MJC-Well.How was it for you? [Archive]

Lory

26th-June-2005, 03:22 PM

....how was it for you?
Well, I only went on Friday night, so I have no idea how the rest of the weekend went but sadly for me, i felt it lacked any form of atmosphere. :sad:

We arrived at 9-45 (to a lovely welcome from Minnie and Almost an Angel :hug: ) but somehow it felt more like we'd arrived at 7pm, as there were probably, at most, 20 couples dancing in the main room, so I thought, ah ha, maybe there all in the other room :clap: but alas, that was even worse, there were only a handful of dancers but they just looked like mates practising. :sad:

I have to say, the dances I had were superb (DavidJames, PaulF, Paul Warden, Tessalicious, Royboy, GoJive, SilverFox, David Rockov and Adam (as in Adam and Taz) and Spindr :worthy: ) but as soon as the dance was over, it was back to that :sick: feeling!

Sadly the blues room never got going and they made the decision to close it at about 11-30? :tears:
In the end, I think we gave up and left at 12-30ish along with many others that had the same idea!

'Twas a long way to go for a very mediocre night. :(

I DO hope Saturday was a hell of a lot better? :flower:

LMC

26th-June-2005, 03:47 PM

Saturday was heaving - the main room got sooooooooo hot! Too hot really.

Rather a depressing evening for me unfortunately as I am such a beginner that I was too nervous to ask guys to dance - the general standard seemed way above my level, especially in the blues room - but the band was good and I spent quite a lot of time chillin' in there.

Of course, if guys ask me, then that's their look out :rofl: and I had a few good dances, unfortunately finished off by one very mediocre one with someone with zero rhythm - not a good "last dance" for the night.

The cabaret was FANTASTIC... Natalie and Yuval were just amazing, wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. :worthy: :worthy: :worthy:

Simon

26th-June-2005, 05:06 PM

The cabaret was FANTASTIC... Natalie and Yuval were just amazing, wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. :worthy: :worthy: :worthy:
:yeah:

Lory

26th-June-2005, 05:27 PM

The cabaret was FANTASTIC... Natalie and Yuval were just amazing, wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. :worthy: :worthy: :worthy:
:yeah: And on Friday we got to see the first half twice :clap: as the music went wrong! :whistle:

BobbyA

26th-June-2005, 07:05 PM

I'm kinda mixed about this one.. The first weekender I went to was the SouthPort one that just went and I had an Amazing time...

When I got here on friday night at 7:30 (to check in).. I was struggling to find my way around the venue. Got to the main hall where the workshops and reception was and was told that our accomodation was at building 33. It was a little muddy from the rain, and trying to check in to the St Georges Lodge (aka a Hotel) we had to kinda figure it out ourselves.. We got to the Building where the rooms were but no reception as such. So we rang the number which was on the building and we had to go all the way to the other side to check in.

Anyway from the outside it didn't look great but the inside was pretty nice, Large bedrooms 2 double beds and en suite. I still yet to figure out the numbering system of the rooms too, the room numbers were allocated 1 to 12 and the one on the end was number 31. And we had 31 written on our key. Luckily it was the first room we hit so didn't have to look very far. I think someone got the digits the wrong way round and never bothered to change it hehehe..

The freestyle did take quite a while to get going, and i was quite tired by about 11:30 so i kinda missed the cabiret. The classes at night were late at starting too.

The next day was better I think, the workshops all got underway and it felt pretty good. Simon Borland's workshops were excellent and definatly recommend his classes in Surbiton.

There were a lot of experienced dancers there and i do kinda feel intimedated by them too and I feel that i'm wasting womens time when they should be dancing with someone more adapt to their standard.

Anyway all in all driving 130 miles for this event wasn't worth my while.. If it was less than 50 miles away and I could do day trips to each of the days then i think it may have been worth it.

In terms of atmosphere I still think southport is the best (tho thats the only thing i've been to.. Is camber sands of similar type to southport? How do the 2 compare?)

Paul F

26th-June-2005, 09:10 PM

Just got back home after MJC. Here's my thoughts for what they are worth .

Before I go any further can I just say a big :clap: :clap: :cheers: :clap: :clap:
to Nathalie and Yuval AMAZING!

Their routine on Saturday night was possibly the greatest cabaret I have ever seen. I have certainly not seen anyone get a standing ovation and a 'demand' of an encore from the crowd (and to have that demand satisfied with another breathtaking performance). It was worth every mile of the drive just for that. I cant stress that enough. I tend to find aerials a bit dull after a while, a once you have seen one you have seen them all type thing but these two re-wrote the rulebook.

Two other things stood out for me. Firstly, meeting all the forumites that were there was fab. Thanks so much Minnie for the beautiful bands :hug:
Secondly it was Simon Borlands classes. This guy is exactly what I think a dance teacher should be - enthusiastic, knowledgeable and entertaining. I really enjoyed his class and I was only a spectator!! He is a superb teacher - and I told him so :clap:

The weekend as whole. Yeah I enjoyed it. Of course it wasnt on the scale of the 1400 people at Southport (which by all accounts was too busy) but it was never meant to be. This did mean though that there was room to do the classes.

The friday night was a bit dissapointing as , as has already been mentioned, it never really got going. The 2am finish on both nights didnt impress me too much either but then his was advertised so I cant complain.
I was really dissapointed to see the bar didnt sell (or indeed give away) any tap water at all and that they were stopping you bringing your own in. This is something I really dont like with weekenders - and it was about 20 degrees + Trouble is, it is out of the organisers control I think.
I think they are the only bits i could pick as being a bit dissapointing.

The Saturday night was awesome. The 3 rooms worked wonderfully well. I spent my time between the main hall and the WCS/blues marquee. I believe it was the forums own Sheepman in the marquee. The music was first rate.
:worthy:
The only unfortunate thing was the finish time. I could have so gone on all night. (ok i said i wouldnt complain ;) )

Oh did i mention Nathalie and Yuvals cabaret that night :drool: :drool: :)

As for the workshops, im undecided. I didnt really do too many but the ones i did were great. N+Y (i do love em') did a slides workshop. Watching everyone sliding around in the marquee was brilliant.

Today(sunday) was good. At first i thought there was nobody around. It was only after 20 minutes of being in the venue that the blues and slides workshops finished and people poured out. Lots of people then - popular workshops.

We couldnt stay for the late freestyle unfortunately :tears:

While i was there I had to ask myself the question - is it a good idea to allow people to come just for the Fri or Sat night? The reason, as mentioned earlier, is because the whole weekend seemed to revolve around the Saturday night, which I guess is true of most. Unfortunately the difference between the Saturday night and the rest was that bit too big in terms of numbers and standard. Would stopping people turning up on the evening force them to book the whole weekend or force them to stay away. Southport and Jivetime's closed door weekenders pretty much get people in for the Friday night which immediately secures an atmosphere. Would this work here?

All in all a good weekender that certainly has the potential to become right up there as one of the best.

foxylady

26th-June-2005, 09:18 PM

Only went down for saturday evening.

Was very impressed by (most of) the cabaret, but re the freestyle there were far too many women and so it was a fight for every dance.... and all my favourite dancers virtually had queues of women waiting for them....
The main hall was far too crowded and very few people had any idea of floorcraft....

