Ahh, grasshopper, you hear much without listening, see much without looking. The trick is to "learn much" without knowing that you are always in the classroom.
In this case we have learnt that mikeyr doesn't think there is a point to MJ classes - my answer is that he's missing the point.
I'm afraid that it's not limited to teachers of WCS and Tango, many MJ organisers and teachers see other MJ classes as a good place to recruit new customers. This has 2 effects, neither of them good. The first effect is that my customers could go elsewhere and the second is that other organisers are suspicious when I attend their venues.
You'll learn - assuming the teachers are good. You simply won't learn at such a rate as you might in other dance forms.
For example, one of the most difficult lessons for people coming from MJ to AT is that you have to work at it - you can't just turn up to a class and expect to improve, you need to practice, think. discuss, and practice. And then probably practice.
I imagine WCS is similar.
In truth, even in MJ you can't just turn up to a class and expect to improve - but that's the illusion most MJ operators peddle. "Learn to dance in 45 minutes" - almost as laughable a claim as the 45-minute dodgy dossier, that one...
Oh, I don't know... perhaps to have some fun, to socialise, to meet new people, to dance, to hear some good music, to have an economic night out, to get away from the kids/spouse,...? but primarily I would suggest the first one: to have a good time.
So if some these things are higher in your priority than learning, then perhaps a MJ class is ideal. If you take that to imply that there is no learning to be had in MJ then you also have to take the implication that there is no fun to be had in WCS/AT.
Good point Rob! Andy, I agree with you. The trick, is to "learn much" without knowing that you are always in the classroom..... Unfortunately a lot people out there feel that they are "not learning much" in a MJ classroom
MJ serves a part of the partner dance market very well....... but not all of it!
The original question posed by this thread was, "Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?" I think that has been adequately answered..... Maybe time for a new thread. Is there is a point to MJ classes?
All of which you can do without the class.
You have some interesting logic there, but the one does not even remotely imply the other - all other things aside, you seem to discount the possibility that learning can be, and often is, a lot of fun in itself.
I like to insert a bit of complicated gobbledy gook once in a while to make it sound complex. I've just read a post by Franck that I'm going to memorise. If I say all that I think I'll make MJ sound really complicated. I think he had a whole paragraph to cover what my ballroom teacher used to call "posture" - although she did say it in a shrill way that spoke volumes and made you stand up straight and always followed the word with a softer spoken "luvvie"
Last edited by Andy McGregor; 8th-July-2010 at 03:57 PM.
True. But for many people the class is a highly efficient and enjoyable way of doing all the other stuff that Gadget suggested.
Not all people want to be challenged or learn new stuff all the time. Many people probably get a lot of enjoyment and relaxation from standing in line, 'learning' 3-4 moves they can already do reasonably well, helping out those that are struggling with a new move, while encountering faces both old and new.
I was just trying to point out that it is just as valid/ridiculous to say that WCS & AT have no fun in them as it is to say that MJ has nothing to learn in it.
It's all shades of grey - some (teachers/classes/pupils) have more bias towards one thing than another. In my opinion, more people go to MJ classes because of the social side of things; learning is just something that the teachers try and instil on the people there while the class on.
I think that the main objective of a MJ class is not to pass on knowledge, but to pass on enjoyment and provide an opportunity for people to have a common social experience. It's like taking a date to a movie - you have something common to talk about, compare with previous ones, think about, practice with each other, ... {dunno what sort of movie that would be }
If you are focused on wanting to learn rather than socialising, then your attention should be towards MJ workshops rather than classes. (Although the same social thing happens here - just with a smaller group of people)
Perhaps because you need less knowledge as a beginner to MJ there are less social barriers and it makes it easier to mix dance abilities socially - easier to enjoy the dance - and therefore easier to have a fun night out.
There is no denying that there is a feeling of enjoyment and achievement when you get something right. And that you can learn while having fun. But it's much easier to simply kick back, relax and enjoy the dance rather than concentrate all the time.
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