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Franck
12th-March-2002, 05:02 PM
Hi all,

I was wondering how you all got started / introduced to Ceroc (or dancing in general)...
Were you actively looking for a dance class, was your arm twisted by a very enthusiastic friend?:nice:

Post your story (short or long) here...

Personally, I first got the bug when I saw the film "Dirty Dancing", and I thought one day I'll find a class and learn.
It took me a couple of years, but eventually, a friend mentionned that a Jive class in Glasgow needed extra men, and I thought, why not... I got hooked pretty quickly (one night a week, then 2 then 3 and eventually 5 nights a week...). 2 years later, I started teaching at the first Ceroc night in Glasgow. The rest is history:wink:

Franck.

Fox
18th-March-2002, 05:56 PM
well....2 years ago Jackie and Wendy from Dundee had a joint birthday party at the Bonar Hall, Jackie being my sister in law...well I had to go. I went along with some trepidation :what: but thoroughly enjoy the night even though I didn't have a clue what I was doing..(somethings never change ...lol). Some months after that we agreed to go along to the xmas party and we went along to the classes for some lessons.....never looked back since..:nice:

cheers
Fox

Tiggerbabe
19th-March-2002, 09:12 PM
My supervisor at work happened to mention seeing these people dancing in the city square. Having spent the best part of every night out trying to persuade Alex to teach me how to jive, I thought - that sounds like the very thing! So, off we went (myself and another girl from the office) to the Craigtay and I loved it - many thanks to Bill from Aberdeen who was taxi-ing that night and asked me to dance after the beginner's class.
When the following Wednesday came, my colleague had a list of reasons for not going - I couldn't believe it, how could I not go back? So, I decided that I would just have to be brave and go by myself (I am naturally very shy and this was a difficult thing for me to do). I did, I was hooked and the rest as they say...................:devil: :yum: :grin: :wink:

John S
20th-March-2002, 02:03 AM
For me, it was mainly because a lady in our Manchester office told me about "french jive" and thought I would like it - me who had never danced since doing the pas-de-bas in primary school.:( So she got details of the Ceroc classes in Edinburgh and sent them to me.

So (because I kinda fancied this lady - Marion - and wanted to impress her) I went along to St Stephens completely ignorant of what I was letting myself in for - I had a vague idea that because it was a church hall there would be a musty old lady at a tinkly piano with geriatrics (like me :rolleyes) hirpling around. It wasn't quite like that - and as Sheena says, the rest is history!! :) :) :)

John S
20th-March-2002, 02:06 AM
Originally posted by Sheena
I am naturally very shy.
Sheena, that's your most endearing characteristic.:p :p

Tiggerbabe
21st-March-2002, 12:31 AM
Dear John!

Thanks babe, xx:innocent:

Fox
21st-March-2002, 10:14 PM
Shy Shy???........Shy???!!!!...




is this the same Sheena!!!???

hehehehehe....just teasing Sheena:wink:

Fox

~elbows Sheena playfully~

filthycute
6th-April-2002, 05:34 PM
WOW! i can't believe i missed this thread! :eek:
For me dancing was always a big love of mine. I always wanted to do couples but living in Dundee this was next to impossible! So i went solo for 5 years doing line dancing :) After watching my teacher Elaine & her sister Paula jiving on several occasions, and doing a Lindy workshop with Simon Selmon i instantly loved Swing. Then Elaine told me about ceroc...the way she explained it, i was a little doubtful....but i really never expected it to be so...erm..."Swingy" It was merely the fact that i was getting the opportunity to dance with a partner that made me go :D I have to say though i felt such a fool the first week and nearly never came back. I didn't have a clue what i was doing and couldn't get the beat of the music for the life of me! But thanks to the many supportive (brave) men around i fumbled my way through and never looked back since :D

PS. i'll put the rest of my Autobiography on the next thread :p :yum:

filthycute x x

jiveoholic
7th-April-2002, 06:14 PM
Here is my offering.

When I separated after 17 years, I decided that I had to plan my life. Being an scientist, I constructed a matrix with possible things to do down the left hand side and attributes that I wished my life to have across the top. Dancing beat all the rest hands down - gets you out, physical exercise, legitimatly touch ladies and may even score(!).

Anyway I went to ballroom dancing classes and I think halved the average age when I walked though the door and all we did was quickstep to some dreadful grandparents music!

My X told me that there was something called Ceroc which was "French jive". I looked it upon the internet (so it must be true!) and found that it was "the closest thing to sex in public with your clothes on. Well that got me interested. Needless to say it isn't, indeed I find it very difficult to "date" on the dance floor. I think that I like the fact that its more of a sport than a night-club.

I found it very difficult, having hardly ever danced and believing that I had two left feet. After the first night, I ordered the Ceroc cards from HQ in London and practiced the rhythm with a piece of string and a door knob as this was the best substitute for a lady that I had!

Emma
3rd-August-2002, 02:58 PM
Endlessly nosy, me. :nice:

I first heard of Ceroc when some people from Bromley came into the school I was teaching at and did a class with my group of 9 year-olds. I was immediately desperate to try it out myself, but was too busy surviving in the blackboard jungle (:tears:...poor little me!!!).

Four or so years later, newly free from the teaching profession (hurrah!) I wanted to dance. I'd forgotten all about Ceroc, but saw a car sticker and did a search on the web. That was six months ago....and every now and again I think about how I could have ended up at a tap dancing class......:what:

How about the rest of you? Someone must have a better story than that!

Sandy
3rd-August-2002, 06:38 PM
Originally posted by Emma
Endlessly nosy, me. :nice:

How about the rest of you? Someone must have a better story than that! Don't know about a better story but I got involved when my friend Sandra suggested we try something different for a regular night out. The last time she did this we ended up at a belly dancing class! never did make the jewel:tears: Anyway we went along not having a clue what it was about and after the first hour I almost ran out the class but by the end of the night we were both hooked.:grin:

:cheers:

Sandy

John S
3rd-August-2002, 09:38 PM
Originally posted by Sandy

we ended up at a belly dancing class! never did make the jewel:tears:

Nothing to stop you wearing your jewel and flimsy veils at the next Ceroc party night, Sandy.:devil: :wink:

Emma
5th-August-2002, 09:45 AM
Originally posted by jiveoholic
the closest thing to sex in public with your clothes on.

Hee hee hee...

so..did it come up to your expectations?! :innocent:

Alexis Beuraud
5th-August-2002, 10:49 AM
I started being interested in partner dancing three years ago. One year ago I moved to Munich for 6 months. Since I didnÕt know lots of people there I went to some ÒStammtischÓ. A ÒStammtischÓ is something very common in Germany, it is a regular event (usually in the evening) with a specific topic. Everybody who would like to come and speak about the topic is welcome. I first went to a French Stammtisch (IÕm French), it was really friendly, but I thought ÒWhat a pity, IÕm in Germany but I speak my own language. LetÕs try an English Stammtisch, it wonÕt improve my German, but I need to practice my English as wellÓ. I found on the Internet a German-English Association (http://www.gea-muc.de/). They have a whole program of interesting events, one of them is called French Jive (http://www.munichjive.com).ThatÕs how I got addicted. As soon as I moved to Aberdeen in April, I went to the Ceroc classes, which is another name for the same dance.

Sandy
5th-August-2002, 07:14 PM
Originally posted by John S
Nothing to stop you wearing your jewel and flimsy veils at the next Ceroc party night, Sandy.:devil: :wink: I think the best place for that image is firmly in your imagination John! But will definitely be at the next Aberdeen party, seem to have got a bit hooked on them.

Will be going to Dundee on Wednesday, pity you won't be there but I'm sure it will be the first of many visits.

:cheers:

Sandy

Heather
5th-August-2002, 11:55 PM
:D :D I'm sure you will enjoy yourself in Dundee on Wednesday, we are a friendly lot!! Remember to introduce yourself and ask for Sheena, Melanie( Filthycute) and myself!!:wink:

John S
6th-August-2002, 01:53 AM
Thanks, Alexis, that was really interesting and I've bookmarked the Munich Jive website for future reference (Monday nights if anyone fancies a long weekend there!!!)

Sandy
12th-August-2002, 06:44 PM
Originally posted by Heather
:D :D I'm sure you will enjoy yourself in Dundee on Wednesday, we are a friendly lot!! Remember to introduce yourself and ask for Sheena, Melanie( Filthycute) and myself!!:wink: Hi Sheena et all at Dundee

We had a brill time and will definitely be back. thanks for a great night.

you were right, it was hot! but well worth it

Cheers

:cheers:

Sandy

PS hope to see you seen at one of the Aberdeen venues

Franck
20th-August-2002, 03:01 PM
To bring this thread back to what it is supposed to be about (ie everyone sharing their story of how they got into dancing), how about all of you who have just joined the Forum (and some of you who still haven't told us), do not be shy, it does not need to be long or fancy :nice:

Franck.

Gus
21st-August-2002, 02:56 PM
Originally posted by Franck
To bring this thread back to what it is supposed to be about

do not be shy, it does not need to be long or fancy :nice:

Franck.

OK ... many moons ago when I wa DJing at the IVC in London .. noticed an improvement in one of the guys dancing .... he usualy looked like a beheaded chicken on acid ... yup, not pretty. Then noticed him doing dubious things like taking hold of women whilst dancing.

Long story short he dragged me along to the Central Club in Tottenham Court Road, London (for the newer Cerocers, this WAS the place for Ceroc, with people like Viktor and Mike Allard teaching ... and where Nigel A first started Cerocing I belive)....

ANYWAY ..started the classess ... OK so far, then got persuaeded to ask one of the lasses to dance freestyle .... she looked me up and down then said NO:tears: Exit Gus stage right with ego in small jar vowing never to return. Couple of months later dragged back kicking and screaming ... started to get on OK with it but freetsyling was totlay beyond me. Then made the huge mistake of going to Hammersamith freestyle ... spent whole night as billy nomates not getting a dance ... and so ended Cerco for me .. or so I thought.

Went on the Dance and Ski hols (1997?) and got taken under the wing of a willing woman who showed me what it was about (and the dancing wasn't bad either ... JOKE!) Then left London and moved to Peterborough where the friendly natives helped me get my act together ... and the rest ... as they say is history.

Will
12th-October-2002, 09:56 AM
Originally posted by Gus


Then made the huge mistake of going to Hammersamith freestyle ... spent whole night as billy nomates not getting a dance ... and so ended Cerco for me .. or so I thought.

Another victim of Hammersmiths famous Refusal Row!

Jon
12th-October-2002, 11:39 AM
I knew that my dad had joined something called LeRoc and the fact that he was out pretty much every evening made me think prehaps there's something to this. Then I first saw him dancing at my sisters wedding and I had seen him dance before doing LeRoc classes and I thought wow. If he can do it then so can I. So after I moved house up to London and didn't know many people I looked for a jive club and found Ceroc.

The first 5 seconds of doing it and I was addicted. My first teachers were Cliff Ellis and Kelly Hudson and I don't think I'd be the dancer I am today if it wasn't for them as they gave me so much encouragment.

Now I'm never at home, unless it's too rest my aching feet!

Gadget
12th-October-2002, 11:37 PM
I love to dance, and I have been dancing for years; I can head-bang to metal, I can mosh to rock, I can ponce to soft rock, I can stomp to goth, I can big-fish-little-fish to techno, I can even boogie along to pop.
I used to frequent the Palace and Student Unions quite regularly, along with a few other clubs and have know Craig for years (probably the same Craig that is so highly praised in another post) and it was he who convinced me to come along to a ceroc night {then in the Palace - remember those suction floors?:rolleyes:}.
The first night I simply watched; seeing if it was for me. The second I was on the dance floor and I was in the intermediate class by the fourth or fifth night of classes.(at the prompting of the taxi dancers I hasten to add)

The one thing that dancing in clubs lacks is the physical contact and really dancing with your partner as an extension of yourself. Don't get me wrong; I can move to the music with a partner as one entity with no need of contact, but as a mirror to there style, not my own. (I have found that females more naturally know how to pick up a rhythm and can dance with a lot less effort than most men - I would think that the hardest part of Ceroc for women to learn is to trust the lead and go with the flow. A man just has to learn how to dance.:sick: )

Instead of the question of how did you get into Ceroc, I think a more telling question is why are you still here?

Me? I can dance to just about any music, and fake any style. I chose to dance ceroc because I can offer my hand to someone who swears they can't dance and have them come off the dance floor with a huge smile and spring in their step, looking for more.

Sandy
13th-October-2002, 12:36 PM
Originally posted by Gadget
[BInstead of the question of how did you get into Ceroc, I think a more telling question is why are you still here?

[/B]

well Gadget where else would you have the opportunity to dance great moves with a wide variety of guys/gals to some fantastic music and all for a fiver!:wink:

Sandy

Gadget
13th-October-2002, 11:59 PM
Originally posted by Sandy
well Gadget where else would you have the opportunity to dance great moves with a wide variety of guys/gals to some fantastic music and all for a fiver!:wink:
Sandy

Thursdays at O'Donaughs perchance? I prefer the floor in the mills club - smoother and with 'elbow room' {I was getting fed up of combat dancing for a space on non-cobbled flooring :sad:}.

...Although the 'great moves' bit is debatable in my case :wink:

Sandy
14th-October-2002, 05:34 PM
Originally posted by Gadget


Thursdays at O'Donaughs perchance? I prefer the floor in the mills club - smoother and with 'elbow room' {I was getting fed up of combat dancing for a space on non-cobbled flooring :sad:}.

...Although the 'great moves' bit is debatable in my case :wink:

O'Donaghues is a bit of a nightmare at times but has the right "clubby" atmosphere. We need a much bigger space but who knows.

See you on Tuesday:wink:

Sandy

Gary
29th-November-2002, 11:48 PM
How I got started? I was chasing a girl who was into ceroc, so I went to classes so I could dance with her. The girl-chasing didn't work out, but I'm glad I started with ceroc. I'm kicking myself because for a couple of years before-hand I shared an office at work with a guy who occasionally said I should try this "ceroc" thing, and I laughed it off. Idiot!


Originally posted by Gus


ANYWAY ..started the classess ... OK so far, then got persuaeded to ask one of the lasses to dance freestyle .... she looked me up and down then said NO:tears: Exit Gus stage right with ego in small jar vowing never to return.


I also nearly quit a couple of times after some ego drubbings. Not so much girls refusing to dance, but several who made it pretty darn obvious that they'd rather be clipping their toenails than dancing with me. Granted, at the time toenail-clipping was more entertaining than dancing with me, but most girls didn't make it obvious. A couple of girls (bless them) were actually encouraging, which (combined with pig-headedness) is why I didn't quit.

I think a bunch of folks who would eventually have turned out to be great dancers drop out after a bad experience or two. There are two morals to the story: "stick with it and eventually you'll become more interesting than toenail-clippings" and "be encouraging with beginners - it's a good investment (and basic kindness to folks in a very vulnerable position)"

TheTramp
30th-November-2002, 12:06 AM
Well. Just over 4 years ago, I moved up to London. I was still in touch with a friend who I went to high school with back in Cardiff, and at that point, she'd been dancing and taxi-ing for about 6 years.

