12th August: Twyford Vs. MJC

[Minnie M]

Anyone who knows MR Cool knows that allegation is rubbish Stewart!

Andy is a great dancer and such fun to dance with and definetly absolutely no-way could you call him a hot shot

[David Bailey]

Andy is a great dancer and such fun to dance with and definetly absolutely no-way could you call him a hot shot

Well he's never asked me for a dance ...

Seriously, the point he was making was about the music, not the dancers. Funnily enough, I'd have preferred (some of) the music slower, not faster. It was mostly middle-of-the-road tempo I think, too fast for blues, too slow for MJ.

The WCS tempo is, I believe, 112-128 BPM, so I imagine it was reasonable for that genre.

[Geordieed]

Oh dear I think MJC have lost the plot i have been to the last 7 events and for sure my last.
It was the pits!
The Jive room was packed, the other room was almost empty.
WHY the music was so boring. : most of the men were doing step step miss the beat step step I can only conclude they were trying to slow the music down untill the men could get in beat. I have news for you these men will never feel the music (music is not part of their dance). they are totally tone deaf. Guys WCS can be danced to any music with 8 beats to the bar Try some faster music it will make following the music to the slow R&B easier. Why can't we have dance music? I don't care what era as long as it was designed for DANCING! Please play music for the dancers who live and breath to dance to chalenging interesting music.

Thanks for the dance lesson.

Sounds like Mr Cool got a little hot under the colar.

[stewart38]

Anyone who knows MR Cool knows that allegation is rubbish Stewart!

This is what the guy posted ,im sure he is not it SOUNDED hotshot thats all

WHY the music was so boring. : I have news for you these men will never feel the music (music is not part of their dance). they are totally tone deaf. Why can't we have dance music?

90% of men who dance ceroc believe it or not like boppy music and are not ‘tone death’

Ask the women who was asked ONCE at funky lush on Sunday to dance in 3hrs what she prefers

I wish people who have different taste would stop ridiculing others who lets face it are the bread and butter of ceroc/jive

[LMC]

Ask the women who was asked ONCE at funky lush on Sunday to dance in 3hrs what she prefers

And how many people did she ask for a dance?

Anyway, Twyford on Saturday:

The workshops were fantastic - has to be the best value day I've ever had outside a weekender. I must confess that I wish I'd had a lie in now - Bill's teaching was excellent and I didn't get yanked once - but I really really really loathe mangle moves - proof positive that height matters.

My left quads are still yelling at me after the Jango sweep move - but great class, and very entertaining

Shame that dips and drops 'clashed' with the style class, as I would have liked to have done both, but still a "good call" to offer the alternative to those who didn't want to do dips and drops. I picked the style class which was very useful - to the two brave men who joined in, even if they ran away in fear (and never came back) at the point where the rest of us were all lying flat on our back on the floor checking our, er, pelvic alignment

Ballroom class - loved the foxtrot, think we were all a bit braindead by the time it got to the rumba

Only "negative" was the lack of hot water in the loos - cleaned up as best I could as many of us did... thank you very much to the very kind lady who offered use of her shower facilities after we'd only been chatting a couple of minutes! - but not enough time between end of workshop and DWAS. If day event is run again, perhaps some arrangements for bowls of hot water to be available for washing please?

Evening - unfortunately after 8 hours of workshops, I was knackered and fairly useless :cry: - so tired by 10.30 that I really had to bail - sorry I missed so many people for dances. An M4 AND and M25 closure made my normal 1 hour journey take 2 hours - but the day was worth it.

Had some fab dances before I bailed though - sorry I let you down in the DWAS Mooncalf (didn't help that one of my contact lenses had somehow folded itself in half and worked its way under my eyelid, terrible distraction! - but not really an excuse, I was still rubbidge). DWAS final - - HILARIOUS - everyone looked like they were having such a laugh with that fast track (and I thought Mambo #5 in the semi was cruel!).

[under par]

This is what the guy posted ,im sure he is not it SOUNDED hotshot thats all

Well comment on what was said in the post, do not lower yourself to calling people names.

You last post at least challenged the content of Mr Cools post which is much preferable.

[Lory]

Just to be picky .........


I don't think someone being 'tone deaf' has any effect on their ability to hear rythmn

[DavidB]

The WCS tempo is, I believe, 112-128 BPM, so I imagine it was reasonable for that genre.

