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View Full Version : If it was your venue, what would you do?



Keith
16th-September-2005, 12:39 AM
If you could choose what happened on a normal dance night, what would you want to see? :eek:
Lessons; Longer, shorter, different types, ie Specialist areas, not just other forms of dance, besides the normal lessons with 3 or 4 Int/Adv moves
Opening & closing times
Freestyle time v Lesson time
Door policy
Freebies, water, ice cream
Music, type of play-lists
More helpers or less, helpers in other roles, doing other jobs, ie teaching beginners?
Cabaret
Videos with dance or dance related films playing
Lets let our minds wonder off & see if any Companies take notice :cheers:

TiggsTours
16th-September-2005, 09:54 AM
Good question, and about time somebody asked it really!

My thoughts on the subject:

Beginners Lesson - I think this is just about right, pitched at the right level, and about the right length already, so I don't think I'd change anything there.

Intermediate Lesson - I think this could be a bit shorter (in moves) but the same length of time, does anyone ever actually come away from an intermediate class feeling they've learnt all the moves right, and will use them all?

Review classes - These are such a bonus, keeps the beginners entertained while the intermediate class is on, and helps them to learn too. I do think somethings missing though, and this is something that is mentioned to me every week at the venue I taxi at. Its a really huge leap from beginners to intermediate, and there needs to be something in between. Alot of guys (in particular) find they really struggle to ever get out of beginners because of it. For example, mentioned to me yesterday, moves are often taught and the teacher will say "this is a variation on the pretzel, or the sway" all very good when these 2 moves used to be taught in beginners class, but they are not anymore, and haven't been for some time. A suggestion would be that intermediate moves are based on the beginners moves taught that evening, or that another review class takes place (in venues with the space) where the beginners class + 1 intermediate, or the linking moves to intermediate, are taught.

Taxi dancers - Moves nicely on. I know its difficult, but I think each venue should have 2 leaders & 2 followers every night. I also think believe, very strongly, that follower taxi dancers should NEVER go into the beginners class as a leader! Its the leaders that (generally) need more help, what good is it if the female taxi dancer is standing in as a man to make up the numbers! There's nothing to stop a female taxi dancer taking the leaders part when she's standing in the line-up, but she should ALWAYS circulate in the class to dance with the men.

Taxi rank - This is an idea I've seen work really well at other venues is the past. Taxi dancers out there, how often have you been desperately searching for a beginner to dance with in freestyle, and they're all hiding!? Happens all the time! If there is an area in the room that beginners know that taxi dancers will always congregate in when free, or return to, in order to find them, they are easily found.

Opening & closing times - I think this is OKish, I think 7:45 for the start of the beginners class is about right, lesson till 8:15, freestyle till 8:30, class 8:30 - 9:45 (would extend this one a bit) freestyle 9:45 - 11:45, that would be about right I think.

Freebies - from a punters perspective, free water sounds great! but to be honest (picked up on this on a conversation on another forum) its not really practicle. Most venues would not survive on door takings alone, so need the revenue from the bar, most dancers only drink water, so giving free water would take this revenue, venues would be forced to either hike up their prices (defeats the issue) or close down! Free mints, as mentioned on another thread (can't remember who, but well done!) is a great idea though! Who wants to dance with Mr/Mrs Garlic breath really!?

Music - Always a difficult one, everybody likes different stuff, but there should be a good mix of everything, in order to suit all tastes. The DJ should be catering to the customer, not to their own taste.

Cabaret - Not on a freestyle night! More dancing please!

Videos with dance or dance related films playing - That wpuld be nice, on the front desk when you enter would be good.

That's all from me, think I've said enough really. Good thread! :worthy:

bigdjiver
16th-September-2005, 11:15 AM
"Free" water - Ceroc should pay for it, and include it in admission.
Bring your own mints, choccys, whatever.
3 Move intermediate class
Closing times? Who needs closing times?

Bex
16th-September-2005, 11:41 AM
"Free" water - Ceroc should pay for it, and include it in admission.


I think TiggsTours summed it up in her post under 'Freebies'. The venue owners need to make a certain amount of revenue on the bar otherwise they'll just continue to hike up the hall hire charges, which eventually gets passed on to the paying punters unfortunately!!