Anyhow, she kept telling me that I should start dancing. And I kept telling her that I shouldn't (I'd got through 30 years of my life without dancing a step, why would I need to start now??). In the end, she was right. So, I went along to my first night, on a Thursday, at Fulham Town Hall. I don't normally drink, but that first night, I had 2 double whiskies before I went anywhere near the dancefloor.

The second time I went, a week later, was also very nearly my last. Hanging round the edge, after the class, wishing that I wasn't too chicken to ask anyone to dance, this late middle-aged lady, who could only be described by the term 'battleaxe' came up and asked me to dance. Anyhow, by the end of that one dance, I could touch my knees with my hands, without bending over. I didn't ache that much in 7 years of martial arts!!

Fortunately (maybe you ladies won't see it this way), I was persuaded to return the next week, and for about the first month, I would only go if my friend was going - which wasn't that often as she was in the final throes of her PhD. By the second month, I was going on my own, and by the end of the third month, I was a taxi-dancer! Never really looked back from there!

Steve

Fran
4th-December-2002, 12:12 PM
I was pursuaded to go dancing by a couple I am friends with, but at first I did not want to go as I thought it must be a couples thing ( and I was not a couple) and then I thought it might have been a singles club and they were on a mission (as friends can be somtimes)for me to meet some one. so I did not go for quite while.

when they finally convinced me it was neith or the above I did go to Leroc for 2 weeks and then I found ceroc. :nice:

Obi was my first teacher. for the first few nights I hid behind the pillar at St Stephens for quite a while just watching and was so scared when Obi asked me for a dance. :eek: :eek: Spent the next 6 months appologising for my existance on the dance floor, Scott said he can still remember 1st dancing with me - and he said it was awful!! I looked at the floor all the time and was so nervous.but I had some very kind, supportive and wonderful dance partners who encouraged me depiste my lack of confidence, shyness and lack of co ordination due to dyslexia. Had they not been there for me I doubt I would have had the courage to keep going. I am not a athletic person and have had never been involved in phyically sporty stuff/ aerobics etc. I stated taxiing 5 months later oddly enough I was never nervous when doing that - bit like teaching in the classroom - its a bit of a front. Bill said I did things back to front, learnt the harder moves first then I had to learn the beginners - it would have been so much easier doing it the other way around!:nice:

I look back and am so glad that martin and louise persuaded me to go! :nice: :nice:

fran:cheers:

DavidB
4th-December-2002, 01:10 PM
Years ago I used to take my mother to an evening class in wine tasting. I couldn't stay without getting drunk, so I tried to find another class I could do. I picked fencing, but when I turned up they were full and had no spare equipment. I took the wrong door when I left, and walked into a ballroom class. The teacher saw me, and said "A man! YOU ARE NOT LEAVING". (They were 10 men short!) I went home trying to remember a basic waltz.

I then joined the ballroom dance club at university, and started Ceroc when I was looking for a gym, and joined Pineapple (where Janie used to teach).

David

TheTramp
4th-December-2002, 01:41 PM
I guess that's what you call Fate, David. Or maybe just sheer blind luck :)

Steve

DavidB
4th-December-2002, 01:54 PM
Originally posted by TheTramp
sheer blind luckFor the world of fencing - probably...

Emma
4th-December-2002, 02:07 PM
Originally posted by DavidB
For the world of fencing - probably...

And your liver! :grin:

Dreadful Scathe
4th-December-2002, 02:08 PM
Originally posted by DavidB
For the world of fencing - probably...

having seen the size of you - was it sabre or claymore you used? :) I expect the rapier would have been a knitting needle in the hands of a giant :)

Gadget
4th-December-2002, 02:34 PM
Originally posted by Emma

Originally posted by DavidB
For the world of fencing - probably...
And your liver! :grin:
Hmmm... you don't know any of the fencer's I do, do you ?

Originally posted by DS
having seen the size of you - was it sabre or claymore you used? I expect the rapier would have been a knitting needle in the hands of a giant
I know of a few people that have had to have their jackets specially made - believe me size is not an issue in fencing when there is three feet of steel between you. :what:

{Btw modern fencing utilises three weapons; Foil, Sabre and Epee, each with their own combat rules. A claymore is a two handed weapon (sometimes hand and a half) closest practiced equivelent is Kendo, a rapier is closest to Epee. There are schools that teach these weapons, but mostly they are for stage play and not competitive. }

TheTramp
4th-December-2002, 03:18 PM
There are schools that teach these weapons, but mostly they are for stage play and not competitiveIt'd probably be pretty competative if someone came towards you waving one of those....

Steve

DavidB
4th-December-2002, 03:26 PM
Originally posted by Gadget
A claymore is a two handed weapon (sometimes hand and a half)I hope the 'hand and a half' is a technique, and not an observation at the end of a bout...

David

Gadget
4th-December-2002, 05:12 PM
Originally posted by DavidB
I hope the 'hand and a half' is a technique, and not an observation at the end of a bout...
{:) Have known a few broken fingers/hands, but I believe that no-one has lost any bits yet.}
It refers to the grip: 'Hand and a half' is actually a slang term for 'bastard swords', but this is commonly used to refer to a distinct weapon instead of a class of weapons. The grip and weight of the sword allows you to wield it one-handed or two handed as the situation demands.
Not as big or heavy as a broadsword, not as small or light as a short-sword.

Originally posted by DavidB
It'd probably be pretty competative if someone came towards you waving one of those....
No competition - I'd be moving rapidly in the opposite direction!!

Emma
4th-December-2002, 05:46 PM
Originally posted by Gadget

And your liver! :grin:
Hmmm... you don't know any of the fencer's I do, do you ?Hee hee, nooh, DavidB said he couldn't go to the wine tasting without getting drunk..soooh... you know, thingy. :)

Btw anyone who ever does the Evening Standard crossword will know what an Epee is. It's one of their regular clues ;)

horsey_dude
5th-December-2002, 11:27 AM
Originally posted by Will
Another victim of Hammersmiths famous Refusal Row!
I can't wait to go to hamersmith and see the refusal row for myself. The fact that I am coming from the other side of the world to see this for myself qualifies it as an international tourist attraction!

I really hope no-one agrees to dance with me because I am going to take a phot of them and it will ruin the story if I can't say to the people back home "Yup, I asked them to dance and they all turned me down, thats why its called refusal row!"

To answer the original post. I was in a shop with a friend from work and we ran into one of the local teachers who said "You should come along we always have too many women....". Of course for the next few months their was always too many guys!

My friend sometimes comes to class and it doesn't matter how many weeks of extra women there have been, on the night that he comes there will be heaps too many guys......

DavidB
5th-December-2002, 11:42 AM
Originally posted by horsey_dude
I can't wait to go to hamersmith and see the refusal row for myself. The fact that I am coming from the other side of the world to see this for myself qualifies it as an international tourist attraction!You don't need to travel that far. I've been turned down 3 times in the last few months - twice by Australian ladies...

David

TheTramp
6th-December-2002, 06:25 PM
Oh. I get turned down all the time....especially by people I don't know.

I think that they just look and see some fat, ugly, bald bloke. Decide that I obviously can't dance, and make some excuse (I'm sorry, I have to wash my hair). It used to bother me. It doesn't any more. I just usually go and find someone I dance with really well, and then go and dance right in front of them :rolleyes:

A friend and I often have a competition at dances. Winner being the one who gets turned down most in one night.

Steve

Fran
6th-December-2002, 10:46 PM
Originally posted by TheTramp
Oh. I get turned down all the time....especially by people I don't know.

Steve


Their loss honey!!!!:kiss:

franx

Gary
7th-December-2002, 02:14 AM
Originally posted by TheTramp
Oh. I get turned down all the time....especially by people I don't know.

...

A friend and I often have a competition at dances. Winner being the one who gets turned down most in one night.

Steve

Around here, good guy dancers barely get to sit down, let alone get turned down.

TheTramp
7th-December-2002, 10:50 AM
Around here, good guy dancers barely get to sit down, let alone get turned down.But I'm just a beginner!!!

I tend to travel around a lot, so I do often end up at venues where I don't know a lot of people. And they don't know me. At the start of the evening at least! :)

Steve

PS. Thanks Fran. I love you too!!:kiss:

LilyB
8th-December-2002, 08:37 PM
Originally posted by gcapell


Around here, good guy dancers barely get to sit down, let alone get turned down. If you are observant, you will also notice that it is a certain type of female dancers who appear to 'monopolise' these good guy dancers ie. the guys hardly ever get a chance to dance with other women whom they might perhaps have wanted to dance with eg. beginners & un-pushy women, because these certain females actually follow the guys around the dance floor so that they can nip in as soon as the guy has finished his dance with his previous partner, even before he can ask that partner for a second dance. It can be rather disconcerting, hence I never try to hang on to a partner who obviously has his 'groupies' waiting for him - I'd rather give up a second dance than prevent another (desperate?:wink: ) woman from dancing with him! It is a very sad fact (I have found) that as a female dancer, unless you are prepared to be pushy, you will almost never get the opportunity to dance with the 'good guy dancers'. They certainly won't be asking you - they never get the chance to.

As a very sad git, I normally sit in a part of the hall well away from the stage area where all the 'good' dancers congregate. I know it is pointless sitting near them - they hardly ever ask me to dance, for reasons already mentioned, and because it is even rarer for me to ask them (that's because I'm shy - honest!). Just as an example, I was at Fulham Town Hall a little while ago and had all of 2 dances over a one hour period during freestyle, and both the dances were with a beginner who probably asked me because he felt sorry for me! Occasions like that make me feel like giving up dancing - worse, in my view than being turned down for a dance. These days it is extremely rare for me to go dancing without David as then I can at least be assured of getting a few dances during the course of the evening!

I enjoy dancing very much - indeed I am passionate about it. But I find it rather sad that the Ceroc dance scene, especially around London, has become so divisive & clique-y, that a lone female dancer like myself - who is polite, no ogre, doesn't smell, doesn't drip sweat & can usually follow most leads - cannot get to dance with the good guys (or, for that matter, even the better guys) for at least a couple of tracks per night. I wonder if the situation is the same in Scotland, or elsewhere?

So, you guys who complain about "Refusal Row" and ladies who turn you down - just spare a thought for those of us ladies who very very very rarely get to dance with the likes of Viktor, Clayton, James, Ray, Mick, Nigel et al - because of the competition from our own sex!:sad: :tears:

LilyB

Fran
8th-December-2002, 09:06 PM
Originally posted by LilyB
......... It can be rather disconcerting, hence I never try to hang on to a partner who obviously has his 'groupies' waiting for him - I'd rather give up a second dance than prevent another (desperate?:wink: ) woman from dancing with him! .........

Occasions like that make me feel like giving up dancing - worse, in my view than being turned down for a dance. These days it is extremely rare for me to go dancing without David as then I can at least be assured of getting a few dances during the course of the evening! ...........

I enjoy dancing very much - indeed I am passionate about it. But I find it rather sad that the Ceroc dance scene, especially around London, has become so divisive & clique-y, that a lone female dancer like myself - who is polite, no ogre, doesn't smell, doesn't drip sweat & can usually follow most leads - cannot get to dance with the good guys (or, for that matter, even the better guys) for at least a couple of tracks per night. I wonder if the situation is the same in Scotland, or elsewhere?


LilyB


thankfully, I dont think it is as bad up here in Scotland Lily- (please correct me if I am wrong people up here), but I identify with you on several issues.,

The best time I had ( apart from Beach Boogie) when Bill and I have visited other clubs down south was at Boden this summer because it was the first time I had ever be asked to dance so often by so many men I did not know ( and they were quite fabby dancers too!!:wink:) I really like traveling and visiting other clubs but as I am also quite shy in new company, far to self- concious about getting my lefts & rights mixed up and also simply not forward enough, I do not get asked to dance often. I realise that this can be interpreted as being aloof and arguably it could be said that it is our fault if we are not pushy enough, however if it is not in your nature you cant pretend to be somthing you are not. I am very lucky that there are some lovely dancers up here with whom I dance regulary and feel comfortable with so I can get my fix.:wink:

If you guys come back up to Scotland I am sure that you will have loads and loads of dances with everyone. :nice: :nice: I think it would be safe to say that we are all pretty welcoming.


fran:nice:

Gary
8th-December-2002, 10:35 PM
Originally posted by LilyB
... these certain females actually follow the guys around the dance floor so that they can nip in as soon as the guy has finished his dance with his previous partner, even before he can ask that partner for a second dance.


That sounds very rude.

woodworm2k
18th-January-2003, 09:46 PM
I was on holiday in Lanzarote a couple of years ago. The most unlikely man asked this absolutely dishy girl if she could jive.
She was astounded as everyone else in the company that he was even asking. He got her onto the dancefloor and we all sat open mouthed whilst he "performed".
They were brilliant and I thought to myself, I wish............
2 years later i was recalling the event to someone who then told me about Ceroc. I started in Nov. 2002 and I'm loving it.
I am looking forward to the time when I can shock a group of friends in the same way as the man in Lanzarote.:wink:

horsey_dude
20th-January-2003, 01:31 AM
Originally posted by woodworm2k
I was on holiday in Lanzarote a couple of years ago. The most unlikely man asked this absolutely dishy girl if she could jive.



Why was he unlikely?

Tiggerbabe
20th-January-2003, 01:53 AM
I'm glad someone else asked that question :what:

And could she? - jive that is......

And was she still astounded at his audacity when she came off the dance floor? :wink:

TheTramp
21st-January-2003, 12:28 PM
Unlikely....

He looked like me?? :rolleyes:

Steve

woodworm2k
24th-January-2003, 09:57 PM
Originally posted by horsey_dude
Why was he unlikely?

He was very quiet and hadn't danced at all the rest of the time we were there. He looked more the ballroom type I suppose.
Just goes to show , You can't judge a book by its cover.

woodworm2k
24th-January-2003, 10:04 PM
Originally posted by Sheena
I'm glad someone else asked that question :what:

And could she? - jive that is......

And was she still astounded at his audacity when she came off the dance floor? :wink:

She was brilliant, they both were. They got a huge round of applause.
It inspired me to start Ceroc and I will be happy if I ever get to be half as good as they were.

What made you start Ceroc and how long have you been dancing?

JamesGeary
18th-March-2003, 02:37 PM
Originally posted by LilyB

So, you guys who complain about "Refusal Row" and ladies who turn you down - just spare a thought for those of us ladies who very very very rarely get to dance with the likes of Viktor, Clayton, James, Ray, Mick, Nigel et al - because of the competition from our own sex!:sad: :tears:

LilyB

Errrr.... for some reason ...... I don't know why ..... I find this hysterically funny.

More than funny actually. The poors things must all be intimidated by you. Lucky for me I asked you to dance ehh :grin:

Jon
18th-March-2003, 06:14 PM
Originally posted by LilyB
You will almost never get the opportunity to dance with the 'good guy dancers'. They certainly won't be asking you - they never get the chance to.

