learning the blues

[cederic]

Simple question: How, where, when?

Had an hour on beginner's Blues dancing at the weekend, saw a lot of experienced dancers in the Blues room that made me realise there's no way in hell I'm even trying that until I've had rather more tuition.

So how/where can people learn this? It's clearly a good thing ;)

More interesting question, when should I look to learn it? Is this something a beginner can pick up, or should I get a good grounding in modern jive first?

[Gadget]

Simple question: How, where, when?

Had an hour on beginner's Blues dancing at the weekend, saw a lot of experienced dancers in the Blues room that made me realise there's no way in hell I'm even trying that until I've had rather more tuition.

So how/where can people learn this? It's clearly a good thing ;)

More interesting question, when should I look to learn it? Is this something a beginner can pick up, or should I get a good grounding in modern jive first?

Stoke Bloke runs blues things regularly, but I'm not sure if they have lessons (?) I know of dedicates, regular blues classes in Edinburgh and Aberdeen... not very helpful for your neck of the woods I'm afraid.

As to learning, just keep your eyes & ears open; there are normally one or two classes at weekenders; but I think that most folk just kind of get the bug and go on a journey of self-discovery :wink:
Just jump in with both feet, relax and let the music move you - forget the no way in hell I'm even trying that until I've had rather more tuition and just go for it. Blues is about the 'internal' connection rather than the external look; forget about how it looks or what anyone else is doing. (This is why blues is normally done in dark, dingy corners - no-one can see what you're up to :innocent: )

{As a further resource, check the link on my syg. to 'blues and moves' (http://forum.cerocscotland.com/showthread.php?t=13561)}

[robd]

Simple question: How, where, when?

Had an hour on beginner's Blues dancing at the weekend, saw a lot of experienced dancers in the Blues room that made me realise there's no way in hell I'm even trying that until I've had rather more tuition.


I think I need to add what? to your list. There's a lot of different styles going on in the SP blues room at any given time and without knowing what was inspiring you it's hard to give any advice.

My dancing in that room falls into three styles: WCS, open jive and closed hold bump 'n' grind. I suspect it's the latter style you'd identify as Blues. To be honest I don't ever recall having any formal tuition in this style (though I do recall struggling with the slower tempo on my first weekender venture into a blues room) I actually think that kind of dancing is much less reliant on what you are doing than how you are doing it. My repertoire is pretty much side to side swaying interspersed with the occasional rise and fall (no pun intended :blush:) and a few pivot turns of varying speeds. Because this is technically very simple I am surprised that it is not perfomed more competently by more leads (and I only base that comment on the fact that I receive favourable words when I dance like this in a way that I consider much easier than the other styles I mentioned). I think the ability to hear and react to the rhythm of the track is critical because that is what gives a small repertoire an increased range and variety. I know this is not answering your question directly but that's because I don't think I can just recommend a DVD or class that will give you what you are looking for (though Val and Dave do a lot in this area to try to make this style of dancing accessible to those with less experience).
The tips I would give are
1 - Listen to the type of music you'll hear in that setting outside of dancing nights so you become accustomed to the tempo and structure
2 - Listen to the body language of your partners, you'll soon pick up who is comfortable and who is not comfortable with this style
3 - Don't substitute a lunatic stare into your partner's eyes for proper physical connection
4 - Dance with Lemoncake :nice:

[Lost Leader]

Stoke Bloke runs blues things regularly, but I'm not sure if they have lessons (?)

Yes they do have a weekly blues class (see Stokies web-site for details).

[Lost Leader]

There's a lot of different styles going on in the SP blues room at any given time...... I do recall struggling with the slower tempo....

Lot of good advice there from Southport legend Robd. I've just highlighted a couple of key points. Firstly there is no single style of blues room dancing. If you look around the SP blues room you will see couples dancing in often quite different ways to the same track. None of these ways is the "right" way to dance in a blues room. Secondly Rob is quite right about the tempo issue. That is probably the biggest hurdle to get over initially because the music is mostly significantly slower and often has a less obvious or consistent beat than that played at an average Ceroc class night.

[rubyred]

Hello Cedric
well some of the above but just something from a followers perspective, listen to the music and be led by what you hear, take a minute before you start to dance to get the connection with your partner and take in some of the music, embrace your partner and protect her on the floor, an embrace is a hug, dance with all your body, that way the lead will flow through between the two of you, be playful and give your partner time to play and shine.

Easy innit!! :eyebrow: most of all have fun and smile, good luck and happy dancing :flower:

[Batgirl]

I think I need to add what? to your list. There's a lot of different styles going on in the SP blues room at any given time and without knowing what was inspiring you it's hard to give any advice.

My dancing in that room falls ....... loads of stuff

And sing along to EVERY tune and (if possible) act out the lyrics ;)

Robd is a topclass blues dancer even if he did look a little like a lifeguard this weekend.

Thanks Robd for the dances xxx

[rtwwpad]

I had to read that again as I thought you had said he was a topless blues dancer :)

[rtwwpad]

Val and Dave usually run some Blues workshop classes, check out their Newbury website. Often it falls on the same day as a Utopia or Freestyle that evening as well.

Of course there's Brean sands weekender, which hosts the Blues champs in Oct.

And Lux in August, which Val and Dave run.

[cederic]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions and comments, plenty there for me to peruse and consider.


There's a lot of different styles going on in the SP blues room at any given time and without knowing what was inspiring you it's hard to give any advice.


I suspect it's the one best described as the close hold. I'll hold off the bump'n'grind unless I'm dancing with a certain young lady :)

My appetite for this was whetted by the "Blues for Beginners" class on Saturday. Leading the dance merely by shifting weight from one foot to the other, and feeling your partner follow (due to the closeness of the hold) was a fantastic experience, so I want to get through entire songs with such a connection.

At the same time, I'm not the sort of chap that can stroll up to a strange woman and lead her into that sort of a dance (even with a sufficiently decent air-gap) without being a little more certain about my technique and style. Hence hoping for further tuition before daring to go anywhere near :)

I do know a number of 'regular' partners that would enjoy such a dance, but again, without being sure of my lead I don't know whether they'd be able to follow. And (at least initially) I suspect they'd still be more open to the whole style of the dance if I did more than just the basic moves from the "Blues for Beginners" class.

[alinp]

I do know a number of 'regular' partners that would enjoy such a dance, but again, without being sure of my lead I don't know whether they'd be able to follow. And (at least initially) I suspect they'd still be more open to the whole style of the dance if I did more than just the basic moves from the "Blues for Beginners" class.



If you do them well, most partners will be more than happy :nice:

Quality, not quantity!!

[David Bailey]

My appetite for this was whetted by the "Blues for Beginners" class on Saturday. Leading the dance merely by shifting weight from one foot to the other, and feeling your partner follow (due to the closeness of the hold) was a fantastic experience, so I want to get through entire songs with such a connection.
Tango.

[Chef]

Here is my 2ps worth.
1) Try to find some classic blues songs (there was a thread on this forum that had lots of suggestions) in the slower speed range and listen to them and then just try swaying to them (on your own obviously) because as other have said it is quite hard to adapt to being slow after a normal MJ upbringing.
2) Forget about moves – think about movement or how you move. With a decent follower then if you make a movement with your body then it will happen in her body. Do not worry about getting your partner out into open hold and doing flashy things as extremely intense dance can be had in close hold for the whole track (sometimes referred to as micro blues).
3) There are many parts running through any piece of music and you can dance to any one of them and change which part or instrument that you are dancing to at any time. It is great fun and your partner will enjoy the journey as long as you don’t hop back and forth through the music so your partner cannot follow. You, your partner and the music are on this journey together.
4) If you are dancing to the music in rhythm or even mood then you are rarely going to be wrong. Be smooth when the music is smooth, abrupt when the music is abrupt (don’t over use this or it will tick your partner off) – again – get the idea of moves out of your head. Your dancing is there to create a mood between you, your partner and the music.
5) Dance with LemonCake.
6) Remember your lead starts in the centre of your body and then travels to your hands to the point which is closest to your followers centre. The hand that is doing the leading is the hand that is closest to the followers centre. Very important in close hold.
7) Just find places to dance the blues and dive in. Women will always welcome another man that wants to dance with them. They will love you even more if you pay attention and try to dance well. Effort will be respected almost as much as achievement.
8) Classes that you attend should be looked at as something that is building a framework for experimentation rather than something that should be slavishly followed and not deviated from. A good deal of your experimentation will not be successful - don’t beat yourself up- it is the normal path that everyone follows-so just learn from it and move on.

[Lynn]

We had a blues workshop a few weeks ago and some of our newer leads are starting to try to put what they have learned into practice. I was dancing with one last night who was worried as he couldn't remember the moves... but he was doing nice simple basic blues hold, in time with the music - so of course I was quite happy. :D (Since the workshop I've made sure I've got at least one of the guys from the workshop up for a bluesy dance every night - I'm determined to have more local leads I can dance blues with!)

[Glenn]

Hi Cederic, i know this is a bit far from you; but I went to a Sara White's class @ Buckden last Sunday. As my first class,and even attempt at Blues, loved it ; and she teaches you how to dance.. not just moves.

she has a workshop from 2 till 6 in Norwich as well on 3rd july...dont know if any spaces goin tho

google jivenites if interested

cheers

[martingold]

Hi Cederic, i know this is a bit far from you; but I went to a Sara White's class @ Buckden last Sunday. As my first class,and even attempt at Blues, loved it ; and she teaches you how to dance.. not just moves.

she has a workshop from 2 till 6 in Norwich as well on 3rd july...dont know if any spaces goin tho

google jivenites if interested

cheers


sunday at buckden is a regular blues night now
sara ( snow white on here) has changed buckden to sara whites blues nights (http://www.bluesnites.co.uk/) if you head to any of her classes or freestyles you will find loads of people who will be willing to play with you
we regularly make the 1 and a bit hour trip to her venue or even her tours as its always worth while you will often find stokie and essie there too

[cederic]

Thanks again for all the responses, including the ones via PM.


Tango.

Innovative suggestion, and I see where you're coming from. Unfortunately I have bad knees, and the one time a lady wrapped her leg behind my kneecap in a Tangoesque move preservation instincts kicked in and I had to let go and step away. That's obviously unfair on my partner (quite apart from the personal physical distress) so I'm keen to avoid a repeat.

A number of people have suggested Buckden, so I'll see if I can get down there some time - it's always nice to visit new venues and learn from different teachers, especially highly recommended ones.

More immediately, someone pointed out that there's a workshop just 8 miles from my home in a week's time, so I'm booked onto that.


I'll hold off the bump'n'grind unless I'm dancing with a certain young lady :)

She's booked on too. :)


Dance with Lemoncake

I'm sensing a theme here..

[cederic]

Val and Dave usually run some Blues workshop classes, check out their Newbury website. Often it falls on the same day as a Utopia or Freestyle that evening as well.

Of course there's Brean sands weekender, which hosts the Blues champs in Oct.

And Lux in August, which Val and Dave run.

It's taken me the best part of a week (and a glass of vodka, tia maria and baileys - don't ask how I happened on that mix) to realise that Val & Dave are the ones that did the beginners' Blues class that cause this entire discussion, and indeed that Dave posts on this forum.

So a simple and honest thank you to them both. The class was excellent, and you can see the impact it's had :)

[LemonCake]

Dance with LemonCake.


I'm sensing a theme here..


And I have no idea why! :o I have never had any blues lessons, I learned by osmosis from a range of excellent dancers :drool: at various weekenders (RobD, Chef, Tessalicious, Rhythm King to name but a few). They lead, I follow :innocent: - them's the rules - so it can't be anything to do with me :devil:

LC xx

[David Bailey]

Innovative suggestion, and I see where you're coming from. Unfortunately I have bad knees, and the one time a lady wrapped her leg behind my kneecap in a Tangoesque move preservation instincts kicked in and I had to let go and step away.
So, umm, don't lead them to do the painful-knee move....?

[Rocky]

It's taken me the best part of a week (and a glass of vodka, tia maria and baileys - don't ask how I happened on that mix) to realise that Val & Dave are the ones that did the beginners' Blues class that cause this entire discussion, and indeed that Dave posts on this forum.