A normal range would be 80-130bpm. The slowest song I've ever seen WCS danced to was about 60 bpm. On the fast side I've danced to something about 140, but I'm hardly renowned for moving my feet quick.

However the music I used to play for teaching topped out at 105, and for freestyle 115. Most of the people doing WCS at the time were very new to it, and still had to think all the time about what they were doing, especially with their feet. The slower music gives time to think.

But, as with any dance, there is a limit to how much you can change the tempo without having to change the technique. Slow MJ isn't just fast MJ done slower. And fast WCS isn't just slow WCS speeded up. The connection changes. The leg action and body flight change. There is a lot more momentum to control. And far less time to react.

[David Bailey]

I don't think someone being 'tone deaf' has any effect on their ability to hear rythmn

Just to be more picky, it's "rhythm"

[stewart38]

And how many people did she ask for a dance?

she didn’t ask anyone like 30% of female cerocers

She can post if she likes (she has the address of this site)

Im not going down that route again

[Bill]

Thank you Bill and Bex!


Elaine

Oh and Bill (from Scotland) - wonderful to see you again. Looks as though it will be another 6 months or so before I get another dance though!

Was great to see you again Elaine and thanks for the dance - lovely as usual. I had some really wonderful dances. Thanks to Mary and Tony for their hospitality and parenthood obviously agrees with Bill & Bex who were both looking great

Those fast tracks in DWAS almost killed me but thanks to my partners - who managed to keep dancing when I'd virtually stopped . Must get to Bristol sometime - those girls know how to dance

Fran had a great night too and she hasn't danced much for a while so thanks to all the guys who asked her and made her night so much fun.

Hope to see everyone again fairly soon - maybe the Scottish champs?????

[Lory]

Just to be more picky, it's "rhythm"

I was just checking to see if anyone was paying attention



BTW, I agree with DavidB... the speed or tempo of the music definitely changes the style, even if your doing the same moves!

[Missy D]

Those fast tracks in DWAS almost killed me but thanks to my partners - who managed to keep dancing when I'd virtually stopped

Lovely to dance with you too Bill - thought we danced really well together in the 2nd heat

[Minnie M]

Thanks for the dances DJ - have to agree with the WCS lot - a bit snooty .........

BTW I should have thanked Georgied for a fabby WCS dance (two dances in fact) - and he wasn't snooty at all, I saw him dance with all the ladies

[Mr Cool]

Thanks Linda, Under par and David
For Me and Many others Music is King I need music to motivate me to dance. I like slow fast and medium paced music I want to dance to Swing Blues, HIp Hop, Soul, Tango, Latin, Rock & roll. & Modern, I hate to categorise music but lets have music YOU JUST HAVE TO DANCE TO I need variety (I hate boring big band music all night as well) Regarding WCS I have seen Paul Warden and USA couples dance WCS to fast music. it is surprising the range of music you can dance Lindy or even AT to.
So why do Dancers want to restrict their dancing to slow R&B music.
By the way David the next time Sing sing comes on i promise to grab you to dance WCS should be a laugh. PS are airsteps allowed

[David Bailey]

By the way David the next time Sing sing comes on i promise to grab you to dance WCS should be a laugh. PS are airsteps allowed

OK, I'll err... make sure I remember that...

[Lory]

So why do Dancers want to restrict their dancing to slow R&B music.

I imagine your talking about WCS dancers?

Well, I've only been doing West coast since January, therefore, I 'need' the slower music to do it properly, if I try to dance it to faster music, I automatically revert to MJ mode

Plus, one of the things that attracted me to wcs, was the music

But like you, I also like lot's of different genre's and love trying to dance differents styles to suit, so I agree, a good mix is the recipe for my perfect evening.

[Geordieed]

BTW I should have thanked Georgied for a fabby WCS dance (two dances in fact) - and he wasn't snooty at all, I saw him dance with all the ladies

No thank you Minnie. It was great to dance with you again so soon. It is nice to have a play in the dance too. I'm looking forward to our next dance. We could have done with a few more men in the Swing room. It was great to be kept so busy on the night and only realised how tired I was once the music stopped at the end of the night. I only heard positives from people on the night. Natalie and Yuval both said how much they enjoyed coming over for the event. Both of them social danced in the Swing room in the evening.