I really felt for you Lily when reading your post. It is true that the good dancers get pounced on by women but I dont think its because the good men are clique-y and just dance with people they know. I think it's that the good men want to dance with other ladys but won't turn someone down when asked after all we are gentlemen! :wink: Also the fact is that there are alot more good women out there than good men so these men are going to be in demand.

If you ever go to Charlton, Welling or Bromley I'd love to dance with you.

LilyB
19th-March-2003, 03:03 AM
Originally posted by Jon
I really felt for you Lily when reading your post. It is true that the good dancers get pounced on by women but I dont think its because the good men are clique-y and just dance with people they know. I think it's that the good men want to dance with other ladys but won't turn someone down when asked after all we are gentlemen! :wink: Also the fact is that there are alot more good women out there than good men so these men are going to be in demand.

If you ever go to Charlton, Welling or Bromley I'd love to dance with you.
Thank you Jon. David has been to your Charlton venue and says everyone there was very friendly, so we are likely to drop in one day.

My previous post was, of course, sent in early December and since then, things have changed a little. For one thing, I have been out dancing a lot more and have become more recognisable ie. men now know that I won't devour them and that I can dance a bit. It still hasn't made things easy though - all the good men are perpetually being monopolised by a select group of women, and unless you are prepared to barge in and actively ask for a dance, or are willing to hang around near them for ages in the hope of getting noticed, you will NOT be asked. Whilst I have been fortunate lately in getting some excellent dances with Viktor, Clayton, Nigel, Amir and James, those dances are few and far between.

I also feel it is not true to say that the "good" men are so much in demand because they are outnumbered by the "good" women. It is more accurate to say that the "good" men are so much in demand because they are constantly being targetted by women, period.

It is perhaps a good thing that I do not have high expectations (of being asked to dance) when I am out social dancing, otherwise I would have given up in desperation a long time ago. Or maybe the answer lies in entering competitions - that way you can at least be certain your partner for the competition will dance with you a lot more than he otherwise would have!:wink:

LilyB

Diane
19th-March-2003, 08:25 AM
Most times it seems to me that if you want to dance, you need to ask. No good just waiting, a lot of the time the change of partner at the end of a track happens
quickly and if you're not active you won't get a dance. I guess this is more so when there are lots of ladies, but anyway I think guys like to be asked as much as girls do.

PeterL
19th-March-2003, 10:17 AM
Originally posted by LilyB

I also feel it is not true to say that the "good" men are so much in demand because they are outnumbered by the "good" women. It is more accurate to say that the "good" men are so much in demand because they are constantly being targetted by women, period.
LilyB


Lily, I have to say that you manage to make the simple act of asking men to dance sound sinister. At the end of the day whether men or women the better dancers get asked to dance. I like to think that everyone at ceroc gets to dance but if you particularly want to dance with certain individuals, then "target" ask them.

You can't expect them to either say no when they are asked or the women who ask them to stop "targetting" them.

;)

Emma
19th-March-2003, 11:38 AM
Originally posted by Diane
Most times it seems to me that if you want to dance, you need to ask.

I feel for you Lily, I really do..

I very rarely get asked to dance, and ocasionally I try and work out why. Is it my dancing? Is it my face? Do I have bad breath? The other thing that I have occasionally done is to spend an evening waiting to get asked before I dance. Generally the result of this is that I don't get to dance a whole lot and go home feeling vaguely miserable.

My solution to this has been to take a deep breath and ASK. Actually I hate doing it, but I want to dance, so dammit I have to. There's a whole bunch of women who are going to get in there first if I don't. I can sit at the side feeling like they are in some undefinable way better than me or I can stick my neck out. I choose the latter. When I started dancing I had to have a drink before I could do it. Luckily at my regular venues I know lots of people now, so I do get to dance with my friends and asking is a lot easier.

I personally think this situation is a lot to do with the fact that there are more women out there dancing than there are men. I went to Rochester the other week and couldn't get a dance for love nor money..and I was asking too. There were simply many more women than men there. My other solution has been to learn some man moves so that I can dance with my girlfriends. That way neither of us feels like a wallflower.

Well, that's my rant over ... anyone fancy a dance? :wink:

PeterL
19th-March-2003, 11:45 AM
Originally posted by Emma


My solution to this has been to take a deep breath and ASK.


My point exactly as a guy I have to do the same thing, when I want to dance I ask. It is nice to be asked and makes my day but man or woman, if you want to dance you are better off if you learn to ask.

When you first start ceroc this is difficult for guys as well as women as even though you are told it is a non-threatening environment, you are still preconditioned by previous experiences of going out that asking a girl to dance is in some way coming on to them. The fact that girls ask as well at guys at ceroc helps break down that barrier for men and makes the nights less threatening, to the point where you will go out for a night out by yourself.

So to round this off I am sure Emma would not like to be tought off as "targeting" men, she has just learnt to ask, and no-one would consider it in the least bit forward if you did the same Lily.

:) :D

Lou
19th-March-2003, 11:57 AM
Originally posted by Emma
Luckily at my regular venues I know lots of people now, so I do get to dance with my friends and asking is a lot easier.
Ditto! :wink:
It's loads easier once you know a few people. It really helps.

Last night I was brave & asked a total stranger to dance. I'd assumed that he was one of the new beginners who had started that night - however I had the most pleasant surprise when I discovered that he was a really good dancer & had excellent musical interpretation. We had a brilliant dance or two! :grin: Don't you just love it when that happens?

Lily - just come back to Bristol! I guarantee there'll be a queue of men waiting to dance with you!

Boomer
10th-September-2003, 04:19 PM
Question, how and why did you decide to start Ceroc? To try and get the ball rolling - in the misty days of yore.....

A young man (yes young i said) realised that the pop-idol/top 40 tosh being played in the usual pubs/bars was sapping his will to live (not literally I must add). He soon discovered he had a craving for music that involved instruments and skill, all the better if it were live.

After many years of searching (4hours actually) he discovered the Holy Grail, a blues-bar! While attending said bar, he realised that not only did he have a craving to learn to play, but there was still something missing. Many more years of soul searching followed (5 pints and 4 hours to tell the truth) before he made his next (and most important discovery) – the hunger to dance! Forsoth, he said to himself, I have rhythm, I have funk but what to do with them? Why, I must needs master these abilities and learn to dance as part of my quest for knowledge (not to mention the fact I was tired of turning down dances coz I didn’t know how too). Having decided that jive, as he pictured it in his head, seemed to work with the up-tempo blues-beats he was hearing the search began in earnest. You can guess the rest. We’ll leave out the horrors of my first confrontation with the beast that is Ceroc.

So, what was your path to Ceroc?

In the event of this attracting any interest I bow to the inevitable - feel free to go off topic (Pammy & co, you know who you are).

Grant
10th-September-2003, 04:29 PM
Originally posted by Boomer
In the event of this attracting any interest I bow to the inevitable - feel free to go off topic (Pammy & co, you know who you are).
pammy is incorporated!?:what: :really:
when did you find time for that, pammy? :D

grant

Pammy
10th-September-2003, 04:32 PM
Originally posted by Boomer
In the event of this attracting any interest I bow to the inevitable - feel free to go off topic (Pammy & co, you know who you are).

Well, after a comment like that I feel compelled to stay "on thread"; so who's eating out tonight then ? :wink:

No, seriously, erm, well here's my story, but no laughing; right! :blush: (incidentally why are blush and sorry the same, couldn't we have different coloured cheeks or something?)

Anyway, I was always a keen horse-rider (no double-entendres required), but when my last horse had had enough of me sagging around on her back and went into semi-retirement, I realised I needed to find another "sport" of some sort that wasn't quite as expensive or time consuming (well, now that I go four times a week, and get through shoes like water I guess it's probably just as expensive and just as time consuming so there's not a lot in it, but the above was the ORIGINAL plan, and those of you who know me better know I never stick to plans).

I am not a drinker, nor a smoker and I wanted to do something where you could meet people and make friends. Most of my friends are either married, or indeed so tied up in relationships that they don't have time to do much anymore. I saw an advert in the local paper for a Ceroc night and decided to give it a go.

I wasn't expecting to like it but obviously I did. I've never looked back and I've made some great friends along the way. :grin:

That's it I'm afraid.

Pammyx

PS Dancing with the Wiz is just like riding anyway. When you fall off whilst doing the LOCK OF DEATH you have to get right up and get back on again! :rofl:

Paul F
10th-September-2003, 04:51 PM
Im currently studying at university at the moment. Im down in Stevenage :sad: on a placement year.
Towards the start of the year one of the other money-scrounging students down here suggested that i go along to this thing called ceroc. I hadnt expressed an interest in dance, it just came up in passing. As my parents are into dancing quite seriously i never thought i would do it.

At first i didnt want to go as the only people conscripted were girls. No lads would go but eventually i gave in and went along. From the first class i was hooked. The first taxi dancer i saw (amanda) i now travel around with to various events. She made me feel so welcome I instantly liked it.

My first teacher was Adam who is obviously a great teacher. He taught a fun and lively class and the rest is history.

i have been known to go to one or two classes a week since :wink:

Pammy
10th-September-2003, 04:53 PM
Originally posted by Paul F
i have been known to go to one or two classes a week since :wink:

one or two :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Boomer
10th-September-2003, 05:50 PM
Originally posted by Grant
pammy is incorporated!?:what: :really:
when did you find time for that, pammy? :D

grant

Not sure about 'incorporated'....'industrious' is the impression one gets from the posts:devil:

Pammy doesn't drink? Ummm I hear there's a bottle of champers in your fridge, betwixt the toms and yogs:really:

wish there was a 'raises eyebrow in inquisitional distain' smiley.

Off to figure out to insert multi quotes now, just to make up for no dancey tonight:sad: :tears:

Boomer
10th-September-2003, 07:00 PM
Sorry Franck, didn't know the exact same thread was already in existence:blush: Must admit I was quite surprised to see the reply tally go from 5 to sixty-something:rofl:

Will pay more attention to what I'm doing next time:cheers:

TheTramp
10th-September-2003, 09:25 PM
I don't think that it's a problem. And given that the last post before you resurrected it, was on the 19th March, it's no wonder that you hadn't come across it :D

Steve

Jon L
20th-October-2003, 02:35 PM
My first experience of modern jive was a church 20's and 30's night 3 and a half years ago. It was a rebel roc night in Guildford.

As with all men when for first time I was pants at it. But I met a woman (yes I was also quite keen on her at the time - she is now happily married to someone else but we are still friends).

Anyway I got to know her and a few others socially and she suggested at a black tie ball in London. that I attend her ceroc partly because so many people knew her there (my social life was pretty dead then). Anyway - after a complete lack of interest from other friends - I took the plunge and walked in.

Over the next two years I learnt all the beginners and intermediate stuff there, then in the last 12 months - started by the rebel yell - I began branching out into other venues, getting into things like Bognor, etc. etc...

Ian W
21st-October-2003, 10:16 PM
My first experience of Ceroc was in the ski resort of Les Menuires in France in Feb 2001. I was with a large group, most of whom I hadnt met before.

One night in a local bar, I saw one of our group doing Ceroc with his girlfriend (now wife - they met at Ceroc I think!). It looked like so much fun that I just had to find out more.

Of course, as soon as I showed an interest, John arranged to take me to a Ceroc night in Edinburgh (St Stephens) as soon as we got back. He even met me in the pub beforehand - which is just as well, otherwise I probably would have chickened-out :)

I was sooo nervous at first! And for ages afterwards as well. Dancing was simply something I had never really done before. But I enjoyed it so much, and everyone was so nice, that I stuck at it.

Ian

JamesGeary
22nd-October-2003, 05:41 AM
I had a friend who raved about it and tried to get me to go along for a year. Eventually I gave in and went to some classes run at auckland university.

There were about 20 or 30 people in the group, and most kept going all year. The idea that people could turn you down never occurred to me that whole year, because everyone was friends with everyone. It's a much more comfortable way to learn than you tend to have in london.

After a year I went to the ceroc studio in auckland to watch a demo, which just amazed me, with people doing BACKFLIPS and stuff. I was inspired and decided to get good at it!

I've never looked back since :D

(never did manage to do a decent backflip mind you :tears: :tears: )

Forte
22nd-October-2003, 09:23 AM
I met a guy in a bar who told me he was doing ceroc and he asked me out on a date and I said "No" but that I would go to a dance class with him as I had always wanted to learn how to partner dance. He wasn't keen and kept asking me out to dinner a few more times but I stuck to my guns and eventually he took me along. I danced with him in Glasgow for a while and we stayed platonic (despite his best efforts). He was a lovely guy but I just didn't want to get involved in that way. I loved dancing with him:hug: but he got himslef a girlfriend who BANNED him from dancing with me coz she was jealous:tears: :tears:

I then got myself a boyfriend who also hated me dancing with anyone but him and he would only single dance (like clubbing). :tears:

I have wised up now and am single, loving my dancing and will never tie myself down to someone who feels threatened by it.:grin: The road to Ceroc has been dependent on the opinions of others for me but NO MORE!!:cheers: I am going to please myself now.:grin:

Tazmanian Devil
25th-October-2003, 01:26 AM
One of my Collegues on my ward was roped into it by her brother, Then asked me and another collegue to go also.
Unfortuntely I missed the first couple of weeks they were there due to working. But the third week I went to Welling with them and that was it HOOKED!!:nice:
went from once a week to twce, three times. I entered the champs 2003 after dancing for just over a year, Then my first Camber weekend. Now I dance as much as possible. I do try to get all the earlys at work but sometimes it just dont go in my favour. No less than 3 times a week though. :kiss: :hug: :wink:

Lory
25th-October-2003, 11:26 AM
My story in brief ... a client (hairdressing) was going on and on about her sister taking up this ridiculous dancing called Ceroc, she described it in the worst possible light... It's a partner dance she said, rolling her eyes, 'U HAVE to dance with ANYONE who asks u, even if u don't like them,'!! lol 'its in a horrible church hall! Can u imagine? U all have to line up and learn the same routine. Lot's of the men are old and smell, some stare at u or worst still, don't look at you at all whilst dancing, she then went on to describe to music, they play all sorts, even OLD stuff! She scoffed!
Me being me, thought it sounded hysterical, I just had to see this for my self, so I turned up the very next lesson! Just for the laugh of it. I'd never done any sort of partner dancing before but having danced ballet, tap and jazz as a child I found it quite easy to pick up, I never for one minute thought I'd be hear 18months on... ABSOLUTLY HOOKED

Note to Lily
I'm so glad you told us about your experience of not being asked to dance, you've really made me feel better, as your one of the people I've watched in total awe! Your one of the best female dancers I can think of and I would have found it hard to believe you had this problem. Its lovely to know its not just me, I won't take it so personally from now on, it can even happen to the BEST!
Thankyou! :kiss:

Martin
5th-November-2003, 02:45 PM
People often ask me how I first started, so here goes…

At 18 a friend of mine wanted to do her Ballroom and Latin Silver medals and needed a partner – so along I went and learnt how to follow her and make it look as though I know what I was doing.
All went well and she passed her medals (and I did my bronze medals to boot!)
Life soon changed when she got a jealous boyfriend – no more dancing…

Many years later (at the ripe old age of 27) I went to University and was living in a hall of residence that had a ballroom, on returning from a 2 hour session of Aerobics all sweaty and tired I passed a very attractive girl sitting on the step outside the ballroom. Naturally a conversation was in order and she told me that people were dancing in the ballroom but she needed a male partner – being the old fashioned English gent I am (did I mention she was attractive) I offered to partner her.
To her amazement I could do a very basic Waltz etc.
We spent the final 2 years of University dancing to sounds you never found at the student union discos…

In the Easter break in the last year of Uni I was staying with my parents in Sunny Worthing on the South coast when a good friend of mine suggested we try out a new class that had started in Worthing called LeRoc, a sort of Jive. He offered to pick me up and go for a drink after – well what can you say…

I did the lesson and the tried to freestyle on the first night DISASTER – it seemed so simple why couldn’t I look like Graham from day 1?…

I was determined to crack it before I went back to Uni
Week 2 I discovered that there were classes in Brighton that had been going on for almost 1 year, so off we went on the Tuesday as well
Week 3 I discovered there was also something called Ceroc in London, so did the trip with my mate on the Wednesday to Central club and attended Viktor’s classes
Week 4 Worthing, Brighton, London, on the final day in London was brave enough to ask a girl to freestyle…

Factors that made all the difference;
Paula – the best dancer at Worthing kept asking me to dance and despite me apologising as I only knew a few moves, she was most encouraging as she said “she loved dancing with me as I danced ‘with her’ and enjoyed the dance”
Graham - who put in may hours to get me from an upright rise and fall ballroom jerk to a smooth flowing (through the knees) dancer.
The Worthing crowd who were excellent value (and still are) – after dance we would go to the pub, then off to the beach for BBQ, food and skinny dipping.