We get constant complaints from one of our venues in particular when people bring their own drinks with them too :( .

But we do get mints and sweetie's!!! :clap:

Have also heard of another venue who provides deoderant in the mens and ladies loo's :worthy: , that's smell has gotta be worse than garlic breath!

Jooles
16th-September-2005, 11:52 AM
I think it would be a good idea if venues advertised a time structure and stuck to it. It drives me crazy in south west London when the teacher just finishes a class when he or she feels like it.

I also think a teacher should be MORE than encouraged to stay after the class and dance with as many as they can. At the moment I think ceroc would tell you that a teacher IS encouraged to stay on, but, in my experience, many don't bother.

As for the water issue, I always feel that if the event is being held in a venue with a proper bar then I don't mind paying for water. After all if I was there as a punter on a regular dance night, I wouldn't expect to get glasses of water free all night. However, when it's held in a scout hut or church hall or the like, then I think the water should be free. I assume, possibly wrongly, that these venues are less expensive to hire and therefore it's just ceroc who are lining their pockets selling bottled water and not the venue.

Lynn
16th-September-2005, 12:03 PM
If you could choose what happened on a normal dance night, what would you want to see? :eek: I would like to see a teacher! I do all the rest of the stuff myself, booking venue, setting up, music, drinks, door, contact list - all with the help of other NI dancers ( :hug: ). The one thing I don't have is a teacher - so no regular class :tears:

latinlover
16th-September-2005, 12:23 PM
I also think a teacher should be MORE than encouraged to stay after the class and dance with as many as they can. At the moment I think ceroc would tell you that a teacher IS encouraged to stay on, but, in my experience, many don't bother.

.


:yeah:
I remember as a beginner feeling really great if I could get to dance with the teacher (or the demonstrator)
these guys are the figureheads of ceroc as far as beginners are concerned and I think the more approachable they are the more successful the venue will be

spindr
16th-September-2005, 12:54 PM
"Greeters" at the door
================
If you turn up at a new venue it's great to get someone to introduce you to the format -- point out the bar, other facilities, etc. Rather than *just* take your money and leave you to your own devices -- especially if there are several options / levels. In fact the "greeters" should probably be the taxi dancers :)

Name badges for staff
=================
'Nuff said.

Run classes concurrently
===================
The best classes I know run the beginners / improvers / intermediates concurrently -- you get twice as much teaching for your money. And there's less pressure to jump levels.

Bar and drinks machine
=================
Always great if there's a soft drinks vending machine about -- especially if you miss last orders.

Teachers that dance with beginners
===========================
It's great if the teacher makes a point of getting the beginners to dance their first dance with the other dancers *AND* dances with a beginner themselves.

TiggsTours
16th-September-2005, 01:29 PM
In fact the "greeters" should probably be the taxi dancers :)
Certainly when I taxiied at Twickenham, we were asked to help out with greeting new beginners, and I do try to hang around near the desk at Ashtons when I'm there, to help out when I can. I agree, that if a taxi dancer is there before class starts, it would be good if they can do this, and also helps them to meet the beginners, and beginners to meet them, before things even get started.

That said, most of us work right, and 7:30 is VERY early, if you have to travel home, eat, shower, change and then travel to the venue, we can't always make it in time! I think it should be an "if you're there in time please help out" rather than an expected duty.



Name badges for staff
=================
'Nuff said.
Seeing as that would include me, hate the idea, but yeah, you're right.

Run classes concurrently OK if venues have the space, but most don't. Also, a key thing for helping some people to get through a class and learn is having people who are at a higher level in the class helping them out. I do think that people should be encouraged to stay in beginners until a taxi dancer suggests they try intermediate though, bit controversial, I know.[/QUOTE]


Bar and drinks machine
:yeah:

Teachers that dance with beginners
:yeah: :yeah: The venue I started at, the teacher made a point of always dancing with beginners on their first night, then again about 6 weeks later, he would then spend some time with them, telling them what the needed to do to improve, and praising them too! A teacher, after all, should spend sime time with students on an individual basis, not just run a class.


I would like to see a teacher! I do all the rest of the stuff myself, booking venue, setting up, music, drinks, door, contact list - all with the help of other NI dancers ( ). The one thing I don't have is a teacher - so no regular class
Ever thought of learning to be a teacher yourself? You're obviously very dedicated.

ChrisA
16th-September-2005, 01:29 PM
Run classes concurrently
===================
The best classes I know run the beginners / improvers / intermediates concurrently -- you get twice as much teaching for your money. And there's less pressure to jump levels.
Huh??? :confused: :confused: :confused:

How does that follow?

If the classes run concurrently, you can only go to one of them. How is that more teaching for your money, unless they're twice as long as they would be if they ran consecutively? And I'd have thought there was more pressure to jump levels - rather than do both beginners and intermediates.

dance cat
16th-September-2005, 02:11 PM
I also think a teacher should be MORE than encouraged to stay after the class and dance with as many as they can. At the moment I think ceroc would tell you that a teacher IS encouraged to stay on, but, in my experience, many don't bother.
:yeah: :yeah:
Ah yes. The bane of my life. Teachers should be on duty for the whole of the evening going round as many people as possible because then they will get a better idea of how effective their teaching is.(Rant over)
Music is a big issue for me too. Variety is after all the spice of life.
(Rant back on)And for my other big issue-please, please, please-more style, musicality, information on how the move should feel etc would be a big improvement rather than the fascination with how many drops can be taught in a class as a mark of 'an experienced dancer'. I am fed up with my back being hurt by people who have been taught a drop in a lesson and think they'll practise it on everyone they dance with. This is after I have clearly told them I don't do drops. Surely teaching drops in a class where you can't see how everyone is doing it is not safe. I have nothing against learning drops because they look fantastic when done correctly but I think this could be something that is offered in smaller groups like the specialist areas Keith mentioned in his post.
Oh and finally no cabaret please
(Sorry misbehaving computer induced rant- normalish service will resume soon I hope :tears: )

TiggsTours
16th-September-2005, 02:21 PM
And for my other big issue-please, please, please-more style, musicality, information on how the move should feel etc would be a big improvement rather than the fascination with how many drops can be taught in a class.
:yeah: One of my biggest pet complaints is that classes are always about the lead! No wonder women beginners end up leading themselves through moves, when they are not being taught how to follow the move, just how to "do" it!

Russell Saxby
16th-September-2005, 03:45 PM
Opening & closing times - I think this is OKish, I think 7:45 for the start of the beginners class is about right, lesson till 8:15, freestyle till 8:30, class 8:30 - 9:45 (would extend this one a bit) freestyle 9:45 - 11:45, that would be about right I think.

11.45pm .... a typo????

spindr
16th-September-2005, 03:48 PM
How does that follow?

If the classes run concurrently, you can only go to one of them. How is that more teaching for your money, unless they're twice as long as they would be if they ran consecutively? And I'd have thought there was more pressure to jump levels - rather than do both beginners and intermediates.

You turn up: you do beginners part #1, improvers part #2, or intermediate part#1
You have a break / mini-freestyle
You continue the class you were in and do part#2
You all freestyle together afterwards.

SpinDr.

spindr
16th-September-2005, 03:50 PM
Certainly when I taxiied at Twickenham, we were asked to help out with greeting new beginners, and I do try to hang around near the desk at Ashtons when I'm there, to help out when I can. I agree, that if a taxi dancer is there before class starts, it would be good if they can do this, and also helps them to meet the beginners, and beginners to meet them, before things even get started.
It's not just beginners -- if the class is offering choices, then they need to be explained to any one new who turns up, not just beginners. E.g. a certain Ealing venue used to have classes downstairs, as well as up -- but there wasn't any indication about them, unless you were in the know.

SpinDr.

TiggsTours
16th-September-2005, 03:57 PM
It's not just beginners -- if the class is offering choices, then they need to be explained to any one new who turns up, not just beginners. E.g. a certain Ealing venue used to have classes downstairs, as well as up -- but there wasn't any indication about them, unless you were in the know.

SpinDr.
A-ha! I think the "certain Ealing venue" is not a Ceroc venue, and does not have taxi dancers.

Taxi dancers are there for the beginners, why should we be expected to deal with everybody else too?

TiggsTours
16th-September-2005, 04:00 PM
11.45pm .... a typo????
no, just thought it was obvious I meant pm, you didn't query my 7:45, 8:15, 8:30 or 9:00. I was just using the 12 hour clock, not 24 hr, and didn't include the am or pm as I would have thought we could all work that one out.

Russell Saxby
16th-September-2005, 04:33 PM
no, just thought it was obvious I meant pm, you didn't query my 7:45, 8:15, 8:30 or 9:00. I was just using the 12 hour clock, not 24 hr, and didn't include the am or pm as I would have thought we could all work that one out.

:confused: I was not querying AM or PM just the finish time an evening that starts at 7.45pm and goes onto 11.45pm.

Not sure how many venues would allow the evening to go on that late, and if they did they the hall hire would probably increase.

On top of that don't think many organisers would want to be still clearing up gone midnight on a worknight - I for one have work the next morning.

Pie in the sky, but I guess it is a wish list..top of mine would be a page 3 girl taking :drool: ... sorry forgetting myself, thought I was on the other forum.

Sounds to me this would turn it into more of a freestyle event, with people turning up late after the classes just to dance. IMO this would make Fri & Sat freestyles less special

TiggsTours
16th-September-2005, 04:35 PM
:confused: I was not querying AM or PM just the finish time an evening that starts at 7.45pm and goes onto 11.45pm.

Not sure how many venues would allow the evening to go on that late, and if they did they the hall hire would probably increase.

On top of that don't think many organisers would want to be still clearing up gone midnight on a worknight - I for one have work the next morning.

Pie in the sky, but I guess it is a wish list..top of mine would be a page 3 girl taking :drool: ... sorry forgetting myself, thought I was on the other forum.

Sounds to be this would turn it into more of a freestyle event, with people turning up late after the classes just to dance. IMO this would make Fri & Sat freestyles less special
But I'd said extend the intermediate class by 15 mins, which was why I said extend freestyle by 15 mins too, so no extra freestyle there.

It is a wish list, my wish list would also include not have to get up for work the next day, so that we could dance till 4am, without it costing anything!

Russell Saxby
16th-September-2005, 04:49 PM
But I'd said extend the intermediate class by 15 mins, which was why I said extend freestyle by 15 mins too, so no extra freestyle there.

It is a wish list, my wish list would also include not have to get up for work the next day, so that we could dance till 4am, without it costing anything!


I guess you are referring to Ealing which finishes at 11.30pm - I certainly don't know any Ceroc nights that go on that late, but I am sure you will let me know if there is one out there :D

As you get further away from London - I would think it would be even less likely, to get a venue until that late - bit I guess is possible.

In this 24hr culture - we could do wot all the call centres are doing and hire an DJ based in India, don't suppose it would take too much to set up some sort of link to broadcast his over here set.

TiggsTours
16th-September-2005, 05:11 PM
I guess you are referring to Ealing which finishes at 11.30pm - I certainly don't know any Ceroc nights that go on that late, but I am sure you will let me know if there is one out there :D
How right you are, I must have meant 23:15. :worthy:

In this 24hr culture - we could do wot all the call centres are doing and hire an DJ based in India, don't suppose it would take too much to set up some sort of link to broadcast his over here set.
Would that mean having to learn to dance Bangra?

El Salsero Gringo
16th-September-2005, 05:37 PM
Taxi dancers are there for the beginners, why should we be expected to deal with everybody else too?Er, because you're wearing a shirt with a Ceroc logo on, you're a representative of Ceroc (and of the franchisee) and everybody else is a customer too? There's not much point looking after the beginners if you haven't a polite word for anyone else.

DavidB
16th-September-2005, 05:37 PM
Teachers should be on duty for the whole of the evening going round as many people as possibleThis is one reason (amongst several) that I stopped teaching. I didn't mind doing it - what I disliked was the expectation that I had to do it. Two 45 minute lessons suddenly becomes over 4 hours of work where you have little or no control over what you do. Especially frustrating was teaching the first two moves again to people who only turned up for the last 15 minutes of the class.

If you expect teachers to work for 4 hours, then pay them for 4 hours.


more style, musicality, information on how the move should feel etc would be a big improvementThe problem is that most people aren't interested. Whenever I have tried to introduce a technique or styling point, and picked a move to illustrate it, the only questions I ever got asked were "How do you do that bit of the move".

Most people equate 'easy to do' with 'not needing to know anything'. This is only an issue for the minority who think otherwise.


rather than the fascination with how many drops can be taught in a class It is a lot easier to impress most people with flash moves than with good dancing (I should know!) So it is not surprising that most people want to learn flash moves.
The fact that most people could look far better in the rest of their dancing with significantly less effort than a drop requires is immaterial.


Oh and finally no cabaret pleaseHappy to oblige there.

dance cat
16th-September-2005, 06:10 PM
If you expect teachers to work for 4 hours, then pay them for 4 hours.
I have no problem with that at all. I'm sorry I always assumed teachers got paid for the night. Thanks for clearing up my misconceptions :)

Anna
17th-September-2005, 06:11 AM
If you could choose what happened on a normal dance night, what would you want to see? :eek:
Lessons; Longer, shorter, different types, ie Specialist areas, not just other forms of dance, besides the normal lessons with 3 or 4 Int/Adv moves
Opening & closing times
Freestyle time v Lesson time
Door policy
Freebies, water, ice cream
Music, type of play-lists
More helpers or less, helpers in other roles, doing other jobs, ie teaching beginners?
Cabaret
Videos with dance or dance related films playing
Lets let our minds wonder off & see if any Companies take notice :cheers:

Hmmm.. if it was my venue..

Monday

6pm - 7pm, Improver Ceroc
7pm - 8pm, Beginner Ceroc
8pm - 8:45, Freestyle with music suited to Basic and Improver Ceroc
8:45 - 9:45, Intermediate Ceroc with special attention to developing timing, body movement and musicality
9:45 - 11 pm, Freestyle with music suited to the ability and tastes of the Intermediate class, special requests available

Tuesday

6pm - 8pm Private Lessons Available or alternatively, workshops from the tours of overseas teachers. ie, Oliver Pineda :drool:
8pm - 9pm, Advanced Ceroc - including all workshop moves, excluding major aerials.. baby aerials (one of the woman's feet below the man's shoulder at all times) allowed. Styling, technique, musicality and timing strictly encouraged and inforced.
9pm - 11pm, Freestyle with music suited to the tastes of the Advanced class, special requests more than welcome

Wednesday

6-7pm, Beginner Westcoast Swing
7-8pm, Intermediate Westcoast Swing
8-8:45pm, Freestyle.. all Westcoast Music, requests welcome
8:45 - 9:45pm, Advanced Westcoast Swing
9:45 - 11pm, More Freestyle

Thursday

6-7pm, Beginner Salsa
7-8pm, Intermediate Salsa
8 - 8:45pm, Freestyle - none of the songs will be the same
8:45 - 9:45, Advanced Salsa
9:45 - 11:15pm, Freestyle - more awesome music, special requests welcome

Friday

8:15pm - 9:15pm, Intermediate Ceroc
9:15 - 3am, Party time, Awesome Ceroc, Salsa and Westcoast Tracks played all night long..


Cost = NZ$12 per lesson for adults, however if you pay for one lesson you may dance the whole night.. NZ$8 for Students, If you are arriving just to freestyle it is NZ$6.

Door policy = Smart casual dress required, if you're a known perv I'll have you removed, zero tolerancy for harassment of any kind.

No freebies, water available, softdrinks and energy drinks for sale, chocolate bars for sale, no icecream. On Thursday and Friday nights the venue also functions as a bar and there will be a bouncer on the door. Applications for underage dancers to be present in the studio on Thursday and Friday nights will be accepted as long as the underage dancer concerned stays firmly away from the bar at all times.

There will be a nice friendly man at reception, valuables may be stowed in a cupboard there if you ask him.

The teachers of the Ceroc classes will be rotated every week.

The same people will teach the Salsa and Westcoast classes every week.

Friday nights will have a guest dance DJ.

There will be ample coat hangy things and lots of tables and chairs.

There will be air conditioning and also large open windows.

There will be mirrors down one wall.. but tastefully.

There will be no posters of dancers, but there is a wall of fame behind the reception desk.

*Deep Breath*

Sound good? :flower:

El Salsero Gringo
17th-September-2005, 09:12 AM
no icecream.Why?
The teachers of the Ceroc classes will be rotated every week.OK, but....
The same people will teach the Salsa and Westcoast classes every week.Why the difference?

Dreadful Scathe
17th-September-2005, 10:22 AM
Why?OK, but....Why the difference?
The ceroc teachers clearly suck in NZ :)

Baruch
18th-September-2005, 01:22 AM
8pm - 9pm, Advanced Ceroc - including all workshop moves, excluding major aerials.. baby aerials (one of the woman's feet below the man's shoulder at all times) allowed. Styling, technique, musicality and timing strictly encouraged and inforced.
How can you enforce musicality and style? Encourage it by all means, and even teach it, but I don't see how it can be enforced.

Baruch
18th-September-2005, 01:25 AM
I guess you are referring to Ealing which finishes at 11.30pm - I certainly don't know any Ceroc nights that go on that late, but I am sure you will let me know if there is one out there :D

As you get further away from London - I would think it would be even less likely, to get a venue until that late - bit I guess is possible.
Our local MJ night (Mark & Jackie's class in Cardiff) goes on until about 11.25 on a Tuesday night. :clap: Friday night freestyles go on until midnight.

El Salsero Gringo
18th-September-2005, 12:22 PM
How can you enforce musicality ... Encourage it by all means, and even teach it, but I don't see how it can be enforced.Motion-sensing plasma rifles that shoot anything that moves during a break.

Baruch
18th-September-2005, 12:24 PM
Motion-sensing plasma rifles that shoot anything that moves during a break.
Ooo! Shooting! Can I have a go? And can we aim at yankers as well (if they've been dancing for more than 6 months)?

Daisy Chain
18th-September-2005, 03:05 PM
I'd love a separate room where those who choose not to participate in the intermediate lesson could grab some extra freestyle.

Wouldn't that be nice?

Daisy

(A Would-be Floral Truant )

Anna
19th-September-2005, 05:59 AM
Why?OK, but....Why the difference?

Because there are less Salsa and Westcoast teachers available out here. In fact.. I can only think of two westcoast teachers in the entire country.

No icecream? Because if its my studio, I can choose whether we sell icecream or not. And in this case, we don't. Plus imagine how busy the bathrooms would be with all the dancers spilling chocolate icecream on their black outfits... :whistle:

And the enforced musicality.. To be honest I was joking but all I meant was if I owned a studio I would seriously promote musicality and encourage any patrons to use it in their dancing.

Ps, the friendly man at the desk will carry a stun gun in case of any anti-musicality protests getting out of hand.. :devil:

TiggsTours
19th-September-2005, 09:12 AM
Er, because you're wearing a shirt with a Ceroc logo on, you're a representative of Ceroc (and of the franchisee) and everybody else is a customer too? There's not much point looking after the beginners if you haven't a polite word for anyone else.
I'm not saying we shouldn't have a "polite word" for anyone else, but I do think that the more time we spend with non-beginners, the less time we have to concentrate on the people we are actually there for. If there aren't beginners for me to deal with, I'm happy to deal with anyone, but that is rarely the case.

Andreas
19th-September-2005, 09:12 AM
Motion-sensing plasma rifles that shoot anything that moves during a break.

:rofl: :rofl:

That is gonna be bloody bloody! :rofl:

TiggsTours
19th-September-2005, 09:16 AM
This is one reason (amongst several) that I stopped teaching. I didn't mind doing it - what I disliked was the expectation that I had to do it. Two 45 minute lessons suddenly becomes over 4 hours of work where you have little or no control over what you do. Especially frustrating was teaching the first two moves again to people who only turned up for the last 15 minutes of the class.

If you expect teachers to work for 4 hours, then pay them for 4 hours.

Ahem, teachers DO get paid! Unlike taxi dancers, who have to do the beginners class, and assist beginners during this, dance with beginners during freestyle, run a mini-workshop during the intermediate class, then dance with beginners till 10, so we have to do 2.5 hours work, without any pay! I don't think its too much to ask that the PAID teacher spends a small percentage of their freestyle time dancing with beginners!

Why did you go into teaching? Was it because you wanted the personal satisfaction of seeing someone blossom into a good dancer, and spreading the joy that you yourself have gained from dancing, or was it just for the money?

David Franklin
19th-September-2005, 09:24 AM
Motion-sensing plasma rifles that shoot anything that moves during a break.
That is gonna be bloody bloody! :rofl:Not really - a properly calibrated plasma rifle (in the 40W range :wink: ) will cauterize the wounds - there should be very little blood spill...

Andreas
19th-September-2005, 09:42 AM
Not really - a properly calibrated plasma rifle (in the 40W range :wink: ) will cauterize the wounds - there should be very little blood spill...

Does that mean that by injecting a plasma into the light bulb at my sealing I could build a plasma grenade? :really: :rofl:

MartinHarper
19th-September-2005, 10:08 AM
...the people we are actually there for...

It's up to the venue owner to decide who taxi dancers are actually there for, and what they are expected to do. So, in this thread, that's us! :)

Paul F
19th-September-2005, 10:10 AM
Motion-sensing plasma rifles that shoot anything that moves during a break.


:rofl: :rofl:

Rhythm King
19th-September-2005, 12:13 PM
Air conditioning and large open windows? You might have to put the prices up, if you're planning on air conditioning the whole of Hamilton :whistle:

The rest sounds pretty good though, but what have you got against ice cream?

Andy McGregor
19th-September-2005, 01:09 PM
A-ha! I think the "certain Ealing venue" is not a Ceroc venue, and does not have taxi dancers. There was a "certain Ealing venue" on a Wednesday where Victor taught and Nigel Anderson (and occasionally me) took the beginners consolidation. Most of those beginners are still dancing. But there weren't many of them to start with.

TiggsTours
19th-September-2005, 01:16 PM
It's up to the venue owner to decide who taxi dancers are actually there for, and what they are expected to do. So, in this thread, that's us! :)
Indeed you are right, and everybody would also have the right to decide which venue they choose to taxi for. I for one enjoy taxi-ing as I enjoy helping the beginners, and dedicating my evening to their enjoyment, that is what is expected of me, that is what I do. I would not taxi for a venue who expected me to cater to all the intermediate and advanced dancers too, as that would be to the detriment of the beginners.

Andreas
19th-September-2005, 03:15 PM
If you expect teachers to work for 4 hours, then pay them for 4 hours.

:yeah:


The problem is that most people aren't interested. Whenever I have tried to introduce a technique or styling point, and picked a move to illustrate it, the only questions I ever got asked were "How do you do that bit of the move".

Yup, run into the same issues. People want to learn in class something they can comprehend reasonably easily and show off 5 minutes later. There are only few people around who either a) are musically gifted enough or b) have the drive to put the time into something as difficult as musicality.

You must not forget that for most people MJ is fun and entertainment only. Sure, they want to improve but don't have a lot of time to spare and are not willing to make that little time available to practice (one way or another).


The fact that most people could look far better in the rest of their dancing with significantly less effort than a drop requires is immaterial.

:yeah: :clap:

Anna
20th-September-2005, 05:40 AM
Air conditioning and large open windows? You might have to put the prices up, if you're planning on air conditioning the whole of Hamilton :whistle:

The rest sounds pretty good though, but what have you got against ice cream?

True.. alright, just air conditioning then.. and it will be in Auckland, definitely not Hamilton haha.

Icecream.. I dunno, no one out here sells icecream at their venues and somehow it just seems wrong to me.. dancing and the consuming of icecream in the same place. OH, and its against my religion .. :whistle:

cerocmetro
20th-September-2005, 07:23 AM
The ceroc teachers clearly suck in NZ :)

Ouch :tears: and we sell Ice cream and we have style tecnique and musicality classes every week, and I guess I am an international teacher and we have air-con, :whistle: and we play lots of Latin, Blues WCS and other silky tunes never before played south of Finchley :really: and by some strange coincidence, we have the biggest classes in NZ.

Oh and we had an international WCS teacher here last week and Robert Cordoba a couple of months ago and and and :eek:

By the way who is coming to the Simply Ceroc Weekend here in October, some workshops already sold out, we will also have the first Chillout Blues Latin room running along side one of the dances :drool: 7 seconds Tigger :flower:

Adam :D

Jon Brett
20th-September-2005, 11:43 AM
"Free" water - Ceroc should pay for it, and include it in admission.

Yep, we do at Ceroc Stevenage :clap:

David Bailey
20th-September-2005, 01:18 PM
Yep, we do at Ceroc Stevenage
And Cheshunt, I believe :clap:.
But then, the bar at Cheshunt closes at 11pm. :sad: