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Thread: Performance/freestyle dancing

  1. #1
    Senior Member Minnie M's Avatar
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    Performance/freestyle dancing

    This weekend at Camp Savoy Joseph and Sadie of Strictly Dance Fever fame were with us, both in the dance classes and they performed their charleston and Lindy performances

    The cabaret was awesome - truly brilliant and much better seeing it live and technically correct (so I was told)

    However, I was really surprised to see them struggling in the classes. They attended the 'intermediate' classes (my level) and even the moves they had beautifully and correctly performed in their cabaret, they struggled with in the class


    --ooOoo--
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    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.

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    Re: Performance/freestyle dancing

    Some things look better when you dont have to verbalise each bit. If you dance a rehearsed routine you know the moves then you fit them into a whole routine then you polish that into the show. BUT once you have to verbalise it then it can all disintegrate.

    'spose its comparable to the solo musician who has the dots and learns the piece THEN leaves the dots behind and concentrates on the performance and styling.

    Try breathing, it always works better "on Auto" than thinking about each breath. Try walking you never think about each step but walking seems to happen ok "on auto".

    Most people remember the words for a routine and the parsing of the word code to limb movement takes processor time away from the art performance. Dance training helps to ease and speed the parsing to allow dancers to go through the verbalising stage to the mechanical memory, its the movement they remember not the words, then the thinking involves the finesses of the moves not the spelling their names.

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    Lovely Moderator ducasi's Avatar
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    Re: Performance/freestyle dancing

    At a recent class I attended I was surprised to notice a guy that I had always thought of as quite a good dancer struggling to do some of the moves we were being taught – turning ACW rather than CW, that sort of thing – while I had much fewer problems.

    Later I saw him practicing the moves and he had them sorted, and even if he had taken longer to suss them, in the end he looked much better than I think I did.

    Maybe the extra effort he needed paid off in his performance.
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

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    Re: Performance/freestyle dancing

    My experience is that good dancers often appear to struggle during classes, because they are attempting to match the teachers to a higher degree of precision, and they are deliberately making life hard for themselves.

    An example - I was being taught a "Jump Charleston" variation, and feeling pleased with myself that I'd "got it", when some teacher who was in the same class was "struggling". A few minutes later I was again in a position to watch him, and this time he'd "got it", and I saw why he'd been struggling earlier. He'd been putting in the classic Charleston foot-swivels, whereas I'd heard the teacher say "this is optional" and promptly ignored it. He was also isolating the movement down in his lower body, and doing the movement with correct posture and balance. I guess all that meant it took him longer, but when we both "had it", nobody would even think we were doing the same move.

    Whether that applies to Joseph and Sadie, I don't know. As I understand it, in SDF they were taught a Lindy routine, rather than being taught Lindy. It might also be instructive to compare the length of time they've been dancing Lindy, with the length of time Minnie has. I'd expect them to be slightly less comfortable with it.

  5. #5
    Donna
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    Re: Performance/freestyle dancing

    Quote Originally Posted by Minnie M
    This weekend at Camp Savoy Joseph and Sadie of Strictly Dance Fever fame were with us, both in the dance classes and they performed their charleston and Lindy performances
    Still on their little tour around the country are they?? Yeah they were in Llangollen a couple of weeks ago.

    Quote Originally Posted by Minnie M
    However, I was really surprised to see them struggling in the classes. They attended the 'intermediate' classes (my level) and even the moves they had beautifully and correctly performed in their cabaret, they struggled with in the class
    Oh my goodness!!! Really? Makes you wonder how they won. Seems they're only a natural for rehearsed routines but freestyling...rubbish!!!! Although they're choreographed routines look pretty amazing, not being able to hack modern jive goes to show they must have stuggled learning other styles on SDF. But of course they wouldn't show that would they and they're other peeps out there who were better dancers and could pick up other styles easily.....like Jodie and Danny for instance. They deserved to have won that full stop.

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    Re: Performance/freestyle dancing

    Quote Originally Posted by Donna
    ... not being able to hack modern jive....
    I'm not disagreeing with your broader point. Camp Savoy is a Lindy weekend, not MJ, so I'm guessing this was intermediate Lindy, not intermediate MJ.

    I suppose one of the benefits of being a "celebrity" learning to dance is that you don't suffer from a shortage of unsolicited negative feedback.

  7. #7
    Donna
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    Re: Performance/freestyle dancing

    Quote Originally Posted by MartinHarper
    I'm not disagreeing with your broader point. Camp Savoy is a Lindy weekend, not MJ, so I'm guessing this was intermediate Lindy, not intermediate MJ.

    I suppose one of the benefits of being a "celebrity" learning to dance is that you don't suffer from a shortage of unsolicited negative feedback.
    Ok well Lindy then. And celebrity dancers??? Not for long. See I went to the SDF auditions and they promise you the world....'oh you're gonna be taking part in Britains biggest show Burn The Floor plus some television appearances etc etc. A month or two down the line....you never hear of them again.

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    Re: Performance/freestyle dancing

    Quote Originally Posted by MartinHarper
    unsolicited negative feedback.
    Unwarranted unsolicited negative feedback to boot.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Minnie M's Avatar
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    Re: Performance/freestyle dancing

    Quote Originally Posted by MartinHarper
    .. Camp Savoy is a Lindy weekend, not MJ, so I'm guessing this was intermediate Lindy, not intermediate MJ.
    Martin is quite right, is was a Lindy weekend, not only that it was Ryan Francois' weekender (he was the Lindy teacher on the show)

    {off thread} BTW it was a fantastic weekend with teachers and dancers who came over specially for it from USA / Switzerland / Sweden / France & Germany PLUS the absolutely amazing CASEY MAGILL {back on thread}

    Lindy Hop is extremely hard to learn, you have to not only think about what your feet are doing, your body posture etc., has to be correct too I have been told the only way to learn it properly is to give up MJ for about 6 months ........... NEVER - that is why after 5 years I am still an intermediate


    --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.

  10. #10
    Donna
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    Re: Performance/freestyle dancing

    Quote Originally Posted by Minnie M
    Martin is quite right, is was a Lindy weekend, not only that it was Ryan Francois' weekender (he was the Lindy teacher on the show)

    {off thread} BTW it was a fantastic weekend with teachers and dancers who came over specially for it from USA / Switzerland / Sweden / France & Germany PLUS the absolutely amazing CASEY MAGILL {back on thread}

    Lindy Hop is extremely hard to learn, you have to not only think about what your feet are doing, your body posture etc., has to be correct too I have been told the only way to learn it properly is to give up MJ for about 6 months ........... NEVER - that is why after 5 years I am still an intermediate
    Give up MJ for 6 months!!!GET OUTTA HERE!! No oh oh way!

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