All that was many years ago…and the beat goes on…

I never forget the first people who encouraged me and always try to dance with at least one beginner if and when I attend lessons to socialise.

Marty

Minnie M
6th-November-2003, 10:22 AM
Originally posted by Martin
People often ask me how I first started, so here goes….............

I never forget the first people who encouraged me and always try to dance with at least one beginner if and when I attend lessons to socialise.

Marty

:cheers: :kiss: :hug: and thank YOU Marty - as you helped me with encouraging dances on my first visits to Worthing & Brighton, there was you :drool: (sexy dances even then), Tim the Fireman & Graham Adcoc - the stars of the class - Tim & Graham still dance at Graham LeClerc's - Graham style (like yours) has moved on - Tim's style is still exactly the same as it was in 1995, still a great dancer though !

ahhhhh.... isn't nice.......... the good old days ......... and us in Brighton are all very proud of our export :kiss: :hug: - you dun good our Marty !

love the new avatar :cheers:

Martin
6th-November-2003, 04:10 PM
Originally posted by Minnie M
:cheers: :kiss: :hug: and thank YOU Marty - as you helped me with encouraging dances on my first visits to Worthing & Brighton, there was you :drool: (sexy dances even then),
ahhhhh.... isn't nice.......... the good old days ......... and us in Brighton are all very proud of our export :kiss: :hug: - you dun good our Marty !

love the new avatar :cheers:

Thanks Minnie M

I love the gentle leads (inspired by Graham) love the sexy stuff, only thing changed now are the BIG Aussie ariel moves and the "showcase stuff"

You remain a "smooth" dancer which always appeals to me...:cheers:

TheTramp helped me with the technicalities of the Avatar - go Tramp...

"The newies of today are the future of tomorrow" - treat them well...

Marty

TheTramp
6th-November-2003, 05:16 PM
Originally posted by Martin
TheTramp helped me with the technicalities of the Avatar - go Tramp...Go where??? :confused:

Steve

Minnie M
6th-November-2003, 09:05 PM
Originally posted by Martin
You remain a "smooth" dancer which always appeals to me...:cheers:
Marty

Wow :really: ! :blush: gee thanks, I think I will cut and paste this and keep it - after a really really bad week, that has made me feel FANTASTIC :blush:

Daisy
7th-November-2003, 12:30 AM
Iv'e just found this thread and Iv'e really enjoyed reading it......it's taken about 30mins. but it's time well spent. It's also one that Andy Mac hasn't found yet....is that possible?

I, like Lory am comforted by Lily's story......I also thought that it was just me! Sometimes it's a good job I have Ray with me although there are times when I have a fight on my hands to keep him, he is very popular with the ladies.

We, that is Ray & I first went to Ceroc in Guildford three and a half years ago. We loved it and booked a workshop. That day Annalisa encouraged us to enter the Ceroc champs as beginners and we won!.......we never looked back. After that Rob May told me to dance with as many 'good' men as poss if I wanted to advance and that's what I did.........sorry guys. Ray & I have used competitions as a goal to aim at, this way we have to work at improving and moving forward.

As an observer I see what happens to Ray at freestyles. He is constantly in demand and sometimes hardly gets a break for a drink. Women will stand and wait for him and even queue for a dance.
At the end of the evening he's been sorry that he didn't get a chance to dance with someone.....for instance Lily or Divissma. Such is the plight of a good male dancer.:tears:

Marty...you are on my hit list for the future. I haven't managed to grab you again since I first danced with you at Shoreham about 3yrs ago. I didn't get chance when we were in Oz this Sept. so maybe you will put me on your dancecard next time you visit the UK.

Loved your team event at the Ceroc Oz champs by the way.

Martin
7th-November-2003, 03:28 PM
Marty...you are on my hit list for the future. I haven't managed to grab you again since I first danced with you at Shoreham about 3yrs ago. I didn't get chance when we were in Oz this Sept. so maybe you will put me on your dancecard next time you visit the UK.

Loved your team event at the Ceroc Oz champs by the way. [/B]

Sure you are on the dancecard :D , don't know when I'll be back, I normally try to match it up with a Camber W/E
It was a shame we could not get the "Bring it on" team over for the Ceroc champs earlier this year, not everyone could make it. There is also a question in my mind as to whether we would be "chosen" to compete as Myself and Clinton both applied to do a showcase at the champs and were turned down. :tears:

Marty

Daisy
7th-November-2003, 03:59 PM
Originally posted by Martin
Sure you are on the dancecard :D , don't know when I'll be back, I normally try to match it up with a Camber W/E
It was a shame we could not get the "Bring it on" team over for the Ceroc champs earlier this year, not everyone could make it. There is also a question in my mind as to whether we would be "chosen" to compete as Myself and Clinton both applied to do a showcase at the champs and were turned down. :tears:

Marty

Theres always the Blackpool Champs in March 04? or Ceroc. It would be good to see you guys over again.

Pete
9th-November-2003, 06:08 PM
Er, um, Hello!:)

I haven't been doing Ceroc very long (since spring 2003) but it has entered my all time list of 'best things I've ever done'. Before I started Ceroc I was a bit of a non-dancer. No, make that "I was a TOTAL non dancer" and now I find I can go up to, gulp, attractive women, and lead them through my trusty repertoire of 5 beginners moves (over and over again):sorry . One day, some day, I'd like to be able to do an intermediate move in freestyle. I've done about 5 intermediate classes now and have yet to use one of the moves in earnest (most of the ones I've learnt seem to involve a lot of complicated arm intertwining).

Pete

skyedancer
14th-November-2003, 03:19 PM
A friend of mine rang me up and said that she " needed a dance partner for this thing called Saroc , or something with a similar name!". I said I had never heard of it, and she thought it was being done "somewhere in Aberdeen". So, after many blind alleys, having been offered everything from Ballroom dancing to Salsa, I tracked it down with the right name to Peterculter! I agreed to go along for a look. We did this, but our shifts meant we could never get there, again. In October, we split. I decided to take the bull by the horns and go back on my own. I needn't have worried because I was immediately made welcome by everyone. I am now hooked on Ceroc. Thanks to everyone for maintaining my morale and providing so much enjoyment!:D

Lynn
15th-November-2003, 03:04 PM
New to this forum so thought I would add my bit to this thread. I went on a holiday in September, saw some really good dancers in action (thanks Will & co!) and thought 'I want to learn that'. But there was no ceroc here in Northern Ireland. :(

Not ready to give up, I tracked down a couple of dancers, just at the point when they were thinking about starting a modern jive class... good timing! I also started learning salsa, so within two weeks of the holiday I was going dancing twice a week. Still very beginner (6 weeks!) but having a lot of fun!:grin:

Ian W
18th-November-2003, 01:36 PM
Originally posted by Lynn
New to this forum so thought I would add my bit to this thread. I went on a holiday in September, saw some really good dancers in action (thanks Will & co!) and thought 'I want to learn that'. But there was no ceroc here in Northern Ireland. :(

Not ready to give up, I tracked down a couple of dancers, just at the point when they were thinking about starting a modern jive class... good timing! ...

Where is the jive class in Northern Ireland?

My sister (from Whitehead) is visiting me in Edinburgh this week so I took her along to a Ceroc class last night. She loved it, and was asking me if there was any Ceroc in NI.

Ian

Lynn
18th-November-2003, 06:11 PM
Originally posted by Ian W
Where is the jive class in Northern Ireland?


Tried to PM this...

The class is at Queens University in Belfast, in the Drama studio (in the main quad) 9-10pm on Fri nights. There is about 20 in the class each week (though more if everyone was there at once) and its been running for about 6 weeks.

If you sister wants more details you could email me or pm. If she wants I can meet her outside the main QUB entrance just before the class. (But not this week as will be in London)

There is a Scottish connection as the guy who teaches used to ceroc in Scotland!

Sorry guys to get off the thread topic...:sorry

Lynn

Tazmanian Devil
22nd-November-2003, 11:28 PM
Originally posted by Pete
Er, um, Hello!:)

I haven't been doing Ceroc very long (since spring 2003) but it has entered my all time list of 'best things I've ever done'. Before I started Ceroc I was a bit of a non-dancer. No, make that "I was a TOTAL non dancer" and now I find I can go up to, gulp, attractive women, and lead them through my trusty repertoire of 5 beginners moves (over and over again):sorry . One day, some day, I'd like to be able to do an intermediate move in freestyle. I've done about 5 intermediate classes now and have yet to use one of the moves in earnest (most of the ones I've learnt seem to involve a lot of complicated arm intertwining).

Pete

Hello Pete you are not alone with the whole begginers thing, Many men take a while to feel confident doing intermediate moves on the dance floor, But dont worry it WILL come to you!!:wink:




originally posted by skyedancer
A friend of mine rang me up and said that she " needed a dance partner for this thing called Saroc , or something with a similar name!". I said I had never heard of it, and she thought it was being done "somewhere in Aberdeen". So, after many blind alleys, having been offered everything from Ballroom dancing to Salsa, I tracked it down with the right name to Peterculter! I agreed to go along for a look. We did this, but our shifts meant we could never get there, again. In October, we split. I decided to take the bull by the horns and go back on my own. I needn't have worried because I was immediately made welcome by everyone. I am now hooked on Ceroc. Thanks to everyone for maintaining my morale and providing so much enjoyment!



You definately done the right thing dancing is a passion to me now. I started 2 years ago and now make time to go 4,5,6 times a week. :waycool: Stick with it, it only gets better :kiss: :hug:

Dan
1st-December-2003, 12:58 AM
Originally posted by Pete
Er, um, Hello!:)

I haven't been doing Ceroc very long (since spring 2003) but it has entered my all time list of 'best things I've ever done'. Before I started Ceroc I was a bit of a non-dancer. No, make that "I was a TOTAL non dancer" and now I find I can go up to, gulp, attractive women, and lead them through my trusty repertoire of 5 beginners moves (over and over again):sorry . One day, some day, I'd like to be able to do an intermediate move in freestyle. I've done about 5 intermediate classes now and have yet to use one of the moves in earnest (most of the ones I've learnt seem to involve a lot of complicated arm intertwining).

Pete

You are doing exactly the right thing Pete. I often discuss Ceroc with my female friends and they have a distinct preference for male dancers who do the moves properly. So may men try to impress them by doing endless complicated and badly led moves they prefer quality over quantity. You could practice one of the intermediate moves that you like the best until you get very smooth at it and then introduce it to your repertoire. When the ladies give you a smile, that will boost your confidence and you can move on to the next addition.

Do not forget to enjoy yourself!

Andre

Purd
3rd-December-2003, 12:37 PM
I had been attending Ceilidh classes where I met and made much younger friends who dragged me along one night to CEROC and then I was hooked! The trouble is I am on and off dancer so still trying to master beginner's moves and pass on to the dizzy heights of intermediate.

ChrisA
3rd-December-2003, 01:08 PM
Originally posted by Purd
The trouble is I am on and off dancer so still trying to master beginner's moves and pass on to the dizzy heights of intermediate.
Hi there!!

I was like that too, once (well, still trying to master the dizzy heights).

I predict that once you feel yourself getting better you'll get totally obsessed, give up wussy Ceilidh dancing, dance every night, and finally end up losing all non- dance-related social skills.

That's what happened to me, anyway. Or was it just that I had no non- dance-related social skills anyway?

Conveniently, I forget :waycool:

Welcome to the forum, anyway. :cheers:

Chris

Divissima
3rd-December-2003, 04:06 PM
Originally posted by the outrageous Chris A:
give up wussy Ceilidh dancingOi!:really: I'm sensing a traumatic ceilidh experience in your past, Chris! The last few I have been to in Camden have been fairly boisterous - and certainly not for the faint of heart. And those men in their lovely kilts :yum: :wink:

ChrisA
3rd-December-2003, 04:11 PM
Originally posted by Divissima
Oi!:really: I'm sensing a traumatic ceilidh experience in your past, Chris!
Actually no... fortunately all such memories are false ones. :waycool:

Stuart
19th-February-2004, 11:48 PM
I took up Ceroc as a result of getting bored with Top of the Pops about and flicking around the channels with my remote.

I came across that series that Deborah Bull, the ballerina, did about different forms of dance. This particular programme was about jive, and she started off at a Ceroc class. They stressed that it didn't matter if you had two left feet and that you didn't need to go with a partner. I thought it sounded fun, looked it up on the Internet and went along to a class.

I haven't looked back!

chrissiem
25th-February-2004, 07:38 PM
Hi my name is Christine and I started Ceroc in Jan 2004 because I had heard people raving about it and also that it was a good way to meet new people, plus I love dancing! So went along to St Stephens in Edinburgh with my friend and had a blast. I like the way it is taught (well done Opi) and that everyone gets to have a go and not sit out for too long. Everyone is really nice as well. I've also been to Marcos on the nights I can't get to St Stephens to keep up the practice and that's good too, a lot busier but plenty of dance partners. I've now been doing it for 7 weeks and just started the intermediate so getting a bit more confident with each week passing. I've been interested to read some of the earlier comments about not getting chance to dance with some of the "better" guys because other women monopolise them. Interesting. I hung back a bit the first few times and waited to be asked, sometimes I was, sometimes I wasn't and I felt I was missing out on dancing, so now I am getting a bit more brazen and proactive and asking the guys. As soon as you finish with one, grab another and keep going! Its not difficult...

Have fun all,
Cheers - Christine:wink:

under par
22nd-May-2004, 02:03 AM
Originally posted by ChrisA
Hi there!!


