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Thread: Icebreaker classes

  1. #41
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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by ducasi View Post
    Absolutely. And knowing when to ignore their views is also essential.
    Are you saying that MJ franchises should ignore their customers views in regard to icebreaker lessons ?

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    Re: icebraker classes

    Quote Originally Posted by TA Guy View Post
    Are you saying that MJ franchises should ignore their customers views in regard to icebreaker lessons ?
    One of the trickiest things in business is knowing which customers views should be acted upon. Few of them have actually run the same business that you are in succesfully.

    Most MJ lesson customers attend a few, then do not return, so there is a need for constant new recruitment. The most important group to listen to is potential customers. We have to know how to get them along.

    Once we have got them we have to keep them. This usually means getting them addicted to freestyles. Their first freestyle is bound to be daunting for many of them. I have seen plenty of first night nerves. It just might be that an ice-breaker class is a vital component in getting them to return. Asking customers does not always get accurate answers. An accurate database would tell how the average customer reacts. It is one of the best ways of "listening" to customers and provides answers that talking to them and watching them does not. Both information gathering techniques are needed.

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by TA Guy View Post
    Are you saying that MJ franchises should ignore their customers views in regard to icebreaker lessons ?
    No. I imagine that what Ducasi is saying (which falls in line with what I have been saying), is that MJ franchises should maybe talk to ALL their customers about their views, and then make a balanced decision, which might not mean listening to the majority, or those that shout or whine the loudest .

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    Lovely Moderator ducasi's Avatar
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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by TA Guy View Post
    Are you saying that MJ franchises should ignore their customers views in regard to icebreaker lessons ?
    I would certainly suggest that they ignore mine.
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by TheTramp View Post
    No. I imagine that what Ducasi is saying (which falls in line with what I have been saying), is that MJ franchises should maybe talk to ALL their customers about their views, and then make a balanced decision, which might not mean listening to the majority, or those that shout or whine the loudest .
    Your back! That didn't last long, couldn't stay away from me ? How cute

    I don't think it's necessary to label those on either side of this argument as 'whiny'. Some may be loud on both sides, certainly you haven't been shy spouting about an event you didn't even attend.

    Yes, there were people who aggressively gave their point of view at Bournemouth. If they went over the top, I don't condone that. As it happens, I didn't give my point of view at Bournemouth. I mean't too as I left, but the teacher was deep in conversation with a lady I didn't know who was complaining and I didn't want to interrupt. She seemed to be making the case quite well. And not in a whiny way



    The question of who a franchise should listen to and how much weight should be attached etc. really deserves a completely separate thread it could get so complicated. However, Ducasi quoted me out of context, um, actually with no context, and I just wanted to get it back into context. I.E. About icebreaker classes. Is that alright with you, Sunshine ?
    Last edited by TA Guy; 25th-November-2008 at 03:45 PM.

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by ducasi View Post
    I would certainly suggest that they ignore mine.

    First laugh I've had in this thread. Thank You

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by TA Guy View Post
    First laugh I've had in this thread. Thank You
    You're welcome.

    Quote Originally Posted by TA Guy View Post
    ... However, Ducasi quoted me out of context, um, actually with no context ...
    Sometimes it's better to scrape away the context to get to the root of the argument.
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadget View Post
    ....
    As a dancer, there are advantages and disadvantages to both formats that (in my opinion) balance out each other -
    Ice breaker:
    - everyone is lined up nicely; I can see who is here and who isn't with ease.
    - I can see new people and get an idea of how they dance.
    - I get to warm up with no expectations of getting everything right; I can 'get my eye in' and slip gently into the mind-set for dancing.
    - if I arrive late or am running late, I can take time to change my shoes, get a drink, and get set up for a night's dancing without feeling I'm missing out on some dancing.
    - I know there will be at least three moves (being taught) I can now lead in freestyle that most followers should be able to follow with ease, no matter their level.
    - If I am not interested in taking the class, I have some time to socialise without it taking away from dancing time.