So a simple and honest thank you to them both. The class was excellent, and you can see the impact it's had :)

You're very welcome.:D


2) Forget about moves – think about movement or how you move. With a decent follower then if you make a movement with your body then it will happen in her body. Do not worry about getting your partner out into open hold and doing flashy things as extremely intense dance can be had in close hold for the whole track (sometimes referred to as micro blues).


This has been said before and I actually disagree with it. Technique is the fundamental aspect of learning any dance and whereas this always forms a part of all levels of our Blues classes we also do concentrate on moves, and here's why.

Technique is useless unless you can apply it in form - and form in this case is the figure of a move. Learning technique and applying that technique to a move helps you to understand the effect of that technique. It assists in muscle memory and also practicing moves in real time gives you a much better understanding of how something you do affects your partner and, more crucially, their weight placement. The latter is critical in developing your lead because once you understand this you have a better understanding of what movement will create the right effect based on what your partner can most easily follow given which foot is 'loaded'.

Expression and spontaneity are a synergistic response to where the music leads you and these are the cornerstones of Blues dancing. Sometimes, as Chef quite rightly says, this may result in very little movement at all, but sometimes the music will lead you to express that 'feeling' in movement. This could be based on hearing instruments in the piece, or changes in colour, or even to the emotion that you can hear in the vocal. That's where learning technique and moves comes into it's own. If you have an understanding of both and have practiced them enough your muscle memory will take over allowing you to truly freeform your dancing. Whichever way your partner responds to your movement you will have an intuitive understanding of what to do next. It's like playing a musical instrument: the best musicians slavishly practice their technique - with guitar for example you practice arpeggios, scales and chord structure so that when it comes to improvising a lead all you need do is apply that emotion through your technique. And sometimes, just as in dancing, one note will do and will say all that you want to say and sometimes you will want to say much more. But without the groundwork your expression becomes limited and can also often result in frustration.

So my advice to you firstly, is to do as many classes as you can and within a short space of time you will start to understand what suits you best and will start to develop your own style of Blues. Moves are a framework for you to play with and they lie at the foundation of releasing your expression. Understanding the technique and applying it through moves that you have learned, or have adapted will lead to those truly special moments when you create something with your partner that transcends anything that you may have consciously 'learned'. I'm a great believer in the fact that you can learn something from every class you attend - as long as you are open to that possibility.

And secondly, of course, you have to get out there and dance as much as you can and with as many different people as you can. You also must never be afraid of asking better dancers to dance as they will teach you more about your lead and about how expression can come from giving space to your partner than any class could. And the weekender Chill Out/Blues rooms are the best place initially to do this as you can try all this in a very intense and concentrated period of time.

Good luck on your journey and I truly hope you find the freedom of expression and the joy that many of us have found within the realm of slower dancing.

[Beowulf]

Good luck on your journey and I truly hope you find the freedom of expression and the joy that many of us have found within the realm of slower dancing.

I personally had one on one tuition from Val and Dave (in the comfort of my own living room and DVD player that is :wink: I can't afford the "real thing") prior to my 1st Dance at our recent wedding. Love bluesy dancing .. with Twirly that is. Cannot blues to save myself with anyone else :blush: :)

Caught V&D at Southport one of the few times I was there. great teachers (even on the flat screen!)

[robd]

we also do concentrate on moves

Dave, will you teach me that move you are performing on Val in Lory's latest Scorch video collage? :what:

[robd]

Caught V&D at Southport

The importance of ampersands indeed :nice:

[Rocky]

Dave, will you teach me that move you are performing on Val in Lory's latest Scorch video collage? :what:

Well, we call that 2nd base and having seen you in your shorts over the w/e I can understand why it's a mystery to you...:flower:

[Northants Girly]

Well, we call that 2nd base and having seen you in your shorts over the w/e I can understand why it's a mystery to you...:flower:Ahh it does make me chuckle how folk insult someone then follow it up with flowers!

