The problem with the scatter method is it only works if no new people turn up. The more 'extra people' you have full rotation works best. Hey its just a opinion, there must be some form of maths formula for this ?Originally Posted by DavidY
Rotation appears to be best for busy classes with lots of numbers and little space.Originally Posted by Lounge Lizard
Small classes can and do work quite well with the scatter or circle method which I have seen at numerous smaller venues.
The problem with the scatter method is it only works if no new people turn up. The more 'extra people' you have full rotation works best. Hey its just a opinion, there must be some form of maths formula for this ?Originally Posted by DavidY
That's not been my experience in smaller groups - if there are excess men, then late arriving women snap them up, and late arriving men just insert themselves in a gap between two pairs. Might be different in large groups, though.The scatter method only works if no new people turn up
Originally Posted by MartinHarper
WHERE? I'm on my way.............
This style of rotation was done once at dundee recently and it confused everyone and made the ladies feel even more awkward than they do sitting waiting at the side of the dance floor.Originally Posted by Daisy Chain
Yes, but that's only if more of the opposite gender turn up. If more of the same arrive, the scatter system becomes somewhat unfair, as people invariably join in wherever they are going to get on next, rather than at the back of the wall flower queue. Amir Giles said something very interesting at Beach Boogie last week. He is of the opinion that the people who learn moves faster are the ones who practise the move on their own, whilst waiting in the queue, as it gets into their muscle memory faster. It makes for a quiter class too, as the teacher isn't competing to be heard over people talking.Originally Posted by MartinHarper
If there are an excess of men, then late arriving men just insert themselves in a gap between two pairs. They wait out the current bit of dancing, and get a dance next time the class rotates. With a wallflower queue, late arriving men join the end of the queue, wait out the current bit of dancing, and get a dance the next time the class rotates. It's unclear to me how either of these systems can be considered more fair than the other.
Practicing is good, of course - but one can practice the moves in both systems - provided there's space! I've happilly danced with air, or practiced spins, (or drunk some water ) when I'm in a gap in the scatter method, and some women do the same. It seems to me the critical factor for practicing on your own is sufficient space to do so - I'm afraid I just don't see how the rotation system makes a difference.
I think the different methods work best in different situations. I get the impression that the majority of teachers prefer to work with a circle, though space rarely permits this. If you're in a circle, then the scatter method is the only one to use.
For the average weekly class, with people arriving late, and up to 10 spare men/women then the single queue is what people are used to, and it generally works well. (Unless there are more than 3 men moving on, because they are hopeless at counting, the number of times I've been bumped out of a class due to bad counting But I've just had a thought, maybe it's the women, seeing some guy coming round that they definitely don't want to dance with, even for a few seconds, do they slip out of the lesson and cause chaos? Has anyone ever done this?)
For the mega classes (Camber) or other places where there may be huge numbers of extra women (men if it's a blues class ) then break them up and put them at the end of the rows. This one does have the disadvantage that you only get to dance with 1/2, a 1/4, or whatever, of the class.
Greg
But the counter argument is that it is an advantage for the other half of the class who do not have to dance with me!Originally Posted by Sheepman
Originally Posted by Sheepman
Ahem, told you I was fussy...
Last edited by Daisy Chain; 3rd-August-2004 at 12:09 PM.
Hey, I've got this one sussed! Shhhh! Just join another row, when you've had enough of the one your in!Originally Posted by Sheepman
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A good reason for rotating, rather than fixed partners ... oops .. wrong thread!Originally Posted by Rhythm King
Well I've taught using both methods. The scatter method definitely saves time when you have a large number of people to move on, but as previously mentioned, only works if you have the space to have everyone on the dancefloor at the same time. When teaching in a circle, it's the only choice IMHO, but it has worked just as well for me in lines. When everyone knows whats going on (we regularly used to teach our Improvers class with 50-60 people + up to 15 spare in a circle using the scatter method) even the late comers neatly slot themselves into a suitable gap between partners.
This seems key to the scatter method..I guess it's easier for people to turn up late as 'newbies' and realise that there's a queue to be joined, scatter method would need constand explanation for those new to it (perhaps)....Originally Posted by RobC
We had some late-arriving newcomer guys at Ceroc Cheltenham this Monday, and they didn't realise they had to wave their hands to get a girl from the queue to come over (or should they have walked over and grabbed a girl from the queue? I'm still not clear on the finer points of wallflower etiquette... ). In two cases, they didn't realise that there were spare women and they could join in. The same sort of thing has happened in the scatter classes I've gone too. What's obvious to folks who've been going a few weeks might not be to newcomers...Originally Posted by Emma
Interestingly, when I went from a scatter class to a queue class, I didn't have much of a problem, and I know someone who did the opposite, and she seemed to cope fine. Perhaps the confusion arises when an entire class is asked to switch? IE, if you have a class full of people who are only used to a queue, then switching to scatter is going to confuse them a bit - and vica versa. That seems to be what people are saying here.
If so, the message to teachers has to be - whatever you're doing, keep doing it! I'm sure they'll be relieved.
Last edited by MartinHarper; 4th-August-2004 at 12:10 AM.
A lot of guys go for this hand-up-fetch-me-a-woman. I think it's rude and unchivalrous. If you want a woman to dance with, please go and ask oneOriginally Posted by MartinHarper
Andy there isn't always that much time available.Originally Posted by Andy McGregor
This reminds me of a time when about Ten of us were standing in the 'wallflower queue' and this guy hurried in, obviously quite stressed at having missed the very start of the lesson, he was taking his coat off and changing his shoes, without taking his eye off the teacher. then he realised , hells bells, he had to get a woman, he spotted the queue, ran up but then he was completely flummoxed, you could see his brain ticking over as he eyed the queue, 'what do I do, what do I do? do I take one from the front or the back (panic), not knowing what to do, he quickly walked up and down the queue and gave us all a fleeting 'once over' and ended up picking a lady from the middle. At which point, we all turned to each other, raising our eyebrows and gave each other a 'once over' then burst out laughing! Poor bloke! you had to be there!Originally Posted by MartinHarper
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Originally Posted by Sheepman
I think women are fast worse at counting, they tend to talk more
I disagree (and we're better at typing, too )Originally Posted by stewart38
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