Viktor & Lydia

[flashy]

hello folks..... new member here.... great site, & nice to chat about dancey stuff. Will pop back again later when I can think of something clever to say.....
Really enjoyed V&L today, and found out about this site via those groovy T-shirts! Found the class had FAR TO MANY LONG MOVES though, despite being advertised as a style w'shop. :tears:

[filthycute]

great to see a new member :D glad our t-shirts did the trick
BIG thanks to Sheena for them :D didn't she do a brilliant job


filthycute x x

[DaveD]

I too thought V&L were brilliant - just so fluid in the movements. I didn't have a problem with the length of the moves, just thought some were difficult to lead if the lady didn't know what to expect. Tried them with my other half (who didn't do the workshop) with about a 50% success rate. The successful (leadable) moves got a "wow that's nice" response:grin: The others tended to end in a tangle of arms:sad: for example the "basket salsa back pretzel" - more practice required obviously!

I particularly liked the first move mambo, but I will probably bore everyone to death with this on the regular Dundee Wednesdays!

Dave

PS liked the T shirts too:wink:

[Janet]

Glad someone has started a new thread about the workshop. I hope Lydia manages to find it!? :wink:

I would just like to say a huge THANK YOU to both Lydia and Viktor for their workshop. I thought it was fantastic. :grin:
It is amazing what you can do with even the simplest moves. :waycool:

I hope you both enjoyed your flying visit to Scotland, despite the total lack of sunshine! Maybe see you at the Scottish Championships and/or the 10th Anniversary Party??? :nice:

Janet

[flashy]

when are the scottish ceroc championships????:confused: :confused: :grin:

[filthycute]

when is the 10th anniversary? :confused:

filthycute x x

[Janet]

Scottish Championships - 20th October in Musselburgh.
(Scot, what happened to your big announcement at the weekend?)

10th Anniversary Party - 23rd November in Glasgow.

Put the dates in your diary!!! :grin:

It's all on the website/chat forum, if you can find it.
I'm sure that Franck and Scot will be giving us more information on both events soon?

:cheers:
Janet

[flashy]

thanks for dates - they're in the diary!

:wink:

[John McAulay]

Hi girls it was a pleasure meeting you all at the workshop
Even Heather, the T shirts were the biz
Had a fab time, first time IÕve been to Marcos
Will not be the last.
IÕve noted the dates for the Scottish Champs and the 10th Anniversary
Hope to see you all there.
regards:waycool:


ps Victor & Lydia Wow!!!

[Heather]

:tears: :tears: What DO you mean John " even Heather".
I'm deeply hurt!!!!!!!
I thought Sheena told you to be nice to me!!!! :wink:
Glad you enjoyed the workshop, it was "SUPERB" (as Scot would say!!) However I was at learning saturation point by about 3pm.
Too much to take in at one go.
See you soon John:cheers:

[Tiggerbabe]

I really, really enjoyed the workshop ( and the party - had a blast - plus got a dance from Viktor - WOW!) although I do think it would perhaps have been better if it had been advertised as an advanced class.
I had thoroughly recommended it to a few of the newer members of our class (they are not beginners but early intermediate!) and felt a bit guilty as I think a couple of them struggled with the moves. I thought they would get lots of style pointers - but it wasn't that type of class.
I'm sure a few of the guys that were there, might not have come if they had realised what they would be doing - would this have meant sitting out more often than 1 in 3? Or would the gentlemen who obviously think they have enough style already have booked in to learn new moves?
Answers on a postcard please............................:wink:

p.s. thought you looked great in your t-shirt Franck:waycool:

Nice to meet you too John and Janet ( that should be the other way round!:grin: ) Still working on a babysitter so I can get to the Vegas Night!

[Janet]

Originally posted by Sheena
I really, really enjoyed the workshop...
Me too! :D Did I say that already??? :wink:

...and the party - had a blast - plus got a dance from Viktor - WOW!
Lucky you!!! I came back to Glasgow and didn't even get a dance with Franck :tears:. Claimed he'd injured his knee or something at the workshop. Can't take the pace Franck? :yum: Still a great party though.

... although I do think it would perhaps have been better if it had been advertised as an advanced class.
The workshop was a good mix of style and advanced moves, but perhaps not what everyone expected from the blurb. Still, I'm not complaining - just glad I didn't have to lead! :what: Had an interesting class on Monday getting passed between the Glasgow men who went to the workshop, in order to practise all those new moves!

Good to meet you too Sheena and everyone else that I don't get to see often enough :grin:.
Heather, the T-shirts were great. Please e-mail your image of Top Cat to Franck so that he can change is Forum avatar! :devil:

Janet

p.s. Mmmm, I learned to read on Janet and John. Please tell me they are still going strong so that I don't feel so old! :tears:

[Amanda]

Originally posted by Janet

p.s. Mmmm, I learned to read on Janet and John. Please tell me they are still going strong so that I don't feel so old! :tears:

Janet and John were the biz in the 60's.

And then of course, there were Peter and Susan....

Amanda

[John McAulay]

The 60's your never that old!!

Im a Bill and Ben, man myself

regards:waycool:

[Bill]

Another fab workshop from V & Lydia and sorry I couldn't make the party in the evening but I'd pay money just to watch them dance:D

The complaint last time was there were too many moves and not enough style so I thought this time it was just right. They can make even simple moves look superb and demonstrate clearly it's not the number of moves, or how intricate they are, it's the style and confidence you do them with that really counts.

Mind you I did struggle with a couple of them and the Aberdeen girls (especially Lisa and Laura) were guinea pigs on Tuesday helping us men try out moves till we got them (nearly) right:grin:

Next time I see V & L I will definitely make every effort to ask L for a dance. And V did look pretty neat in his kilt on Friday night at the ceilidh:wink: Now he knows what Scotsmen wear under their kilt and why:)

[Janet]

Janet and John were the biz in the 60's.Cheers Amanda. I think that had the opposite effect to the response I was looking for! :what:

The 60's your never that old!!Thanks John!!! Not sure if that was directed at Amanda or me but it makes me much feel better. Not quite ready to wear purple and run my stick along the railings yet! :yum:

Janet

[Cerocfan]

I went to the Viktor & Lydia w/shop and was disappointed to find it contained very little style help & was really just a moves w/shop.

There was too much talking & not enough opportunity to practise the moves - sometimes we were moved on after one chance to try it & sometimes, if I was sitting out, I didn't get to practise parts of the move at all. Which leads me to my main complaint - there were too many women.

The previous week, Scot had said there was 1 man place left. We assumed that meant the numbers would be equal, which they should have been because we paid the same money as the men who were on the floor all the time.

I know at least 1 woman paid to dance as a man , but after the morning break, danced as a woman. There were a lot of women who felt they had been short changed, & I know several men as well as women left before the end because the wirkshop was not a 'Style' one as they had expected.

It's great that teachers from all over te country come up to teach here but I feel we deserve what is advertised, and full value for our fee.

Having said that, I enjoyed the day & evening in spite of the above

[John McAulay]

I have to totally agree with cerocfan
Far too many extra ladies which just caused a distraction when moving in and out
Far too little time with the same partner again loosing continuity
Whist I understand the reasons for no Video a class of this standard should come
With hand out notes, its not possible for the hole class to got to the side and take notes
In a class of 4-5 hrs brain saturation hits about 3.5 to 4 hrs.
I had no problem with the content of the course and would happily pay money
to watch Lydia dance, with victor.

Regards:waycool:

[Lydia]

Hello to EVERYONE!

After a busy week at the office I have just had the opportunity to read through this Thread of the forum..and found your comments very interesting..the good as well as the not so good ones!

Now to answer some of the comments:
Regarding the style / advanced workshop..this is the second one that we do in Edinburgh. The first workshop we did last year, had the most of the morning session dedicated to style itself or better..on how to make the simple moves look superb and flowy going through male & female pointers and then Intermediate/Advanced moves in the remaining 1.5 hours in the afternoon. The workshop we did last weekend was the Style/ Advanced workshop number 2...we had only planned to go through selected points of style part for 1.5 hours in the morning, while the rest of the day would be used to practice those pointers on the more complicated moves...When we did the style workshop 1, a lot of people - though they enjoyed it - commented that there wasn't enough "hard" moves and too much style (!!), that's why this time round we didn't spend as much time on the simpler moves but tried to incorporate some of the style into the hard one..can't win! Sorry Sheena & Flashy :sad: , it's always difficult to please everyone because every single person has a different view of what they are going to do and also because they are at different dance levels..we just teach our workshops trying to satisfy as many people as possible..we aim to please, we just thought that this time we had to bring a new workshop to Scotland which was different from the first one by placing in some stylish advanced moves without concentrating too much on the basic moves... I hope you managed to enjoy your day nevertheless and got something out of it.

Regarding the fact that there was too many women waiting on the side is always a difficult one..I know Scot tried his best to get equal numbers but even on the day you never know who will turn up...numbers are unfortunately not guaranteed and I can understand why some of the women won't very pleased..that's why we tried to move the girls as often as we could so that they wouln't stay too long on the side..sorry about this ladies!

As far as DaveD' comment about the practising of the moves is concerned..yep yep yep ..practice makes perfect! If you are dancing with someone and they don't know what move you are trying to do it's or because they've never done it before (and even though it is leadable there's always the problem of the unknown..I do that all the time!) or the lead is not very clear..every single move we teach are in essence leadable in freestyle and providing that the person you are dancing with knows it and that your lead is clear, she'll do it without any probs! Now regarding the Basket Back Pretzel..I think the part you may have problems with is the start of the pretzel ...little tip from me...before you start turning your partner take your right elbow down first and then raiseand straighten your right arm (bit like you are doing a catapult) this makes your partner turn the right way..try this and if you still have problems..I'm here!

Hello CerocFan.:D ..whoever you are...when we plan our workshops we try to spend as much time as possible on each move for everyone to "get it", but we can take more time on each move if needs be..we really don't mind people asking us to go through it again and again we're here for that..we usually ask if there are anything people want us to repeat or clarify but never get much luck...:confused:

John McAulay...I know that most people (except from Scot!) don't have the time or frame of mind to write down notes during the workshop that's why we are half way through a whole description of each move we did during the workshop!!!:grin:
The reason why we don't hand them out at the workshop itself is because we have a whole list of about 20 new moves which we pick & mix on the day to adapt to the crowd....so I will email one list to Scot and one to Frank who will give one to each of you who were on the workshop..is this good news?:cheers:

Bill..you could have asked me for a dance..when my shoulder wasn't hurting I was OK! I book you in for next time..just remind me on the day!!:wink:

David B..I thought your email was very interesting..something to think about! :p

Last but not least JANET.. See I did find the thread..I am quite clever (that's the French in me!)I thought I'd follow the Viktor & Lydia link!! Yeah we had a great time and Saturday was gorgeous and sunny which was a bonus! Although we were tired by the time we got home (had to be at the airport at 7:00am on the Sunday!!!):what: we had a fab time and thank you for taking us out Scottish Style!

I hope this answer everyones' questions/ comments and I hope that in the whole people were pleased with us!

As far as coming back soon..it'll probably be for freestyle or just say "hello" but we will not do another workshop for Ceroc anymore as you might have heard that Viktor and I resigned this week from the Ceroc Teachers Association...we'll still be dancing aroung the country (Ceroc & non Ceroc evenings) and giving classes and workshops to whoever wants us but not under the Ceroc Banner:sorry ... so if you see us somewhere please do come and say HI...

I will still check out this forum and answer everyone's questions about everything (well keep it to the dancing subject!).

Lots of love xxxx

Lydia

[Sandy]

Originally posted by John McAulay
The 60's your never that old!!

Im a Bill and Ben, man myself

regards:waycool:

Actually the woodentops were my favourites, at least you could understand what they were saying! Mind you I have met a few folk who talk like Bill & Ben! And there's always little Weeeeed of course!

Cheers

Sandra - definitely giving my age away

[Lydia]

Hey you guys...has anyone read my message...answering yours..did it help and would any of you have the breakdown of the moves?

Love xxxx

[John McAulay]

I started to read it but did not relies you co wrote war and peace!
hows the sholder, did my wonder gel work?:eek:
great workshop, only problem was it was too far south!
regards:waycool:

[Bill]

well............firstly, sorry I couldn't be at the party and ask you (lydia ) for a dance. On the two occasions I've been in LOndon when you were teaching you were too busy for me to ask and last year you had your leg injury. Next time ?? I'll even take my kilt so you might recognise me !!!!!!!!

