Page 12 of 12 FirstFirst ... 289101112
Results 221 to 240 of 240

Thread: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

  1. #221
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Cruden Bay (Aberde
    Posts
    7,053
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by nomoves View Post
    I'd suggest you're much more likely to go for years to jive classes without really improving than you are to West Coast, tango or ballroom classes.
    I would counter that you would be much more likely to go for years to jive classes than you are to West Coast, tango or ballroom classes.

  2. #222
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Back in London
    Posts
    507
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadget View Post
    I would counter that you would be much more likely to go for years to jive classes than you are to West Coast, tango or ballroom classes.
    And still not learn much.......

    What is the point of a class if not to learn something?

  3. #223
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Sussex by the Sea
    Posts
    9,276
    Rep Power
    15

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by mikeyr View Post
    And still not learn much.......

    What is the point of a class if not to learn something?
    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.

  4. #224
    Basically lazy robd's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Nr Cambridge
    Posts
    3,696
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    In this case we have learnt that mikeyr doesn't think there is a point to MJ classes
    I'm pretty sure you're wrong there Andy. I'm sure he sees them as a good recruiting ground for his own classes.

  5. #225
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Sussex by the Sea
    Posts
    9,276
    Rep Power
    15

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by robd View Post
    I'm pretty sure you're wrong there Andy. I'm sure he sees them as a good recruiting ground for his own classes.
    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.

  6. #226
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Norf Lundin
    Posts
    17,001
    Blog Entries
    1
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by mikeyr View Post
    And still not learn much.......
    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...

  7. #227
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Norf Lundin
    Posts
    17,001
    Blog Entries
    1
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    the second is that other organisers are suspicious when I attend their venues.
    To be fair, that's probably just you.

  8. #228
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Sussex by the Sea
    Posts
    9,276
    Rep Power
    15

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by David Bailey View Post
    To be fair,
    You're starting to claim that you're "fair". That's a new one

  9. #229
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Norf Lundin
    Posts
    17,001
    Blog Entries
    1
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    You're starting to claim that you're "fair". That's a new one
    I'm a LibDem supporter, we're into fairness.

    Apparently.

  10. #230
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Cruden Bay (Aberde
    Posts
    7,053
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by mikeyr View Post
    What is the point of a class if not to learn something?
    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.

  11. #231
    Registered User David Franklin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    London
    Posts
    3,426
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadget View Post
    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.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma

  12. #232
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Back in London
    Posts
    507
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    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.
    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?

  13. #233
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Northeastern Parts
    Posts
    5,221
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadget View Post
    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.
    All of which you can do without the class.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadget View Post
    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.
    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.

  14. #234
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Sussex by the Sea
    Posts
    9,276
    Rep Power
    15

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by mikeyr View Post
    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
    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.

  15. #235
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    290
    Rep Power
    8

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by straycat View Post
    All of which you can do without the class.
    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.

  16. #236
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Northeastern Parts
    Posts
    5,221
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bubble View Post
    True. But for many people the class is a highly efficient and enjoyable way of doing all the other stuff that Gadget suggested.
    Absolutely - I wouldn't dispute that (although personally, if I'm going to do a class, I want to learn things). I was just pointing out that Gadget's logic was .... just maybe ..... a teensy bit suspect.

  17. #237
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Cruden Bay (Aberde
    Posts
    7,053
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by straycat View Post
    Absolutely - I wouldn't dispute that (although personally, if I'm going to do a class, I want to learn things). I was just pointing out that Gadget's logic was .... just maybe ..... a teensy bit suspect.
    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.

  18. #238
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Sussex by the Sea
    Posts
    9,276
    Rep Power
    15

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadget View Post
    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.


    Gadget posting something right. Whatever next?

  19. #239
    Basically lazy robd's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Nr Cambridge
    Posts
    3,696
    Rep Power
    12

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post

    Gadget posting something right. Whatever next?
    You posting something right yourself?

  20. #240
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Sussex by the Sea
    Posts
    9,276
    Rep Power
    15

    Re: Is West Coast Swing Made Too Hard?

    Quote Originally Posted by robd View Post
    You posting something right yourself?
    I think you've got that right.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. West Coast Swing Judges at Britrock 2008
    By Andy McGregor in forum The Land of a 1000 dances
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 19th-September-2008, 10:25 AM
  2. West Coast Swing near Nottingham?
    By Jan in Notts in forum The Land of a 1000 dances
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 21st-July-2008, 04:18 PM
  3. A new West Coast Swing Workshop/Tea Dance ??
    By Minnie M in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 23rd-January-2008, 10:24 PM
  4. Lindy / West Coast Swing difference?
    By Emma in forum The Land of a 1000 dances
    Replies: 34
    Last Post: 21st-September-2007, 03:44 PM
  5. West Coast Swing in Dartford
    By Chef in forum The Land of a 1000 dances
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 27th-May-2006, 05:24 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •