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Thread: What could kill MJ?

  1. #101
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by frodo
    A quarterly publication called Dance Diary. I subscribed to it for a year, and made quite a bit of use of it at the time.

    http://www.dancesport.uk.com/dancediary/
    Interesting - thanks.

    Quote Originally Posted by Keith J
    well here's a little theory.... as venues rise and fall here's some of the traps that kill MJ

    { snip list }
    I agree with your list, but that's more venue-specific factors, I was thinking more about national trends?

  2. #102
    Registered User Lynn's Avatar
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Hmm, sounds a bit like the list of reasons why I don't dance salsa - I would probably put
    1) Smoky venues
    Quote Originally Posted by Keith J
    2)...sound systems...
    Too loud (can't have conversations, risk of hearing damage)
    Quote Originally Posted by Keith J
    3) Floor...unclean and sticky
    Mostly too dirty to ever dream of wearing proper dance shoes. Wearing normal shoes and spinning gives me sore knees. Broken glass and spilt beer in worst cases.
    Quote Originally Posted by Keith J
    4) Not a good gender balance male to female ratio.
    So its hard to actually get any dances.

    To that I would add excessive overcrowding of venues - 'pack as many in as possible' attitude.

    So I could see these factors putting some people off dancing MJ - they have certainly put me off dancing salsa.

  3. #103
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by clevedonboy
    Not necessarily - Eric's classes in Bristol are £5 per person so compares with average MJ. He charges £5 admission to his Ballroom dances again compares well.

    In fact I'd go further and say it's better value in some ways - Avon Amateurs charge £5 per couple for their practice nights at the Somerset Hall in Portishead (costs £30 per hour to hire) & their Xmas bash cost £12 a head including dancing, a lovely buffet (with pudding!) and a 30 minute cabaret from Darren & Lilia.
    Yes, but (if you start getting into ballroom to any extent) you'll find you want private lessons as well, then if you start competing there's the travel and entry fees, hotels as well if you are any good and want to go further afield. Get above beginners levels and there's the competition outfits ......

    Been there, done some of that, spent the money .....

    Enjoyed it tho ....

    Andy

  4. #104
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by clevedonboy
    I don't think anyone makes any money from the AA practice nights 3 hours dancing = £90. You don't need a DJ & there's no teacher so to cover costs you need an average of 20 couples
    Yep. Avon Amateurs is (or certainly was) a non profit making club which provides a dance practice night per week (aimed mainly at competitors) two are three rather more formal social dances a year and organises a couple of dance competitions (which will be self financing). It provides no teaching.

    Andy - I might not have scratched the surface bu the maths doesn't add up On daves figures 100K MJ dancers need say 500 social events per week, where are they?
    [/quote]

    Well, we are including all MJ events. In the Bristol/Bath area there are (to my knowledge):

    Regular weekly nights:
    Le Roc 2000 (2 events)
    Clifton Le Roc
    Elmgrove Le Roc
    Kinsgwood Le Roc
    Ginger Jive (Bath)
    Nailsea
    Ceroc Thornbury
    Trinity
    Portishead Le Roc

    Plus weekend dances (which probably average out at one per week - ie odd weeks with none, odd weeks with dances on Fri and Sat)

    So that's 12 just in this area.

    And I have vague recollections of seeing another night advertised in Bath - although I don't know whether it still happens.

    I would actually guess there were more MJ events with slightly lower attendences than your arithmatic would suggest, but I wouldn't argue with his ballpark figure for the total.

    Andy

  5. #105
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andybroom
    Yep. Avon Amateurs is (or certainly was) a non profit making club which provides a dance practice night per week (aimed mainly at competitors) two are three rather more formal social dances a year and organises a couple of dance competitions (which will be self financing). It provides no teaching.




    Well, we are including all MJ events. In the Bristol/Bath area there are (to my knowledge):

    Regular weekly nights:
    Le Roc 2000 (2 events)
    Clifton Le Roc
    Elmgrove Le Roc
    Kinsgwood Le Roc
    Ginger Jive (Bath)
    Nailsea
    Ceroc Thornbury
    Trinity
    Portishead Le Roc

    Plus weekend dances (which probably average out at one per week - ie odd weeks with none, odd weeks with dances on Fri and Sat)

    So that's 12 just in this area.

    And I have vague recollections of seeing another night advertised in Bath - although I don't know whether it still happens.

    I would actually guess there were more MJ events with slightly lower attendences than your arithmatic would suggest, but I wouldn't argue with his ballpark figure for the total.

