MJ - Regional / International Variations in MJ

[Damien]

Visiting family recently in Australia I attended ceroc classes at a number of diferent venues in Brisbane. I was struck by a number of differences compared with the venues I normally attend in Greater Manchester. In summary these are:
1. The average age in Brisbane was about 10 years younger. There were considerably more twentysomethings than North West England
2. On the whole the music was considerably faster with less variation in the types and styles of music. Very few older tracks played.
3. Everyone was doing drops and dips like there was no tomorrow. Even the most recent intermediates seemed to be trying out fairly dangerous looking moves. It wasn't always pretty - but there were some pretty fantastic dancers also.

Being a fairly parochial dancer this set me to thinking if there are similar variations across the UK? Do organisers market ceroc/mj to different segments in different places?

[Gus]

1. The average age in Brisbane was about 10 years younger. There were considerably more twentysomethings than North West England
2. On the whole the music was considerably faster with less variation in the types and styles of music. Very few older tracks played.

By George ... wonder if there is any correlation

[Andy McGregor]

Maybe if you played nursery rhymes you'd get toddlers. In fact, some venues seem to promote a toddlers style of dancing

[Damien]

OK your right Gus but personally I've always liked a wide range of music - love dancing to swing that my parents danced to, motown/soul of my older sisters' and the dance music my kids listen to. Probably my least favourite music for dancing is all the disco and glam rock music of my youth.

Anyway think you missed the point of my discussion but good point!

[Andreas]

2. On the whole the music was considerably faster with less variation in the types and styles of music. Very few older tracks played.
3. Everyone was doing drops and dips like there was no tomorrow.

Well, Gus, to me the question is more: Is there a correlation?

[Gary]

V... diferent venues in Brisbane. I was struck by a number of differences compared with the venues I normally attend in Greater Manchester. In summary these are:
...
2. On the whole the music was considerably faster with less variation in the types and styles of music. Very few older tracks played.
...

Well on the theme of regional variations, I've found when I visited Brisbane from Sydney, that the music seemed a lot more clubby, "doosh-doosh" kinda stuff than I'm used to in Sydney. I wasn't there long, though, so I might have the wrong end of the stick.

[Damien]

Gary- think your description of the music is a fairly accurate one. Taking the point Gus made is there is difference in the age ranges between Sydney and Brisbane. If there is a difference in age range how come? Is ceroc marketed to a different audience in Sydney? Are there similar differences in the UK?

[KatieR]

Gary- think your description of the music is a fairly accurate one. Taking the point Gus made is there is difference in the age ranges between Sydney and Brisbane. If there is a difference in age range how come? Is ceroc marketed to a different audience in Sydney? Are there similar differences in the UK?

In Adelaide the general age of dancers is between 18 and 25 and we dance to both older tracks and new, more modern music.

[Damien]

If you visited Manchester you might then be surprised to find the age range mainly say 30-55. There must be something different in the two markets and how/why the commercial operators target different audiences?

Typical might be the busking that takes place at supermarkets prior to new venues opening. This indicates the kind of audience your aiming at.

[KatieR]

If you visited Manchester you might then be surprised to find the age range mainly say 30-55. There must be something different in the two markets and how/why the commercial operators target different audiences?

Typical might be the busking that takes place at supermarkets prior to new venues opening. This indicates the kind of audience your aiming at.

We found that because our venues were mainly church halls and in university halls that the majority of our dancers were from those establishments. I know that they are trying to broaden the age group and introduce new people to Ceroc. We only have maybe 20 regular dancers in Adelaide but are trying to get our numbers up.

[Yliander]

Being a fairly parochial dancer this set me to thinking if there are similar variations across the UK? Do organisers market ceroc/mj to different segments in different places?

having danced in Sydney, Melbourne & Perth - that there are regional differences - in style, music and age ranges.

despite the same marketing some venues seem to attract different demographics. in Perth (Australia) the age range is from teens to late 60's....

the biggest difference i noticed between regions though was the style difference - different types of moves or known moves done with a different flavour

as to international differences I'll let you know when Trampy visits

[Gadget]

I have heard from various people that the differences lies in the teachers:
Visitors up here are sometimes surprised at how few dips/drops we do - but Franck & his minions {} don't teach that many.
I've heard comments that you can tell which dancers are regulars of Marc's teaching.
There are also a few variations in teachers here that I can pick up on; 'flowing' ladys styling normally comes from Lisa (& Lorna), 'funky' shoulders comes from JiveBrumie & FC, 'comb overload' comes from Franck , etceteras.

[David Bailey]

I've heard comments that you can tell which dancers are regulars of Marc's teaching.

For teachers with distinctive styles, this is true - for example, a few years ago, it used to be very obvious that I'd mainly learnt from Mike Ellard. Whether that's a good or bad thing is another question

[DavidB]

I've heard comments that you can tell which dancers are regulars of Marc's teaching.

Are they the ones who dance 8 hours non-stop?

[Yliander]

I have heard from various people that the differences lies in the teachers:

this is very true - it can be very obvious in Australia where someone has learn to dance from their style - can often pick a CMJ, a LeBop,a Ceroc Melbourne, a Lestep dancer - not sure if there is such a thing as Ceroc Perth (Australia) dancer yet ...

[animaltalk]

On a regional level, when I took friends from Exeter upto Bristol, which is where I learnt to dance, they said they could now see where my styling came from.

I also just come back from Oz and NZ - and I noticed the following.
1) Blokes tending to do the static frame thing a lot more
2) Thus girls were more showy => harder to lead (Involved in their own styling) and less eye contact (Personally very frustrating)
3) Moves were bigger
4) Skill level was a little disappointing (Or just different - still not sure) - I know if I hed up to London for the weekend, and dance in the main venues. I can happily spend an hour or so watching amazing dancers, trying to pick up tips/ideas -was it just that I didn't click with their style . .


On a slightly different tangent. I was dancing with a very good lady at Southport, within 30 seconds of the track starting she had identified correctly that I also did argentina tango, salsa and ballroom. I hadn't totally appreciated how much these all came into my dancing. But it did reming me why i love jive so much - because it allows me to fuse all these styles into one track.

Nick