectations
I went to the first week with very little in my mind of what to expect or what I wanted from it. I dance almost the same (style of) moves and almost the same way for just about all music - If the track screams 'latin' or 'blues' to me, then I will put that in, but it's fairly raw. While it may 'feel' like that to me or even my partner, I think it all looks roughly the same.
After the first little excercise I had a firmer idea of what I want from this: I want to look* like I'm dancing with/for my partner: Every other couple looked to be more 'connected' than I did.
(* I can lead quite well; I am in constant connection with my partner and use my touch and physical feedback to dance a lot more than any visual clues... actually, this may explain a lot about the look; I dance like I would imagine a blind man would. )
So what I think I nowwant from this course is an increased awareness and controll of myself rather than my partner.

Lessons
at the risk of repeating myself; I HATE footwork. Unfortunate, since that's Melanie's forte. A fairly simple routine - but we were not trying to learn move; just the 'feel' of the moves. Some good advice about hips and wiggles from M, and some good advice about following lines in poses from J. I think that i really need to keep my chin up and ribcage inflated a lot more - it's taking mental effort to keep reminding myself every two steps and when I turn my head and when I look at my partner and...

The only down side (and this is a critiism of all classes/workshops) is that since I am no longer actually leading the moves (it's a routine: the lady knows what's coming) my lead becomes lazy and I just lead the timing; prime example was/is a fast firt move turn & sit (sort of like a dip, but without the dipping). If I were leading in freestyle, I would support the lady and secure her, guiding her into the 'twist' action with the hand on her back. But she knows this move is coming after the walk, so my lead just becomes a light pressure and subtle guidance to the timing. This is especially true of ladies who pick up a move in class/workshop faster than me; I'm often adjusting my timing to match them. (Not the case on Sunday, but I definetly was reducing my lead; is this a good or bad thing?)

learning
As ever, I paid more attention to what the ladys were doing What did I learn from it...? I got a bit more confident in being able to lead the timing of footwork and moves so I can lead a 'curve' of motion between beats rather than a straight line. I didn't really learn that much, but it has got me focused on a couple of things and how to resolve them.


Next week should be interesting - introducing some dynamics without too much exersion and more playing with timing.

[Gadget]

Originally Posted by Gadget

Next week should be interesting - introducing some dynamics without too much exersion and more playing with timing.

OK, I was wrong with the "without too much exersion" bit

We did discuss 'timing' quite a bit however - with special reference to the head-flick thing. but I don't think anything was resolved other than...
- you either have to use it solo or be synchronous; safer to use your own timing and do it solo unless it's a known partner that you can get it right with.
- the timing in regard to the beat and the movement of the feet does not really matter; it's the timing of it with regard to the music that makes the impact.

learning
I learned a couple of things about my lead:
- Spins and turns on my side need to either flow from a move or come from a positive block/hold of a beat(or more). Any hesitation or "dramatic pause" does not work for me; the lead is in a state of flux that the lady is anticipating her going into the next move and when I do one instead, it is confusing and aquard.

- Since I am fairly true to my "cross slot" leading, many different moves start the lady moving in an identical direction: down the slot. As a result, the lead for things like the man-spin, traveling return, first move, ... all start the same way and the lady gets very little fore-warning as to the move untill she is in motion. Good thing - this is exactly what I want to acheive. Bad thing - I have to know exactly where I am going and what I am doing; hesitation is painfully obvious and errors are easily highlighted.

- I 'overlead' with ladies than I should be able to almost 'underlead' with. What I mean is that to get a lady to move, step, turn, whatever, you lead the lady through the movement. With beginners and lady's who give me strong resistance, this lead is fairly strong and continues into the movement; for examle leading a simple step backwards, the pressure I apply turns from compression to tension when I want her to step forward again.
In the same action for more experianced and lighter followers, the compression is only used as an indication of movement, then my hand goes with hers untill I take some tension back into it again.
What I tend to do is 'over-lead' so that any movement that a more 'advanced' follower will absorb in fingers/wrist/elbow is being pushed deeper into their elbow/shoulder: I am moving them instead of allowing them to move in response to my lead.

routines
Freestyle is not a problem, but stick a routine down and I'm lucky if I get it right one time in ten! I can do each move. I can link them all together. It dosn't matter the complexity; I could even do the moves backwards (individually). But string them together into a set pattern and I'm lost
{Note - this is true in any class; not just limited to workshops}
I think that this is especially true for moves or links that (in my mind) don't 'flow' or that I can't figure out a clear lead for {without signals or pre-rehersed}.

Improvement
I am finding that the open "workshop" enviroment is allowing me to repeat things again and again untill I can work out exactly what isn't going right - what I do to resolve this is a different matter, but it's giving me some pointers as to where to improve.

