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Thread: Blues - A step too far

  1. #21
    Senior Member zimbabwean's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    I am not a blues "Aficionado" but I like Blues and it is the style that suits the way I move/dance , the one thing I do know is that I dance for my follow and her pleasure. I am there for them and in turn me, those 3-5 Mins are for us and no one else if what we do makes us enjoy the dance, then it was worth the night out.

    With regards to tracks and follows it is like a jigsaw........ some fit and some don't but we are all there for the pleasure and enjoyment that we get from dance, don't take it to seriously and just enjoy

  2. #22
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    Re: Blues - A step too far

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidY View Post
    OK totally off-topic but


    so remind me of

    this
    .
    Note to Pedants: 'Music' by John Miles predates Blakes Seven by a year or two.

  3. #23
    Registered User martingold's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by Lory View Post

    Anyone who knows me well enough, knows I really couldn't give a stuff what people think of the look of my dancing, I purely love how it makes me and my partner feel at the time too. And believe me, I have no inhibitions when it comes to 'playing'.

    Quote Originally Posted by zimbabwean View Post
    the one thing I do know is that I dance for my follow and her pleasure. I am there for them and in turn me, those 3-5 Mins are for us and no one else if what we do makes us enjoy the dance, then it was worth the night out.

    surely this is the only reason any of us dance its for fun, its no fun if either partner in the dance isnt enjoying it
    if i get a little smile from my partner or they add a bit to the dance it lifts the way i feel about the whole thing


    Quote Originally Posted by Lory View Post
    If an independant freestyle is billed as such, then people know what they're in for and have a choice whether to go or not but when its the only choice, in the middle of the day, at a weekender. I think the music should be more accessible to the 'average' punter, rather than a select few, who love it or can handle it.

    The counter argument one might put is that S'funk or Swingers hour might not be to everyones taste but at least people of every standard can have a go.
    and this is where i disagree lory
    sfunk and swingers hour are difficult to dance to if you dont feel the music. for me music has to have passion all to often sfunk is a bass line with no discernible melody and one track just melds into the next ( to my ear) and i end up with no idea what to do. Swingers hour is different and just way to fast for what i like to do and maybe one or two tracks are fun ( for me )
    having said all that dave rokovs set lunchtime sunday at vlv i think was called s style or sommit directly before silverfox's sfunk set was outstanding

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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    every time this topic of the blues room/blues dancing comes up on here - I am heartily relieved that I had no knowledge of all it’s supposed higher level status/difficulty – I don’t think I would have ever ventured into the blues room if I had that sort of background to it, at my first Southport it was just the room that played the sort of music I enjoyed dancing too. I still have very fond memories of dancing in the sun with Paul F on the Sunday afternoon.

    Another thought that comes to mind when people talk about it being difficult, and daunting, etc is some of the best dancing advice I’ve ever been given and one that I fall back on many times

    Think Less, Dance More

    As has said before on this thread – the best way to get confident with blues is to just get in there and do it – and there are no mistakes just new moves

    As Gav said do it with confidence, it makes it look like you know what you are doing – like walking into somewhere you aren’t supposed to be – walk like you belong there and on-one will question you.

    Blues dancing is kinda the same – do it like you mean it and the rest will fall into place.

  5. #25
    Commercial Operator Rocky's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by martingold View Post
    ...having said all that dave rokovs set lunchtime sunday at vlv i think was called s style or sommit directly before silverfox's sfunk set was outstanding
    Thanks.. Actually it was just a normal freestyle session that was billed as 'Ceroc classics'.

  6. #26
    Registered User martingold's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by Rocky View Post
    Thanks.. Actually it was just a normal freestyle session that was billed as 'Ceroc classics'.
    oops so thats what ceroc f/style meant
    whatever it was still a great set and the one that lifted my entire weekend oh and thanks for playing zz top and trying to kill me, when i was just heading out in my trainers i was grabbed and forced to dance by mel lol
    I love that version of the track

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    Commercial Operator Rocky's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by martingold View Post
    ...thanks for playing zz top and trying to kill me, when i was just heading out in my trainers i was grabbed and forced to dance by mel lol
    I love that version of the track
    Lol... well it seems like that's only me and you then based on the reaction of most of the people in the room..