Next.......:nice: I think one of the problems, as Sheena suggests, is that a number of folk at the workshop were relatively new and so did struggle with the moves. Just as it takes time to get to grips with the basic moves before going on to the intermediate moves, so it takes time to start thinking of and developing style :rolleyes:

V & L along with Nigel and Nina are probably the only dancers I've seen ( maybe apart from Gus and Helen :D - hi there Gus!) who I'd gladly pay to watch. They can make the most basic moves look wonderful and show us all that even the first move, which most of us take for granted and do with little real feeling or conviction, can look very stylish.

They have poise, elegance and move beautifully - and :grin: - they interpret the music. They actuall look as if they are listening to the tune and the words and make the most of even simple moves. Having lots of moves is great, but like Gus I've forgotten probably 90% of the moves I've learned:tears:

At the last workshop the complaint was that there were too many moves and not enough style. This time I thought the morning session was just right and showed all of us how to add some style to basic moves.

The question of what style is is very interesting - and I can't answer it - but I know it when I see it :D ie V & L or N & N. There is a Ceroc 'style' I suppose which appears to be more jumpy and similar to it's American jive relation - almost a lindy style. I prefer a slower and more gentle approach a la N & N which is why I love dancing Blues.

But............ it's great to have lots of styles for different music and to show that there shouldn't be just one accpeted way of dancing - even Ceroc !;)

So can't wait for the next workshop, in fact see you in July Lydia and Gus......................ps Gus any spare rooms ???????

[Lydia]

Good morning Bill & John!

I know about the "War & Peace" thing..I meant to only write 2 paragraphs....got carried away!!!

The shoulder still painfull but then again the physio said that it would take another 9 months for it to be 100% full use...that's a long time:what: and I have been using the gel you gave me:D (thanks John!) ...really does cool the shoulder muscles afterwards!

Bill, I didn't think there would be any "relatively" new people at the workshop as Scot advertised it for "Accomplished Intermediates", going through some style, new moves, dips n'drops...anyone who was still struggling with the intermediate moves would definitely have problems coping with our moves! It is not an intermediate workshop but and advanced & style workshop..in the whole though I thought everyone looked pretty good!

Now..I am never too busy for a dance...and most of the time I spend my freestyle either dancing as a man or sitting down because most guys don't wanna dance with me
:tears: (!!??) I use to dance more when I was a beginner!!

You're not going to do our next Workshop at Gus's ..are you?!:really: ...it's gonna be the same thing! Well if you bring kilt for the freestyle session I'll definitely know it's you..!

OK my message it's getting long so I'll better stop now otherwise it'll be another War & Peace!!!

See ya! xxxx

[Franck]

Wow, what a thread... I donÕt know where to start.
First of all, I really enjoyed the workshop, had a great day with everyone (and Sheena, thanks for the t-shirt, I was really touched :innocent: :nice: ).

Lydia, I had missed your previous workshop, so I also expected something like the one you had done before with lots of style added to basic Beginners moves (more like the morning part).
The advanced moves however provided plenty of opportunities to add style, as you and Viktor clearly demonstrated.
There might be a case for a clearer distinction between Advanced and Style etc... Though at that level the lines are blurred. As Bill said though, I would happily pay just to watch and be inspired :wink:
Sorry to hear you and Viktor have left Ceroc (Is this a first Scoop for the Ceroc Scotland Forum?). We will miss you at all the updates etc... I am sure you will be very successful in your solo ventures...
In any event, Lydia, please email me the break-down of the moves and I will happily forward them to anyone who was at the workshop.

I though the atmosphere on the day was totally electric, and it was great to see so many of you, from all over Scotland; A real melting pot! I was sorry to miss the party, but had to be back in Glasgow where we had a great party night, I taught 3 of the moves we learnt during the day, and the nightÕs temperature went up a few degrees!!! :waycool:

I have further plans for more Style workshops with guest teacher for September, so watch this space, it is going to be really good !!! :waycool:

Re. the discussion started by DavidB / Gus, I will split the thread, so we can discuss the philosophy behind Ceroc / Modern Jive at length.