Most of the workshop is giving pointers and advice on the hows & whys of dancing to various genre's; personally, I'm using this as a background light to shine through my dancing and show the numerous flaws that exist. Hopefully it will allow me to polish some of these out.

{And my head still droops }

[Gadget]

Let me first say to Wendy - She said she wanted to improve her follow, and whatever she's done in this last week has worked beautifully...

lesson
This weeks workshop was more of a consolidation and advice thing than a moves or routine thing. With the music played, I found it really hard not to listen to it and simply practice {could have done with some 'boring' tracks rather than ones with loads of scope for interpritation }

I actually got a bit of insight into the last couple of weeks from this weeks workshop: to lead lots of blocks and "sharp" moves, the contact and tension between partners has to be quite firm: To dance in smoother curves and wth a more 'flowing' form, the contact has to be quite light. In standard 'freestyle' terms, this means that 80-90% of my dance should be light guidance, but a change in speed and pressure will result in firmer control and let my partner know something unusual is about to happen (like a dip or something) I knew this before, but it has become a bit more polarised between the extremes from working with the lady's in the workshop.

learning
Some of the things I picked up on in week one are still in evedence; need to make more of a conceous effort. This is especially true of looking at my partner and getting a more 'connected' look.

I also found that I need to 'tighten up' a bit more: either control the lead so that my partner is not ending up too far away, or move to meet her more; some moves are having to be done at almost a full extension - and I have long arms.

I should stop being so much of a control freak during the dance and trust that my partner can cope with being left alone without me holding her hand for a few beats. Normally this only happens from a mistake or a hi-jack position in my dancing rather than actually giving the lady a window {I make so many mistakes that it may look/feel like I give them space, but I think that the reality is subtaly different }

I can lead ladies forward and backwards. I can lead them in turns and spins. I find the timing and weight distribution of leading a lady laterally to the side really hard without either leg or hip contact. I think I need to sharpen my awareness of the lady's center and the movement/momentum.

improvemet
well, I think i'm a bit straighter and don't look down as much, but I aso think that I would be lying if I said I've got it.

I am actally involving my back hand a bit more - probably too much, but I'm sure that lazyness will tone it down in a bit.

Unfortunatly, the majority of the tips and stylings James & Melanie dispensed, I had just written out my self for another pet-project the night before. {actually, it was quite spooky, since some of it was almost word for word!}



Next week is the Beach Ballroom!! wow, dosn't time fly.

[Piglet]

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!

Can't put into words how much I'm enjoying these workshops. To be honest I wasn't sure if I was up to doing different styles of dances as I seem to have a general Piglet style - however, I was consciously trying to dance differently when given the opportunity yesterday (although I had to concentrate on improving my footwork too so I possibly thought about my feet more than anything else).

I reckon the style differences are very subtle at times, but I'm quite chuffed that I'm beginning to have an understanding of them (however small that understanding is).

Had great fun - especially enjoyed the last couple of dances where we were put on the spot to do a bit of individual dancing inbetween the partner dancing. Need to do much more of this to develop my own ideas of different moves, but its exciting just thinking about it.

So big thanks to James and Melanie and all the other fantastic dancers who had to put up with me. Looking forward to our last lesson together.

Pamela xx

[Wendy]

Originally Posted by Gadget

Let me first say to Wendy - She said she wanted to improve her follow, and whatever she's done in this last week has worked beautifully...

Thank you .. I really have been trying to follow recently..so great to know my effort is paying off . As I said on Sunday, though, I do expect the odd break to be offered to me so I can play too. I almost wished I'd got you for the last exercise so see if you'd really let me do that. Sounds like you did with Piglet. My turn next session I hope.

I am really enjoying the course too. The lead-follow exercise was superb - I was awful !!! lol... But I woke up this morning thinking why I took my hand away and released the pressure when the guy tried to change direction (instead of keeping the pressure the same). It's that flat hand thing !!! I must have been thinking "pushspin" !!!! I'll practise with a few people this week and see how it goes.

Looking forward to the next session.. shame it's the last one.. woner if we'll get videoed to see how much we have improved ???

Wx

[Jive Brummie]

Thanks for the feedback guys. It's always welcome and good to hear, be it good 'stuff' or 'not so good stuff'.

This course contains some strong personalities but from our point of view, it's been great to impart some hints and tips on such people. From a teaching perspective, I love it when you can see people are actually listening to you....


Woohoo.

Must admit I enjoyed the lead follow exercise too and it was tip-top to see how you'd all cope with it.

Looking forward to Beach Ballroom next week when we all get to chill out and have a good bop...

Now, Wendy...about filming you on the last week...hmmmmm

J & M x x

[Wendy]

Originally Posted by Jive Brummie

Now, Wendy...about filming you on the last week...hmmmmm

I'd promise to follow perfectly and only do my own thing if given the opportunity by the lead

Wxxx