I predict that once you feel yourself getting better you'll get totally obsessed, .......skip..., dance every night, and finally end up losing all non- dance-related social skills.

Chris

It is amazing how it creeps up on you, the confidence thing, then the obsessional wish to dance every night.:yeah:

This follows a very long period of uncertainty and doubt.:devil:
not sure whether it is ever going to get any easier:really:
and wondering if giving up would be the best course of action.:whistle:

BUT perservere it will all be worth it.:clap: :clap:

Rougeforever
22nd-May-2004, 09:12 AM
Originally posted by under par
It is amazing how it creeps up on you, the confidence thing, then the obsessional wish to dance every night.:yeah:

This follows a very long period of uncertainty and doubt.:devil:
not sure whether it is ever going to get any easier:really:
and wondering if giving up would be the best course of action.:whistle:

BUT perservere it will all be worth it.:clap: :clap:

...oooh, I'm glad you said that.

I'm at the "I'm never going to be able to do this - I'm just not a dancer - there's just no point in me carrying on" stage.

I've pretty much got most of the beginner moves, and am really trying to focus on my technique - but am struggling with too many things.

Added to this I'm becoming self-conscious ...oh dear. Maybe I just think too much about these things and don't enjoy myself enough.

bigdjiver
22nd-May-2004, 10:51 AM
Originally posted by Rougeforever
...oooh, I'm glad you said that.

I'm at the "I'm never going to be able to do this - I'm just not a dancer - there's just no point in me carrying on" stage.

I've pretty much got most of the beginner moves, and am really trying to focus on my technique - but am struggling with too many things.

Added to this I'm becoming self-conscious ...oh dear. Maybe I just think too much about these things and don't enjoy myself enough.

"Dance as though nobody is watching" includes you. Enjoy!

Lynn
22nd-May-2004, 12:02 PM
Originally posted by Rougeforever
I've pretty much got most of the beginner moves, and am really trying to focus on my technique - but am struggling with too many things. I got to this point at about 4 months - then spent the next couple of months feeling like I was making no progress and getting frustrated. But I just went on a Weekender and it has made a big difference to me - boosted my skills & my confidence.

ElaineB
27th-May-2004, 10:11 PM
I started to dance just over two years ago now. Usual story I suppose, finished with a chap and was looking to do something else in the evening. Started off at a Salsa class, but after three lessons, began to get bored by the beat - a friend mentioned Le Roc in Bristol and I went along. I was awful - lots of hip wiggling, but not a lot else! A guy asked me to dance in the freestyle and I told him it was my first lesson - was he understanding? Not a bit, kept telling me off - I was doing this wrong and that wrong. Bloomin' cheek - he was wearing lime green velvet trousers - at least I had better dress sense! :rofl:

Anyway, was tempted back after a few months and managed to quell the wiggle (a little bit anyway!). Got the dance bug well and truely and found a really loving partner on the way (ahhh!). Became tempted to get into competitions and came up to London to Hipsters, to find out what was missing from my repotoire and then managed a few lessons with Amir.........

Still learning..........


Elaine

ElaineB
27th-May-2004, 10:16 PM
I agree with others about earlier Lily's post - I came away from Hipsters last night feeling quite tearful - unusual for me as I will ask men (even women if they can dance as a man!) to dance. But I was refused by one chap and had been refused at an earlier dance by another, so felt a bit deflated. Watching the Ladies target the men was rather like watching the start of the Le Mans 24 hour race!

Simon on the other hand was being asked to dance by lots of the Ladies and obviously obliged. I suppose that having made the effort to get up from Bristol and having looked forward to it for three weeks, I probably took it to heart a bit more than I should have!

Never mind, another day, another dance! :D


Elaine

Gareth
27th-May-2004, 11:28 PM
Never mind Elaine :hug:

I will always ask you to dance.

REMEMBER THIS:

It was the guys loss not yours:D

They will never know how good an opportunity they missed :)

foxylady
27th-May-2004, 11:34 PM
Originally posted by ElaineB
I agree with others about earlier Lily's post - I came away from Hipsters last night feeling quite tearful - unusual for me as I will ask men (even women if they can dance as a man!) to dance. But I was refused by one chap and had been refused at an earlier dance by another, so felt a bit deflated. Watching the Ladies target the men was rather like watching the start of the Le Mans 24 hour race!

Simon on the other hand was being asked to dance by lots of the Ladies and obviously obliged. I suppose that having made the effort to get up from Bristol and having looked forward to it for three weeks, I probably took it to heart a bit more than I should have!

Never mind, another day, another dance! :D


Elaine

Its strange how it goes isn't it. What you describe is how I've always found Hipsters to be on a Tuesday. I go because the standard of dancing is higher than at my regular venue, but I also go knowing I won't have as good a time...

However tuesday this week was fab ! I actually got asked to dance as many times as I asked (unheard of at Hipsters for me !), lots of room and too many men over in the class... Why ? Alot of the regulars weren't there , was there something going on I didn't know about ? Who knows... All I know is I got to dance more and actually enjoyed the venue and the music as it shoud be enjoyed....

So I completely empathise, but wonder why its all changed ? Perhaps it was this week only ?

FL

whistler
26th-June-2004, 05:47 PM
My cousin Joanne and I have started going to a few different classes of varying styles of dance over the past few years but with shifts at work and other commitments we never managed to stay at any of them for very long and didnt really master any of them. I always ended up dancing as the man too which I didnt really want to do.

Then our friend Shug told us about the new class in Ceroc at Jumpin Jaks he had been to with his girlfriend Kathy and suggested we go along and try it out.

That was about 4 months ago now...we all love it and go every week and even better..........I get to dance as a lady too!

Trish
6th-July-2004, 11:36 AM
I have always wanted to dance after watching the old Fred and Ginger films with my Nan years ago (she actually saw Fred Astaire with his sister Adele on the London stage in the 20s/30s - lucky thing!). My cousins used to do tap as as Fred Astaire is really a tap dancer I tried that for a while. I hated tap, and what I realised years later was that I wanted to dance with other people.

I started Ceroc after going to a friend's wedding with my sister Ann. At the reception my friend had a a disco like people usually do and there were two girls dancing together which to me looked fantastic! This was what I'd wanted to be able to do! My sister and I got chatting to the girls after they finished dancing and they said they did Ceroc. Ann found out when we got home that a friend of hers danced in Letchworth so she started going there, but I live in Peterborough so this wouldn't have been very practical for me. Anyway, I also found out that one of the girls I knew from work used to go to Ceroc here - although she wasn't currently dancing as she'd got back problems, so I got the details from her. I spent about a month trying to persuade pretty much everyone I know to come with me, but to no avail, but I still really wanted to go. In the end I made my mind up and went on my own!!

It was a bit scary the first night, but the taxi dancers were brilliant - especially considering I had two left feet, both of which were stuck to the floor as I was really wearing quite innapropriate shoes! I knew I was awful but I absolutely loved it and came back the following week. After about three weeks people came to know me and I felt a lot more comfortable. After about 9 months I became a taxi dancer and also learned to lead (so I could dance with my sister at weddings etc), which I really enjoy the challenge of now - good thing too there's nearly always too many ladies at Peterborough!

Sorry this has turned into an epic!!!

Trish

Minnie M
6th-July-2004, 12:19 PM
I have always wanted to dance after watching the old Fred and Ginger............

Did anyone see James & Bridget Hamilton doing their Fred & Ginger dance at one of the weekenders a few years ago - it was jaw dropping and enchanting :clap: :cheers: AND Bridget was about 8months pregnant at the time too :worthy:

So many of our MJ dancers have hidden talents (yes J & B were MJ at the time) and what about Linda & MIke Ellard, their latin dancing is amazing :worthy: - was really disappointed they didn't do a 'cha cha' demo at MJC :yeah:

naughty_scotty84
16th-September-2004, 05:30 PM
I started Ceroc mainly because I've never known how to dance. I had seen loads of different dance types for learning at Dundee College and was thinking about trying them out, but I was nervous that they'd be too difficult. Also couldn't find anyone to go with and thought that I'd have to have a partner to go with. Then out of the blue one of my friends said that he was going to Ceroc with people from his work and asked if I fancied it. Of course my reply was "CEROC???? What the **** is that" When he explained it was dance I was keen to go, but wow was I shaking sitting at that table before it started. But now here I am 6 weeks in and I know 8-10 dance moves and am getting more confident about dancing by the day, so bring it on :grin:

drathzel
16th-September-2004, 05:39 PM
Bridget was about 8months pregnant at the time too :worthy:

:


I was discussing this the other night! I was saying that you would probably need to give it up how could you dance with a big belly bump! But aparently a lot of women continue when they are carrying a bump!

Gadget
17th-September-2004, 08:38 AM
Just ask Lorna; I'm sure that she was out dancing the night before she droped the sprog :what: {<- appologies for the crude language, but it's the most descriptive term I've found... unless it comes out the sunroof :whistle:}

Trish
17th-September-2004, 11:28 AM
I was discussing this the other night! I was saying that you would probably need to give it up how could you dance with a big belly bump! But aparently a lot of women continue when they are carrying a bump!

My sister continued to dance until she was about 8 months pregnant. I remember seeing her at a dance just before she decided to give it up for the duration, Paul, a friend of ours asked her if she was happy to do " a little dip" and as she agreed promptly dropped her right the way to the floor, and then picked her up again, no mean task when she weighed about 13 stone! (she'd admit that herself, so I'm not telling any secrets!) She only gave up because it gave her pains in her hips, I think otherwise she'd have carried on.

My cousin who is a dance teacher carried on until two weeks before, her bump was so small up until the last minute that loads of people didn't even know she was pregnant! She is mega fit though, and was always extremely thin and toned.

I think this dancing is just too addictive, a friend of mine is still going (in a cast) at the moment despite falling awkwardly and breaking her arm!!!

drathzel
18th-September-2004, 12:32 PM
Just ask Lorna; I'm sure that she was out dancing the night before she droped the sprog :what: {<- appologies for the crude language, but it's the most descriptive term I've found... unless it comes out the sunroof :whistle:}


I think this dancing is just too addictive, a friend of mine is still going (in a cast) at the moment despite falling awkwardly and breaking her arm!!!

Its hard enough as it is without having a baby to lug around the dance floor too, is it not! But your right it is addictive!

The term imho wasn't crude. My sis uses it all the time. However she has not had a baby and does not want one EVER!

Bangers & Mash
5th-October-2004, 12:08 AM
I first got into ceroc about 15 years ago in Windsor, Reading and Hammersmith but this was at the time when the tv was doing documentaries on "ceroc snobs" and certainly I always felt as if I was on the outside looking in. :sick:

I was bullied into attending my first even ceroc class by my friend's sister :wink: and, despite the snobs, I really enjoyed the dancing - although I only stuck around for the classes and never managed the freestyle.

After 6 months I moved and spent most of my time over the next 15 years living in areas of the country where ceroc just didn't happen. :mad: I always remembered a couple of simple moves though and liked to "have a go" if the music seemed right and there were victims around to dance with.

One of my favourite memories is dancing in a club in California where I pulled a few ceroc dance moves out of the air. I found myself dancing on my own with 6 gorgeous american girls whilst my friends sat and drank and watched. They all booked dance lessons when we returned to England :rofl:

In March of this year I moved to Edinburgh and a friend here re-introduced me to ceroc. What a great experience. :clap: The classes were good, the people were really friendly, the enthusiasm was incredible and I quickly found myself getting to meet lots of really interesting and friendly people. Furthermore, it seems that ceroc snobbery either never happened in scotland or is a thing of the past. I've only been knocked back for a dance once in the last 5 months - and after 2 months she came and grabbed me for a dance :D

Since March, I have been to Musselburgh, Southport, and the BFG, and all the Edinburgh dance parties except 1. I have seen Jive Aces twice and I regularly dance 5 nights a week including ceroc, route 66, dancebase and jitterbug.

I love the dancing and the people. So big thanks to Scot for the Edinburgh venues - thanks to jive addiction and Franck for providing a bit of variety, thanks to the friends I have made who join me as I explore all the other dance venues, and thanks to everybody else for being so friendly and inspiring me to keep coming back. :cheers:

cheeks
12th-March-2005, 03:27 PM
:wink: I first started dancing Ceroc in January 2004 after many months of trying Salsa in many different venues in Dundee and never quite feeling at ease. I liked the dancing but the venues and lack of actual classes was becoming tiring. A friend at work had been discussing Ceroc and had asked if I would like to give it a try....................Although I was very keen I had postponed accompanying due to many different reasons. A week after my birthday I decided to give it a go.............My initial feelings where nerves I guess there where so many people.....dancing!

After my first beginners class I felt so much at ease as if I had known the people I was dancing with forever.............. :D


I initially only attended every now and again for the next few months as still hadn't built up the courage to go on my own....but found myself itching to dance then in about April last year made that scary trip on my own only to find it wasn't scary at all. All those friendly faces where still their and had noticed I hadn't been, What a feeling it was! :drool:

Since then I have never looked back i am still learning but loving every minute of it, I have now done 2 classes and 1 beginner workshop dancing as a man. Trying Tango, and hoping to squeeze in some lindy hop and wcs real soon. :hug:

I have made lots of friends far and near, travelled to different venues to dance, joined the forum met more fantastic people and fellow formites and hope to continue to do so for many years to come. :clap:


Pauline. :flower:

Scotch Bonnet
12th-March-2005, 10:33 PM
To bring this thread back to what it is supposed to be about (ie everyone sharing their story of how they got into dancing), how about all of you who have just joined the Forum (and some of you who still haven't told us), do not be shy, it does not need to be long or fancy :nice:

Franck.
A close friend asked me to dance at a local charity event in Dalkeith,he started to jive,told me about Ceroc and suggested I come along with him to Moray house,that was almost 10 years ago,and I haven't looked back since. :) :grin: Who remembers Moray house ??Those were the days when I used to watch people dance and think ,would I ever be good enough or pluck up the courage to ask them to dance !! :o :o
xxx

Dreadful Scathe
12th-March-2005, 10:53 PM
I've pretty much got most of the beginner moves, and am really trying to focus on my technique - but am struggling with too many things.



They are called 'men' - you just need to find some you dont have to struggle with ;)

drathzel
14th-March-2005, 02:44 PM
They are called 'men' - you just need to find some you dont have to struggle with ;)

is there such a thing? :rofl:

David Bailey
14th-March-2005, 04:21 PM
Way back... The brother of my then-girlfriend was hooked, and he dragged her along, then she dragged me along - that's it, I was hooked. I'd done ballroom before, but there were so few venues to do it, plus they were not exactly full of other 20-something men; ceroc was a total revelation. Still is, in fact, after, errr, 15 years, something like that I think. :confused:

P.S. A couple of years after I started, we dragged a certain person kicking and screaming (as I recall, could be wrong) to this ceroc stuff. A few years later, this person turned into Gus... :eek:

Will
14th-March-2005, 04:50 PM
Way back... The brother of my then-girlfriend was hooked, and he dragged her along, then she dragged me along - that's it, I was hooked. I'd done ballroom before, but there were so few venues to do it, plus they were not exactly full of other 20-something men; ceroc was a total revelation. Still is, in fact, after, errr, 15 years, something like that I think. :confused:

P.S. A couple of years after I started, we dragged a certain person kicking and screaming (as I recall, could be wrong) to this ceroc stuff. A few years later, this person turned into Gus... :eek:
YOUR TO BLAME FOR GUS???? :angry: :angry: :angry:

I was struct with reverence and awe at your name, but now my opinion of you has been badly tarnished.

