French Jive?

[gebandemuishond]

I've been in France for a couple of months now, and only the other night did I get to go dancing. If anyone's in Paris in the next week or so, I'd urge you to go to Quai d'Austerlitz, in the Latin quarter - they have an awesome network of riverside dances going on, as you walk along the banks of the Seine there are little amphitheatre things where there's a DJ, a couple of speakers and a small crowd of dancers dancing the night away under the moon (beautifully full the other night). You have a tango zone, a salsa zone, a breakdance (possibly including tecktonik I'm not sure) and a jive zone.

This was the first time I'd ever seen the original "le rock" and it was very interesting: oh so familiar yet oh so different. The moves were more or less the same as MJ, but they have different footwork, triple steps all over the place and it's danced very strictly in a slot. Music wise, traditional fifties rock n roll was the order of the day and the style was much more energetic than that practised by us anglo saxons. I danced a couple of times, with varying degrees of success, some were plerplexed by my MJ, some followed it well (albeit with triples thrown in for good measure). I think I need lessons in order to feel as comfortable as I do in the UK, so will be going to those, but if anyone has any experience jiving the other side of the channel I'd be happy to hear it. Has anyone learnt to dance Ã* la française after MJ, or has anyone been dancing since the time when they were more or less the same dance?

Merci,

Dan

[Will]

Went to Paris a few years ago and did exactly the same thing, and found exactly the same result. It would be interesting to know how a lindy hopper would find it.

[Martin]

I've been in France for a couple of months now, and only the other night did I get to go dancing. If anyone's in Paris in the next week or so, I'd urge you to go to Quai d'Austerlitz, in the Latin quarter - they have an awesome network of riverside dances going on, as you walk along the banks of the Seine there are little amphitheatre things where there's a DJ, a couple of speakers and a small crowd of dancers dancing the night away under the moon (beautifully full the other night). You have a tango zone, a salsa zone, a breakdance (possibly including tecktonik I'm not sure) and a jive zone.

This was the first time I'd ever seen the original "le rock" and it was very interesting: oh so familiar yet oh so different. The moves were more or less the same as MJ, but they have different footwork, triple steps all over the place and it's danced very strictly in a slot. Music wise, traditional fifties rock n roll was the order of the day and the style was much more energetic than that practised by us anglo saxons. I danced a couple of times, with varying degrees of success, some were plerplexed by my MJ, some followed it well (albeit with triples thrown in for good measure). I think I need lessons in order to feel as comfortable as I do in the UK, so will be going to those, but if anyone has any experience jiving the other side of the channel I'd be happy to hear it. Has anyone learnt to dance Ã* la française after MJ, or has anyone been dancing since the time when they were more or less the same dance?

Merci,

Dan

I went with my dance partner 12 years ago, and found much the same with the slot thing.

We found a "Jive" night club - no lessons, just a dance night.

As we had arrived early, we could dance in a circle or slot, but once the dance floor got a little more crowded, we had to revert to slot - or be bumped around.

It was not common to dance MJ in a slot 12 years ago, so it was a challenge, but a lot of fun.

The locals were 100% wonderful, they came and talked to us, and respectfully asked to dance with me, and also with my partner, being careful to ask if it was ok... As in, when asking me to dance, they also checked with my partner if it was ok with her...
We then did the same and respectfully asked the locals to dance.

We then got invited to other events, unfortunately we were only there for the weekend, but I am confident we would have made some good friends should we have been there longer.

A great experience.

[Genevieve]

This was the first time I'd ever seen the original "le rock" and it was very interesting: oh so familiar yet oh so different. The moves were more or less the same as MJ, but they have different footwork, triple steps all over the place and it's danced very strictly in a slot. Music wise, traditional fifties rock n roll was the order of the day and the style was much more energetic than that practised by us anglo saxons.

So what has happened that it is so different over here? Afterall isn't that where Ceroc got it's name (C'est Rock)??

I'm told that Ceroc/Modern Jive is a blend of numerous dance styles, but it appears more and more that the original jive is fast becoming a non-runner.

I'm a big jive/RnR fan, which anyone who knows me can tell you, so I deliberately look for this element when dancing. It's perplexing to be told that I should perhaps be looking elsewhere outside of Ceroc to find it.

[bigdjiver]

... Has anyone learnt to dance Ã* la française after MJ, or has anyone been dancing since the time when they were more or less the same dance?...

I went from 50's rock'n'roll to Trad Jive - dancing to traditional jazz bands. It is fast and bouncy with simple footwork. I suspect that form of dance may have had some influence on the formation of MJ, but have no substantiation for that supposition. I am told that Trad Jive is still done in the few places that Trad Jazz still occurs. I have an ambition to get to one of these sessions.