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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by martingold View Post
    and this is where i disagree lory
    sfunk and swingers hour are difficult to dance to if you dont feel the music. for me music has to have passion all to often sfunk is a bass line with no discernible melody and one track just melds into the next ( to my ear) and i end up with no idea what to do. Swingers hour is different and just way to fast for what i like to do and maybe one or two tracks are fun ( for me )
    Isn't this lovely because I would have to disagree and agree with Martin.

    Swingers hour, I enjoy the music but there are times when it is to hard to dance to because of the speed but I also find that there is a beat that you need to triple step too but I just can't. it really lends itself to some body that can incorporate some Lindy into his or her dance style

    Now Sfunk, I have to say as a youngster back in the day I would go to clubs that would play this music. I still get the hairs on the back of my neck standing up when I hear a particular singer.

    What I can say is that when Vince or Dave does a Sfunk set at Camber or Southport the room is buzzing with energy and it has a great vibe. For me this means that this kind of music is right for the MJ scene.

    Surely where there is a strong beat it means that you can incorporate what ever moves you want to add within your dance. There are still highs and lows within the music that you can dance to.

    All send and done Music is always going to divide the punters but I still think a good DJ will try and please the majority rather than a small minority

  9. #29
    Forum Bombshell - Our Queen! Lory's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by martingold View Post
    i love the track lori speaks of and would love the chance to dance to it (i have read reports from 4 people who were really pleased it was played
    I bet I can guess who they were (believe me Martin, there weren't THAT many people dancing to it) and IMO, they'd probably enjoy most obscure stuff

    I might as well get hung for sheep, as for a lamb.. so here goes..

    Some lucky people have an inbuilt sense and heightened awareness of rhythm and can pick up on all sorts of nuances in music.
    The more heightened it is, the more subtleties they can hear and if they're lucky enough to be a good dancers too, this will transfer into the syncopations they create within their body movement. And be able to express the emotion in the music too!
    Having been privileged enough to dance with some of these people, they make me become aware of things in the music, that sometimes I'd have otherwise missed

    Coming down a notch, some people, including myself, can feel basic rhythms and some of the underlying ones too and will also be able to feel a break coming, even if we've never heard that piece of music before in our lives because we understand and recognise the basic structure of music. Our technique is solid enough to be able to express it in our dancing too.

    Then there's people who can hear basic rhythms, keep time and have solid technique. They can be fabulous to dance with and maybe its just a matter of time before they start feeling the deeper stuff?

    Then you get the people who have 'no' inherent sense of rhythm but they enjoy dancing to the overall 'feeling' of the music. And they may express the emotion of the dance extremely well but the rhythm is 'secondary' to them!

    Now, if you get 2 people, who're on the same page and I think the first 3 examples can mix, you're onto a winner. But I don't think people who instinctively dance to the rhythm, always enjoy dancing with people who just dance to the 'emotional feeling' as it can sometimes 'jar' against our natural style!

    I hope that makes sense?

    Wow, that was deep for a Wednesday morning
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Stupid question but what is sfunk? There's no Wikipedia article about it so I'm lost

  11. #31
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Lory,that certainly wasn't too deep and made perfect sense to me.
    Excellent post and says just about everything that I feel.

  12. #32
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    I hesitate to write this, cos I'm no expert and there's always the risk of being shot down in flames...

    When I started playing music at our events, way back when, I took advice from many people I respected for their DJing abilities and there was one particular gem that resonated with me. If you are going to challenge people with a track that is obscure, difficult, has an unusual timing structure or is just plain 'out there', then it is your job to reassure those who may have struggled with it by playing something cosy & safe too...

    I'm one of those weirdo's who likes the obscure stuff, gets mega-excited when tracks come on that I haven't danced to before, or that strike a chord or that totally freak me out by challenging every fibre of my dance-being - but I still love those cosy, comfortable, sing-along (badly) 'cos I know every word, snuggle in and smile tracks too! And sometimes, (I know, cos I'm as guilty as the rest) it is easy to forget that when DJs are sourcing the latest, the greatest and THE track of the weekend. 'Sweat - Popa Chubby' will ALWAYS have it's place in the Blues room, for me anyway!

    I loved the music over the weekend, I thought the DJs worked hard not to continually duplicate tracks and tried hard to inspire, challenge and work the dancers as well as they could - but it would be a shame to leave behind 'new recruits' while pushing forward the 'die-hards'... IF anything was missing, perhaps it was a few of the old favourites..?

    But then again - they could have been playing and everyone could have been singing their hearts out, smiling and snuggled into their partners the very second I left the room!

  13. #33
    Registered User martingold's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    judging by the amount of cerocers who tell me they love sfunk you are right and on the sunday when silverfox was on it gave me an afternoon when i could go have a sleep so i for one appreciated the time as i had danced to just about every track of rockys previous set when i was dancing because of and not in spite of the music
    Quote Originally Posted by Gerry View Post
    Surely where there is a strong beat it means that you can incorporate what ever moves you want to add within your dance. There are still highs and lows within the music that you can dance to.
    The problem i have with sfunk is its it repetitive for long periods and the melodys are bland under a very strong bass this means you can only dance to the beat as there is very little else to dance to with one track after another sounding exactly the same and nothing to inspire you to play

    Quote Originally Posted by Gerry View Post
    All send and done Music is always going to divide the punters but I still think a good DJ will try and please the majority rather than a small minority
    Nope a good dj should do their best at some point in the evening to please everyone in a room also they should play music which is advertised (so if sfunk or swing is advertised thats what should be played)

    Having said that when i was on the stairs checking wrist bands on sat night i had a never ending stream of people telling me they hated what was going on in both the chill out zone and the main room this was at a time when rocky was on the decks in the coz and erick was on in the main room

    Different djs have a different set of people who follow them so to get back to the thread I happen to love the music of all the djs that were reported to have played at hemsby and dislike some who play at ceroc weekenders
    It would be interesting to hear from those who didnt like the hemsby music as to why they went in the first place as surely they know the music these djs will be playing

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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by meghann View Post
    Stupid question but what is sfunk? There's no Wikipedia article about it so I'm lost
    Soul/Funk (though others may be able to correct me if I'm wrong)

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    Forum Bombshell - Our Queen! Lory's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by SnowWhite View Post
    I loved the music over the weekend, I thought the DJs worked hard not to continually duplicate tracks and tried hard to inspire, challenge and work the dancers as well as they could - but it would be a shame to leave behind 'new recruits' while pushing forward the 'die-hards'... IF anything was missing, perhaps it was a few of the old favourites..?
    Thank you, I thought I was going insane for a while there!


    Quote Originally Posted by martingold View Post
    The problem i have with sfunk is its it repetitive for long periods and the melodys are bland under a very strong bass this means you can only dance to the beat as there is very little else to dance to with one track after another sounding exactly the same and nothing to inspire you to play
    Martin, this is because you're not a 'Rhythm based' dancer and you're probably only hearing the accentuated driving base beat and don't hear all the other subtleties

    This is not a slur on you, its a pure obsiervation..

    I'm definitely mainly Rhythm based, so when I'm dancing so something with very little 'beat guidance' and solely relying on the emotional feeling of a dance, I feel lost and rather stupid, like when your drama teacher says... pretend your a 'tree'

    I look on aghast sometimes, when I watch people dancing to what I think is a driving beat and is so obvious and easily defined but then I watch their feet and totally fail to see any relationship between what they're doing and the music thats playing.