Anyway, after the bluesy dance I had with Rob last weekend I would say he is more than capable of getting past 2nd base without the need for your lessons Rocky :flower:

[robd]

Well, we call that 2nd base and having seen you in your shorts over the w/e I can understand why it's a mystery to you...:flower:

Pasty legs or not, I'll never get to 2nd base with Val given your tendency to cut the track short when I am dancing with her :na:

[Rocky]

Pasty legs or not, I'll never get to 2nd base with Val given your tendency to cut the track short when I am dancing with her :na:

It's not only the track you need to worry about me cutting if you ever have 2nd base on your mind...

[robd]

It's not only the track you need to worry about me cutting if you ever have 2nd base on your mind...

I know you covet my carpet top but please Mr Thought Policeman just go to a wigmaker like anybody else to cover it up.

And you forgot your defusing flower so here, have two :flower::flower:

[Rocky]

And you forgot your defusing flower so here, have two :flower::flower:

That wasn't forgetfulness, that was intention.. and I don't need a wigmaker as I can get a rug like yours crocheted anyday...:flower:

[cederic]

Technique is the fundamental aspect of learning any dance and whereas this always forms a part of all levels of our Blues classes we also do concentrate on moves

This was actually one of the surprising things I learned in the class. The really slow dancing looks so simple and uncomplicated that more than one partner agreed with me that it was actually much harder than it looked.

None of the moves were in themselves complicated, but matching them to the music, the timbre of the dance (to misuse a term) and the balance of your partner was both difficult, and enlightening.

It's odd, but learning how to read my partner's weight distribution and use that to aid the lead in the blues class has made me a far better dancer at MJ - e.g. this week is the first time I've been able to lead steps forward/back in a basket position, it's never worked before because I've never properly accounted for my partner's balance and momentum.

So it's not just the opportunity to spend a song or two in a close hold ;)

[Rocky]

This was actually one of the surprising things I learned in the class. The really slow dancing looks so simple and uncomplicated that more than one partner agreed with me that it was actually much harder than it looked.

None of the moves were in themselves complicated, but matching them to the music, the timbre of the dance (to misuse a term) and the balance of your partner was both difficult, and enlightening...

That's pretty much what most people realize when they start - getting the transitions right from close hold out to a move and then back in again is much more difficult than it looks. You can stop and start, but getting the weight distribution right so that you merge each movement into a flowing series of transitions does take practice.

That's why we use such simple moves to start with - there's little point teaching technique with a series of moves where you have to concentrate on learning the moves as well as the technique.

As with all forms of dancing the simplest moves executed well will lead to a far more satisfying expereince for you and your partner than complex moves executed badly!

[Captain Jack]

Hmm blues .....

I've seen a few clips of it on YT and am wondering where the actual dancing is. It looks a bit like all style and no substance.

Maybe one of the AT cross over folk can explain it to me? Why would I want to dance like this when I could do the same sort of thing much more pleasurably in Argentine tango?

(Mr Bailey, maybe this is your chance to jump in?!)

[philsmove]

Hmm blues .....

Why would I want to dance like this when I could do the same sort of thing much more pleasurably in Argentine tango?



agreed AT is much more pleasurable

BUT

Most MJ follows cant dance AT So at midnight, when the music starts to slow down, Blues is a nice option

Carl is running a blues clues this Tuesday in Brizzle
so why not give it a try
or visit Switch 10th December :cheers:

[straycat]

Hmm blues .....

I've seen a few clips of it on YT and am wondering where the actual dancing is. It looks a bit like all style and no substance.

Interesting you should say that... personally, I see it the other way around - there is far more focus on what I view as substance - technique, connection, muscial interpretation, self expression - than there is on style. What clips have you been watching?

[David Bailey]

(Mr Bailey, maybe this is your chance to jump in?!)
Too kind...

Funnily enough, I was trying to persuade a Blues dancer to move to AT yesterday.

Why would you do blues instead of AT? Well, why do anything - because you enjoy it.

MJ Blues has a different posture, it's arguably more raunchy, and the music is different. So those are either plus or minus points.

Blues blues is not really something I can comment on, I don't know much about it.

[straycat]

Why would I want to dance like this when I could do the same sort of thing much more pleasurably in Argentine tango?

