Are New Zealanders really hot dancers?

[Ste]

Hi everyone!

I am not on the internet so much now because I don't have a computer ( or a phone line.....eeekkk!!!! Maybe I should have negotiated a rent reduction but I was desperate to get a flat!) yet in Brum ( where I have half moved to !).....so if you ask any questions please don't be offended if I appear unresponsive!

I was at James Geary's place a few months ago and was shown New Zealand Ceroc footage. In a lot of ways they seem much more advanced than we are in the UK but I guess some of it seems a bit sterile...drop followed by drop folowed by another drop and they seem so precise and careful that the creativity thing seems to get stunted. But generally, from a technical point of view they appear excellent and very professional.

I want to improve my technique as I am getting really frustrated because i can't seem to do the stuff that I want to do.

Do you think it is worth going to New Zealand for a bit to take some tuition?

I know that we have Beach Boogie/Blues/ Camber etc etc but at the moment I wonder whether that will take me outside the Ceroc look and brand.

Am I mad?

Scouse Mouse

[Gus]

I wouldn't call myself an expert on the Kiwi style of Ceroc but I've now taught out there twice and danced a fair bit so I can give you my personal view.

I wouldn't say that Ceroc out there is really anymore advanced than it is here. The music range is more polarised to club/dance music than here and its true there is far greater emphasis on drops and lifts (not full airsteps) ..... but, as you say, I don't think there is quite as much interpretation there as you get with the better dancers here. Having said that, I'd match their top dancers against our top dancers any day of the week.

AS for learning something new ... well they have got some nice moves ... and I had a great blast out there. They have got the great Paul Tanuvasa out there ... probably the best Kiwi Cerocer and a great teacher ... it was worth my trip out there just to do his two workshops ... but there are many excellent teachers in the UK ... not that they alwyas teach at the Big events ....

It all depends what you want to do ... more footwork, more club style, hip-hop , blues style or improvisation ... its all here ... you just got to know who to go to.

[TheTramp]

I'll echo Gus.

From what I've seen and heard (If you listen to any Kiwi or Aussie, they'll tell you how much better it is over there), their dancing seems to be more technical, but less interpretation. They are taught lots of drops, leans, lunges etc., but then miss out on really using the music to the best advantage.

This is of course somewhat of a generalisation - in the same way that we have some very technical people in this country, they have great musical interpreters out there.

Just as an example though. I wasn't at the ceroc champs this year (for obvious reasons), but I was there in 2001. In the advanced, Janine and Clayton were deserved winners. The couple who came second though, I wasn't so enamoured of. Their moves were great, but you had the feeling that they'd have used the same moves in the same order (almost), to whatever piece of music that Erick had chosen. I think that the couple who came third definitely deserved to be placed above them :D :rolleyes: :D

So, maybe worth doing what Gus did again - pay them a visit, and learn what they've got to teach you. Then put that into your own style of dancing, in the places where it best fits!!

Steve

[horsey_dude]

Originally posted by Ste
Hi everyone!

In a lot of ways they seem much more advanced than we are in the UK but I guess some of it seems a bit sterile...drop followed by drop folowed by another drop and they seem so precise and careful that the creativity thing seems to get stunted. But generally, from a technical point of view they appear excellent and very professional.

Do you think it is worth going to New Zealand for a bit to take some tuition?



I feel I have to comment on this.... If you want to judge New Zealand Dancers then go to a party or ball and dance with some... There are many things/sports where at the highest level they become a parody fo what they should be. Most of the New zealand produced videos I have seen have been poor quality and a real disappointment.

I love dancing and to me style and just enjoying your dancing are much more important than how technical the moves are. If you do "Drop after Drop" then they lose all of their impact and just become boring.

There will always be people (especially competition oriented ones) who feel that the flashier the lifts/throw/drop you do the better you are as a dancer but to me it is less impressive than someone who can dance with a beginner and make them look so good that they come off the dance floor grinning from ear to ear.

If you see competition dancing on vdeo then you are right they don't show much interperetation etc when they are competing but if you see those same people when they are relaxed and having fun on a night out then you would not believe they were the same couple.

If you come to New Zealand you will be comforted by the fact that our currency is so weak (it is sometimes refferred to as the pacific peso) you will be able to travel like a king....

[Will]

I've certainly come across some amazing dancers from New Zealand. Top Quality if you ask me.

But, if you really want to talk about the cream of the crop of world ceroc, then you need look no further than the native people of Hinan Island, China.

Indeed, there is this one guy I've seen who originates from there (who has recently moved from London to Birmingham) whose drops and lifts would almost make you believe that he was dancing on a gravity free dance floor. And as for his raunchy ceroc moves, well for reasons of decency I won't go into detail but suffice to say that it's no wonder that China has the worlds largest population! :wink:

[Gus]

Originally posted by Will

Indeed, there is this one guy I've seen who originates from there (who has recently moved from London to Birmingham) whose drops and lifts would almost make you believe that he was dancing on a gravity free dance floor. And as for his raunchy ceroc moves, well for reasons of decency I won't go into detail but suffice to say that it's no wonder that China has the worlds largest population! :wink:

Will ... what is it with you and this Wong fascination. I've now seen some footage of the chap and though he's a nice dancer he's not exactly going to challenge Clayton now is he? So why the adulation???? Is there something hot and intimate between you that you think the general dance public needs to know?:wink:

[TheTramp]

Is there something hot and intimate between you that you think the general dance public needs to know?

I have to say, having considered this from a number of angles.

If there is, then I don't think that I really want to know!

Steve

[DavidB]

From what I've heard about NZ and Australian jivers, I would expect non-stop drops & lifts. But from what I've seen of the few couples in London, they seem to be into more individual dancing ability.

horsey_dude has suggested that NZ dancers don't do themselves justice in competitions. I don't think this is confined to NZ. I don't think I've seen anyone dance jive in competition or cabaret as well as they dance freestyle.

David

[Ste]

Steve, I thought it was YOU and Sophie who came third in 2001!!!!!What happened to you at Bristol Leroc? I can't remember how you fared.When are you going to wear that ganster outfit again which you wore at Walthamstowe?

As for you Will...THAT'S HAINAN island!

And as for you Gus, with a nickname like GORGEOUS, insinuating a sexual frisson between Will and I,is like the pot calling the kettle BRACK, oohhh you are awful.....!

:cool:

FOR THE RECORD, and to dispel any fears on the part of Will's adoring legion of female fans, we are both definitely straight...and Will is too ..................that's why the girls lurve this man. After all is he not a former Ceroc singing champion ..

" You can tell by the way I use my walk , I'm a woman's man no time to talk..."

Yep, Will sang that line to become a Ceroc singing champ!

And as for challenging Clayton, Mr Gorgeous Gus, he and Janine are my Ceroc heroes!So is James Geary!

[Gus]

Originally posted by Ste

And as for you Gus, with a nickname like GORGEOUS, insinuating a sexual frisson between Will and I,is like the pot calling the kettle BRACK, oohhh you are awful.....!


Just for the record .... my name is Gus ... just Gus. There is only one Gorgeous Gus and he is our mascot (and hero) .... unfortunately as he is a 3ft stuffed Gorilla he ain't too good at dancing ... but that doesn't stop him being a total babe magnet.:waycool:

[TheTramp]

Just for the record .... my name is Gus ... just Gus. Well, I thought that your name was Craig.

Where did the whole Gus thing come from anyhow? (Just interested).

Steve

[Gus]

Originally posted by TheTramp
Well, I thought that your name was Craig.

Where did the whole Gus thing come from anyhow? (Just interested).

Steve

VERY long story short

When in lived in London .....

When drunk used to do Gorilla impersonations (actualy probably do that sometimes when sober..)

Gave someone a card with Gorilla on ... apparently name of Gorilla was Gus

This someone saw me doing impersonation and eating bannana ..

She called me Gus

Name stuck....

After that ... for all the parties me and my mates held (and they were legion) ..came with invites from Gorgeous Gus Entertainments

Satisfied?? .... now that I explain it it sounds even dumber than before ... sad thing is that most people in London don't realise Gus is only my nickname, not my given name .... but it suits me.

[TheTramp]

Ahhhh. Okie :what:

So, when do we all get to see the impersonation? :grin:

Steve