    The trouble is, a rhythm based dancer, will always try to find and dance to the beat and as I said before, can become excruciating, when your partners hearing something totally different! For me anyway!
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by Lory View Post
    I'm definitely mainly Rhythm based, so when I'm dancing so something with very little 'beat guidance' and solely relying on the emotional feeling of a dance, I feel lost and rather stupid, like when your drama teacher says... pretend your a 'tree'
    Nice point - yes, a lot of Blues dancing is not rhythm-based, it's more about the melody I suppose.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lory View Post
    The trouble is, a rhythm based dancer, will always try to find and dance to the beat and as I said before, can become excruciating, when your partners hearing something totally different! For me anyway!
    It's far far worse in Tango. You have multiple possible rhythms and melodies you can dance to - typically 4-5 - and you can also switch between them as you go along.

    So sometimes in AT it's quite difficult to tell if a dancer is rubbish, or is dancing to a non-standard rhythm.

    Usually they're rubbish.

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    Forum Bombshell - Our Queen! Lory's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Damn, I've got a lot to do but things keep popping into my head...

    If like Snow white, you have a regular partner, someone you dance with 'most' of the time, then you can start to develop a deeper connection and allow oneself to be guided by 'other' things in the music, aside from the beat. It could be the emotion, it could be the violins, who knows?

    But the difficulty comes when, like me, you want to dance with lots of different partners.

    Good social dancing, with a new partner, requires a common denominator. And it makes it a damn sight easier if you're both hearing the same beat.

    Lyrics is another thing - I'm a fan of acting out some of the word to songs I know but sometimes its completely lost on my partner, who wonders what the hell I'm doing, cos they're not listening to the words!
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    Basically lazy robd's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by Lory View Post
    Lyrics is another thing - I'm a fan of acting out some of the word to songs I know but sometimes its completely lost on my partner, who wonders what the hell I'm doing, cos they're not listening to the words!


    I know that feeling only too well. I'm not good enough to express some of the musical subtleties in my footwork or body movement so cheesy lyrical play is the easy option and it's amazing how many times someone I am dancing with has no idea why I have just done something linked to the lyrics. When you find someone who hears the music in the same way and thinks about the lyrics similarly too it can be a great experience though.

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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Play dancing to Stray Cat Strut with someone who knows it is great fun.

    Any other fun tracks to play to?

  20. #40
    Registered User martingold's Avatar
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    Re: Blues - A step to far

    Quote Originally Posted by Lory View Post
    Martin, this is because you're not a 'Rhythm based' dancer and you're probably only hearing the accentuated driving base beat and don't hear all the other subtleties

    This is not a slur on you, its a pure obsiervation..

    I'm definitely mainly Rhythm based, so when I'm dancing so something with very little 'beat guidance' and solely relying on the emotional feeling of a dance, I feel lost and rather stupid, like when your drama teacher says... pretend your a 'tree'
    I think youve hit the nail on the head there lori it is something i have been wondering about for some time now and dont worry i wouldnt take anything you say as a slur i know you well enough by now
    I love nothing better than a track with virtually no bass and much stronger other layers i will play with all of it up and down the layers but normally the most dominant..... you mean im not a tree?????

    Quote Originally Posted by Lory View Post
    If like Snow white, you have a regular partner, someone you dance with 'most' of the time, then you can start to develop a deeper connection and allow oneself to be guided by 'other' things in the music, aside from the beat. It could be the emotion, it could be the violins, who knows?

    But the difficulty comes when, like me, you want to dance with lots of different partners.

    Good social dancing, with a new partner, requires a common denominator. And it makes it a damn sight easier if you're both hearing the same beat.

    Lyrics is another thing - I'm a fan of acting out some of the word to songs I know but sometimes its completely lost on my partner, who wonders what the hell I'm doing, cos they're not listening to the words!
    i dont agree that you have to have a regular partner to dance like that i have often come across new partners and we gel immediately and others i struggle to dance with even though i know they are awesome dancers (you for one although when we find common ground such as that dance to rockys set lunchtime sunday we it feels wonderful)

    however i dance with all sorts of people and my favourite dancers usually pick up on what i am doing and play with me and i love playing with lyrics

    i wonder if it has something to do with hearing and what we actually hear in a track when the track is bass dominated all i hear is that bass i have often said i think its down to my hearing when the bass line is too strong i hear nothing else and it becomes boring

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