That really depends on what you see as that 'sort of thing'. Do you mean - dance with all style and no substance? (which isn't the way I'd choose to describe AT)

While the two have some aspects in common, and people do very successfully bring some AT moves and ideas into blues, blues and AT are completely different
beasts, both visually and kinesthetically. And, as David Bailey has pointed out, there is the music. Loving the music makes a huge difference in one's enjoyment of any dance.

[Captain Jack]

Interesting you should say that... personally, I see it the other way around - there is far more focus on what I view as substance - technique, connection, muscial interpretation, self expression - than there is on style. What clips have you been watching?

What I mean is that it seems to be a bit bump n grind. The emphasis being on the physical connection rather than the music. Whereas I would argue AT is about expressing the music. That drives everything else.

I know that may sound like I'm splitting hairs. But there it is.

Is blues dancing used at MJ weekenders for "end of the night" music? I'd got the impression it was a dance to itself. If it's just "end of the night", then , yes, I can see why you'd go to check out the blues room :D

[Captain Jack]

agreed AT is much more pleasurable

BUT

Most MJ follows cant dance AT So at midnight, when the music starts to slow down, Blues is a nice option

Carl is running a blues clues this Tuesday in Brizzle
so why not give it a try
or visit Switch 10th December :cheers:
Going to the Tango Feast in Devon that weekend .. but thanks for the heads up. Obviously if you cant do AT I can see that blues would be a good 2nd choice :waycool:

[straycat]

What I mean is that it seems to be a bit bump n grind. The emphasis being on the physical connection rather than the music. Whereas I would argue AT is about expressing the music. That drives everything else.

I know that may sound like I'm splitting hairs. But there it is.

Is blues dancing used at MJ weekenders for "end of the night" music? I'd got the impression it was a dance to itself. If it's just "end of the night", then , yes, I can see why you'd go to check out the blues room :D

Oh ho. There was quite a debate on this one not long ago - check out the Blues Baby Blues thread. (http://forum.cerocscotland.com/showthread.php?t=19986)

Blues is very much a dance in its own right, with a long distinguished pedigree, but what I'd term MJ blues is a bit different.

For blues dancing proper, in one respect it is exactly like AT, and that is the one you've highlighted - as with AT, it is very much about interpreting and expressing the music. There are a few clips out there which might lead one to dismiss it as 'bump and grind', yes, but don't be misled by that. It is an extremely skillful, extremely musical, highly connected dance.

[Trouble]

Too kind...


MJ Blues has a different posture, it's arguably more raunchy, and the music is different. So those are either plus or minus points.

Blues blues is not really something I can comment on, I don't know much about it.

Cant see any minus points... !!

Blues, I saw Lemoncake earlier said that she had never actually been taught the blues and im thinking back and I dont think I have either.. go figure. !!

Thinking even further, I dont really know what blues is only that I love the music, it feels good but the moves are the same arn't they?.. just delayed slightly or taken advantage off.

So I dont really know much about it either. !

[cederic]

What I mean is that it seems to be a bit bump n grind. The emphasis being on the physical connection rather than the music.

Heck no. Although Blues (as in, MJ Blues) is usually danced very close, the physical contact doesn't have to be there, and the musical awareness is almost a pre-requisite.

Blues is very intimate dancing, but physical contact is almost an irrelevance within that. Watch the top dancers and although the movements, eye contact, sensuality and overall mood of the dance is extremely intimate, the physical contact is often far less intimate than a welcome hug to a friend.

The best blues dancers could dance with an air gap and still be displaying the musicality, the attitude and the connection to their partner that epitomises blues (to me).

[Captain Jack]

@straycat Any clips that you would recommend?

[David Bailey]

Cant see any minus points... !!
:whistle:


Blues, I saw Lemoncake earlier said that she had never actually been taught the blues and im thinking back and I dont think I have either.. go figure. !!
That's because, really, there's no such thing as "MJ Blues" - it's simply a marketing term for "dancing MJ slowly".

If you want proof, look that the DVD for Ceroc's Blues Competition a couple of months back.


Thinking even further, I dont really know what blues is only that I love the music, it feels good but the moves are the same arn't they?.. just delayed slightly or taken advantage off.

So I dont really know much about it either. !
You probably know more about it than many people teaching it.

