Page 4 of 5 FirstFirst 12345 LastLast
Results 61 to 80 of 85

Thread: Competition Dance Style

  1. #61
    Registered User ChrisA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    3,830
    Rep Power
    11
    Originally posted by Gus
    but I was trying to say that it didn't inspire me ...
    The trouble is, familiarity can breed, if not contempt, at least, indifference.

    In the words of another song...

    "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you got till it's gone..."

    Chris

  2. #62
    Registered User Easter Bunny's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Bristol and sometimes on another planet entirely
    Posts
    118
    Rep Power
    11

    Urban

    [QUOTE]Originally posted by Gadget
    [B]This "Urban"{Much more funky word than "club" }/"Latin"

    Thanks Gadget - I use the expression 'urban' to describe the dance styles of the likes of Dan; Taz and Adam; Ben and Holly and Simon and Keely.

    Having two kids in the house (well...... aged 20 and 22) who dance 'club' style in and around the night clubs in Bristol which encapsulates house/trance and R & B styles they would be horrified to think their styles of dancing was remotely 'jive' so therefore I do not think of it as 'club' style but more 'urban' as in hip-hop.

    Sorry - but when you live with kids of this age they soon put you in your place and tell you to 'get with the programme' and look out if you are not.

    Daisy (Jane)
    As a follow on from what you were saying about dance styles, you and Ray always look great on the dance floor with your latin style and always look like you are having such fun. I wonder though, having watched you dance with Mark (ie Mark & Jackie from Cardiff) at Blackpool during Saturday evening, whether you found the 'urban' stlye harder to follow ? I don't think many people appreciate how much harder it is to follow the urban style when you are not used to it as they do not immediately appear to be traditionally structured moves as we know them and rely much more on personal style and musical interpretation I think, or indeed do many appreciate how good the followers of these partners are to keep up !
    Love the costumes by the way - did you make yours and did you dye Ray's trousers - they were a fantastic blue !

    Simon - you would look good in anything - sequins or not (better than Prince William in fact!)

    Lesley

  3. #63
    The Oracle
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    2,263
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Urban

    Originally posted by Easter Bunny
    I don't think many people appreciate how much harder it is to follow the urban style when you are not used to it as they do not immediately appear to be traditionally structured moves as we know them and rely much more on personal style and musical interpretation I think, or indeed do many appreciate how good the followers of these partners are to keep up !
    Good point. I would generally only try to do anything approaching an 'urban' style with someone I knew danced that way. As Easter Bunny says, most of the ladies that can do this are very good dancers anyway. Maybe someone needs to simplify some of the ideas and teach it to a more general audience. After all - isn't that one of the core ideas of Modern Jive.

    (My 'urban' style consists of standing still in an 'urban' sort of way, as opposed to standing still in a 'Latin' sort of way, or a 'swing' sort of way. Doing nothing is the same in any dance style! Doesn't really work for the ladies though...)

    David

  4. #64
    Registered User Chicklet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Glasgow
    Posts
    2,555
    Blog Entries
    1
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Re: Urban

    Originally posted by DavidB
    (My 'urban' style consists of standing still in an 'urban' sort of way,
    David
    In an urban Hawaiian Shirt, obviously

  5. #65
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Cruden Bay (Aberde
    Posts
    7,053
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Urban

    Originally posted by Easter Bunny
    I don't think many people appreciate how much harder it is to follow the urban style when you are not used to it as they do not immediately appear to be traditionally structured moves as we know them and rely much more on personal style and musical interpretation I think, or indeed do many appreciate how good the followers of these partners are to keep up !
    I think I see what you mean, but the only thing I have to reference to is an old workshop that Gus did and films like "Save the Last Dance" or adverts like the new I pod one. {really need to get myself a copy of a few competitions... any recommendations?}

    The differences as I see them:
    - Most of the leads seem to be body leads with non-contact repetitions or mirrors. I think that a lot of practice in mirroring and mimicry would be needed before it flowed as smoothly as a standard physical lead.
    - A lot of the "funk" seems to come from footwork (which is not my favourite thing).
    - The "Attitude" is cool as opposed to the heat of latin stylings. Still has the same 'passion' - just the 'latin' is molten and the "urban" is electric.
    - Most of the "Latin" moves are close, eye-gazing and carressing. The "Urban"is more confident and pushes the lady away to see/appreciate all of her and carress with the eyes.
    - The times that Urban gets close, it's more synchronus (sp?) where the bodys follow each other rather than the lead dominating and focusing the attention on his partner.
    - The latin style has the lady as the aloof partner, with the men trying to seduce; the urban style has the men being aloof and the lady making the advances.

    This last point is what I think makes it very hard to incorporate into MJ: How can the men lead when it is the ladies who are trying to seduce?


    originally posted by DavidB
    (My 'urban' style consists of standing still in an 'urban' sort of way...)
    Last edited by Gadget; 15th-March-2004 at 05:43 PM.

  6. #66
    Registered User spindr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Brizzle
    Posts
    1,617
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Re: Urban

    Well, I hope try out my new "urban" style and follow the forefront of chart music soon. However, I'm having troubles leading the criss-cross and charlie brown in freestyle, so any tips would be most useful -- though I have hopes that I may be able to dust off my cha-cha-cha, although I didn't see many hand-to-hands or hockey sticks in DJ Casper's video

    SpinDr.

    P.S. Gadget you might like to check out the new film "Honey" might have some new urban moves...

  7. #67
    Registered User LilyB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    London
    Posts
    629
    Rep Power
    12
    Originally posted by Gus
    Sorry ... if the trend is for Latin at the moment, then I think its even MORE important for the other variations to be promoted. The skills of the dancers in the final were self evident ... but I'm starting to get bored of the same old performances being trotted out. Lets having some new. Dan Baines ... where are you?? Come to think of it ... how come Taz and partner weren't competeing??
    Taz and Adam weren't competing because Adam was injured. It is also worth pointing out that Taz and Adam came in second in a recent major competition (the Showcase and Open sections at the 2003 Britroc), so their style of dancing is recognised and appreciated by judges.

    As for your views regarding "same old performances", I have tried to avoid that by competing with a different partner at every freestyle competition I have entered. Not only have the styles of all my partners been completely different from each other, but as a result I have had to adapt my style to (hopefully) suit them. Or perhaps people think that I still dance in the same style no matter who my partner is.

    Ah well - there's always room for improvement . . .

    LilyB

  8. #68
    Senior Member Minnie M's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Hove Actually
    Posts
    7,924
    Rep Power
    14
    Originally posted by TheTramp
    Actually, I think that at least half of that list are over 30, some are well over 30 .......
    but they don't look it, even if they are


    --ooOoo--
    Age is a question of mind over matter, if you don't mind, it doesn't matter
    Leroy (Satchel) Paige (1906-1982)

    Mickey Mouse's girlfriend, Minnie, made her film debut, along with Mickey, in "Steamboat Willie" on November 18, 1928.
    That date is recognized as her official birthday.

  9. #69
    Commercial Operator Gus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    York
    Posts
    5,203
    Rep Power
    13
    Originally posted by TheTramp
    For the record (I know that we're not at the top of the tree in your eyes Gus, even though we recently beat several of the people in your list), I'm well over 30, and Hayley is well under 30!
    My quote was not aimed at disputing your placing in the World MJ rankings but a listing of those who (I thought) were 30 and below. If someone would care to point out who in the list is well over 30 I will of course remove them from my list and await their retribution on your own ageing self

  10. #70
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    889
    Rep Power
    12

    competition dance style

    Hi - 'fraid I haven't been following all this thread, but just a couple of personal thoughts on the original question ...

    'Latin' is included in the description of ceroc and this is not new - Nicky Haslam's Australian intro (eg on her tapes or prob on her website) says that it is a blend of a number of things and describes it similarly.

    Mike Ellard's interest in salsa is well-known, so it would not be surprising if he wanted to emphasise the contribution salsa and latin dances make and can make to ceroc.

    As to 'competition style' I personally think this is quite different. As a general rule, I would continue to expect that judges would rule out dancers whose dance isn't at least say 70% recognisable 'Ceroc' type dance whatever that is understood to mean and that's often written into the rules. But. . . what does it take to be a winner?

    Looking at winners lists, it struck me that as far as I can see maybe there are two groups, and people who win consistently probably fall into one or both groups.

    1) Technically stunning.
    In this category, names that come to mind include Nicky and Robert, Janine and Clayton. The techinical perfection aspect is the thing that amazes. There are many technically very good dancers who don't fall into this category - they are brilliant (often brilliant teachers) but their technical brilliance isn't so astounding as to be a main factor to produce a winner.

    2) Very interesting.
    These are people who are just intensely fascinating to watch for one reason or another and have sufficient technical grasp not to be marked down for mistakes. For instance, Steve Lampert doesn't have technical brilliance to the same degree as Nicky and Robert (IMHO) but he is usually very interesting to watch.

    Based on this, I'd maybe conclude that if a dancer doesn't have very many years of dance background (possibly including good training in a strict dance form such as ballet or ballroom) the chances of that dancer winning competitions consistently on technical brilliance alone is maybe pretty slim. CTA teaching can't achieve this - it ensures people have reached a high standard and have teaching skills. People who are very good technically may make excellent teachers, but this is different from being so technically brilliant that it's just dazzling to watch by people of at level.

    On the other hand, maybe any 'beginner' can put in the sheer application, hard work, and personal sacrifice to achieve top success by learning to be stunningly interesting to watch.

    This is quite apart from the question of why on earth do you want to compete anyway?? Answering that can be quite soul-searching and very revealing. Your personal ambitions as a dancer may even conflict with what is required to win a jive competition. Given the choice, I'd say follow your heart!

    To me at the moment, jive competions are not very important to me or a measure of anything that is important for me to achieve, but I enjoyed doing them for a while and will no doubt enjoy them again socially. My dance interests are simply defined by other things - we all go through phases and this is mine.

  11. #71
    The Forum Legend
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Nottingham
    Posts
    10,672
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: competition dance style

    Originally posted by Chris
    1) Technically stunning.
    2) Very interesting.
    Is this the 'moves' v 'musicality' question again Chris??

    Trampy

    PS. Thanks for the compliment

  12. #72
    The Forum Legend
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Nottingham
    Posts
    10,672
    Rep Power
    14
    Originally posted by Gus
    but a listing of those who (I thought) were 30 and below. If someone would care to point out who in the list is well over 30 I will of course remove them from my list and await their retribution on your own ageing self
    Well, I'm not naming any names (I wouldn't dare), but I think that there are only 4 people below 30 in that list. One, by his own admission is only there for a few more weeks, and the other is around 28.

    If you wanted a list of people well under 30 who might be in a lot of people's 'want to watch' list (and who have done well at major competitions), I think it'd look more like:

    Ben, Adam, Sean, Hollie, Hayley, Kate. I'm sure there's more, but I'm getting on, and my memory isn't what it used to be.....

    Having said that, I think that most of the rest of the people who are consistently doing well in competitions over the last few years, or are just people who catch the eye, are at least around/almost 30, or some are even a couple of years past it:

    Viktor, Lily, Nigel & Nina, Simon, Marilene, Andy & Rena, Clayton & Janine, Mick & Cynty, Ray & Jane, Amir, Will & Kate, Nicky & Robert, Simon & Taina, Taz, Debster, Simon & Christine, Simon, Mark & Jackie, Graham & Sarah, Me .....again, apologies to all the people I've missed out.

    Hence, I'm not sure that I agree with your point that

    Originally posted by Gus
    but look at the age range of the people at the top of the tree at the moment ...... all under 30
    Though, some of them may be (as you said) close to it.

    Trampy

  13. #73
    Registered User Daisy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    AUSTRALIA
    Posts
    397
    Rep Power
    11
    Thankyou Gareth and Simon for your lovely remarks. It's always great to get 'possitive' feedback.

    I loved the reply about Simon wearing one strategically placed sequin....please can I choose where to put it!

    DavidB....you crack me up with your comments. Standing still doing latin, urban whatever...

    Oh the age thing...thats really funny. I wish Ray & I were that young!! If only you knew!

    With regards to my dance with Mark......what a great dancer he is.
    Not as easy to follow as some and not quite the same style as me but I do my best. Could have been the 4/5 Breezers I'd drank having an effect of course! Mark is extremely musical and interprets in quite unusual ways, I think it's fair to say that with a bit more time dancing with him it would be possible to improve on connection etc.

    Chris A...you are soooo.. right. Familiarity does breed contempt. It's also a case of some people making something quite difficult look incredible easy. It's only when you try it for yourself that you realise it's not quite as simple as it looks.

    Lily....you are fantasic girl and you can, simply and purely, DANCE!

  14. #74
    Registered User Daisy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    AUSTRALIA
    Posts
    397
    Rep Power
    11
    Just a little note to let you know that Ray has just returned from the Post Office where he went to collect his pension! He asked me what was on the forum so, after I'd turned up his hearing aid, I told him all about it.

    We will be able to dance to much faster music in future cos his pacemaker has just been undated! We've had the chip changed from 'latin' to 'urban/club' so watch this space!

    Now I can't stop him rippling....or is that the fat!

    I think it's fair to say that we will be well and truely at the TOP of the age list!!!


  15. #75
    Registered User Mary's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    West London
    Posts
    1,717
    Rep Power
    11
    Originally posted by Daisy
    Just a little note to let you know that Ray has just returned from the Post Office where he went to collect his pension! He asked me what was on the forum so, after I'd turned up his hearing aid, I told him all about it.

    We will be able to dance to much faster music in future cos his pacemaker has just been undated! We've had the chip changed from 'latin' to 'urban/club' so watch this space!

    Now I can't stop him rippling....or is that the fat!

    I think it's fair to say that we will be well and truely at the TOP of the age list!!!
    Way to go girl! Long may you be an inspiration to us all.

    M

    PS had to delete your smilies to get mine in!!!!

  16. #76
    Registered User Divissima's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Posts
    1,461
    Blog Entries
    8
    Rep Power
    11

    Splitting hairs here... but

    Originally posted by Trampy:
    at least around/almost 30, or some are even a couple of years past it:

    Viktor, Lily, Nigel & Nina, Simon, Marilene, Andy & Rena, Clayton & Janine, Mick & Cynty, Ray & Jane, Amir, Will & Kate...
    Steady on, Trampy - Amir has a looooong way to go before he hits 30. Janine may also dispute being 'around/almost 30', and I always thought Robert Winter was a young thing. Happy to be corrected.

  17. #77
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Cruden Bay (Aberde
    Posts
    7,053
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: competition dance style

    Originally posted by Chris
    Looking at winners lists, it struck me that as far as I can see maybe there are two groups, and people who win consistently probably fall into one or both groups.

    1) Technically stunning.
    2) Very interesting.
    I don't get how you can be technically stunning without being very interesting.
    And I don't get how being very interesting can exist without being technically stunning.



    {does anyone else feel really old with the turn of the conversation }

  18. #78
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Sydney, Australia. A _long_ way from Scotland.
    Posts
    347
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Re: competition dance style

    Originally posted by Gadget
    I don't get how you can be technically stunning without being very interesting.
    Execute one tricky move absolutely perfectly, repeat the exact same move for the whole song.

    And I don't get how being very interesting can exist without being technically stunning.

    Juggle kittens while dancing badly?

    Sorry, late, not very serious.

  19. #79
    The Perfect Woman!
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Singapore, Singapo
    Posts
    978
    Rep Power
    11
    Originally posted by TheTramp
    Having said that, I think that most of the rest of the people who are consistently doing well in competitions over the last few years, or are just people who catch the eye, are at least around/almost 30, or some are even a couple of years past it:

    snip ...... Simon & Taina, .........snip

    Though, some of them may be (as you said) close to it.

    Trampy


    mmmm.... as I went to Simons' 30th over a decade ago, and well before Tania was his partner I think its safe to say he's a couple of years past 30 !!!

  20. #80
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Sydney, Australia,
    Posts
    78
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Splitting hairs here... but

    Originally posted by Divissima
    I always thought Robert Winter was a young thing. Happy to be corrected.
    Yes you are quite right I am still a young thing, though when a girl at dancing the other week asked me, and I told her I was 25, she called me an old fart, so I suppose it is another one of those perspective things.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

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

Similar Threads

  1. Should you dance to the style of the music?
    By Gadget in forum Intermediate Corner
    Replies: 84
    Last Post: 11th-May-2007, 01:06 AM
  2. New dance style
    By DavidB in forum The Land of a 1000 dances
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 13th-August-2006, 02:29 AM
  3. Does the music style dictate the dance style?
    By DavidB in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 5th-May-2006, 12:19 PM
  4. Most Popular dance style in UK
    By Dr Fuzz in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 23
    Last Post: 2nd-September-2003, 07:45 AM
  5. Dance style progression
    By Gus in forum Intermediate Corner
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 5th-July-2002, 11:34 AM

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
  •