The seating areas went right up to the edge of the dancefloor, so to walk through the main room - to get to the swing room, or the bar - one had to walk on the dancefloor... People were also standing on the dancefloor chatting which was extremely annoying, as one had to avoid them, as well as the many who were dancing inconsiderately ! There was plenty of space away from the dancefloor to stand and chat (although I guess if you were chatting to pass the time whilst waiting to 'pounce' you wouldn't have wanted to stray !)....

There was loads of room in both the swing room and the blues room, but then again each room had the surplus of women problem...

The classes looked great, and I wish I had been able to attend them, and I know a HUGE amount of organisation goes into a weekend like this, and much admiration for Annalisa for the effort she has put into it.... Most of my gripes I think would have been eliminated if there had been a more even mix of sexes....

I wouldn't have wanted to miss Natalie and Yuval !! and the encore - unrehearsed - Yay ! :worthy:

Simon Borlands classes. This guy is exactly what I think a dance teacher should be - enthusiastic, knowledgeable and entertaining. I really enjoyed his class and I was only a spectator!! He is a superb teacher - and I told him so

He is a breath of fresh air ! He is what a teacher should be and I have been telling everyone I can since he started at ISH last December !! However i suspect he is getting swollen headed enough now so perhaps we should keep this between ourselves..... ssshhhhhhhh........ :wink:

He's a fab MC too - how about recruiting him for Southport in Sept JohnAH & Wes???

Foxy

Paul F

26th-June-2005, 09:24 PM

Only went down for saturday evening.

The seating areas went right up to the edge of the dancefloor, so to walk through the main room - to get to the swing room, or the bar - one had to walk on the dancefloor... People were also standing on the dancefloor chatting which was extremely annoying, as one had to avoid them, as well as the many who were dancing inconsiderately ! There was plenty of space away from the dancefloor to stand and chat (although I guess if you were chatting to pass the time whilst waiting to 'pounce' you wouldn't have wanted to stray !)....

Foxy

Cant really comment about the surplus of women as , I must admit, I wouldnt have noticed :blush: but thats a good point about the seating area. This was another bit that I was a bit annoyed about considering the massive influx of people for the Saturday night. With limited tables and people standing/walking on the dancefloor it was a real problem.

I have just realised I didnt get to meet you :tears: Hopefully nest time.

David Bailey

26th-June-2005, 09:37 PM

Well, I only went on Friday night, so I have no idea how the rest of the weekend went but sadly for me, i felt it lacked any form of atmosphere. :sad:
Hate to agree with you, Lory ( :) ), but :yeah:

Sadly the blues room never got going and they made the decision to close it at about 11-30? :tears:
12.38 to be precise, or thereabouts - apparently on instructions.

'Twas a long way to go for a very mediocre night. :(
On the plus side, the company I had on the way back was lovely :flower:

I went on the Saturday night last year, and that was much better as I recall.
A few other observations:
- :clap: to Minnie for preparing armbands... :)
- The music in the main hall was a bit too pop-y for me. I absolutely adored all the music in the Blues room, but no-one was there! :tears: And the frw people who were there seemed to be firmly in the "WCS only" camp, although I'm probably misjudging them.
- GoJive, we met at last :cheers:
- I got a look at a cabin - boy, :worthy: to anyone hardy enough to stay in them :grin:
- People seemed to drift off relatively early; I was expecting people to be carousing in debauched sessions until well past 2am, clearly I've been misinformed...
- The timetable (for Sat classes at least) seemed a little, err, malleable, being re-arranged quite a lot from what I could see. Although I know these things are hell to organise, it usually helps if the teacher knows when the classes are, before, say, 11.30pm on the night before...
- Brutally honestly, I've no idea what the days were like, but I've been to better (and much closer) Friday night dances.
- But Minnie was there :clap:

LMC

26th-June-2005, 10:12 PM

re the freestyle there were far too many women and so it was a fight for every dance.... and all my favourite dancers virtually had queues of women waiting for them....

:yeah:

So glad it wasn't just me - that was why I felt shy about asking guys to dance, 'cos standards were high.

On the plus side, something must have sunk in by osmosis - my hips were doing all sorts of strange things tonight all of their own accord - I *think* it might have been wiggling... but it actually felt natural. So watching is not necessarily a bad thing - but in moderation...

I agree with Paul that it was worth it just for Natalie and Yuval - a different league...

Paul F

26th-June-2005, 10:15 PM

I just cant believe there were so many forumites there that I didnt meet :tears:

You may have noticed me as i stuck out a bit - for the wrong reasons. I was one of the 4 guys who turned up in black tie......to find noone else did :blush:
Needless to say it didnt last long :) Someone thought i might be part of the band !

Minnie M

26th-June-2005, 10:30 PM

Hi Folks I'm back !

First of all the arm bands were a lovely sparkly rich red with Ceroc printed on them - the lovely Annalisa bought them specially for us. Mind you we only had one sheet so there wasn't enough to go round (apologies to Sparkles & Foxy) - but they were definitely effective. They were a great idea as they certainly attracted a lot of attention (to everyone) and it was nice to get to know new forumites and for them to meet us 'old' ones

Have to agree with Lory on Friday night, it was very flat, the swing room music was great although didn't really enjoy the thump thump MJ music in the main ballroom.

Saturday was back on form to the usual MJC standard, the classes were fantastic and the feedback I got on the desk was that they were enjoyed by all, especially the Lindy classes by Natatlie & Yuval.

Saturday evening was buzzing - different format to previous MJCs as the band was not in the main ballroom, but the smaller swing room. Sheena Davis and her band were awesome, just love their music and there was (for me) enough decent swing dancers to enjoy dancing. However, have to agree with Foxy, there did appear to be more women then men and I spent a lot time searching for men to dance with, or should I say 'fighting'

THE CABARET - it was Natalie & Yuval all the way, amazing :worthy: amazing :worthy: and what a lovely couple too, they were chatting to all of us all day between classes and dancing with us in the evening. They are back at Fleet in August - you MUST come and see them !!!

We mustn't forget Robert & Nicky they were great too, however, even they appeared to be gobsmacked by these two americans

Sunday classes, once again great - Simon B, Adam & Tas, Robert & Nicky, Mick Wenger, Paul Warden, Dave & Val, Gordy & Sal (hope I haven't left anyone out) - this is the cream of Southern & Aussie Ceroc teachers you must agree AND ......... these two incredible Lindy teachers, who taught us how to slide (what fun) and some dips and tricks, both classes could be adapted to MJ

Negative side - THE WOKING WATER BOARD - no water from lunchtime to about 7pm in the evening - that means no showers !!!!!! so a lot of people went home instead of staying for the evening dance

I spent most of the time with Almost an Angel "on the door" but still managed to get some dancing in and bits of a couple of classes.

Summary:
The standard of classes was IMO higher than previous years, Friday night was a bit flat, Saturday night buzzing but

Minnie M (aka Lynda :hug: )

Forgot the very important thank yous
To the very beautiful and talented Annalisa - total respect lady :worthy: given what a week you have had, this was a great event you truly are one in a million :worthy: :flower:

To Simon White, who also worked very hard in putting this event together and to my buddy Almost an Angel - great team work hun !

Gojive

26th-June-2005, 11:20 PM

Here's my take on the weekend (well Friday and Saturday anyway)...

Arrival - A little bit of detective work was needed to find where the keys to our 'hotel' (more on this later) were located, but we finally got them about 45mins after arrival. To be fair though, I think we caught Annalisa on the hop a little, as she was busy trying to get set-up (we were quite early).

Accommodation - We booked a hotel room, that was on site, but not part of the main Pavillion complex. When we finally found the room, it looked more like a wooden hut, rather than a hotel room :eek: . Inside however, it was a totally different story! - it was as good as most mid-level hotels, and sported two huge double beds, a TV with built in DVD player, bath AND shower :clap: , fridge, hair dryer, toaster, kettle. For £48 per night per room, I have to say it was fantastic value for money. A huge thumbs up for this part of the weekender from me :cheers:

Friday night classes - I embarked on the Equador routine (where I took a wild guess at identifying Purple Sparkler - thankfully I was right! :hug: ). I loved the routine, but just couldn't seem to nail even some of the simpler parts as much as I wanted to, and combined with hurting my back slightly doing a ballroom drop, I decided it wasn't worth the risk and embarrassment to continue the next day (I did feel hugely guilty, given how few men there were :blush: ).

Friday freestyle - Lory has summed up Friday perfectly for me.....there just wasn't any buzz - a real shame :sad: . One of the few plus points was my dance with Lory :worthy:, and finally getting to find out if I could get a word in edgeways on meeting DavidJames! :yum:

Saturday classes- I did both the two Jango classes with Will and Kate, and thoroughly enjoyed them :cheers: . I'm not sure Tango as such, will ever be my dance, but for my MJ repertoire I took away some great ideas (and put them into practice later that night). A big thumbs up for the these classes :clap: :clap: . Being a lazy sod this weekend, the only other class I did was Amir's "Style and Technique". Once again, Amir didn't fail to give me more very useful styling points to work with, and as usual, managed to take the class in his light-hearted but point proving way :worthy: .

Saturday freestyle - As others have said, the huge over-crowding on the main floor was a big let down. I didn't dance once on there in the end, simply because I knew that having seen the appalling floorcraft, I decided I just wouldn't enjoy it at all. So I opted to spend most of my time either in the Swing Room, or out in the tent. In both of these places however, I had some fantastic dances, with acres of space to play in :D . I particularly enjoyed the band in the Swing Room, who I though played just the right music for MJ :clap: .

Saturday cabaret - One word...AWESOME :worthy: :worthy: :worthy:. Natalie and Yuval put on the most draw-dropping ariels I have ever seen!. IMHO, no matter what gripes I may have about the weekend in general, these guys made every penny I spent worthwhile. I can't wait to get the DVD now!!

General points - The only available water being at £1 a (small) bottle and a lack of suitable food for Vegetarians were a lttle irritating, and perhaps the teas and coffees could be out a little earlier (say 12:30am?). All in all though, it is still a great weekend, but needs some tweaking here and there I feel :)

Forum related - First off, my apologies for not setting up the bomb-burst/bomburst/bumburst idea - I just didn't get the opportunity for one reason or another :blush: . I still think the idea is worth pursuing at anothe event though :waycool: . Great to meet some more fellow forumites, and hopefully next time I'll get to chat/dance (depending on the sex) a little more :flower: . Finally, many, many, thanks to Minnie :worthy: for the wristbands, and for actually getting David to wear one (albeit temporarily :wink: ) . Jivecat - how did you get on with camping? - I really felt for you, when the thunderstorms arrived on Friday :sick: .

Sorry - that was a bit of a long post! :o

Whitebeard

26th-June-2005, 11:32 PM

I was one of the four guys who who turned up in black tie .....
Enlighten me please; I've led a sheltered life. Personally, I've only ever worn a black tie to funerals but have noticed that other, supposedly more joyous social events, even including dance, stipulate the wearing of a "black tie". Is this shorthand for "smart" or conventional dress or is it to be taken literally and. if so, why oh why on earth why.

Minnie M

26th-June-2005, 11:39 PM

knew I would forget someone -

Saturday classes- I did both the two Jango classes with Will and Kate,

Plus great cabaret :worthy: and didn't Kate look stunning :flower:

and ofcourse the very stylish Amir - so as you can see a great teacher line-up, better than most weekenders in fact.

Trouble is the social side of Southport was so good and the standard of dancing so high, nothing can compare with it, so any weekender that closely follows it is going to be an a anti-climax

The classes were very good, the cabaret superb and the evening dancing OK - so two out of three ain't bad, especially when the third is OK :flower:

BTW - I think you guys look really sexy in black tie get up :drool: shame we don't do more of them

Paul F

26th-June-2005, 11:47 PM

Enlighten me please. Personally, I've only ever worn a black tie to funerals but have noticed that other, supposedly more joyous social events, even including dance, stipulate the wearing of a "black tie". Is this shorthand for "smart" or conventional dress or is it to be taken literally and. if so, why oh why on earth why.

:nice: I know what you mean but with the direction of "Dress To Impress" and the fact that we are in Summer Ball season I thought I would go out on a limb and smartify myself (ok, thats not really a word).
Next time i will check! ....... Still it felt good to dress up though.

Banana Man

27th-June-2005, 12:44 AM

I only got down for Sat night this year. It was worth the trip just to see to Nathalie and Yuval :worthy: what an inspirational couple!

Found the main room too hot and busy and terrible to get through due to people standing on the edge of the dancefloor, needs a walkway through.

Southport managed to provide free water, why can't other weekenders?

Spent a lot of time in the swing room, great music from the Sheena Davis Group- shame they didn't play longer.

Well done Greg for going on til 2am in the Blues room, no idea why the other two rooms stopped before this?

Really appreciate all the effort that goes into events like this, but on the whole, disappointed for a long drive and a short night. Would have considered doing the whole weekend, but compared to Southport, I don't think the accomodation and the overall price at MJC is good value, especially when you can dance til 7am 3 nights in a row at Southport.

jockey

27th-June-2005, 03:14 AM

I just went on the Saturday night (thanks for the lift under par).
I found the cabin accomodation a bit lacking last time and my dance partner couldnt make it so I just restricted myself to the one night of freestyle.
The lindy couple showed how you can do lindy in a smooth and sophisticated way and combine great musicality and fabulous aerials; some of the shapes and poses were unparalleled in my 6 years of jiving - I have never used this word beforw but I am going to use it now : AWESOME.
Many of us could have gone on a lot longer..
Thankyou to all my partners on the night; I didnt refuse anyone as usual; the dances were a mixture of nice surprises (including the fair maiden attached to a DJ), usual suspects and the odd disappointing refusal from a teacher...
Is there a more unruffled organiser than Annalise?
I would like to know how people reacted to the fine Americans: jealosy, admiration, incredulity, self doubt, humility, determination to improve (or give up altogether?) - which word(s) best describes your response to their demo?

David Bailey

27th-June-2005, 07:34 AM

Southport managed to provide free water, why can't other weekenders?
I don't mind being charged for water, but I was surprised we weren't allowed in with our own bottles. We were told the Bar queue was something horrendous, so we were organised enough to get water in advance; then had to leave it back in the care :sad:

Well done Greg for going on til 2am in the Blues room, no idea why the other two rooms stopped before this?
Why, what time did they stop then?

:nice: I know what you mean but with the direction of "Dress To Impress" and the fact that we are in Summer Ball season I thought I would go out on a limb and smartify myself
Hmmm, considering all the debate about outfits, if I'd been going on Sat I'd also have assumed a more dressy outfit would be required. But I've noticed that men in general are just totally crap at dressing up; shame, really.

hopefully next time I'll get to chat/dance (depending on the sex) a little more
Well, yes, if it's no good, you'll want to chat/dance instead. My attitude totally. :innocent:

Finally, many, many, thanks to Minnie :worthy: for the wristbands,
:yeah:

and for actually getting David to wear one (albeit temporarily :wink: )
Shhh, no-one was supposed to notice... They weren't easy to wrench off, I have to say - but I've kept it as a momento if that helps :)

Purple Sparkler

27th-June-2005, 10:41 AM

How was it for me?
Two words: F***ING AWESOME!

Though I must say I can't believe only ONE forumite has mentioned the Equador routine! :mad:

Nathalie and Yuval were of course phenomenal, but much kudos to Robert for performing all those lifts with an injured hand.

The performance classes with Nicky and Robert :worthy: :worthy: :worthy: were great fun (highlights included the 'suggestions' for what the team could be doing while N&R performed the bit of the routine that we hadn't had time to learn) and really well taught, and I got a real buzz from doing the cabaret- even the individual Paso Doble and Funky bits. I was lucky enough to have absolutely the best partner I could have had of the men doing the class- the only one who was tall enough that when we did the double lady drop-kick, I didn't crash into his stomach when ducking under his arm. And (I suspect to help me feel comfortable doing it) he explained what I needed to do in the somersault by lifting me up upside down and then holding me there- I figured I'd be fine as there was no chance of him dropping me. He was also great at going through the routine and helping me get into styling it properly (like bending back properly in seducers, which I'm going to work on in freestyle now) I do hope Simon goes ahead with his plan to teach the rest of the routine- I definitely want to learn it! Also can't wait to get the DVD of the weekend (however long it takes)- it'll be nice to have something to show my Nan who's always saying she wishes she could come dancing with me. Plus I got to know Carol better, which was the icing on the cake as Carol is lovely and a fabulous dancer.

I was totally knackered on Sunday morning, and after doing Alina's drops & seducers class (OK, but not memorable I'm afraid after Equador!) I had to go and sleep for a couple of hours. But I was glad I conserved my energy for yet more Nicky and Robert- we've discussed close moves classes elsewhere on the forum and I have to say that N&R would be a good role model for how close moves should be taught- with a lot of humour (referring to the couples who were rotating around as "doing the dance equivalent of Swinging"), and an emphasis on moves that are, as Robert put it "sensual, not sleazy". Nicky gave some great advice on how to keep guys at a distance if they're getting too close (it's all in the elbows, girls!), and I liked the first class's concept of how to make basic moves like the figure 8 more interesting.

But Sunday's biggest thankyou has to go to PeteK, who kindly did the second Close Moves class with me- I was glad I'd grabbed him to be non-rotational with as a) there were a lot of moves I wouldn't have liked to do with some of the guys in the first class and b) we spent a large amount of the class giggling, which is always a good thing in that kind of class. He was also kind enough to practice them with me in many dances together evening (including 'In These Shoes'-it always makes my night to have a good partner for that one, as SilverFox will testify).

I also think I owe you several drinks for putting up with The Tart, Pete! :cheers: :flower:

Quote of the weekend: "You can come up now, Carol!" said by Nicky in Close Moves II during the teaching of The Tart. Any forumites who want to know what it looks like should come to the Jive Bar on Wednesday I think. Tessa and I will be happy to demonstrate it for you (won't we Tessa? :flower: )

Must also say :hug: to Tessalicious and her mum (and her Dad, who I had a lovely dance with)- we worked out some great new lead-steals together.

All in all, a fantastic first ever jive weekender for me. Can't wait to go on another one! :clap: :clap:

David Bailey

27th-June-2005, 10:51 AM

Though I must say I can't believe only ONE forumite has mentioned the Equador routine! :mad:
That's 'coz we're still confused whether it's a routine, a song, a country or indeed an equine event...

I do hope Simon goes ahead with his plan to teach the rest of the routine- I definitely want to learn it!
Holy cr*p, you learnt 5 hours of a routine for a single 4-minute song and there's still more? :eek: X 20

Plus I got to know Carol better, which was the icing on the cake as Carol is lovely and a fabulous dancer.
Carole (picky, moi?) is indeed pretty darned good at what she does.

Quote of the weekend: "You can come up now, Carol!" said by Nicky in Close Moves II during the teaching of The Tart.
Shocking. Truly shocking.

Purple Sparkler

27th-June-2005, 10:58 AM

Holy cr*p, you learnt 5 hours of a routine for a single 4-minute song and there's still more? :eek: X 20

Well, bear in mind that the aerial took most of one hour to make sure we could do it safely, and also that learning moves is always time consuming. I was actually glad that N&R didn't try and make us do the whole routine, but instead took us through things gradually, making sure we went through things properly, and that the final hour was just for people performing the routine, to polish it properly with our partners, decide on formation etc.

Carole (picky, moi?) is indeed pretty darned good at what she does.

Ooops on my spelling. And I think you'll find it's pronounced pedant... :D :flower:

Sparkles

27th-June-2005, 11:21 AM

As someone who couldn't afford another weekender so soon after Southport I decided just to go down for the Saturday night freestyle.
Although I visited all the rooms I definitely found the WCS room to be the best, although it was a little intimidating in there at times. The 'blues room' was too swingy for me (having no lindy experience) and the main room was too pop-y and so packed and hot that trying to dance was practically impossible (especially with people standing on the floor chatting :angry:; sorry for pushing certain forum members out of the way, I didn't mean to be rude but rather protect you from getting trodden on).
There were definitely too many women - and there must have been a large imbalance for it to bother me because usually I just swap and dance as a leader when there are too many.
Having said all of that I did have some lovely dances, the cabaret was simply amazing :worthy:, the MC did a wonderful job, Annalisa was cool as a cucumber and the organisation by the whole team was brilliant.
Thanks to Minnie and Almost an Angel who were most welcoming and helpful on the door.
I'm sorry I didn't get to meet any new forumites, but it was just too crowded!

S. x :flower:

stewart38

27th-June-2005, 11:22 AM

Hi Folks I'm back !

Sheena Davis and her band were awesome, just love their music and there was (for me) enough decent swing dancers to enjoy dancing. However, have to agree with Foxy, there did appear to be more women then men and I spent a lot time searching for men to dance with, or should I say 'fighting'

THE CABARET - it was Natalie & Yuval all the way, amazing :worthy: amazing :worthy: and what a lovely couple too, they were chatting to all of us all day between classes and dancing with us in the evening. They are back at Fleet in August - you MUST come and see them !!!

We mustn't forget Robert & Nicky they were great too, however, even they appeared to be gobsmacked by these two americans

Only attended Saturday, did seem to be a lot more women there so had little rest but a bit of a pity I guess for the girls. The venue /impression its clearly unfair to compare to a South Port /Camber but Id never go there for a weekend me thinks. Main room may have been a bit crowded other rooms were not.

Natalie and Yuval were worth the entrance fee. That have to be booked at South Port or Camber. They were decades and I mean decades ahead of the rest. It wasnt just arials or drops it was their musicality ecverything hence I guess 6 times world dance champs. ps thanks for the dance Natalie :blush:

Its like Chelsea walked on the pitch and all Ive ever seen is Woking reserves and i may be flame but that was the level of difference I saw and I think the auidence knew that as well !!

jivecat

27th-June-2005, 01:26 PM

:yeah: And on Friday we got to see the first half twice :clap: as the music went wrong! :whistle:

I enjoyed it just as much the second time round!

Natalie and Yuvall, and their fabulously entertaining and rigorous classes were the absolute highlight for me. I never seemed to really get going in the freestyles, partly due to the huge excess of ladies on Saturday. Despite the number of different dance rooms I never seemed to find the one I felt at home in.
The Blues room - too slow and couply.
The Pavilion room - too crowded and poppy.
The Swing Room - too scary and full of capable lindy hoppers for me.

Nevertheless, I had lots of lovely dances, many from forumites, special mention to PeteK! And Tessalicious, very impressed by all the outfits, BTW.

The benefit of ending the freestyles at a reasonable hour (there was some disgruntlement at Sat ending at 1:30, instead of the promised 2:00) is that I was up in time, and awake enough to do some proper learning in the classes. This certainly didn't happen at S'Port & Camber. :whistle:

I got a lot out of Natalie & Yuvall's classes, though when I think about them now, my mind's a blank. Oh well, I'm sure the information's still in there somewhere, it's just that the file's been temporarily mislaid! Paul Warden's were also good, after doing his beginner's WCS for the third time I finally have some idea of what he's talking about. :blush:
I also enjoyed Amir's technique class, and :worthy: to the people who cheerfully consented to be chosen to demo the points he was trying to make.

GoJive, the camping was great! I must admit, I was fearing the worst after your post, but everything turned out fine. My new tent is lovely, it never rained a drop, and it was not too dark to put it up on Fri night, even at 10:30. The campsite was secluded, shady and peaceful, the facilities were certainly no worse than the average campsite, and had hot showers on Sunday evening. Best of all, the handful of other campers included a number of friends and acquaintances who helped to make the whole experience thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks, Iain, for guiding me down there on Fri Eve.

In general, I enjoyed myself, and would go again. I think the crucial difference between MJC and the big weekenders (I've only got experience of Camber and S'Port) is that MJC is much friendlier due to the small numbers. Opening the venue to outsiders in the evenings would tend to erode that, though it also widens the pool of dance partners. As many others have commented, the imbalance of men/women on Saturday evening was a problem and possibly could have been avoided be selling equal numbers of men's/women's tickets?

The workshops, IMO, were far better than at the biggies because there were roughly equal numbers of men and women and were usually small enough for the teachers to provide some personal attention to each student. So would recommend MJC for anyone who wanted to do some serious training.

Numbers seemed a little low - could this be because the previous 2 weekends had also had big jive events, and these had mopped up some of the potential custom?

Thanks to Minnie & Almost an Angel for their cheerful and helpful presence on the door, and the lovely wristbands.

LMC

27th-June-2005, 02:04 PM

Though I must say I can't believe only ONE forumite has mentioned the Equador routine! :mad:

Nathalie and Yuval were of course phenomenal, but much kudos to Robert for performing all those lifts with an injured hand.

I have to say that the Ecuador was more "aspirational" in a way - as in "maybe one day I'll be able to do that" (in about 300 years time in my case, better start the Botox injections now). So in some ways more interesting - truly.

Because as a beginner, I couldn't even start to recognise the "craft" in Natalie & Yuval's routine, which was just jaw-dropping. Ecuador was more "accessible" from the 'yes, I can see how that move works' point of view ('framing', weight distribution, etc.).

big :clap: @ PS, throws :flower:

Purple Sparkler

27th-June-2005, 02:08 PM

big :clap: @ PS, throws :flower:
:D
*curtsies*
*picks up flower*
*waves at NewKid*

Danielle

27th-June-2005, 02:39 PM

I only went saturday night (great to see everyone with their forum wristbands on!!!)

all I have to say is Natalie and Yuvall - WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!! There whole dance just oozed with class and style, don't think i've ever seen anything so perfect on the MJ scene before!! :worthy: :worthy:

And well done to Debi and Lynda for working so hard on the door :flower:
And Greg for escaping Sunday afternoon and having a few dances at the T-jive with all of us before dashing back to MJC!! (was upset that i'd missed dancing with you on saturday!!!)

Sheepman

27th-June-2005, 02:46 PM

Well done Greg for going on til 2am in the Blues room, no idea why the other two rooms stopped before this?
Shush! Don't tell anyone, I was only supposed to go on till 12:30!
(After I checked out the crowds in the main room, and the band were only just finishing in the other room, I carried on with some bluesy stuff, and then some more wcs RnB towards the end. But I was being a "dancing DJ" :really: - well, it was voluntary overtime!)

Would stopping people turning up on the evening force them to book the whole weekend or force them to stay away. Southport and Jivetime's closed door weekenders pretty much get people in for the Friday night which immediately secures an atmosphere. Would this work here?
For anyone interested, :what: a little history of MJC from my point of view. I'm sure Minnie will correct any errors.
It was started by Marilene & Simon nine (?) years ago, in Farnham Maltings, which had 4 separate areas for classes and music. It was just a one day event, with perhaps 12 workshops, and the evening entertainment featuring a band in the main hall, plus other music styles in 2 other rooms. It would cater for about 300 to 400 people for the evening, though fewer during the day. The "catchment area" for dancers would probably extend to those fairly local, perhaps up to 50 miles away. The teachers would always be amongst the top UK teachers.

It was an innovative event, and, I think influenced the workshops standards at weekenders.

Due to problems with the Farnham venue, it had to move a few years ago, the move to Bisley, (which has about the same amount of dance space as Farnham, after the addition of a marquee.) This allowed the possibilty of overnight accommodation, but as most of this is of a very basic standard, I don't think it will ever be sold as a "weekender" event in the same way as Camber/Southport/Rock Bottoms. Hence the options to pick and mix parts of the weekend, which wouldn't be available at those other events.

I think it is inevitable that the Saturday night for such an event would be the busiest. I agree this time on Friday night, there wasn't much of a buzz, this surprised me, as last year I only did the Friday night, and the joint was jumping! That didn't stop me having some excellent dances once I'd finished my set, this included plenty of jive/blues in the blues room...
I absolutely adored all the music in the Blues room, but no-one was there! :tears: And the few people who were there seemed to be firmly in the "WCS only" camp, although I'm probably misjudging them. I think that probably depends on when you looked in, up till 11 it was supposed to be wcs.

on Friday we got to see the first half twice :clap: as the music went wrong! :whistle: But that was just the starter, incredible as it was, their cabaret on the Saturday was the "main course" truly amazing. :worthy: :worthy:

I only did 2 classes (I would have liked to have been there to do more). The nightclub 2 step, and Amir's style class, both were excellent, Amir's class was also one of the funniest I've ever done!

I thought the Sunday night atmosphere was good, with comfortable numbers, though I would have liked a few more in the wcs room. It gave people plenty of space to try out what they'd learnt during the day.

Greg

Minnie M

27th-June-2005, 02:56 PM

For those who may be curious (check out the first photo - just as well there was a high ceiling at MJC) :- Natalie & Yuval (http://www.hopswingjump.com/multimedia.html)

there is a video download (well a few actually), but they are rather large

To me what was extra specail about these two, is that they DANCED their lifts and tricks, rather than performing acrobatics :worthy:

David Bailey

27th-June-2005, 03:19 PM

I think that probably depends on when you looked in, up till 11 it was supposed to be wcs.
I wandered in after 11, but it still looked WCS to me - the first woman I asked to dance there asked me "WCS or jive?" which threw me a little, being such a shy and retiring type...

And I'm not sure what I dance is Jive :)

stewart38

27th-June-2005, 03:20 PM

To me what was extra specail about these two, is that they DANCED their lifts and tricks, rather than performing acrobatics :worthy:

Exactly one women said it was just gymnastics it wasnt :mad:

Ive seen gymnasitics performed at Hammersmith champs when the guy stands there and lifts girl up and spins here around and they win get placed ?

This was different thanks for the link

ps did I mention I dance with her ? :whistle: She has two hands and two feet etc :worthy:

Minnie M

27th-June-2005, 03:23 PM

Run out of time to edit the above post

I remember the first time we all saw David & Lily and they were (and still are) amazing and jaw dropping and we haven't seen anyone on their level (there are a few getting there now, with the masters' help) and they too 'danced' their routine, moving smoothly out of one drop or lift onto another move.

BTW N&Y did a dips and tricks class and stressed that the dancing is the most important part and without the dancing it would be just be a couple performing acrobatics.

PS: just seen Stewart's post and he has confirmed some of my post :flower: BTW Stewart is one of the really lucky ones, did he mention he got a dance with Natalie :clap: I got a great dance with Stewart though :flower: (thanks :hug: )

PPS: I will wait for RobC to let you know the MJC history, don't think it has been going as long as 9 years although it is MJC9 as some years there have been more than one, but I think the rest of it is correct. This is the first year they moved the band out of the main hall though - shame as I thought Sheena Davis and her band were amazing and very 'jive-able'

stewart38

27th-June-2005, 03:35 PM

I remember the first time we all saw David & Lily and they were (and still are) amazing and jaw dropping and we haven't seen anyone on their level (there are a few getting there now, with the masters' help) and they too 'danced' their routine, moving smoothly out of one drop or lift onto another move.

PS: just seen Stewart's post and he has confirmed some of my post :flower: BTW Stewart is one of the really lucky ones, did he mention he got a dance with Natalie :clap: I got a great dance with Stewart though :flower: (thanks :hug: )

Yes thanks for dance Minnie I thought the way you put me into that double flip reverse was awsome :wink:

sorry to go on about this couple but Id put them in many leagues ahead of the above

Ecuador was really good by far best routine (complexity) Ive seen for the rank and file at any event.

However as it went on mistakes increased because of that the solo bit was fine

Purple Sparkler

27th-June-2005, 03:46 PM

However as it went on mistakes increased because of that the solo bit was fine

Well we HAD only had 5 hours to learn and rehearse the damn thing! Give us a break! Sorry, but I just feel I have to defend my team-mates on that one.

*is now dreading watching the playback in case all the mistakes were her :tears: *

I didn't compare N&Y to any of the other routines (including Equador) because they're so far ahead of anyone and anything else that I don't think comparison is fair when the other routines were all damn good as far as I was concerned- especially Nicky and Robert, as I hadn't seen that one before, whereas I saw both Will & Kate's and Howard & Nicola's routines at the Champs, so although they were fabulous as before, I wasn't surprised by them in the same way.

Purple Sparkler

27th-June-2005, 03:47 PM

PS- special mention to RoyBoy for the lift. I still owe you a pint! :cheers:

stewart38

27th-June-2005, 03:53 PM

Well we HAD only had 5 hours to learn and rehearse the damn thing! Give us a break! Sorry, but I just feel I have to defend my team-mates on that one.

*is now dreading watching the playback in case all the mistakes were her :tears: *

I didn't compare N&Y to any of the other routines (including Equador) because they're so far ahead of anyone and anything else that I don't think comparison is fair when the other routines were all damn good as far as I was concerned- especially Nicky and Robert, as I hadn't seen that one before, whereas I saw both Will & Kate's and Howard & Nicola's routines at the Champs, so although they were fabulous as before, I wasn't surprised by them in the same way.

Firstly it was the best routine done by the plebs (can I say bleb as ive done them at Camber twice, routines learnt in a few hours) and it was amazing 10 times better then the routines ive been involved in.

It however broke down a bit but it was still far far better then what Ive seen or been in !! If it had been cut by 25% time wise it would have won a award :clap:

Minnie M

27th-June-2005, 04:01 PM

Yes thanks for dance Minnie I thought the way you put me into that double flip reverse was awsome.......
:rofl: mind you the height you threw me, I really didn't think you were going to catch me when I came down landing on your back and then going through your legs AND all in time to the music too - total respect Stewart :whistle:

Purple Sparkler

27th-June-2005, 04:12 PM

Firstly it was the best routine done by the plebs (can I say bleb as ive done them at Camber twice, routines learnt in a few hours) and it was amazing 10 times better then the routines ive been involved in.

It however broke down a bit but it was still far far better then what Ive seen or been in !! If it had been cut by 25% time wise it would have won a award :clap:

But then we wouldn't have been able to do the Somersault! That was my first Aerial! My Mum and my Nan will get to see my legs flipping up in the air, and not in an embarrassing way!

But thanks for the compliment. :flower: I hope one day I'll be good enough to be in a best routine by non-plebs.

alex

27th-June-2005, 04:14 PM

Ive seen gymnasitics performed at Hammersmith champs when the guy stands there and lifts girl up and spins here around and they win get placed ?

I remember the first time we all saw David & Lily and they were (and still are) amazing and jaw dropping and we haven't seen anyone on their level (there are a few getting there now, with the masters' help) and they too 'danced' their routine, moving smoothly out of one drop or lift onto another move.

interesting to get two completely opposite views of the same couple.

personally id rate lily as a better dancer than natalie. im trying to compare david and yuval, but keep laughing at the idea of david doing lindy. can anyone imagine him moving his feet that fast :rofl: :rofl:

alex

Will

27th-June-2005, 04:25 PM

interesting to get two completely opposite views of the same couple.

personally id rate lily as a better dancer than natalie. im trying to compare david and yuval, but keep laughing at the idea of david doing lindy. can anyone imagine him moving his feet that fast :rofl: :rofl:

alex
I'm with Minnie M, and would also agree that Lily is a better dancer than Natalie. When comparing David to Yuval then in terms of dancing Lindy Yuval is way ahead, but in terms of lifts I'm sure both David and Yuval can do lifts that the other can't. I don't know enough about it to say who is better (if that is even possible), but I can say I'm in awe of both of them!

Minnie M

27th-June-2005, 05:45 PM

interesting to get two completely opposite views of the same couple..........
:confused: David & Lily at Hammersmith :confused: certainly not this year, they were judging :whistle:

BTW IMHO Lily is definitely a better dancer than Natalie, she has more style and finesse, no question there.

jivecat

27th-June-2005, 06:22 PM

I forgot to mention - I also especially enjoyed the Lindy Circle cabaret performances. Well done, whoever choreographs those.

Mr Cool

27th-June-2005, 06:46 PM

I'm with Minnie M, and would also agree that Lily is a better dancer than Natalie. When comparing David to Yuval then in terms of dancing Lindy Yuval is way ahead, but in terms of lifts I'm sure both David and Yuval can do lifts that the other can't. I don't know enough about it to say who is better (if that is even possible), but I can say I'm in awe of both of them!

Natallie and Yuval were amazing. Lily is a nice dancer but not in Natalies class. to even mention Yuval in the same sentance as David is sacrilege. :waycool: :waycool: :waycool: :waycool:

alex

27th-June-2005, 06:46 PM

interesting to get two completely opposite views of the same couple.i hope im not putting words into stewart38s mouth. i could remember him commenting (http://www.cerocscotland.com/forum/showthread.php?p=62195#post62195) on david & lily last year, and assumed he was talking about them again. ive been reminded that there was a rock&roll competition years ago at hammersmith where people were doing double somersaults, and stewart could have meant this :blush:

Minnie M

27th-June-2005, 07:18 PM

Natallie and Yuval were amazing. Lily is a nice dancer but not in Natalies class. to even mention Yuval in the same sentance as David is sacrilege. :waycool: :waycool: :waycool: :waycool:
hmmm.........
Natalie is a competant and very good Lindy dancer - end of ........

Lily can follow most styles of dance and does it with such grace and style - don't think you can make a comparison.

I also believe Natalie is an ex-champ gymnast, also she is a professional dancer, therefore in training 24/7

Yuval is an amazing dancer and he is the skill behind their performances 100% and once again you have to take into consideraton that they are professional teachers and have been for many years.

If David & Lily spent all their time training (giving up their day jobs that etc) and went on the Pro circuit, IMO I'm sure they could give Natalie and Yuval a good run for their money :worthy:

David Bailey

27th-June-2005, 08:23 PM

Simon

27th-June-2005, 09:23 PM

I forgot to mention - I also especially enjoyed the Lindy Circle cabaret performances. Well done, whoever choreographs those.
They were great. :nice: Really enjoyed the "Watch the Birdie" routine. I hope I'm still dancing with as much gusto as their eldest chap when I've reached his age. :worthy:

Minnie M

27th-June-2005, 09:28 PM

They were great. :nice: Really enjoyed the "Watch the Birdie" routine. I hope I'm still dancing with as much gusto as their eldest chap when I've reached his age. :worthy:
That was Dennis, and he is an amazing dancer, he is as good at most dances as he is at Lindy and a dream to dance with AND a really really nice chap too.

Purple Sparkler

28th-June-2005, 09:56 AM

You did it! :eek: You mentioned them in the same breath!

SACRILEDGE!!

Burn her!

( :flower: )

PS-Now, what do we do with Minnies?
DavidJames- BURN THEM!
PS- And what else burns APART from Minnies?
DavidJames- MORE MINNIES!
Will- Er...Wood?
PS- So, why do Minnies burn?
Will- Because they're made of wood?
PS- Good!

David Franklin

28th-June-2005, 10:01 AM

If David & Lily spent all their time training (giving up their day jobs that etc) and went on the Pro circuit, IMO I'm sure they could give Natalie and Yuval a good run for their money :worthy:I think this has all got a bit silly, but for what it's worth, I would say David and Lily are better at the acrobatics than Yuval and Natalie. D/L are world class in theater arts, whereas Y/N are a bit behind the top R'n'R couples (who would stick an extra salto in the death dive! :eek: ). And don't forget D/L did compete internationally in R'n'R (a long while ago).

On the other hand, Y/N are better swing dancers, but then D/L do a lot of styles - they came 4th in the US Open Cabaret dancing a Rumba.

But both are exceptional couples, who set standards in their respective disciplines the rest of us can only aspire to. On which basis, any talk of "don't deserve to be described in the same breath" is, frankly, ridiculous.

stewart38

28th-June-2005, 10:35 AM

I think this has all got a bit silly, but for what it's worth, I would say David and Lily are better at the acrobatics than Yuval and Natalie. D/L are world class in theater arts, whereas Y/N are a bit behind the top R'n'R couples (who would stick an extra salto in the death dive! :eek: ). And don't forget D/L did compete internationally in R'n'R (a long while ago).

On the other hand, Y/N are better swing dancers, but then D/L do a lot of styles - they came 4th in the US Open Cabaret dancing a Rumba.

But both are exceptional couples, who set standards in their respective disciplines the rest of us can only aspire to. On which basis, any talk of "don't deserve to be described in the same breath" is, frankly, ridiculous.

There not even in the same ball park to compare the two in the same breath is bit like comparing chelsea with the 4th Malden Air Scouts

Both play football that is where the similarity ends :mad:

Will

28th-June-2005, 11:04 AM

But both are exceptional couples, who set standards in their respective disciplines the rest of us can only aspire to. On which basis, any talk of "don't deserve to be described in the same breath" is, frankly, ridiculous.
:yeah:

Lindsay

28th-June-2005, 11:11 AM

I forgot to mention - I also especially enjoyed the Lindy Circle cabaret performances. Well done, whoever choreographs those.

Dan & Christi Guest :worthy:

You can download Nat & Yuval's routine here: http://www.hopswingjump.com/videos/KC_still.jpg

SilverFox

28th-June-2005, 11:28 AM

I think you mean:

http://www.hopswingjump.com/videos/kc2.mpg :flower:

David Franklin

28th-June-2005, 11:36 AM

There not even in the same ball park to compare the two in the same breath is bit like comparing chelsea with the 4th Malden Air ScoutsSo, in the red corner, we have:

The judges at the World Exhibition Championships, who ranked David and Lily 3rd in the world.
The organisers at the Blackpool Open (premier dance event in the world bar none), who invited David and Lily as one of only 8 couples in the world to compete.
The judges at the US Open, who placed David/Lily 4th in Cabaret and Yuval/Natalie 3rd in Showcase.

And in the blue corner, we have:

Stewart38 - whose 'judging' at JiveMasters were so great he had to retract it:

I agree my telephone comment was silly and stupid and I apologised for that and acknowledged you can’t compare a show case to this.Aside: so why are you comparing David/Lily dancing freestyle at Hammersmith to Yuval/Natalie doing a showcase...?

Now we really have a contest where one side is totally outclassed...

Paul F

28th-June-2005, 03:02 PM

Personal request

Sorry to deviate off topic but I have a request to make.

During the MJC Catriona Wiles handed out flyers for, I think, a workshop going on at some point in London.

The flyer had her email address on it. I dont suppose anyone would happen to have that email address would they :confused:

David Bailey

28th-June-2005, 03:14 PM

PS-Now, what do we do with Minnies?
DavidJames- BURN THEM!
PS- And what else burns APART from Minnies?
DavidJames- MORE MINNIES!
Will- Er...Wood?
PS- So, why do Minnies burn?
Will- Because they're made of wood?
PS- Good!
OK, that one just flew way over my head, I assume it's some reference to this popular culture you Earthlings partake in?

Or, putting it another way, :eek: :what: :confused:

David Bailey

28th-June-2005, 03:15 PM

On which basis, any talk of "don't deserve to be described in the same breath" is, frankly, ridiculous.
:eek: BURN HIM TOO!!!

LMC

28th-June-2005, 07:33 PM

:eek: BURN HIM TOO!!!

For goodness sake, you made me burn the popcorn, shouting like that :mad:

(it's in the green corner if anyone wants some)

Nice Holy Grail ref PS :wink:

Mr Cool

28th-June-2005, 07:54 PM

I forgot to mention - I also especially enjoyed the Lindy Circle cabaret performances. Well done, whoever choreographs those.

Sorry jive cat I hate the routines by the lindy circle. they potray a side of Savoy style lindy that is far too comical, bouncy and kicky. It doesnt suprise me that Dan and chrisity choreographed it. I think they will be the death of lindy and balboa. Dance of whatever style should be smooth not akin to The circus give me smooth swing everytime, :waycool: :waycool: :waycool: :waycool:

Minnie M

28th-June-2005, 08:27 PM

Burn her!
:tears: :tears:

jivecat

28th-June-2005, 11:43 PM

Sorry jive cat I hate the routines by the lindy circle. they potray a side of Savoy style lindy that is far too comical, bouncy and kicky. It doesnt suprise me that Dan and chrisity choreographed it. I think they will be the death of lindy and balboa. Dance of whatever style should be smooth not akin to The circus give me smooth swing everytime, :waycool: :waycool: :waycool: :waycool:

If I was doing it, I'd prefer smooth. However, if I'm watching it, I think comical is fine. They set out to entertain and they sure did. The bounciness was part of the humour.

Purple Sparkler

29th-June-2005, 09:55 AM

OK, that one just flew way over my head, I assume it's some reference to this popular culture you Earthlings partake in?

Or, putting it another way, :eek: :what: :confused:

Was about to explain and then I saw this:

Nice Holy Grail ref PS

Glad someone spotted it! I was worried it was going to turn out like trying to explain 'big fish little fish cardboard box' to Carole on Saturday. Lesson? Never assume your popcultural references will be understood.

Tessalicious

29th-June-2005, 11:07 AM

I can't believe I only just spotted this thread! A few days late I know, but time for my contribution:

First of all, in general I had an absolutely fab time at MJC. It was my first full dance weekender so I can't easily compare it to any other, but I thought the balance of different types of workshops and different styles of teaching were great. The best workshops for me were, well all of them to be honest (although close moves classes can get a little uncomfortable if the only men in the rotational part of the class are the ones that no-one would want to stick with, with only a couple of exceptions). The only two bad points were
a) being yelled at by the gorgeous Yuval ("what the hell do you think you're doing trying to lead in my lindy class, you silly girl" or something to that effect - well, I'm sorry, but I'd actually quite like to be able to dance the whole time rather than me and two other women having to sit out) but he made up for it later by teaching me the lambada :drool:
and b) Paul Warden spending the whole of the Sunday night freestyle teaching Robert Winter WCS when they had both promised me a dance :(

I'll agree with previous comments that the three freestyle evenings were very different - Friday night was a bit slow for some reason even though there were quite a few people there by the time I got there, Saturday night was heaving and a little like dancing in an oven but with some fantastic dancers and lots of new people (at least for me they were new :blush: ), while Sunday night was much more empty (partly due to exhaustion and partly the fact there was no hot water in the hotel so several people hadn't been able to have a shower that day and kindly decided not to inflict themselves on everyone else) but actually ended up being great fun, because there was plenty of space to, um, express ourselves.

And talking about expression - :worthy: to everyone involved in all the cabarets - the Ecuador routine was great to watch and would have been wonderful to be involved in if there hadn't been just so many other things to do, but you guys did a fab job learning all that in such a short time! Will & Kate's fab routine never fails to take my breath away (how does she manage to be so elegant whilst doing all those spins and drops?), Natalie and Yuval were just astounding in all three of their routines, Nicky and Robert proved with style and sass that Aussie moves are the way forward, and Howard and Nicola were just plain sexy (love the hat btw guys). The Lindy Circle cabarets were fun and entertaining (and I have to disagree with Mr Cool here, Charleston isn't supposed to be smooth, so they had the style just right) but, IMHO, not quite as tidy and together as they could have been for a perfect pro cabaret act. But seriously, I think the cabarets could only have been better if David and Lily B had been there, or if Adam and Tas hadn't been prevented from performing by injury ( :hug: ).

Just one last thing - the people at MJC were great. Although a few people weren't there who would have been the icing on the cake, the general crowd were all wonderful (Purple Sparkler, SimonSays, PeteK, Minnie M, Almost an Angel, Paul F, Sheepman, jivecat, NaturalMystic and anyone else I've forgotten) and the extras that turned up for the freestyles were lovely too (nice to finally meet underpar and Lory, as well as ashamed that I hadn't already, and good to see Sparkles, Bananaman and DavidJames). But I'm sad that I didn't meet djtrev, spindr, NewKid, Simon or jockey - next time, I must seek out more of the unknown!

Anyway, to all of you that were there, thanks for making it a wicked weekend!

spindr

29th-June-2005, 01:03 PM

"Hmmm, MJC", I thought, "Well, I didn't go to Southport -- and it's been fun in the past.

So, there's only a fortnight to go -- better book up soon -- let's have a look at the classes. Skip the jive ones -- I can learn the first move aadvark or whatever this year's exciting move is at most places -- let's see what else there is.

Ah, there's a couple of salsa ones (great a teacher I haven't seen before, but hey it's MJC they *must* be reasonable), and one on warming up (shame it clashes with nightclub two-step, but I did that last year) -- and I can fill in the gaps with some Lindy and WCS."

Two weeks later -- just about to wander up for the Friday dance. Quick check on the website for times, etc. suddenly notice that *all* the salsa classes had disappeared, as had the class on warming up. No warning, nothing. Arrgggghhh!

Turn up at Bisley "spitting feathers" -- in a foul mood! Then get told that my payment hadn't turned up -- which is strange, as I paid two weeks earlier in cash, at the (original) organising venue -- just as well that I'd asked for a receipt.

Got told that I should have got an email (implication being it's my fault I didn't) -- that the salsa teacher cancelled at the last minute -- and that no replacements could be found.

Not impressed -- and heading rapidly down the I want a full refund route -- except I've planned to be dancing all w/end, and booked extra days off after, and hoping to bump in to a few visiting forumites, etc. Am persuaded that I should do the rest of the weekend.

Apologies to those that got caught in the crossfire.

I'd still be fuming if it wasn't for the fact that Paul's Friday WCS class was calming and that the Lindy classes with Y+N were great.

Guess the weekend ended up mostly even for me -- which is a shame, 'cause previously MJC's been one of the local highlights.

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Things I've learnt:
1). Always get a receipt when you book.
2). Classes don't only get rearranged -- sometimes even complete dance styles can disappear for a weekender's itinerary.

It does occur to me that "Sorry, the teacher cancelled at the last minute." -- could either mean "We didn't bother to check any references about their reliability" or could possibly mean "Sorry, we decided to save money and cancel a class that we didn't think would be popular" -- although maybe neither of these apply in this case.

Strange tho', 'cause I know that there are two Salsa teachers who'd have been driving straight past Bisley from London to Southampton on Sunday night -- guess that they must have been busy earlier in the day.

I have a feeling that rearranging / consolidating classes might become more common, as more weekenders try to chase more punters.

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Would I recommend MJC?
Absolutely yes, if you're after a good general weekends classes/dancing (well, ok maybe just the Saturday one).

However, if you're after specific classes then I suggest that you leave your booking until the real schedules are available -- which might mean booking on the day itself.

Things that could be improved:
1). Maybe ask on the booking form which are your top three classes you want -- at least that way there'll be a record of who to contact if/when things change -- hey and maybe a hint to the DJs as well.
2). Keep the website up to date -- and emphasize that any schedule on it is preliminary -- at the moment there's no such message (there is in the booking form, tho'). Oh and don't say that there'll be music for latin dances, if there isn't :) (Kudos to Greg for listening to Craig David for me.)

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SpinDr.

P.S. If anyone should ever be after reliable salsa teachers in Hampshire/Surrey -- I'd personally recommend getting in touch with www.justdance.net or www.tracieslatinclub.co.uk

Tessalicious

29th-June-2005, 01:33 PM

Oh and one last thing I obviously should have mentionned - thanks a bunch to Sheepy for keeping the swing room going even though it wasn't as busy as some might have liked (every time I walked past a song I love was playing, but I was too nervous to join in having never done WCS before this weekend), and for giving me an fantastic first WCS dance as a lady (me that is not him).

Msfab

29th-June-2005, 04:13 PM