Jive weekends v Weekly dance venues

[stewart38]

You know how it is .You have had a 100 good dances at an event like Southport and slept for 8 hours over a 64 hour period and go back to your local club and just cant get the range of dancers /dances/buzz etc :waycool:


This is of course is to be expected, your average dance venues doesn’t have 1100 + of dedicated dance nutters who think of nothing of dancing till 6am. It’s a mix of beginner/intermediates etc and finished usually at 11pm so mortals can go to work in the morning.

I think if I had a range of dancers at an event like Southport every week at my local club, I’d not want to dance with beginners etc which of course goes against all my principles. :sad:

[Gus]

You know how it is .You have had a 100 good dances at an event like Southport and slept for 8 hours over a 64 hour period and go back to your local club and just cant get the range of dancers /dances/buzz etc :waycool:......I think if I had a range of dancers at an event like Southport every week at my local club, I’d not want to dance with beginners etc which of course goes against all my principles. :sad:And so was born Hipsters. :devil:

The point has come out on a number of threads that the 'basic' Ceroc model is aimed at Beginner to Improvers (sub 2 years experience). though things are starting to change this rules still seems to apply and the more experienced dancers feel un-loved and un-catered for.

At our new club we tried to bias the format more toward the experienced dancers ... but after a while realised that to go the full hog would stymie any success at bringing in new dancers. Sooooo ... we're going to make a real effort at creating a Hipsters-look alike club. Of course we wont be able to boast the same calibre of teachers, nor match JB on the decks ... but we think we have a concept that will work. All we need now is a venue and deal with all the political problem that whatever night we set-up on there will be at least 2 other clubs calling foul :(

[under par]

You know how it is .You have had a 100 good dances at an event like Southport and slept for 8 hours over a 64 hour period and go back to your local club and just cant get the range of dancers /dances/buzz etc :waycool:


This is of course is to be expected, your average dance venues doesn’t have 1100 + of dedicated dance nutters who think of nothing of dancing till 6am. It’s a mix of beginner/intermediates etc and finished usually at 11pm so mortals can go to work in the morning.

. :sad:

The problem for me after a weekender is that there is only one and half hours of freestyle a weekday class and THAT IS JUST NOT ENOUGH!! :devil: :angry:

I wasn't getting warmed up at Southport until 3 hours into the freestyle and my best dancing(MY OWN opinion) was after 5 hours dancing up to colllapse some 9 to 10 hours after starting.

[Lindsay]

Dance weekends are the best fast-track to improving your dancing, IMO. That's if you get out of bed & go to classes :blush: But if they were on every weekend, or even every month, the appeal might be less perhaps.
Hey UP - didn't I dance with you in the bluesey/swingey room on Sunday night @ S'port?

[Dreadful Scathe]

Hey UP - didn't I dance with you in the bluesey/swingey room on Sunday night @ S'port?
you'd remember, as he's 8 foot tall :)

[Lindsay]

yes, he was tall.... but I like dancing with tall men :)



do you, smurf?

[Lounge Lizard]

The problem for me after a weekender is that there is only one and half hours of freestyle a weekday class and THAT IS JUST NOT ENOUGH!! :devil: :angry: I tried this in Brighton at the david Lloyd I had two dance halls two teachers, me playing the music a genuine advanced class, freestyle dancing till midnight - you was one of the few that supported I injected £2000 into the venture, when this was used up we closed.
So simple class/freestyle format is the tried, trusted and safe way forward
Even at Dorking which averages 100+ on a Tuesday after 10.30 the room thins out - something to do with work the next day apparently
PP

[under par]

Dance weekends are the best fast-track to improving your dancing, IMO. .
Hey UP - didn't I dance with you in the bluesey/swingey room on Sunday night @ S'port?

yes we did have one or two I seem to remember. :drool:

[Gordon J Pownall]

And so was born Hipsters. :devil:
Of course we wont be able to boast the same calibre of teachers, nor match JB on the decks ...

Why not.......??

Plenty of gifted teachers and amazing DJ's.......dancers will respond to their locale, not some pipe dream or artificial reputation that 'should' be aspired to to become credible for more experienced dancers..........


Go on then....bring it on.... :flower:

[Gus]

I tried this in Brighton at the david Lloyd I had two dance halls two teachers, me playing the music a genuine advanced class, freestyle dancing till midnight - you was one of the few that supported I injected £2000 into the venture, when this was used up we closed.
So simple class/freestyle format is the tried, trusted and safe way forward
Even at Dorking which averages 100+ on a Tuesday after 10.30 the room thins out - something to do with work the next day apparently
PPMust admit that I've been re-thinking about having an 'advanced' night mid-week. One of the partners in the project has suggested that Friday's might be a better shout, especialy in teh light of LLs comments. Mid week peope still have to get up to go to work the next day (well ... some do :sick: ) and so maybe a Friday night is a better option. HOWEVER (true ODA style) ... many people have commented that Friday night clubs never seem to succeed (there are none in the North West) and there is always the problem of all the freestyles the following day.

[under par]

I tried this in Brighton at the david Lloyd I had two dance halls two teachers, me playing the music a genuine advanced class, freestyle dancing till midnight - you was one of the few that supported I injected £2000 into the venture, when this was used up we closed.
So simple class/freestyle format is the tried, trusted and safe way forward
Even at Dorking which averages 100+ on a Tuesday after 10.30 the room thins out - something to do with work the next day apparently
PP

LL the only point I would make about your venture which I supported was the time of year you started up.

With the best will in the world the run up to christmas is going to be a dodgy time.

I recall having split loyalties in the month of december as there were so many works parties and other related functions to attend.

loved the venue the music and the classes, just didn't quite get enough new punters or old regulars down there make it worth it for you. Shame. :cheers:

[MartinHarper]

TRDC have more advanced JazzJive nights in a few places with this format. More advanced relative to their normal nights, anyway. The format is essentially that of their normal nights:
7.30-8.30: "Intermediate 2"
8.30-9.00: Freestyle.
9.00-10.00: "Specials"
10.00-10.30: Freestyle.

I'm unclear on why Gus and LL seem to suggest that an advanced night should finish later than a normal night.

[under par]

I'm unclear on why Gus and LL seem to suggest that an advanced night should finish later than a normal night.

Cos we love dancing freestyle lots and lots and if you are having classes you need more time at the end to enable lots and lots of freestyle not a measly hour or hour and half as given at most normal classes. :angry:

I go to a certain once a month Friday freestyle where I look at the watch about 2245 and am elated to know there is still 2 and a quarter hours freestyle to go :yeah:

All those ladies out there who I haven't yet danced with, and all the excellent music to come. I get quite excited at the prospect. As I do with the nearing of a weekender event because the many many hours of freestyle give me a buzz. :cheers: :clap:

As I said above I only feel warmed up and ready really go after a couple of hours freestyle.

[under par]

One other quick point!

Mrs Par and I often travel up to 3 hours getting there and back to a venue.

We like to spend as much time on the dance floor if we can. :yeah:

[MartinHarper]

Non-advanced dancers also like dancing "lots and lots". I can certainly see the attraction of an event with plenty of dancing time - just not seeing the linkage with advanced/non-advanced.

*shrug*

[Lounge Lizard]

LL the only point I would make about your venture which I supported was the time of year you started up.

With the best will in the world the run up to christmas is going to be a dodgy time.

I recall having split loyalties in the month of december as there were so many works parties and other related functions to attend.

loved the venue the music and the classes, just didn't quite get enough new punters or old regulars down there make it worth it for you. Shame. :cheers:This is an interesting point and possibly a new thread - When isd the best time to start a new club.
Often the pre Christmas months are busy with new dancers eager to learn for to dance for Xmas party
then starting after Xams to 'get fitter'
Very often we need a reason to take up a new hobby.
Personaly I always wanted to be able to dance and on my 40th I vowed to do all the things I had promised myself....and here I am a dance addict

[Lounge Lizard]

Non-advanced dancers also like dancing "lots and lots". I can certainly see the attraction of an event with plenty of dancing time - just not seeing the linkage with advanced/non-advanced.

*shrug*It is often the experienced dancers that stay late.
My Brighton venture was open till midnight from day one, the new dancers left early the experienced dancers stayed till the end.

Just an observation on my experience at venues
LL

[under par]

It is often the experienced dancers that stay late.
My Brighton venture was open till midnight from day one, the new dancers left early the experienced dancers stayed till the end.

Just an observation on my experience at venues
LL

*sweeping generalisation mode ON*

It is possible that more experienced dancers(as a classification instead of advanced!) are more atheletic and have more stamina for the later nights.

There is often more challenging music played later than earlier when most djs can be more mainstream. So more experienced dancer will stay less e.d. will leave.

The shoes of experienced dancer will also be well worn in and not cause problems after 4 hours dancing that some less experienced dancers my find. :rofl:

*sweeping generalisation mode OFF*

[Peter]

It is often the experienced dancers that stay late.


It is often the experienced dancers that arrive late. By then, the less experienced dancers are leaving so there is more room on the dance floor and a higher proportion of better dancers ... this seems to happen at dance weekends (and at Hipsters)

[ChrisA]

There is often more challenging music played later than earlier when most djs can be more mainstream. So more experienced dancer will stay less e.d. will leave.

Certainly at the weekenders I've been to, I tend to start the evening's freestyle around 10 or 11. The floor's a bit emptier, I tend to prefer the music, and as it gets later and later the people still dancing tend to be the ones I like dancing with the most, as well as being the ones that require the least force to dance with.

So I'll have been to some classes, had some food, and a bit of a chill for a couple of hours before getting ready and heading for the dance floor. That way I can comfortably keep going till 4am or later.

Chris

[MartinHarper]

Regards stamina, I also get the impression that better dancers can perform the same movements while using less energy. Is that true, or is it just a side effect of the illusion of effortlessness?

[ChrisA]

Regards stamina, I also get the impression that better dancers can perform the same movements while using less energy. Is that true, or is it just a side effect of the illusion of effortlessness?
I'm sure it's true, and not just in dancing.

I've always been a completely crap swimmer, but at the moment I'm teaching myself the front crawl, with proper breathing and stuff. Until today I couldn't do more than half a dozen strokes without feeling completely knackered, and having to stop, gasping for breath :blush:

It's not a fitness thing particularly - I can run three or four miles without any difficulty, and I'm not suddenly miles fitter this week than I was last.

But today something clicked a bit, and I managed two lengths before I was completely knackered - and it felt a lot easier. I guess I was feeling more relaxed (ie not about to drown :tears: ), and was moving more efficiently.

I don't get as hot and sweaty these days when dancing, either. But that's probably just because the weather's colder :D

Chris

[Gadget]

Regards stamina, I also get the impression that better dancers can perform the same movements while using less energy. Is that true, or is it just a side effect of the illusion of effortlessness?
I would say it's true: get the technique right and the rest seems to fall into place with lots less effort - whether this is mental or physical effort I don't know.