I can only assume that you introduced Gus to Ceroc whilst you were still keeping goal for Evilpool, and that you have since seen the light.

Allez-Cat
14th-March-2005, 05:06 PM
I've never done any formal ballroom or dance training, but was brought up on the customary disco diet. Apparently I had rubber legs and a reasonable wiggle.

Unusually, I had evolved a form of jive (inherited from time spent in Southern Africa) which involved a lot of yanking and laboured spinning. I bumped into a senior member of this forum (who shall remain unidentified) who suggested - very kindly - that ceroc lessons were available in my locale, and that I might benefit. So I went along, and enjoyed myself so thoroughly that I can't get away from it.

The big plus is that I no longer yank my partner around like a sack of new potatoes (well, not all the time, anyway). The downside is that I still, a couple of years down the line, gaze upon my 'mentor' with awe and admiration, and descend rapidly into suicidal mode.

But my abiding memory at my first evening was the owlish expression from the lady at the door, and the strict admonition that "this is not a pulling club". Well, I almost gave up on the spot....

Jazz_Shoes (Ash)
23rd-April-2005, 02:53 PM
I was wondering how you all got started / introduced to Ceroc (or dancing in general)...
Were you actively looking for a dance class, was your arm twisted by a very enthusiastic friend?:nice: Franck.

Umm....well I did the kids ballet/tap when I was about 5 for a couple of years....not that I remember anything :rofl: Then about two years ago I danced for a bit in a theatre group (I won't mention the name) but I actually think I learned more on my first night at Ceroc, than I did the entire time I was there, all we did was practice a routine for like 8 months on and off (dance/singing module), and strangely enough didn't even know it that well by the end. Although I do think that it made me a slightly better dancer and we did get an introduction to Ballet thingy.....can't remember much of that either, apart from our attempt at syncronized leaping (don't ask). Between me leaving that group 2 years ago and joining here I always wanted to go to dance classes, but...I dunno sumfin was stopping me...
Then last saturday I was flicking through channels, turned to VH1 just as flashdance was starting and was engrossed from start to finish....well almost, I did the whole dancing round the living room to the groovy music thing too :wink: Umm...then on sunday I decided to look up yellow pages for dance classes, checked one's with web-site's-found this place, went through a rather large rigamole on another thread and there I was on wednesday night :grin: I guess i've just changed since two years ago :)

Luv,
Ashleyx :hug: :kiss: :hug:

Purple Sparkler
24th-June-2005, 04:59 PM
If my Mum's to be believed, I'm the living embodiment of the Abba lyric "I was a dancer before I could walk", or pretty close on.

My parents enrolled me in ballet classes when I was three, because they simply could not get me to stop dancing whenever there was music around, whatever else I was supposed to be doing (there's a story I think I don't need to detail involving this particular tendency and a musical potty when I was 2). I stayed doing ballet until I was 15, which was a long time after I realised I would never be a professional- too tall and just not as good as the other girls. :tears: The final straw was a concert my ballet school gave, where my class (of which I was the oldest member :blush: ) was dancing to some music from 'Carousel'. My teacher decided it would be a great idea to do a maypole dance. I was informed that as I was too tall for the maypole dancing, I would be holding the maypole steady for everyone else. :mad: It was at this point I realised that I was fed up to the back teeth of being put at the back of the class all the time while my teacher made much of the girls who also did tap and modern with her.

5 years later, after a brief spell learning belly dancing, I was at university, and my friend Ed did some Ceroc with me at a university club night. He was taking classes at a Working Mens Club in York, and I accompanied him and fell head over heels in love with Ceroc. Unfortunately, I was less enamoured of my then boyfriend, who had known Ed longer, and when we broke up, I lost my transport to classes. When I graduated I moved back to Basingstoke where there was no Ceroc class (Reading being a bit too far away).

Another 5 years on, and I moved to London. I was looking for something to do in my spare time, and Ceroc was the natural choice. So I looked online and found my local venue, and 2 weeks later turned up ridiculously early at Ashtons (continued doing so for about 4 weeks beyond that- until they told me I didn't have to come so early!). Kept going once a week for about 11 months, then I was busy on a Wednesday night and decided to give ISH a try... cue a huge improvement in my dancing and the birth of what is now a fully-fledged obsession, which is about to reach new heights with my first dance weekender! :clap:

cedar
1st-November-2005, 08:28 AM
firstly i would like to say hello (im both very new to dancing and this forum)

i had always wanted to dance, but never really had the courage to (most men that i know my age just lack any interest in anything apart from the pub and women), until a certain lady gave me a push in the right direction! ok so its only been 2months at the most but im strangely addicted. its already at the stage where no matter how hard my day at work has been, i just dont feel i can miss a class ( that comes from one of two things, the enjoyment i get from it but also a desire to improve)

i must say its quite an inspiration when you see certain couples Dancing very mesmorizing, and very encouraging!

ah well there is my short and sweet story

jx

Night Owl
1st-November-2005, 08:29 PM
firstly i would like to say hello (im both very new to dancing and this forum)

i had always wanted to dance, but never really had the courage to (most men that i know my age just lack any interest in anything apart from the pub and women), until a certain lady gave me a push in the right direction! ok so its only been 2months at the most but im strangely addicted. its already at the stage where no matter how hard my day at work has been, i just dont feel i can miss a class ( that comes from one of two things, the enjoyment i get from it but also a desire to improve)

i must say its quite an inspiration when you see certain couples Dancing very mesmorizing, and very encouraging!

ah well there is my short and sweet story

jx


Welcome to the forum:clap:


I`ve only been dancing ceroc since sept 1 too

love it and hate it if i`m even late for a class

And if you find your self up in Scotland there are plenty venues who will welcome you up here too:yeah:

And of course the BFG next May:yeah:

Enjoy

Iain
:cheers:

Anna
4th-November-2005, 02:49 AM
*long ago, in a galaxy far far away.. *

How did it all begin..Well..I did jazz ballet and rhythmic gymnastics for about 2 years (from 8-10 years of age) and then one day I saw the tv programme "Battle of the Ballroom" and was so charmed by it that I decided I wanted to do competitive ballroom dancing (my main goal being to possess one of those puffy frocks with the fluff around the bottom :D ) and so I started learning latin&ballroom at age 11ish.. Two years later I saw a flyer about a type of dance called "Ceroc" posted on the whiteboard in my social studies class at school and thought I would give it a go as I was finding L&B to be frustratingly structured.. and the rest is history.

That year about halfway through, I started learning Salsa because my Mum worked in the same department as this guy called Andreas who was a Salsa teacher.. and because Mum thought he was so delightful I was soon shipped off to his classes.. for the first month I hated it because it was so hard, but my Mother forced me to go and then eventually I started to enjoy it :D (and now it's my favourite but shhh don't tell him :rolleyes: )

from that point I learnt some of the other Street Latin dances, a bit of Argentine Tango, Bellydancing (when I discovered the religious education teacher at my school was also a bellydancer :what: weird I know), Westcoast Swing, Blues, and Samba.. Only ever done a few hiphop classes but seeing as the NZ teenage population's native danceform is hiphop, I think I have a fair grasp of it..;)

mmm yeah The End :)

killingtime
8th-November-2005, 03:01 PM
Well in contrast to Anna's "I danced from the age of 0.25" Ceroc is my first sort of partner dance; I'd been to a whole two Ceilidhs and my ex-girlfriend probably spent around 2 years (ok not non-stop) trying to teach me the basic step to the waltz. I did always enjoy club dancing; though I wasn't that regular a clubber.

I've always wanted to try some form of dancing and one night at a friend's he pointed out an ad for Ceroc (which a few of my other friends had been to and enjoyed); I went online to get some more details and turned up to a lesson and have succumbed to whatever additive they put in the water. That was just over 4 months ago :). Since then I even did a waltz class down in Southport and managed to get the basic step :D.

It took me a while to make a post in this thread :blush:.

Bozo
10th-November-2005, 04:41 PM
First time into Ceroc was because SWMBO did a taster class at work during a Children in Need charity day. We went along together for some months, dragged another friend into it with us, but stopped going for some reason - probably because our hectic social schedule meant that we couldn't find a night free to go to the class :sad:

That was about eight years ago. Interest was spurred again by our good friend Gary:


I've always wanted to try some form of dancing and one night at a friend's he pointed out an ad for Ceroc (which a few of my other friends had been to and enjoyed); I went online to get some more details and turned up to a lesson and have succumbed to whatever additive they put in the water.

who has become dedicated to the cult of dance!

My wife started back a while ago - I had to wait to get clearance from my physio (recovering from a broken knee). On Tuesday morning I got the go-ahead, and Tuesday night was my first lesson back, where I realised I've forgotten all of the moves and I can't hear the beat unless it's a drum solo.

Oh well, I look forward with anticipation to the day when I have enough moves to have a real choice of what to do next, rather than just not repeating the last one.

Martin

scotttwin
19th-February-2006, 05:20 PM
Franck,

I started Ceroc about a year ago after pulling out a Cd rom from my desk which I had put in there about 6 months previously having been handed it outside Clapham Junction station one evening.

There was a group of dancers outside the station and I remember it well - not because they were dancing on the pavement, but because they were dancing in the cold and rain on the pavement. I remember thinking they must be barking, taking the CD rom paying little attention and then going home.

For some reason, and I can't remember why I eventually put the Cd in my disk drive at work and was inspired by the dancing and the interviews with men saying it was easy and great fun.

My first few weeks I wouldn't describe as easy and fun, but I was blown away being in the company of friendly, non-smoking, non-drunken people all out mid-week just wanting to have a few laughs - in London, this is very hard to find, and I now never miss my weekly fix.

Frankie_4711
8th-March-2006, 08:55 PM
Someone I used to work with kept trying to bully the rest of us into going with her - and I have to admit I was tempted as I've always loved all sorts of dancing, but because of the venue she attended it would have been impossible for me to go with her, and at that point I didn't realize there were other venues. Then I saw an advert in my local theatre brochure, saying they held classes there, so decided to go along - I was totally addicted from day one!! It was like going to a fantastic party every week! After a couple of months, I decided once a week wasn't enough and sought out my next nearest venue, so have been going twice a week ever since. I would do more, but hubby isn't into dancing in any way, shape or form, and I feel a bit guilty keep leaving him home alone!

But Ceroc is by far the best thing that has happened to me - it makes me happier than anything else, and I will never look back now!!

AndrewMc
8th-March-2006, 11:09 PM
A friend's wife was teaching and all I had to do was mention it to my Mum who was really into dancing but that was back in the late 30's and 40's. It was pre meditated really, I knew that by mentioning it to her she would keep pushing me. I liked ballet when I was in my teens, was taken to see Romeo & Juliet, but Mum said she "wouldn't take me seriously till I did latin".

Lost Leader
11th-April-2006, 09:05 PM
My partner and I had talked about doing some kind of dancing for years but always found reasons not to follow it through. Neither of us have any previous dance experience but we had heard of ceroc so eventually we plucked up the courage to give it a try. Luckily we were given a warm welcome at our local venue (Daventry) and in spite of a few bad nights and dodgy moments we have never really looked back. Six months in we are having a ball and have even booked a chalet for Breeze in October. Life without ceroc now seems unthinkable - if only we had started earlier.

Lian
17th-April-2006, 10:23 PM
I got introed to Ceroc through my friend Mike, who said, "You should come to Ceroc dancing on Wednesdays with me!".
My first thought was, "Mike, when have you ever even seen me ATTEMPT to dance?!"
I am not one of those girls who can just get up to music and move around and look sexy and dance, and stuff. I have the severest inability to move my body in curvy shapes like you're required to do.

I move like a potato on the dance floor. Except I don't even bounce.

So I thought, "I'll go and maybe I'll learn how to move to music, and not be so self conscious, and stupid at dancing"

So, I went, three weeks ago, to this place called Jumpin Jaks, which I'd never been to before. [I ended up thinking the place was awesome, with its alligators] And was there, on the dance floor, gripping Mike's hand like I was Rose and he was Jack, and then we started.

And I had the BEST time of my life!

Subsequently, the next week, I brought my friend along, and the week after that, we brought two more.

I'm a regular newbie bringer!

bigdjiver
18th-April-2006, 01:17 AM
... Subsequently, the next week, I brought my friend along, and the week after that, we brought two more...I believe that MJ could be modelled as a contagious disease. Many people are immune. Some "recover" quite quickly. Some remain carriers all of their life (and perhaps beyond, transmitted by their writings and recordings). An organiser should know what the pattern of attendance of its new members is. Here we have an example of a new member bringing with them over 100% growth at the start of their MJ experience, and in a period of a week. When you are dealing with exponential growth in such short periods even fractional changes in the parameters have enormous effects. No matter how hands on the management is, a human being is just not capable of differentiating such small changes. Minute differences in venue performance have huge effects in the long term. Ceroc should be capable of collecting and analysing such data, but is woefully negligent (IMO) in doing so. It is impossible to identify a new member. Many on this forum will have membership cards from several franchises. To each franchise they are a "new" member. Some members will have returned after a break, and lost their card, and will rejoin as "new" to collect new member benefits. These behaviours distort the statistics. The number of attendances per new member appears lower. This lowers the perceived value of new members.
When it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of advertising these effects become critical. An expensive ad will apparently just bring in one or two members immediately. If it softens some people up so that when a friend later invites them they decide to come the friend may be credited, rather than the ad. I believe that Ceroc should, from time to time, advertise big, double sided, cut out and keep, covering the common questions. Perhaps HQ should subsidise such local advertising that spreads across franchise areas, provided that advertising gives HQ's contact details. I believe that the membership form should ask a) if the new member has done dance classes before, b) has danced MJ before, and c) danced Ceroc before. There should be a central record of members.

SteveK
20th-April-2006, 10:26 PM
I guess my route into Ceroc is different to previous ones; an ex-girlfriend of mine used to do Lindy Hop. After we split up, I fancied a new challenge, thought it would be nice to be able to "partner dance" properly and went along to a convenient local Ceroc class in Watford. That was last September, and I go virtually every week since...

I used to live up in Inverness, and am back up mid-week for the first time in a while. I'm looking forward to going to the Inverness class - if you see me there, please say hello to the intermediate coming for the first time there!!

Lee
21st-April-2006, 02:17 PM
I remember seeing a 'modern jive' type busk in Kingston town centre (Surrey) on a Saturday (in the Summer of 2001) and walked past trying to ignore them (as if they were collecting for charity) but found myself turning round about 20 yards later and sat on a wall and watched for 10 minutes. :blush:

I suppose it took my brain about 6 months to process the idea and I eventually found out that something called Ceroc was being taught on a Wednesday in Clapham Junction, so I persuaded a girl in my office (that I liked, that also used to teach ballroom to kids) to come with me.