[straycat]

@straycat Any clips that you would recommend?

Did you look at the thread I linked to in my last post (http://forum.cerocscotland.com/showthread.php?t=19986)? Loads of clips there...

[fandangle]

I have now done a Sara White Blues workshop and two David and Val Blues workshops so I have begun to get my feet wet, so to speak and I'm loving it. However, I live too far from Newbury to make the regular pilgrimage during the week so I was hoping to find some regular classes nearer to my home, e.g. Bournemouth. I understand that I'm not the only one if you read this thread (http://www.southernjive.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1125). At the moment, when I go into a Chill-out/Blues room, I feel a bit like someone going to a foreign country only knowing a few words of the language. It can get me by but that's as far as it goes. I would love to become more fluent but feel regular teaching is the best way.

[Captain Jack]

Did you look at the thread I linked to in my last post (http://forum.cerocscotland.com/showthread.php?t=19986)? Loads of clips there...

Watched a couple and I thought they were demos rather than examples of real social dancing.

It's quite difficult to find the latter on YT. In tango I can only think readily of a few examples eg

http://www.youtube.com/user/magikmiles
http://www.youtube.com/user/Jantango

(Otherwise they tend to be hidden away in Facebook accounts)

[ant]

Swinging the blues details
This Annual Workshops and Ball will be held this year on Saturday 22nd January 2011 at the Chiswick Town Hall (http://www.network.ceroc.com/Applications/PageManager/htdocs/sites/meceroclondon/news/news_article?article=5961&)

link to flyer
http://www.ceroclondon.com/news/news_article?article=5961&

[straycat]

Watched a couple and I thought they were demos rather than examples of real social dancing.
Well - the demos were all pure improvisation so I tend to count them as social dancing examples.

Putting myself slightly on the line here, but how about this one? The Blues Baby Blues Jack & Jill finals (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5exRRh4rock) from a couple of weeks ago.

[whitetiger1518]

Swinging the blues details
This Annual Workshops and Ball will be held this year on Saturday 22nd January 2011 at the Chiswick Town Hall (http://www.network.ceroc.com/Applications/PageManager/htdocs/sites/meceroclondon/news/news_article?article=5961&)

link to flyer
http://www.ceroclondon.com/news/news_article?article=5961&

Booked :D

love blues, but always so much more to learn. So looking forward to it:)

[t0mt0m]

To just say thank you to Maja - she quite simply answered those questions for me last night. (And cut through any chickening out/helping build confidence!)

Through just asking me to dance, the questions were answered in a second:
How - "Just have a go!"(said through a smile)
Where - "Next to me" (said through asking me to dance & getting on the floor)
When - Now! (implied through fox like cunningness, using her dance floor authority on beginners to obey (that and asking for the dance with several folk around - they don't drill the "if you're asked, go dance" rule for nothing )

Hehe, still left with exactly the same questions as Cederic though :)
The feeling of practise is for practise time, dance time is for dancing what you've practised.

Blimey does trying a blues dance make you aware of how vast an expanse of time a song can have for expression, musicality and goofing around!

Do many people find they cna just jam what would otherwise be called musicality course material, and just general jamming style movement into their blues dancing? Seems like it'd feel a little silly to be doing rote teaching of "moves" but can see how it could help to get some inspiration/ideas.

Do dance styles transfer? Jazz, R&B, etc?

[Lost Leader]

This thread might be useful.

http://forum.cerocscotland.com/showthread.php?t=18691&highlight=blues+room

[Minnie M]

The old tunes are still the best
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkftesK2dck

[t0mt0m]

Would be interested in feedback from people who've done a fair bit of blues dancing:

Chris Maraffi's Swango Blues Fundamentals (their DVD split has been split into 10 minute chunks and put on youtube for free)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwoTGu39a2k

Seems like they've made the effort to see how Blues, classic styles, and movements from swing and tango can be fused (esp the movement as a couple from tango).

From a beginner blues dancer, it seems useful - you don't really want to start doing treacle jive, or large jive moves (in essence cut the start and end of any jive move, and see if it fits with adaptation), so the tango style of movement helps.

Portlandbluesdancers user also has a few videos - talking about the pulse, lunges etc.

[straycat]

Would be interested in feedback from people who've done a fair bit of blues dancing:

It's good. Nice intro to proper blues. Well explained, very clear.

[EricD]

Chris Maraffi's Swango Blues Fundamentals
I haven't been through it all, but last time I looked at Swango, it seemed to be an incomplete fusion - doing a few Blues moves then a few Tango moves then repeat etc.

More of an emulsion than a fusion - like milk where the fat is just finely divided globules suspended in water, not dissolved at an atomic scale.

It may have moved on, but it's not like Amir's Jango - MJ and Tango seem more miscible !

Of course, if you just want to skim off the pure Blues and discard the Tango, it may be just as well it's not fused ?

[EricD]

Reminds me of a thread on a US Blues forum (now defunct) that was sniffy about UK MJ Blues - I used to find it by googling [ceroc plague] !

They pointed to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxGfPsYoRts as an example of good practice.
Plenty more from [Blues Shout] out there.

[EricD]

Swango seemed to be an incomplete fusion - doing a few Blues moves then a few Tango moves then repeat etc.

PS Are we confusing Blues and Swing ? Oops!

[Trouble]

:whistle:




You probably know more about it than many people teaching it.

:whistle: your after a frot arn't ya... i know your ways :D

[David Bailey]

:whistle: your after a frot arn't ya... i know your ways :D

I've no idea what this "frot" is of which you speak, but I'm sure I would never do such a thing, it sounds like it might be crass, and I'm a posh Tango Dancer now, don't you know.

[straycat]

PS Are we confusing Blues and Swing ? Oops!

Nope. (depending on who you mean by 'we'. In regard to the clip t0mt0m posted, definitely not. - the organisation may be called 'Swango', but the clip is called 'Blues Basics', and the dancing is pure traditional blues.

[t0mt0m]

Worth saying that the link is to the 1st episode of 12 or so, which first go through blues basics (pulse, weight transfer, fishtail, shake n bake etc) and then go on in further videos to look at how tango, swing and other moves can be brought into blues. So the 1st video shows traditional style, but they expand on that.

It's not a complete fusion, but it seems there's been some work into fusing the different styles - of the tango moves, in some ways there's overlap - the use of frame, leading from the chest, using weight transfer, using weight transfer to really help dictate movement as a couple, being a close dance etc - what does the music say to you? Some can be fast, some upbeat, some way down low.

I'm not sure what a complete fusion would look like - any ideas? :)
Each to their own - if your partner enjoys it, great - i'd imagine you can tone up or down the different styles depending on what your partner knows and likes. I've seen a fair bit of WCS, and tango and Jive all done on the same track, by different dance couples, all having a whale of a time.

I'm in the process of editing the youtube videos into a miniseries split by the movements, and the intro/description of each part, if anyone's interested. Will be interesting to compare with the blues DVDs out there also (Lucky, Rocky etc).

[philsmove]

.......Each to their own - if your partner enjoys it, great - i'd imagine you can tone up or down the different styles depending on what your partner knows and likes....).

This is what I absolutly love about blues. No strick rules, if feels right ,it is right

[David Bailey]

It's not a complete fusion, but it seems there's been some work into fusing the different styles - of the tango moves, in some ways there's overlap - the use of frame, leading from the chest, using weight transfer, using weight transfer to really help dictate movement as a couple, being a close dance etc - what does the music say to you? Some can be fast, some upbeat, some way down low.
Well, you can pretty much say that applies to all dances. Basically, that's "technique" for you.


I'm not sure what a complete fusion would look like - any ideas? :)
After much, much, much thought and quite a bit of work on this one, I reckon there's no such thing as a "fusion" - dances just don't work like that. The only real way to produce a true fusion is to be good at both base dances, and to work on creating your own style.

But generally I think that results in an "accent", which is effectively a stylistic variation of one of the core dances. So, you can have "Tango accented" Modern Jive, but it's still Modern Jive. At most, I think fusions become "a bit of Dance A, then a bit of Dance B, rinse and repeat".

Basically, the way to tell what the core dance is, is to see what the actual music is. Unless the music itself is a fusion, then you're dancing one or the other, but with a specific accent.