All the women I know who come to weekly WCS classes that I have met are really lovely and have been really surprised by the 'snooty' label. There were a couple of women who didn't know MJ and were attracted at the prospect of going to an event where they could dance WCS.

I know the crowd that go to classes with and they are so warm and friendly and it is one of the reasons why I like going every week. I've also seen new people joining in the classes been equally welcomed. Very few of the WCS crowd come on or use this forum so won't be aware of the comments made. I know they would be horrified by the 'snooty' label. Give them a chance they are not bad people. On a slightly different topic I do know that dancers have stayed on the edge of a Swing/Blues room feeling intimidated by the dancers there.

[David Bailey]

All the women I know who come to weekly WCS classes that I have met are really lovely and have been really surprised by the 'snooty' label.

Sorry, but that's the vibe I got from a few people there - and it only takes a few people to change the atmosphere of a room. For what it's worth, the vibe in that room was much worse last year - I only stayed there 10 minutes last time.

There were a couple of women who didn't know MJ and were attracted at the prospect of going to an event where they could dance WCS.

Fair point - but clearly that means that us mere mortals will be excluded... Also, I would be amazed and astonished if I couldn't lead a WCS dancer to MJ (I guess what really annoyed me was being labelled a "Ceroc dancer" - what did I do to deserve that tag? )

I know the crowd that go to classes with and they are so warm and friendly and it is one of the reasons why I like going every week. I've also seen new people joining in the classes been equally welcomed. Very few of the WCS crowd come on or use this forum so won't be aware of the comments made. I know they would be horrified by the 'snooty' label. Give them a chance they are not bad people.

Yes they are! They're all Evil!! All of them!!! Burn Them!!!!

OK, I'm certainly not saying WCS dancers are snooty, of course - but a few dancers in that room were. It just wasn't as friendly as the main room. Doesn't mean everyone there was unfriendly, of course - most were lovely. But it only takes a few snooty-ers

On a slightly different topic I do know that dancers have stayed on the edge of a Swing/Blues room feeling intimidated by the dancers there.

I guess it's a case of poor labelling. It wasn't a Swing / Blues room, it was a Swing / Swing room. So I was hanging around waiting for the Blues bit, which never happened, until I gave up and went back to the main room - which, as it turns out, was very nice, so I stayed there mostly. If the room had been advertised as a "Swing room, nothing else", I'd just have stayed clear. But it wasn't.

(And why oh why oh why do we have these "Swing and Blues" rooms? Blues is nothing like Swing, *** - why not have a "Pole-Dancing and Tango" room whilst we're at it... )

[spikey blond]

I am one of the 'snooty' WCS dancers who does contribute sometimes to the Forum. Saturday evening was a joy for WCSers as it is rare to get a venue where we can have any freestyle other than at the end of weekly classes, which is always limited. I would never refuse to dance if asked but some folk may have felt that it was a shame to dance MJ in the 'Swing/Blues room' when there was a great room across the hall where jive music was being played.
Contrary to popular belief some WCS dancers have not come up through the ranks of MJ and may have felt very intimidated at the prospect of dancing MJ with a stranger no matter how good a lead that person might have been.

It is a shame ( and I am sure I am guilty of this too) to categorize some dancers as 'snooty' or 'unfriendly' at venues when in reality it is just that they are there with a crowd of close friends who really enjoy dancing together. Let's face it there are always particular tracks that you enjoy dancing with specific dancers whose style you especially enjoy and in the course of the evening it is not always possible to get round to all the potential partners. I have been to venues that I have thought initially unfriendly but within a short space of time have realised that my first impressions were wrong and ended up thoroughly enjoying the venue. You have to get out there and 'bond'!!

It is also worth pointing out that Ceroc Surrey actively promotes WCS as a dance in as much as Anneliese runs two regular venues, Farnham and Esher and so may have felt that she owed it to her supporters to offer them a fair chunk of the evening's music. The set that was played once Graham finished (sorry didn't recognise the DJ) was definitely not WCSable and to my mind was far more Blues orientated but I must admit it was only fairly late in the evening.

I would like to thank Graham for the great set he played that evening - I had a thoroughly good night both in the MJ room and the Swing room. Mind you I am very sorry to have missed Twyford - one of my favourite venues as the day/evening there sounds as if it was a blast - shame the two events coincided Always next month!!!