View Poll Results: Where are you on the Technique vs moves scale?

Voters
10. You may not vote on this poll
  • 0 = I want pure technique!

    0 0%
  • 10 / 20 = Pure technique for me, with inspirational movements!

    3 30.00%
  • 30/40 = Technique is great, but I like a few complex patterns to help me.

    1 10.00%
  • 50/60 = I need moves to get me going, but need the technique to get it right.

    6 60.00%
  • 70/80 = I get bored without new inspiring moves. Technique comes naturally.

    0 0%
  • 90/100 = Technique is nothing without cool moves!

    0 0%
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Thread: Technique or Moves for workshops & Classes

  1. #21
    Omnipresent Administrator Franck's Avatar
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    Re: Technique or Moves for workshops & Classes

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidY View Post
    I think having at least a basic set / language of moves is very useful, even if it's just the "Beginners' Moves".

    For instance in a Musicality workshop, one could imagine showing ways to vary a First Move, for instance, in a way that would fit the music.

    But if everyone in the room knows the First Move to start with, it must be far easier to teach variations to it.
    That's a good point, and it makes a big difference.

    One of the interesting challenges last year when we updated our beginners moves, was to start using new moves as reference points. To start with, dancers would expect a First Move, Yoyo, catapult... What I find now, is that many dancers don't necessarily know what a yoyo is, so it would be better to use a slingshot, cradle or Spot Turn...
    Franck.

    There's an A.P.P. for that!

  2. #22
    Omnipresent Administrator Franck's Avatar
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    Re: Technique or Moves for workshops & Classes

    Quote Originally Posted by daveb9000 View Post
    As an experienced dancer, I would prefer this method of teaching. However, I think as a beginner I would have found it frustrating as I would be expecting to see results sooner and be comfortable in freestyle dancing.
    That is the crux of the issue. Beginners have very different expectations in MJ. We aim to get people dancing fast and to a high level of enjoyment quickly.
    Introducing technique to more experienced dancers without alienating new dancers is difficult, but possible! Keeping the teaching simple, clear (so that beginners are not confused) but adding good technical tips and key points to help more experienced dancers to progress is how I would try to do it, on the principle that beginners will ignore the extra bits, whilst experienced dancers don't need to pay attention to the foundation of the moves, and might notice the extra technique.
    Franck.

    There's an A.P.P. for that!

  3. #23
    Registered User daveb9000's Avatar
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    Re: Technique or Moves for workshops & Classes

    Quote Originally Posted by Franck View Post
    beginners will ignore the extra bits, whilst experienced dancers don't need to pay attention to the foundation of the moves, and might notice the extra technique.
    I would agree with this method as I found I gradually picked up on the technique bits when I was ready for them.

    I get very focused on how something works though (maybe more than some other dancers) so the technique bits (weight transfer, preps, body leads) were great for me to see why a move worked. I was also willing to ask the teacher "How do I lead that" if the instruction wasn't clear.

    I think in the end a lot of it comes down to what people are looking to get out of their dancing. For some, being able to lead a handful of moves with maybe a couple of 'fancy' ones is enough for them, for others, myself included, we want to be able to connect with our partner and lead them into a series of movements while connected to them and the music.

  4. #24
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Re: Technique or Moves for workshops & Classes

    Quote Originally Posted by daveb9000 View Post
    As an experienced dancer, I would prefer this method of teaching. However, I think as a beginner I would have found it frustrating as I would be expecting to see results sooner and be comfortable in freestyle dancing. Having said that, I wouldn't expect the same method of progress with Tango and Modern Jive. I would expect to spend more time on technique as a beginner Tango dancer, and not to be so comfortable in freestyle dancing.
    I think this is one of those things which is difficult to explain in text. I'm certainly not spending 90 minutes teaching ivory-tower moveless-technique or something - there are moves, there are even patterns and flashy leg stuff

    (Here's Monday's class notes)

    But these movements are all driven by a principle of technique. So rather than teach the move and then telling them how to do it right, I'm telling them what to do right (hopefully) then teaching moves associated with that area.

  5. #25
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Re: Technique or Moves for workshops & Classes

    Quote Originally Posted by Franck View Post
    Introducing technique to more experienced dancers without alienating new dancers is difficult, but possible!
    It's also worth saying that most of the attendees at my Monday classes are either salsa dancers or have already done a little tango already. Plus, it's a small class (12 on average), so much easier to teach than (say) a 40-50 person MJ class.

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