    Andy
    now you're talking teaching rather than social dancing, which was my beef (and in many ways backing up your assertion that there are more ballroom dancers than MJers) , I'll agree that there are many people learning to dance but most don't actually do any dancing outside of lessons or odd socials at their own class

  6. #106
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidJames
    What could kill MJ?
    Bird Flu

  7. #107
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Will
    Bird Flu

    Yeah without the birds there would be no one to dance with .....except Andy Mcgregor

  8. #108
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Having read through the thread a couple of personal comments.

    MJ like all other forms of dance will find its level. That of course will depend on some outside factors the most pressing of which will be venue's. Particularly for Freestyle events.

    I have been looking for a suitable venue, that is affordable, to organise some freestyles for some diary gaps in my area. I have to be realistic and try to get some sort of return on my effort. Those of you out there that do organise know the effort and potential hassle factor involved.

    Currently going to an MJ teaching or freestyle is a very good value night out and it is important that it stays that way. But the best venue's are not cheap. And we are fussy people. Good dance floors with the right facilities are very hard to find. We all go by car so secure parking (a major problem in a big city like Leeds). Somebody said I should employ some form of seurity for the car park. Not cheap!!

    The other way to look at it is to see the experience of other dance forms and learn. Ballroom never went away. It just lived in the back room for a while. Lots of very good dancers are back out of the wilderness and are now also going to learn MJ.

    The future is in all dance styles helping each other. So more mixed freestyles perhaps where dancers can "Do there own thing". But that means that pure MJers will have to put up with some ballroom or Rock and Roll at there events.

    (I might get burnt at the stake for saying THAT)

    I seem to recall working as a DJ at events like that for the Top Rank clubs back in the 70's.

    Regards and greetings from a very, very, very wet Leeds.

    DJ Chris Uren

  9. #109
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisU
    I have been looking for a suitable venue, that is affordable, to organise some freestyles for some diary gaps in my area. I have to be realistic and try to get some sort of return on my effort. Those of you out there that do organise know the effort and potential hassle factor involved.
    If my experience of this is anything to go by ChrisU is on a slippery slope. Sue and I organised monthly parties in our village hall which has a fabulous floor and can take 60 - 80 dancers for a freestyle. These parties were free to our guests and by invitation only. By the time we'd run the second one, which was a party for Sue's birthday, we'd been banned by our biggest local organiser because we were, in his words, "operators". This was in spite of the fact that our nights were free and on a night he hadn't got anything going on.

    So, there we were having to travel miles to get a dance as we had nowhere to go locally. Of course we needed somewhere good locally - so we started our own nights. We now teach 2 nights a week and run dances at weekends and workshops. We've got loads of crew, PA gear, CDs, banners, posters, flyers, advertising and general worries about complying with the complex PRS/PPL/MCPA regulations.

    And, once we'd started, our local organiser started to really get the knives out. To such and extent that he sent out a general email to his email list accusing my wife, Sue, of stalking him by walking up and down outside his flat spying on him.

    So, ChrisU, my advice is go the whole way and become an organiser, or stay as a punter.

    Oh, and what could kill MJ. Organisers sending out defamatory emails

  10. #110
    Registered User ChrisU's Avatar
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Thanks for your reply. I certainly know that what I want to do is a business venture. And the hassles involved will be great. But I do have the age and experience to do it. Oh yes and that great asset....... Lots of determination.

    You have my greatest sympathy. All business have bad eggs and clearly in your area you have one. I think of people like that as sad really. They clearly need our help to show them the way.

    I may find the same thing. However the good guys like you and me will always win if we provide what people want.

    Regards and the best of luck.

    DJ ChrisU

  11. #111
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Will View Post
    Bird Flu
    I was reminded of this thread by the Southport weekend that's just gone...

    It seems absolutely loads of people were struck down by "the lurgy" either during or after Southport.

    If there was ever a human-transmissible variant of Bird Flu, if the last Southport is anything to go by, it seems to me that it would spread through the MJ community like wildfire.
    Love dance, will travel

  12. #112
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidY View Post
    If there was ever a human-transmissible variant of Bird Flu, if the last Southport is anything to go by, it seems to me that it would spread through the MJ community like wildfire.
    Well - luckily, a good proportion of sensible forumites would survive, as Mac users don't get viruses

  13. #113
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    I've been thinking that Vitamin C supplements before, during, and after weekenders, might be a good idea.

  14. #114
    Formerly known as DavidJames David Bailey's Avatar
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by MartinHarper View Post
    I've been thinking that Vitamin C supplements before, during, and after weekenders, might be a good idea.
    It's hardly a surprise that people got ill - it's in the middle of winter, in an environment with rapid temperature changes, lots of intimate contact (I'm talking about dancing!), lots of people already having illnesses, combined with poor eating and sleeping habits.

  15. #115
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    Re: What could kill MJ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Will View Post
    Bird Flu
    Swine Flu?
    Love dance, will travel

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