Phew, another War & Peace post... IÕll stop now to catch my breath and rest my fingers.

Franck.

[Gus]

Yet another thread that raises intersting questions about how Ceroc is taught ... and what is trying to be taught. I think that dancers attending workshops fit into three categories, those there to learn neww moves, those going to try to enhance their style, and those brave souls trying to do both. As a teacher I'm alwys on the prowl for new moves, and it was greta to see some of the new moves V&L intoduced last season before they became 'official' ceroc moves.

However, as a dancer I'm still after that elusive quality called style. I still hate seeing myself on video because I still look like my basic style looks like I'm th missing link. I think that goes for a lot of the dnacers who are trying to improve, they rarely like their own style ... hence the drive to try and improve. What I've got form the V&L sessions is new mays of dealing with moves, especially the 1st move. I don't want to dance just like Viktor but their are elements of how he dances that most people could intergrate into their own basic style to improve. I would also say that two dancers I've seen from the North that have smooth styles that I've also learnt a lot form are your own Scott and Bill ... neither of them have to rely on a plethora of moves or constant seducers to make the dance look good and bring 'pleasure' to their partner ... or so I'm told :sorry

Sorry I digress from the original point I was going to make. Controverial point coming up A problem we have is that outside the South East there is a limited pool of good/advanced dancers who can fully take on what advanced teachers like Viktor and Lydia and Nigel and Nina teach. The fact of the matter is that such 'Advanced' courses will always be a level above most dancers and 4 hours is a very long time for anyone to keep their concentration. Maybe we need to develop someting in between these Masterclasses and the standard intermediate workshops. Is this a fair comment?

[Franck]

Originally posted by Gus
The fact of the matter is that such 'Advanced' courses will always be a level above most dancers and 4 hours is a very long time for anyone to keep their concentration. I disagree on the above, while those workshops are challenging and involve difficult footwork / style points etc... they are not above the level of most dancers (unless you mean they should be, so they actually learn anything). I mean they are within reach of most people.
The only reservation I have is that learning style / techniques can be quite discouraging for anyone whose confidence is still fragile... In effect you are un-learning old ways and learning new ways of doing the same moves, and this often results in a ÒI canÕt danceÓ feeling.
Added to this is that most of the steps / moves you learn need a lot of practise before they look or feel any good; Which means you will not get instant improvements (quite the reverse!!!)
However, if you are prepared to put in a bit of effort and time and get over the initial despair, anyoneÕs dancing can improve in great leaps, and certainly faster than you would expect. :nice:

4 hours can be very long, and as a teacher the challenge is to keep your workshop balanced and entertaining so the participants do not fall asleep! :what:

Franck.

[Gus]

I think that by definition, tue advanced classes are for the top x% of dancers. I'm not saying that good intermediates can't learn from them but they will tend to pick parts rather than the whole. Looking back at the last time we had Viktor and Lydia run a workshop, I reckon that 80% of the attendees picked up about 30% of what was being taught.... which still was a great improvement on their style.... but there was a lot of points, especialy some of the more sublte bodymovement and intricate footwork that passed some dancers by.

RE:
4 hours can be very long, and as a teacher the challenge is to keep your workshop balanced and entertaining so the participants do not fall asleep! I think that regardless of what the teacher does, most people simply cannot absorb the vast amount of new information over the time. Probably the most consistent complaint I've had about the intensive workshops is that 4 hours is too long. Its been ooin response to this nthat we've developed a format to teach three 'mini' one hour workshops over 4 hours.

[Franck]

Originally posted by Gus
I think that by definition, tue advanced classes are for the top x% of dancers. I'm not saying that good intermediates can't learn from them but they will tend to pick parts rather than the whole. Looking back at the last time we had Viktor and Lydia run a workshop, I reckon that 80% of the attendees picked up about 30% of what was being taught.... which still was a great improvement on their style.... but there was a lot of points, especialy some of the more sublte bodymovement and intricate footwork that passed some dancers by.Well, in a way that is what I mean. the best way to become a Òtop dancerÓ is to keep learning new stuff.
I usually recommend to all Cerocers attending a style workshop to deliberately only focus on 30/40% of what they learn during the day and take it away with them to practise on and include in their normal Freestyle. It is more than enough to, as you say, make great improvements.

The best idea is to do an Intermediate workshop once or twice a year and a Style workshop once / twice a year. That way by the time you do the Style workshop again you have assimilated the 30/40% from the previous one and are ready for the next chunk!
Not all style points / techniques are suitable for everyone, or sometimes you will not be ready to learn a particular move, but this does not mean that a year or two down the line things wonÕt have changed...

Franck.

[Gus]

Totaly agree. I must admit that as a teacher I'm caught between wanting to encourage people just to enjoy the dance but also desperately wanting our dancers to improve their style/moves. It can be an ego thing, I still look forward to the day when we have dnacers in the North who can match the more estbalished southern clubs for style.

We've been quite lucky with a number of our dancers who look really good, e.g. 'Snake hips' Pete, 'Spin' Sarah and Rachel ... who give inspiration to other to improve ... shame there's not more of them .. hence I've tried to get the better teachers, eg. Viktor and Lydia, Nigel and Nina, Roger and Ann up to teach.

Must confess I haven't seen many of the Scottish dancers outside Scott and Bill .... but can't complain about their style .... come th day of yout champs there shoudl be some serious competition.

[DavidB]

In other styles of dancing it is generally accepted that the best way of learning anything is to take private lessons. Yet I have never heard of any Modern Jive teachers doing privates.

Is there just no demand for private lessons? Would they cost too much? Or is it too difficult to arrange the time/space etc.

David

[Franck]

Originally posted by DavidB
Is there just no demand for private lessons? Would they cost too much? Or is it too difficult to arrange the time/space etc.The demand is not huge, I have had a couple of requests, but on the whole, the cost is prohibitive for most people.
Time constraints for teachers are also a factor. Most Ceroc / Modern Jive teachers do not dance / teach full time, so have little time over and above their main career and the few classes they already teach.

Ignoring all the above though, having taught a few private classes, I donÕt think they are the best way to learn. The pressure is always on, and in a group, it is easier to learn from the mistakes of others (and sub-sequent corrections from the teacher), one to one, you are the only one making the mistake and it can be tough to handle...
I reckon that workshops offer the best value for money as you still get the individual attention, without having to pay the full cost of a teacher.

Franck.

[Bill]

Private tuition, as Franck says, can be very expensive and probably only worth it for those really keen to improve enough to try and win competitions.

A number of the compeitiors in advanced level Ceroc/jive competitions do take lessons to improve their style but the workshops organised by Franck and Scot up here would be more than sufficient for the majority of dancers. The one advantage of having private tuition is that the teacher can really concentrate on style points or problems whereas they often don't have the time to spend very long on individuals during a workshop. We are seldom aware of how we look unless we are videoed or see oursleves in a mirror and the image is very often not what we think we look like !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most frustrating thing about going away to do workshops is that no-one else knows the moves or the style when you get back:( so you have to spend time showing the moves to lots of other dancers..........then you (rather I) forget the moves a few weeks later:sick:

If you can't make it down to the Champs in London, or to Blackpool or any of the other competitions or weekend workshops then buying the video can be very rewarding and give plenty of opportunity to see how others dance. There are plenty of dance events or holidays such as Beach Boogie on the Isle of Wight to go to and really have fun.

We are fortunate in Aberdeen that we have so many lovely female dancers ( sorry men........:rolleyes: ) and a number of new women who are going to be very good and many at the stage of being really keen to develop more 'style'. My advice would be to attend the workshops up here and then get down to workshops in England, dance in as many clubs as possible and just watch some of the really wonderful women down there.

As Gus says there are some great dancers and I can really recommend the classes and the parties in Stockport, one of the best venues in the UK:cheers:

As for the Scottish Champs, I'm afraid I'll have to wait till I see the video as it's very unlikely that I'll manage to be there. But all the best to those who compete::grin:

[Lydia]

C'est moi!
Haven't checked the forum for a while...boy everyone has been busy with the old keyboard!:p

I would agree with the private lessons..they are expensive but a lot of people are so dedicated to getting better that they'll pay the price just to improve quicker...obviously those people probably have a few pennies to spare!! The private lessons are only necessary if you feel that you're not going anywhere with your dancing and you want to take it a level up and you have the exlusivity of the teacher..no sharing with 50 other people!!

When I started salsa I had a one-off private lesson with the Salsa UK Champion, she's one of the best around and altough she teaches in London and I was attending her classes, there was a few things that I felt I needed to polish before enjoying myself with my salsa dancing..lesson was expensive but I learnt a lot during the one-on-one hour and with the tips & critisisms (oh yeah you have to be able to deal with the teacher critisising you!) my dancing got much better after that..and a lot of practice too!

But as Franck said ..the workshops are very good and you can get 2 or 3 workshops for the price of ONE private lesson!


Got to go!:tears:

Read you soon xxxx

[Janet]

Hi Lydia!

Glad you've found time to drop into the Forum again. :nice:

Ummmm.... How are the notes for the workshop coming along?

Since our collective memories are dropping moves at the rate of around one a week :really:, it would be really great to get the notes soon before we forget there even was a workshop! :what:

Only joking:grin:, I loved the workshop and got far more out of it than 8 or 10 (how many were there?) new moves, but the notes would be very much appreciated and well used.

Janet

[Lydia]

:D :D :D Hi Janet:D :D :D

We emailed the notes to Scot on Friday last week...maybe you can ask him, I thought he would have passed them on, but he must have been busy with work. We tried to note them as best as we could but only someone who was at the workshop whould be able to understand what they mean..if someone else tried they would most probably end up in a big tangle of arms!!!!:eek:

How are the body rolls going?!

If you see either Scot or Franck..give them a kiss for me! :wink:

Take care xxxx

[Janet]

Hi Lydia

That's great! Thanks a lot. :D
I'm sure Scot will pass them on as soon as he gets a chance.

It's not easy describing moves, but I'm sure between us we'll be able to work them out :confused: - just need a memory jog, that's all.
How are the body rolls going?! Errmmm... Still working on them, much to the amusement of some of my fellow dancers!!! :really:


If you see either Scot or Franck..give them a kiss for me! :wink: My PLEASURE. :D :D :D

Janet

[Franck]

Originally posted by Lydia
But as Franck said ..the workshops are very good and you can get 2 or 3 workshops for the price of ONE private lesson!Indeed, and in fact I would argue that you benefit more from a workshop than from private lessons (unless you take a regular private lesson over a sustained period of time).
At a workshop you learn in a more relaxed framework, the teacher is not on top of you all the time (steady now :wink: ) and you get to learn from the mistakes of others. At most workshops, I have found I brought up key points based on the mistakes the participants were making on the day.
You also get to practise the same move with different partners and notice problems that might otherwise go unchecked...

My advice would be to save your money and instead spend it on travelling the country (Scotland or the UK) to learn from different teachers (either at their weekly classes or workshops).

Cheers,

Franck.

[DavidB]

You tend to learn different things in different types of lesson.

If all you want is moves, then the regular weekly classes are ideal. The only reason to spend money on anything else (eg private lessons, workshops, etc) is if you want to learn quicker.

For style, then specialised workshops are great. Most people look a bit 'goofy' at first when trying to change their style, and it is better to do it when everyone else is in the same position.

If you want to learn technique, you really need to dance with a good teacher. Unfortunately the only way you can guarantee to do this now is by paying for a private lesson. (Most classes and workshops are too big now for the teachers to get involved in the rotation. And I don't expect a teacher to teach me when we are doing freestyle.) But as has been discussed before, not many jivers want to learn technique.

I have done quite a few private lessons over the last 15 years, and they have made a huge difference to my dancing. The main reason is that the styles of dance that I do (apart from Jive) are just not taught in the UK, and I get lessons whilst on holiday. If I had more access to the teachers, I would probably take fewer lessons.

David

[Franck]

Originally posted by Lydia
We emailed the notes to Scot on Friday last week...maybe you can ask him, I thought he would have passed them on, but he must have been busy with work. We tried to note them as best as we could but only someone who was at the workshop whould be able to understand what they mean..if someone else tried they would most probably end up in a big tangle of arms!!!!:eek:Thanks Lydia,
I have now created a special forum for viewing and discussing the moves taught at the workshop. Access is restricted to those who attended the workshop though, so if you were there, email or PM me to get authorized.

Once there, you can discuss the moves and ask more specific questions.

Cheers,

Franck.