8 weeks later she stopped, but I carried on and the rest...is not history.

That was in Feb 2004 and I’ve have been going pretty much about once a week ever since. I used to ice skate 5 times a week before that (for 8 years) and I didn’t want this to become my life, else I might end up hating it.

Wonder what I'd be doing now if I'd just gone to Bingo instead?

Lee

jive_me
24th-April-2006, 02:29 PM
My best friend lives a 3 hour drive from me so I don't get to see her very often. On one visit to my house she and her mum showed me a few moves from this new thing they were trying 'Ceroc'...'What's this?!' thought I as she pushed me round the room and I stumbled everywhere. A few months later she became a taxi dancer for Ceroc Chesham. I went to stay with them in the summer for a week and they took me along to a night. I had so much fun I was hooked! When I came back up North I tracked down a few local venues and although sometimes I can get frustrated, tired and achey (don't we all?) a year or so on I haven't once even been tempted to look back :grin:

xXx

straycat
14th-June-2006, 09:08 AM
I was at Uni (Southampton), and had been persuaded to join the ballroom dance society. This was at the end of the summer term though, and I wanted to get a head start with some form of dance - so I went along to this Ceroc thing which a friend told me about. (think Ceroc Southampton had been going less than a year - this was well before all the 'troubled times')

I knew I might take a while to get it, so I promised myself I'd go for five weeks - and if after that I hadn't had a really good evening, I would permit myself to stop. Weeks 1-3 were OK, but nothing special. Week 4 was hell, and I wouldn't have come back had it not been for said promise. Week 5 was amazing. Never did go to the ballroom dancing society (it clashed with Ceroc)

Swinging bee
14th-June-2006, 11:08 AM
Got started about 10 yrs ago after we saw a demo on local TV of LE ROC...Never forget it, on the first day we were given cards showing the FOOTWORK for the moves!:eek: :eek:
Stood us in good stead in the long run tho':yeah:

jacksondonut
14th-June-2006, 02:43 PM
Remember being down in Bournemouth one Summer and watching
a Mojive (!) demonstration in the local Shopping Centre... I was mesmerised...:drool: (came to MK Bletchley Ceroc venue to start very soon after... the rest is history)..

realised it was something I had been looking for, for a very long time... ten years later I still love it...:flower: :flower:

mrs_warwick
14th-June-2006, 05:45 PM
I used to belong to an amatuer dramatic group in Surrey, one of the other couples in the group did this partner dance thing that looked fun, but I could never persuade my husband to agree to trying it out. The couple split up, and left the drama group and I never found out where they danced.
Not long after another friend who lived the other side of Surrey asked if I would like to go dancing with him. The group he danced with (Jivebug) were opening up a new venue near to where I lived (Weybridge), he was going along to support it, would I like to go too? I went along, and the first person I saw there was the guy from the drama group.
I danced with Jivebug while the venue was open, but that was only about 3 or 4 months. When it closed, Andy and Rena from Jump'n'Jive tried to do Lindy Hop classes there and I did consider joining but I didn't drive and my friend wasn't interested in doing Lindy.
So I went to Rebel Roc in Woking until I moved to Leicester in 2001 and started going to the Ceroc venue where I have been dancing off and on ever since (albeit more off than on).

Beowulf
15th-June-2006, 08:27 AM
How did I end up dancing? Good question, I wish I knew myself! Was never fond of dancing at school or at uni. Was way too shy for my own good and then I met my Ex (didn't know she was going to be my ex at the time mind you.. that came 8 years later!)

I've been friends with Gadget since I came to Aberdeen and we met at Uni. He suggested to myself and my partner at the time that we should go dancing , I didn't really want to but Margaret tagged along with gadget for a few weeks.

Every Tuesday night she'd come back in and go on and on and on and on (ad nauseum) about how great it was and how easy it was etc.. So truth be told I went along to keep her quiet. I didn't expect to enjoy myself. However, that bug .. well it's an infectious little begger isn't it. Loved it almost instantly

A few months and a couple of beginner cerocshops later I was getting ok. Then for hitherto unexplored reasons I just stopped going. I think it started one night when I was a bit tired then as I'd missed one week I didn't feel like going to the next and so on.

3 years down the line and I'd never gone back :( Then December of last year Margaret (who by then was my Fiancee) decided that the single life was for her and we split, I bought a flat and moved out. And basically since december I was moping around the house, eating junk food and doing no exercise and my health started to suffer. I needed something fun to do to keep me occupied but also something to make me fitter than what I was at the moment.

Gadget came round to my place every Tuesday before class anyway for nosh at my place so one night (two weeks ago from this post date) I decided to go back with him. It was shocking to see how much I've forgotten but I'm sure i'll pick it up again soon enough. This time through I'm much more self confident than I was the first time I danced so that's making a big difference. I have to say am glad I'm back and I think I'll be staying this time.

Stuart M
15th-June-2006, 01:06 PM
I never got round to replying to this thread, probably because my story only sounds interesting if I reduced it to one sentence.

I started learning Ceroc in an Asylum...





...which was the name of the students' union at Glasgow's "other other" university where I was working at the time. The university had been built on the former site of the first city hospital, which in its later years became the city lunatic asylum. Hence the name of the union, although considering much of Glasgow Caledonian Uni's intake, phrases like "planning permission" and "constraints on change of usage" spring to mind :devil: .

Despite it being in the previous millennium, I remember it quite well: there were only a few people, most of them women, and I was pounced on by the taxi and a couple of other women after the beginner's lesson. The teacher was Jean Harris but I always wonder who that taxi was?

The net result of all this female attention, in a situation way outside my comfort zone, was inevitable: I ran away. The class then shut down a couple of weeks later - right at the point I summoned up the nerve to go back. So, I moved on to the Wednesday classes at the GUU, and spent a long painful few months (years, even) trying to learn the basics. At that time, Scot taught at the GUU a lot (though my slow pace on the learning curve wasn't his fault!) - can't remember when Mairi started teaching there regularly.

Also I can't remember the first time I met Franck, which is very surprising really :eek: :wink: and sounds like a great title for a thread. Which I'm obviously not in a position to start, except indirectly...

andystyle
16th-August-2006, 06:57 PM
When with my last gf, we had always talked about picking up a dancing class but when we broke up it obviously wasn't going to happen! Jamie (aka jammy) convinced me on a night out to come along and I came to the next class. I have to admit, I didn't know what to expect, but its been a great laugh so far - beats sitting in front of the TV fo'sho! :waycool:

Daydreaming Diva
16th-August-2006, 08:19 PM
Hello all you wonderful new Ceroc friends and most especially CJ XX Clare S xx and Alex xx :respect: (just spent a few days in the homeland of the Forum). Seeing this invite to tell the tale of how Ceroc came into my life, I felt compelled to add my story, just for the record. :blush:

Well, I remember it like this. One evening at my Ballroom/Latin class there was an extra filler class for Modern Jive lasting 6 weeks. Well, being rather a kean (and dare I say it, not bad) ballroom jiver in my youth, I thought that it might be fun to see how times had moved on. It just so happened that Tessa (Tessalicious) was there on that same evening and we had our first taste together. We attended about 4 lessons I think and mostly did nothing more until some months when, I managed (with a little help from some local Cerocers) to persuade Tessa to find some classes in London so that she could make new friends, get some exercise and get a life outside UNI. She finally braved it, and next time she came home she lead me in a few dances. I believe that was Christmas time.

That summer I spent a few weeks in London decorating her flat, and when not absolutely collapsing with exhaustion from the day's work, we would go to one of her venues. This is when I became thoroughly hooked, and gave up Ballroom and Latin, which seemed unsociable and UNALIVE in comparison. I can now dance every evening and all evening if I wish, because it is acceptable for a lady to ask a guy, and when there are no guys left to dance with, I can even dance with a lady!!! (Shock, horror) Isn't Ceroc grand.:clap: :clap: :clap:

Now of course, Tessa tells the story slightly differently I imagine. She maintains that she introduced me to modern jive, but now, you HAVE THE TRUTH!!!!! :wink:

So thanks for bringing this sunshine into my life.

whitetiger1518
22nd-August-2006, 10:14 AM
For the record:

10 years of Ballet, overlapping with 15 or so years of Ceilidh, which has sort of lapsed :sad: and now after deciding I wanted to meet new people and keep fit while having fun, I am now a confirmed CEROC addict! :clap: :clap:

Cheers :cheers:
Whitetiger

Isis
27th-August-2006, 10:22 PM
A few years ago, I was at an evening lecture in GUU from the head of the Parapsychology Department at Edinburgh University. Just as the man was about to speak, "Spirit in the Sky" came blasting from the Ceroc class downstairs. As soon as the lecture was finished, I looked in on the Ceroc class and thought it looked like fun and am now totally hooked!

detomo
21st-September-2006, 02:30 PM
Started some Latin and Ballroom, but soon wanted something more as there were only about 4 of us under 50. My uncle was doing MJ at St Georges in Exeter and suggested I go along as it was a larger crowd. Tried it and was hooked :)

TurboTomato
28th-September-2006, 01:10 PM
My ex duped me into coming along, I thought I was going to see a gig! :na:

I knew she danced, but had never heard of ceroc - she said the Jive Aces were playing so come along and watch. So I turned up expecting to sit down and watch a band. Firstly they wouldn't let me in without signing up, so I did, and then as I got to the front of the queue and paid, some random blonde woman grabbed me and dragged me into the beginners class (I really didn't have an option, and much to the amusement of the then gf!) and the rest is history. Since then me and the ex have gone our separate ways, but I enjoyed it so carried on at my local venue, which I really enjoy and has excellent teachers, a great DJ and a really good atmosphere! Have been dancing since the end of May

suzy_X_
28th-September-2006, 09:16 PM
i started about 9 months ago i think... after waching dirty dancing i thought i wanna dance! so my mum took me along to bowdon and 9 months later here i am and loving every bit of it! :clap:

Groovemeister
29th-September-2006, 11:15 AM
Dance music is where I started my road. Back in the 80's listening to modern soul music and travelling around the country. Self taught but able to dance with the best of them on my own. House music and the raves came along and changed everyones view on dancing.

I changed my style of dance into what most people would call Jazz Dancing now which really is centered around tap dance moves.

I decided I needed to learn dance in a more formal way and started to do ball room and Latin lessons about 15 years ago for 8 years and got up to a good standard dancing with my girlfriend, now wife. Life got in the way of my dancing so I didn't do anything for 4 years then in 2003 I started tap lessons to get my foot speed back and re-learn some of the moves I had forgotten.

I also changed my style to dance more specifically to house music (which is another passion of mine, not rave by the way and yes there is a specific style) take a look at www.housedancer.com (http://www.housedancer.com).

At this point I wanted to develope my partner dancing and knowing I didn't really want to do ballroom or latin again and my wife not really being up for it I decided to give ceroc perfect for going without a partner 18 months later I am hooked.:grin:

Jhutch
10th-October-2006, 12:09 PM
hello all:nice:

Got into ceroc about two months ago. Some friends who were going for the first time asked me if i wanted to go along as well. I hadnt even heard of Ceroc and had no idea what to expect. Never done any taught dancing before although i always quite liked a boogie on a night out. Anyway, I definitely caught the bug - just wish i had started doing it when i was younger.

jacksondonut
10th-October-2006, 12:23 PM
hello all:nice:

Got into ceroc about two months ago. Some friends who were going for the first time asked me if i wanted to go along as well. I hadnt even heard of Ceroc and had no idea what to expect. Never done any taught dancing before although i always quite liked a boogie on a night out. Anyway, I definitely caught the bug - just wish i had started doing it when i was younger.


Welcome to the Forum.. :flower: :flower:

Yeah... I wish I had discovered it a lot sooner too.. but nonetheless, one of the finest periods of my life so far.. and so many fabulous friends too.. :yeah: :yeah: :flower: :flower:

Gojive
10th-October-2006, 02:15 PM
hello

I am a member of another forum (weather-related:blush: ) so i know how addictive these things can become:blush: :grin:


You'll never find me getting addicted to forums :whistle: ....

Nice to see you on this side of life John :wink: Welcome over :waycool:

SeriouslyAddicted
25th-October-2006, 04:54 PM
I became a Cerocoholic after firstly discovering Salsa. After a year of Salsa'ing I had the bug to dance and Ceroc came up on an internet search. I turned up to my first class on my own, now 7 months later I have a brilliant group of Ceroc'ing friends and am totally addicted. Needless to say Salsa has died a death!

purple~emma
25th-October-2006, 05:52 PM
I'd done some dancing as a teenager and can never sit/stand still when theres music on. I gave that up when I had my children, and after having my daughter I wanted to get out of the house and find some grown up company.

I'd never heard of ceroc, and it was only by chance that I found something about it on the Internet when I did a general search for dance classes. I rang for more information and went along the first chance I got and the rest is History.

There's no chance of getting me to miss a night. In fact, in 18 months of dancing i've missed 1 night, i'm very rarely too ill to dance. Lol

Wuzzle
1st-December-2006, 03:54 PM
Been going for now to Ceroc since the 25th of nov.

When I was a student i liked salsa. But all of my friends i went with left aberdeen so it kind of just stopped. Was more of a social thing really.

My road to ceroc starts at a poker party. Anyways I met a few people that did ceroc. Seemed like it would be as fun as salsa so thought why not. Think it was the enthusasim which sold the idea of trying it out. That and salsa was quite fun.

Only disaster was on the night me and my friend went i wasnt really feeling well :sick: (I thought i'd watch, no such luck). So wasnt really in the mood to dance. Still by second lesson i was hooked :D

Mythical
29th-January-2007, 01:00 PM
I wanted to learn to dance properly - maybe to kinda show off a bit. :) but I wasn't actively looking for a class to got to, it was kind of a take it or leave it thing. I love Rockabilly and Ska music, and if you're not drunk enough to skank, the music really demands to be jived to!
I was surfing, and came across the Ceroc Site and when I discovered I could walk out of Brownies on Tuesday Night, right across the road and into Ceroc just in time for the beginners class, I couldn't really pass the opportunity up!!

To digress a little, the road through Ceroc, I'm hoping, goes right by the night where I can happily freestyle in a nightclub, for no other reason, really than to wind my housemates up! :)

Rios Dearg
19th-February-2007, 10:45 PM
Ive always danced in one shape or form (even if it was only around my own kitchen to the radio) ...ballet for 15 years (on and off), aerobics (teaching) for 10 years. Clubbing, to all and any type of music - 80's pop, current charts, r'n'b... but Im a rock chick at heart :waycool:

My sis took me along to a class two years ago, after she discovered it. Its taken me a year to get the motivation and pluck up the courage to find a class near me, but now...

...Im loving it! :clap:

Paulthetrainer
20th-February-2007, 12:31 AM
Never did any kind of dancing, nor wanted to until an ex girlfriend dragged me along to Ceroc in Orpington about 8 years ago. I went twice, amazed myself that I could dance the moves from the beginners class and would have been happy to carry on, but the aforementioned girlfriend, a hobby/pastime addict, took up Italian on Wednesday nights so that was that.

Plucked up the courage to return with a couple of work friends (both female, obviously!) in 2002 and stayed for 3 months. Drifted away only to return in 2004 and have been going ever since, mainly thanks to the excellent friends I've made along the way.

Minnie M
20th-February-2007, 12:39 AM
If we are talking Ceroc (as apposed to Modern Jive) - we had Ceroc in Brighton when I first started MJ but we all prefered the LeRoc class. In fact within a short time all the Ceroc dancers moved over to LeRoc. That is because we had the better teacher (Graham LeClerc).

My next venture to Ceroc was about a year later in Croydon at a class taught by Steve Nash (before he had his own franchise).

Those were the days that the Ceroc cards changed colour yearly - I changed mine a couple of times, but have still kept my green one.

Does anyone know what year they issued green (has a green stripe) cards ?

StokeBloke
20th-February-2007, 02:14 AM
In the end of October (2006) we were sat watching Strictly on TV - every year we watch it, TwirlieBird says.... "I wanna learn to dance"! So I thought to myself I would surprise her. About 10 years ago I saw a Ceroc demo in the street. I watched it for 10 minutes and wandered off. I didn't even take a leaflet...

But that fateful night the Ceroc name sprung back into my mind, and about 15 minutes an email and a phone call to Mike Allsopp later and I was set to surprise TwirlieBird! We went along to Stoke for the Monday lesson and Mike and the crew made us feel soooo welcome. We had such fun that we couldn't wait to get back the next week...... now four short months later we had done a couple of freestyles, we're are booked onto a weekender and Twirlie is trying to get me to quit my weekend job so we can go dancing even more :eek:

Double Trouble
20th-February-2007, 11:11 AM
Me and my sister (trouble) decided we would try dancing so we could do something active that was also fun....It was also an excuse (for me anyway) to get away from the kids and husband for a few hours.:D

Three and a half years later, me and sis are on our 5th weekender....i've dumped the husband:clap: , I'm a sh1t hot dancer and I've made lots of new friends.

:flower: :nice: :love:

SimonW
21st-February-2007, 02:52 PM
I first saw Ceroc on a Channel 4 programme, found my local class at the Stoke Hotel in Guildford and was addicted by the end of the first night. I still use my yellow membership card.

After a while I went to taxi and demo for an independant jive company in two of their venues in Surrey and Kent (this company has since been bought by Ceroc).

It was at one of these venues that I met my wife, and since getting together we expanded our dance horizons and have gold medals in Latin & Ballroom. We also dance Salsa & Argentine Tango.

Cheers
Sye

Little Yellow Fish
21st-February-2007, 03:17 PM
I had my arm twisted. I managed to wriggle free but those little monkeys kept trying to convince me it was fun. I eventually gave in, just as my arm was about to be snapped off from being twisted so many times. Didn't really enjoy my first few weeks, but I lost count of how many people told me "just give it 3 weeks, you'll love it". I didn't quite love it after 3 weeks but I persevered.

6 months on, I guess I can say I do love it. I've been dancing more nights than not since I got back home at the end of november!

Thank heavens for Little Monkeys :wink:

Vicki xx

fletch
21st-February-2007, 05:46 PM
four short months later we had done a couple of freestyles, we're are booked onto a weekender and Twirlie is trying to get me to quit my weekend job so we can go dancing even more :eek:

and glad we are to :flower:


so what weekender are you going on ?

and are you out this weekend :confused:



:flower:

nikki
23rd-March-2007, 11:52 AM
My friend at work has been dancing ceroc for just over a year (I think). She talks about it non-stop- not in a boring way, I have to add, just answering my endless questions about it- and I've been trying to pluck up the courage to go since she started going on weekenders and holidays and generally having a great time. I've been a single parent for 4 years, so didn't have the confidence or the babysitters in place to start the class, but now that my son is in school and life is starting to settle down, I know if I don't take the plunge and start doing something to meet people and make new friends, I am going to keep receding into my small corner at home and become very bored and lonely. I am terrified of making a fool of myself, and am very nervous about the whole thing, but my experience at the class last night was made all the easier by Linda, one of the taxi dancers, to whom I will be eternally grateful. I had a great time, and hope that my confidence will grow as I build on my dancing experiences. I've always felt very clumsy in myself, and find it very difficult to relax and let someone lead me as I'm so scared of making a mistake but by the end of the evening last night, I was getting the hang of it. I'm really looking forward to next Thursday now!

Nikki
x

Gav
23rd-March-2007, 11:56 AM
My friend at work has been dancing ceroc for just over a year (I think). She talks about it non-stop- not in a boring way, I have to add, just answering my endless questions about it- and I've been trying to pluck up the courage to go since she started going on weekenders and holidays and generally having a great time. I've been a single parent for 4 years, so didn't have the confidence or the babysitters in place to start the class, but now that my son is in school and life is starting to settle down, I know if I don't take the plunge and start doing something to meet people and make new friends, I am going to keep receding into my small corner at home and become very bored and lonely. I am terrified of making a fool of myself, and am very nervous about the whole thing, but my experience at the class last night was made all the easier by Linda, one of the taxi dancers, to whom I will be eternally grateful. I had a great time, and hope that my confidence will grow as I build on my dancing experiences. I've always felt very clumsy in myself, and find it very difficult to relax and let someone lead me as I'm so scared of making a mistake but by the end of the evening last night, I was getting the hang of it. I'm really looking forward to next Thursday now!

Nikki
x

Started Ceroc and found the forum at the same time! Say goodbye to your life as you knew it. Take lots of picture of your son, you won't see him much from now on, when you're not dancing, you'll be on here talking about dancing. :D 2 addictions in 1! :rofl:

Welcome to the journey Nikki. :hug:

nikki
23rd-March-2007, 12:14 PM
Hehehe!

Thanks for the advice Gav! I'm getting that vibe already! I just wish I could dance more than once a week, but finances and childcare don't allow it, so I guess I'm just gonna have to make the most of the forum once my son is in his wee cosy bed at night!

Nikki
x:rofl:

whitetiger1518
4th-April-2007, 12:08 PM
I know how you feel about wishing to dance more often Nikki! This money stuff - I wish it grew on trees! Add to that my pesky family and other (non CEROC) friends keep pestering me to see them - so I don't get dancing even once a week at the moment.

I come to the Glasgow JJ's on a Tuesday usually - so I hope to meet you soon, maybe at a GUU party?

Cheers

Whitetiger

PS Sent you a PM Nikki

Barnsley Bomber
16th-April-2007, 07:14 PM
i'd been looking for an adult dance class for ages. in the new job i started one of the girls had been doing out for a couple of years but and yet been able to get anyone interested. i've only been going a few weeks but i'm really enjoynig it despite my lack of co-ordination and skill

batnurse
22nd-October-2007, 10:54 PM
Used to do a bit of salsa when I lived in Surrey, moved to Dundee and tried a local salsa class - it was rubbish... Remembered that a friend went to ceroc in Guildford and loved it, so thought I'd give it a go up here. I'm now on week five and I think it's fab! :grin:

Crazy Shark
22nd-October-2007, 11:04 PM
My mate took me dancing last year then i continued it in London a year later LOL

Let's Dance
26th-October-2007, 12:37 PM
Well I was only 17 when i started learning Ceroc. It was nothing to do with me originally. I always loved the film "dirty dancing" as did my mum. It was partly my mums doing that i actually started learning ceroc. She goes too this yearly dinner & dance thing that my grandad hosts every year & she always comes back saying "grandad got me up dancing AGAIN ! But i had no idea what i was doing haha!" So she wanted to suprise him, and make it her mission that the next year, she would shock him and be able to know what dance he was doing etc...

But my mum isn't the type of person to go to new places and learn things by herself, so she dragged along her best friend too one of these lessons, & then her daughter wanted to give it a try. And i guess she was the one that twisted my arm. I really didn't want to go at first. I thought i was gong to look like a complete idiot (& i thought it was an old peoples dance HAHA) but i went just for my friend to keep her company, and to my suprise, It was NOTHING like i thought. I feel in love with the dance. Yeah i was the only "younger person" there, well, me and my friend. But i didnt mind one bit. The people there were great, they didnt mind teaching me atall. And a year later, i'm still enjoying it as much as the first, if not,,more!

I dont go as much as i'd like too. Once a week is all i can manage, because my week is hectic !=[ which kind of sucks.

My mums best friend quit, and so did her daughter (my friend), But i still go with my mum and we really do enjoy it. So this year, my mum will be going to my grandads dinner and dance showing HIM up this year, and not the other way around haha.

martingold
20th-November-2007, 05:31 PM
I first saw ceroc in chelmsford high st i had always wanted to be able to dance.
I was told by the teacher that it was easy and like all drug pushers he had leaflets that allowed you to join and enter your first class for a pound
now i am addicted :tears:
i ended up dancing 5 nights a week

does anyone know of any ceroc dancers anonymous clubs anywhere to help me out of my addiction lol

Crazy Shark
20th-November-2007, 05:37 PM
does anyone know of any ceroc dancers anonymous clubs anywhere to help me out of my addiction lol

Sorry there isn't........this forum is the best help you'll get.......to not help you get out of the addiction :wink::na:

martingold
20th-November-2007, 06:42 PM
Sorry there isn't........this forum is the best help you'll get.......to not help you get out of the addiction :wink::na:

oh good i am in the right place then :sick:

Rich
6th-February-2008, 02:33 PM
I started last September with my wife, at her suggestion, I wasn't that keen. One lesson feeling decidedly awkward, one feeling not too bad and then; hook, line, sinker, fishing rod, reel, the lot. We get out together twice a week, but I'd go every night. Am I normal?

cat
6th-February-2008, 03:21 PM
does anyone know of any ceroc dancers anonymous clubs anywhere to help me out of my addiction lol[/quote]

Maybe you have my answer to needing money to dance! Stuff work at the hospital, i can just set up therapy at ceroc. Only problem is can i stop dancing long enough to do this? Or a new sofa on the forum for jive addicts. And do i want to go near the tangled lives that is the typical ceroc dancers? Hmm maybe il stick to giving therapy to older adults.... might be easier, avoids those awkard moments when i have run into patients at dancing as well!

Gadget
7th-February-2008, 01:52 PM
Am I normal?Probably not :wink:

... but in terms of wanting to dance all the time once you're hooked, yup. :waycool:

dep
7th-February-2008, 05:36 PM
......... typical Ceroc dancers? Hmm maybe I'll stick to giving therapy to older adults.... ..awkward moments when i have run into patients at dancing as well!you're expected to dance with them, not knock them over in the rush to get away.

Rich
8th-February-2008, 02:32 PM
Probably not :wink:

... but in terms of wanting to dance all the time once you're hooked, yup. :waycool:
Oh pooh.. I could end up in court...Is there a Ceroc Anonamous to help me manage this addiction.. because that's what it is! Does it ease with time? Do you get a proper sence of proption once you've feel you've reached a certain level?.....help!!!! Advice please.....I think I'm in trouble.:eek:

Neu Wien
18th-July-2009, 09:09 AM
I knew lots of people who do Ceroc, most of whom didn't know each other, who all loved it. I don't have any other dancing experience, but I decided to go and check it out one time. The girls I went with were amazed that I actually wanted to come, apparently guys who come usually have a girl twisting their arm!

Plus I'd heard there's usually lots of girls and not as many guys... :whistle:

:nice:

bigdjiver
19th-October-2009, 12:39 PM
Young service-men. away at war, returning, wanting to play catch-up with the girls. One small reward might be for the Government to pay for dance lessons for those that want them.












Oh, O.K. service-women too.

Ginger God
30th-November-2009, 06:22 PM
Never been able to dance..the only thing in the world that put me outside my comfort zone...but whilst married it didnt matter.
Four years ago..became single..went to places that dancing was the way to meet girls...but just couldnt do it...so 4 weeks ago....gave up playing football..kept getting injured anyway...and hey ho..loving it already.
However I did want to learn to dance..but aside from that..loads of girls....always more girls..and did I mention girls...

Graham

bubblyblondenutter
9th-December-2009, 04:01 PM
we were out on a girls night out and everyone was dancing. the hangover wasn't very good the follow day and my friend told me that she wanted to go and try ceroc. i agreed to go with her after looking it up on the internet.
i remember turning up on the first night and we signed the forms etc, when we got in to dundee social i wondered what was going on.. there were no ladies only men :what:. turns out that it was the dundee fc committee meeting:rofl:. my directions aren't very good but i knew thats where we were meant to be.
thankfully a few others turned up and told us that it was at a different venue that night so i followed pauline in the car.
as soon as the music started i was hooked. i have been dancing for 4 months now and have met some great people and some close friends.
i still get letters sent to me from dundee fc and i am a celtic fan!

Prian
24th-February-2010, 11:56 PM
Mod note... Merged from another thread. Lory

I hope this is under the right section as one could argue that it is dance related. But I hope it will be fun nonetheless. Of course most of you will have started because you wanted to get fit, meet other people/pull and so on. Might be though that there are other reasons like mine. I, with another friend friend was asked by a mutual girlfriend of ours to chaperon her. We eventually agreed to go on the condition that WE DID NOT DANCE. Rob met his wife there but has since stopped dancing, but I still dance. Sarah refuses to dance with either of us saying that we are too good (actually she started saying that after about 6 months). That was in 1993.

any more fun and or odd reasons for starting?

Phil_dB
25th-February-2010, 12:34 AM
Quite a few different, completely unrelated girls suggested that I "should do Ceroc!".. - a friend, random girl I met on holiday, someone at work... - this spanned over the course of about a year and a half before I actually went!

..but they never really discribed it very well to me. I just thought of the name "Ceroc" - - and the name alone left me with visions of something that sounded really pikey & cheesey. My reply usually was, - "hmmmmm - well, I think i'd rather do Salsa".., but I never had the bottle to turn up to a class.

I've always liked dance though, - my reason for going was nothing to do with pulling (still isn't), or getting fit (as I was quite active anyway).

It was only when a work friend said "I'll go Ceroc with you, lets go tonight" - than I actually made it through the door, - and i've been cursing myself ever since that I didnt make it through the door sooner.

bigdjiver
25th-February-2010, 01:54 AM
I was walking past the Harpur centre in Bedford one night when I heard music I liked. I was bold enough to open the huge door and look inside. I had first danced jive at 15, and love jiving to Traditional Jazz, so I was in there and hooked ...

Prian
10th-September-2010, 11:06 PM
I just got a FB message yesterday, Saturday, that the girl who made me start Ceroc (though she only lasted a week or two), is coming to Sri Lanka tomorrow.

Haven't seen her for 16 years. Very exciting.

Rookie
2nd-August-2011, 10:10 PM
An ex had US ( no choice involved!!) try salsa which was ok but her friends suggested Ceroc in Edinburgh, well WE never made it to ceroc (WE parted company :D ), and 1 year later i wandered into The Salutation in Perth and 1 month and the beginner workshop in Glasgow later i was hooked.....only a beginner hence Rookie :grin: