The new franchise owners have it seems decided to kick off the new year by changing things. This is what was announced last night at Rugby:
- Beginner lesson now to consist of three moves only instead of four
- Beginner lesson is still to last half an hour so that there is a bit more time to learn each move, deal with basic technique etc.
- First free style cut from half an hour to 15 to 20 minutes
- Intermediate class now starts about fifteen minutes earlier making the final free style longer than before
- Greater flexibility in the intermediate class in terms of difficulty / number of moves. Some classes to be made a bit easier to assist new intermediates, others to be more challenging (this might just be a Rugby thing, we're special you know )
There are also now going to be new monthly free styles at Rugby (the Indian Centre) on Fridays and Saturdays. Marc and Rachel are going to be teaching and DJ'ing and seem very excited about the plans. There is also talk of "Master classes" at some of these events.
This is just what I can remember so I may have got some things slightly wrong or missed out something - feel free to correct or add to what I have said if you have any knowledge of these changes.
I am certainly really looking forward to the free-styles - Rugby is such a great venue and all the regulars and staff there are so friendly. My only slight concern is that these free-styles might ultimately prove too popular making the dance floor uncomfortably crowded but lets see what happens. I didn't pick up the list of dates but no doubt they will all appear on the Ceroc Central web-site in due course.
What does everyone think about these changes? Does anyone know of any more?
Last edited by Lost Leader; 4th-January-2008 at 08:58 PM.
Must admit I missed the announcements on Thursday - is this a Ceroc Central thing rather than just Rugby?
Understanding what's going on is further complicated because different parts of Ceroc Central are run by different people.
Another thing I find interesting is that the first Rugby freestyle this year is one of 3 Ceroc Central freestyles that night. Rugby clashes with another Ceroc Central freestyle in Nottingham, which isn't that far away, another one in Bedford (again not that far away, in a different direction).
This never used to happen in Ceroc Central before (except possibly at opposite ends of the franchise - eg. Nottingham vs Luton). However both Nottingham and Rugby are having freestyles much more frequently (they're every month or so when they used to be quarterly).
More annoyingly for me, the first Ceroc Rugby freestyle of 2008 (on 11 Jan, with Marc and Rachel) clashes with another freestyle in Rugby (Blues at the Bowls), with the DJ being Chris French (who was DJ at Ceroc Rugby until recently). So the Rugby regulars will probably be split, probably to the detriment of both nights.
Love dance, will travel
I think that the class changes are Ceroc Central wide, not just Rugby. The Ceroc central web-site now has the changes to the class timings up. The only thing that might just be Rugby specific about the class changes is that relating to the content of intermediate classes.
I also see from the web site that each of the monthly freestyles is going to focus on a different aspect of dancing, hence the name "Focus free-styles". Not sure if this just relates to the free style class or also to the music that will be played. I also recall Marc saying there will also be a series of "Focus workshops" at Rugby but these wont be starting for several months. Perhaps part of the idea is that people get a taster lesson focussed on a particular aspect or style of dancing at the free-styles and are then offered the opportunity to do a more in depth workshop on the same subject at at later date.
this seems to go against the whole Ceroc "every class in the country has the same moves on the same night" thing with a 14(?) week rotation.
Don't know if this is good or bad - could result in boredom, lots more repetitive instructions, and beginners not staying in the beginner class for as long.- Beginner lesson is still to last half an hour so that there is a bit more time to learn each move, deal with basic technique etc.
That's been the norm here for a long time; between 4 and 6 tracks. I think it's an excellent idea: less time between beginner's class and taxi revision.- First free style cut from half an hour to 15 to 20 minutes
Isn't that just a teacher thing anyway? Depends on how 'ridged' you (/your teacher) felt the classes were in the first place I suppose :shrug:- Greater flexibility in the intermediate class in terms of difficulty / number of moves. Some classes to be made a bit easier to assist new intermediates, others to be more challenging (this might just be a Rugby thing, we're special you know )
? isn't there a monthly party anyway?There are also now going to be new monthly free styles at Rugby (the Indian Centre) on Fridays and Saturdays. Marc and Rachel are going to be teaching and DJ'ing and seem very excited about the plans. There is also talk of "Master classes" at some of these events.
To me it sounds like they are just about catching up with CerocScotland
"Focus workshops"??? I wonder where I've heard that phrase before...
Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story
Yes - and there is another clash between the same operators on the 14th Feb! Hard to believe it is just a coincidence
I don't really care who booked the date first but I am SO cross about this I can hardly put it into words. If it wasn't bad enough with a couple of the independent operators in this area doing this sort of thing!
There is nothing on the Ceroc Central calender of free-styles for 14th February as far as I can see (but they may perhaps be planning something that isn't up there yet). That said, would it be that surprising for there to be several free styles on valentine's day?
As regards any general issue about clash of dates obviously I don't know all the facts, but Marc did say that he had been planning dates at the Indian Centre for months so it may just be coincidence. However Ceroc is a business so you can't rule out an element of competition which might at times even extend to scheduling its own events against those organised by competitors. At the very least Ceroc are hardly likely to change any of their plans to avoid a clash with a non Ceroc event. In practical terms I suspect that the scheduling of events is more dictated by the availability of suitable venues, many of which probably need to be booked months in advance if you want to hire them, especially on Fridays and Saturdays.
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