    No icebreaker:
    - more dancing.
    - ... erm... that's it. but it's enough of an "it" to balance out all the above.
    To all of the above. As long as the ice-breaker is advertised including a start and finish time that the teacher sticks to except in exceptional circumstances then I don't see any problem with them.

    I arrived a little too late to take part in the class at the Utopia event in Derby last weekend but that was my problem and waiting for it to finish gave me a chance to thaw out - crikey it was cold that night!

    Like someone else mentioned in an earlier post what I do object to is dancing being interrupted for a "cabaret" but surely this doesn't still happen other than at weekenders?

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by Jan in Notts View Post

    Like someone else mentioned in an earlier post what I do object to is dancing being interrupted for a "cabaret" but surely this doesn't still happen other than at weekenders?
    Yup... it does at some of our dances!
    But it is advertised, so it is not a surprise to any dancers attending. (BTW a cabaret, in my dictionary is "a floor show of dancing, singing etc." so no need for the quotation marks)
    And though I can understand that some people might begrudge losing 10 minutes or so of dancing time, a lot of people enjoy the chance to see the likes of Simon and Nicole, Adam and Tas, Nigel and Nina, and Amir Giles (to name but a few) showing what is possible within the broad spectrum of modern jive style dance.

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Andy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Jan in Notts View Post
    Like someone else mentioned in an earlier post what I do object to is dancing being interrupted for a "cabaret" but surely this doesn't still happen other than at weekenders?
    Yup... it does at some of our dances!
    But it is advertised, so it is not a surprise to any dancers attending. (BTW a cabaret, in my dictionary is "a floor show of dancing, singing etc." so no need for the quotation marks)
    And though I can understand that some people might begrudge losing 10 minutes or so of dancing time, a lot of people enjoy the chance to see the likes of Simon and Nicole, Adam and Tas, Nigel and Nina, and Amir Giles (to name but a few) showing what is possible within the broad spectrum of modern jive style dance.
    Agree with Andy. At a couple of local freestyles we've had some of the MJ luminaries come to teach a short icebreaker and later on deliver a short cabaret slot too. As Andy says its only 10 minutes of dancing time and seeing couples like Peter & Amy, Simon & Nicole, or Blueshoes & RubyRed to quote 3 that I've personally seen, is inspirational to many of us.

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Andy View Post
    And though I can understand that some people might begrudge losing 10 minutes or so of dancing time,
    Well, firstly:
    - That's rubbish, it's never 10 minutes, it's more like a half-hour by the time you get everyone organised.
    - It's not the time, so much, as the interruption - when you're dancing along, getting in the zone, and then you get interrupted and have to sit on a cold floor for the above-mentioned 30 minutes, it's annoying, and it breaks the mood. That's my main complaint.

    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Andy View Post
    a lot of people enjoy the chance to see the likes of Simon and Nicole, Adam and Tas, Nigel and Nina, and Amir Giles (to name but a few) showing what is possible within the broad spectrum of modern jive style dance.
    I've seen MJ cabarets. They're generally not all that.

  12. #52
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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by David Bailey View Post
    Well, firstly:
    - That's rubbish, it's never 10 minutes, it's more like a half-hour by the time you get everyone organised.
    - It's not the time, so much, as the interruption - when you're dancing along, getting in the zone, and then you get interrupted and have to sit on a cold floor for the above-mentioned 30 minutes, it's annoying, and it breaks the mood. That's my main complaint.


    I've seen MJ cabarets. They're generally not all that.
    You exaggerate surely! (Though I'd be grumpy too if a cabaret went on for half an hour!)
    We all know that you're very hard to please. Luckily other people have lower standards and enjoy the occasional demonstration dances.
    (And we don't force people to sit on the floor )

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Andy View Post
    You exaggerate surely! (Though I'd be grumpy too if a cabaret went on for half an hour!)
    The cabaret doesn't - the total time between dancing does, when you factor in the time taken to prepare, etc., all the faffing around seems to average about a half-hour.

    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Andy View Post
    We all know that you're very hard to please. Luckily other people have lower standards and enjoy the occasional demonstration dances.
    (And we don't force people to sit on the floor )
    A lot of other people on the forum have consistently said that they don't like cabarets, it's not just me.

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    Quote Originally Posted by David Bailey View Post
    The cabaret doesn't - the total time between dancing does, when you factor in the time taken to prepare, etc., all the faffing around seems to average about a half-hour.
    Maybe it just seems like half an hour.

    We had Nigel & Nina doing a cabaret at the Beach Ballroom last Saturday, they performed two 2 tracks. About 4 mins from when the previous track finished to when they started performing, which included getting people off the floor, and introducing N&N (I know, cos I was frantically ripping the cabaret music from the CD they had to my laptop, and that's how long Franck gave me to be ready). There was about a minute break between the two tracks. And about a minute before I started the next track at the end (ok, so that was straight into a birthday dance for Franck, but 3.5 minutes later, we were back to general dancing). The track lengths were just under 4 minutes and just under 3 minutes. So that's 13 mins total before the dancing recommenced.

    Of course, personally, like icebreaker classes, I prefer there to be no interruption in my dance nights. But again, I know that there are people who do like to watch cabarets, so I'm prepared to sit through it. I might even watch, depending on who it is

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    Re: Feedback on Club nights

    I wasn't thinking about demonstrations from well respected names such as those that have been quoted earlier. I was thinking more about the shows that are put on by local dancers of average ability (like myself) which I have had to watch in the past which I certainly don't recall being advertised and I put the quote marks around the word cabaret deliberately.

    I love to watch the cabaret performances at a weekender, At a freestyle I may choose to sit out and watch people dancing but I don't go to a freestyle expecting to be forced to sit or stand through a mediocre dance routine that I haven't been forewarned about. Hope that clarifies my point

    By the way the particular performance that I am thinking about was a long time ago - you'd think that I would have got over it by now

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    Re: Icebreaker classes

    Not to stir up this hornets nest again

    But I found out why some franchises are insisting on icebreaker classes at freestyles. It has nothing to do with what their customers want, and everything to do with calling themselves 'educational organisations' so they can save a few pennies on insurance (and occasionally for the purpose of cheaper hall hiring).


    Nothing wrong with that at all, and not that I am suggesting that is the reason for every franchise, but all that righteous guff about it being what customers wanted. LOL.

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    Re: Icebreaker classes

    Quote Originally Posted by TA Guy View Post
    Not to stir up this hornets nest again

    But I found out why some franchises are insisting on icebreaker classes at freestyles. It has nothing to do with what their customers want, and everything to do with calling themselves 'educational organisations' so they can save a few pennies on insurance (and occasionally for the purpose of cheaper hall hiring).


    Nothing wrong with that at all, and not that I am suggesting that is the reason for every franchise, but all that righteous guff about it being what customers wanted. LOL.
    Dear customer, would you rather our freestyles have an icebreaker class that is over before you want to start dancing, or would you rather pay more?

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    Re: Icebreaker classes

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    Dear customer, would you rather our freestyles have an icebreaker class that is over before you want to start dancing, or would you rather pay more?
    But that's not the choice is it? Freestyle prices are (outside of central London) pretty consistant. The saved money goes...well...maybe the "fluffy bunny icebreaker class lovers" pension fund or somefing'

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    Re: Icebreaker classes

    Quote Originally Posted by TA Guy View Post
    But that's not the choice is it? Freestyle prices are (outside of central London) pretty consistant. The saved money goes...well...maybe the "fluffy bunny icebreaker class lovers" pension fund or somefing'
    If it goes into making freestyles more profitable that means we will get more of them.

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