Dance Jams

[Minnie M]

I have just come back from a Lindy weekend, and one of the freestyle highlights is a dancing jam :-

It starts when a couple of really good dancers start showing off, then a crowd forms around them watching, suddenly most of the other dancers join this circle watching these two dancers doing their stuff, after a about 30 secs they leave the centre of attention and another couple take the limelight, and so on..... sometimes a single dancer takes the 'stage' meanwhile everyone else cheers and claps -it only lasts for one or maybe two tracks but it is great entertainment and fun if you have the courage to participate

Why don't we try this in Modern Jive, our dancers are just as good and competant as the Lindy dancers and can show off just as much :whistle:

[djtrev]

Quote from MinnieM
[I]I have just come back from a Lindy weekend..............It starts when a couple of really good dancers start showing off,.................Why don't we try this in Modern Jive[/


Sorry Minnie but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

This idea of "showing off" has come up before.Its bad enough with hotshots and dancefloor perimeter dancers.This whole idea of dancing to the audience and showing off how good you think you are, really does get on my wick.

[Paul F]

Hmmmm.....
Well it worked on 'Dirty Dancing 2' so its possible :D

Instead of the King and Queen of 'La Rose Negra' you could be the King and Queen of Ashtons!


(if you havnt seen the film, sorry :blush: )

[RogerR]

There are those who think they are good enough and those who are!

I once saw Ryan F just tap dancing to himself - up and down a staircase and banister. Made the bit in The Tango Lesson look tame. Ryan was just psyching himself up before teaching a class before most of the punters arrived.

[Minnie M]

There are those who think they are good enough and those who are!
:yeah: that's what the jam is all about, doesn't matter if you ARE good or you THINK you are good, it is still part of it - the dancer(s) could be jiving / body poppin / street dancing or even disco dancing for their 30 secs...

Mind you djtrev is right, it does give the poser a chance to show off :rolleyes: but so what, the whole thing only lasts one or two tracks :cool:

[Anna]

Sounds a lot like something that happens at a lot of teenage parties/school socials out here... some happy character will decide to start a "circle" and pretty much exactly what u described (people in and out of the circle doin their thing) goes on.. except its hip hop, not lindy or ceroc. It's great fun though..

we had one at a Salsa place here the other night and i battled this guy Manuel in the "circle", now that was fun :waycool:

thats the next step of circles, battles :yum: they're for showing off your moves but its more like a mutual appreciation thing rather than trying to look better than the other person.. still has the same playful competitiveness though :clap:

[MartinHarper]

I like birthday jams, and I think they'd work well in an MJ setting. Birthday boy/girl stands in the center of a ring of available partners, and tries to dance with all of them over the course of a song.

I thought part of the point of freestyle jams was to get some safe space to do moves that would normally be too dangerous for a social dancefloor. Given the concerns people express over dips and drops in freestyle, maybe this would help?

[Donna]

I have just come back from a Lindy weekend, and one of the freestyle highlights is a dancing jam :-

It starts when a couple of really good dancers start showing off, then a crowd forms around them watching, suddenly most of the other dancers join this circle watching these two dancers doing their stuff, after a about 30 secs they leave the centre of attention and another couple take the limelight, and so on..... sometimes a single dancer takes the 'stage' meanwhile everyone else cheers and claps -it only lasts for one or maybe two tracks but it is great entertainment and fun if you have the courage to participate

Why don't we try this in Modern Jive, our dancers are just as good and competant as the Lindy dancers and can show off just as much :whistle:

Minnie this is a fab idea...a bit like the Run DMC video!! Plus it will make a change from doing the snowball. :grin:

[Donna]

Quote from MinnieM
[I]I have just come back from a Lindy weekend..............It starts when a couple of really good dancers start showing off,.................Why don't we try this in Modern Jive[/


Sorry Minnie but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

This idea of "showing off" has come up before.Its bad enough with hotshots and dancefloor perimeter dancers.This whole idea of dancing to the audience and showing off how good you think you are, really does get on my wick.

Ahhh come on Djtrev. Everyone shows off but like Anna said...it's more like a mutual appreciation thing and it's a competitive game. No harm. You should give it a go!!! :D

[Gus]

they're for showing off your moves but its more like a mutual appreciation thing rather than trying to look better than the other person.. still has the same playful competitiveness though :clap:Well said. I think that the time for accepting that some dancers ARE GOOD and ARE WORTH WATCHING is well overdue. As long as it was just for a short period during the night this Jam could be a great concept. At Jango and T-Jive I probably spend as much time watching dnacers doing really cool stuff as I do dancing. Why doesn't someone give it a blast and see if it works.

[David Bailey]

Well said. I think that the time for accepting that some dancers ARE GOOD and ARE WORTH WATCHING is well overdue.
Yeeeesss.... but in my opinion, only if "worth watching" mean "fun to watch" rather than "you'll learn stuff from them".

Beyond a certain level, the "stuff" that makes an advanced dancer good is the inherent style they have developed through a lot of effort and practice, sometimes exclusively with a particular partner. So the amount you can learn from watching them is limited - probably much less than you'll learn from dancing with them.

For example, I spent a dance watching a guy at a salsa venue last night - he was a superb dancer, lovely and smooth, effortless in fact (the b***tard :( ), had totally mastered the cross-body style, made it flow. I learnt very little from that, except that I need to work more on my salsa.

Hmmm, I've just worked it out - I think this is why I prefer dancing to watching competitions or exhibitions. Well, well...

[Lynn]

Beyond a certain level, the "stuff" that makes an advanced dancer good is the inherent style they have developed through a lot of effort and practice, sometimes exclusively with a particular partner. So the amount you can learn from watching them is limited - probably much less than you'll learn from dancing with them. As a follow, style is the reason I watch other dancers. I'm not really going to learn any new moves but I think I both consciously and unconsiously pick up styling tips by watching women with lovely style. (By unconsciously I mean I'm not even aware of it, often till someone else comments). I hope that I'm developing my own style this way, but certainly watching other stylish dancers has an input for me.

[Donna]

As a follow, style is the reason I watch other dancers. I'm not really going to learn any new moves but I think I both consciously and unconsiously pick up styling tips by watching women with lovely style. (By unconsciously I mean I'm not even aware of it, often till someone else comments). I hope that I'm developing my own style this way, but certainly watching other stylish dancers has an input for me.

It's very important to develop your own style anyway, certainly if you're a competitive dancer but then I definately do learn new moves off by watching other women but I alter it to make it my own. :grin:

[djtrev]

Quote from Gus
I think that the time for accepting that some dancers ARE GOOD and ARE WORTH WATCHING

I have no problem with that,in fact while at Camber and Southport I took note of about half a dozen guys;who incidently I had never seen before; who I thought were really good dancers.I have subsequently found out that two of them were in the top three at a recent competition and that a couple of the others were teachers.
The point being that if you are good enough you will be noticed.
Its the,look at me,put on a show,ignore your partner type of show off that I dont like.

[Mary]

I believe the dance jam is a long-established tradition in Lindy and looks like great fun. Adds to the party atmosphere I think.

At bognor this year I was amongst a group of about 4 couples (on a fairly crowded dancefloor) and had an impromptu partner-swapping thing during one track - it was great fun (Simon r is wicked for this sort of thing :clap: ). I think these are the kind of fun and games kind of thing that are missing at dance venues. The beauty of it is that none of it is organised or staged in any way. The closest we ever get is the birthday jam, and how many places do that - never seen it at a Ceroc venue btw. :devil:

M

[Donna]

I believe the dance jam is a long-established tradition in Lindy and looks like great fun. Adds to the party atmosphere I think.

At bognor this year I was amongst a group of about 4 couples (on a fairly crowded dancefloor) and had an impromptu partner-swapping thing during one track - it was great fun (Simon r is wicked for this sort of thing :clap: ). I think these are the kind of fun and games kind of thing that are missing at dance venues. The beauty of it is that none of it is organised or staged in any way. The closest we ever get is the birthday jam, and how many places do that - never seen it at a Ceroc venue btw. :devil:

M

Too right!! Bring more fun and games into ceroc!!!!