Swingin' on Nothin'

[dhermann1]

Great advice! I'm thinking maybe a separate Swing Dance forum might be in order? Is there enough broad interest? Come on you lounge lizards, get up and dance, it's good for you!

 

[Paisley]

I do solo dance moves on an aerobic step for a workout. Between that and my free weights, I don't need a gym membership. More savings!

 

[Paisley]

More DVDs

My teachers, Dan and Tiff (national lindy champs) have some instructional DVDs. I haven't seen them, but Dan and Tiff are great teachers, so I would assume the DVDs are good.

 

[Brooksie]

Thank you so much Paisley for the awsome advice, Technonut and I want to take some swing lessons this winter and this will be most helpful.

Brooksie

 

[$ally]

There are lots of swing dance forums out there already. Google away.

Great advice! I'm thinking maybe a separate Swing Dance forum might be in order? Is there enough broad interest? Come on you lounge lizards, get up and dance, it's good for you!

 

[Diamondback]

I'm thinking the gentleman from the Montauk Club meant opening up a "Dance Floor" here, Ms. $.

 

[twobarbreak]

The cheapest way to learn and get good...

#1: have a partner to practice with.
#2: copy clips from youtube daily
#3: go to every dance possible

the floor is the real teacher....

 

[Ryan]

I agree with twobar. Great advice. I would add that you should try to dance with different partner when you can. When I go to dances I see couples that only dance with themselves. I understand its a comfort thing but I know they could learn/improve on something if they could just dance with a different partner from time to time.

 

[twobarbreak]

I agree with twobar. Great advice. I would add that you should try to dance with different partner when you can. When I go to dances I see couples that only dance with themselves. I understand its a comfort thing but I know they could learn/improve on something if they could just dance with a different partner from time to time.

mixing up partners has been the "big debate" when learning how to dance.
first, dancing with other people is just plain fun, and one of the many reasons to dance in the first place.

however, with that said... in my opinion I've seen faster results by those who just dance with their partner .

I know as a teacher almost all schools,events promote "rotating" in class and claim it's so the students will get better feeling other follows and/or leads. however I think its because they want everyone to pay for classes.

I know for instance in workshops I've done were there was no rotating (you had to have a partner) I got a lot further with greater results, because the leaders for instance did not have to adjust every single time and could simply learn dancing with the same feeling/person.

I also tend to follow the original (swing era) dancers advise, in that they all had their partners and thats primarily all they danced with, except the occasional friends partner and mixing it up just a couple times in the night. Ofcourse I'm not talking about the average Joe from back then but rather the legendary dancers.

Either way, as long as your having fun....it is still an interesting topic....

 

[Ryan]

The thought of rotating makes me cringe. I'm OK with with a friend or another partner from time to time while dancing but not during class. Great to hear you say you teach and not a fan of the rotate idea. It's difficult to learn a new move with a regular partner sometimes and only makes it harder when you have to rotate. Funny, at a dance recently my partner and I joined in a class but passed when asked to rotate. The looks we got from the other followers made us wonder if there was going to be a boiling pot of water on the stove with a bunny in it when we got home.

 

[Paisley]

I'd explain why I disagree with not rotating partners, but it's completely off topic and belongs in another thread.

 

[Paisley]

Back to the topic of dancing without spending a lot...I was talking with a dance organizer over the weekend. She says she always needs reliable, honest people to volunteer to help with events, and those people get a discount on the classes and dances of the event.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

The thought of rotating makes me cringe. I'm OK with with a friend or another partner from time to time while dancing but not during class. Great to hear you say you teach and not a fan of the rotate idea. It's difficult to learn a new move with a regular partner sometimes and only makes it harder when you have to rotate. Funny, at a dance recently my partner and I joined in a class but passed when asked to rotate. The looks we got from the other followers made us wonder if there was going to be a boiling pot of water on the stove with a bunny in it when we got home.

How interesting...in the series of classes I took (in a hugely failed attempt to dance, its just not going to happen.. ..).....there were at least two couples that never rotated and after the first 'skip us' ...no one batted an eye...

 

[PADDY]

If you have the bottle/nerve/guts...

....If you have the bottle to change partners at dance classes, it really is a great way of improving. Especially for men, who are learning how to lead. It makes you more atuned to the moves of the other person. If partners dance too much together, they start anticipating the moves and that's never a good thing, as the 'lead' should always be giving the signals for the next step.

But...I appreciate for some it is 'very difficult' and even 'traumatic' to move out of the comfort zone of leaving their partner and dancing with someone else, as it does make you feel vulnerable. But it really does help the dance process and makes you a better dancer

 

[Paisley]

fftopic:

I, too, understand that it can make people nervous to dance with strangers. But it's not that bad. At least, I've never seen anyone wet their pants or burst into tears over it. It's just dancing!

Consider this: if you only dance with one person, you don't tend to learn the language of leading and following. You won't dance as well with others. What others? Your friends. Awesome dancers you'd like to have a dance with. People who visit you from out of town. The bride's mother or grandmother at a wedding. And if you break up with your sweetie, you'll have to dance with other people or give it up.

 

[twobarbreak]

fftopic:

I, too, understand that it can make people nervous to dance with strangers. But it's not that bad. At least, I've never seen anyone wet their pants or burst into tears over it. It's just dancing!

Consider this: if you only dance with one person, you don't tend to learn the language of leading and following. You won't dance as well with others. What others? Your friends. Awesome dancers you'd like to have a dance with. People who visit you from out of town. The bride's mother or grandmother at a wedding. And if you break up with your sweetie, you'll have to dance with other people or give it up.

I suppose to keep this a little on topic which is swingin on nothin (and to still learn how to dance).

just because dancers have a partnership doesnt mean they won't learn the language of leading a following, actually I feel strongly its just the opposite, they will actually learn faster and cheaper.

once a couple learns a good foundation they can then choose to explore dancing with others and applying the language they have a good understanding of.

I think of various peoples lead and follow skills as dialects of a language, and the better you are the more and more these dialects become to same, its only as a beginning that the dialects are strongly different.

so while in the beginning stages stick to one dialect, its there you will understand the meaning of movement and communication.

I believe spending alot of money on rotating classes isnt the fastest way, when you can practice with a partner at home...just like the great dancers of the 1930's whom the world continues to look at for material and inspiration.

If the original dancers of that time were not so good, and rotated partners perhaps this conversation wouldn't even be happening, however dance studio's and teachers today and a culture that focus's on changing partners every song has clouded this concept.

but i agree that most important is having fun and getting good is second...

 

[Ryan]

Interesting off topic thoughts. fftopic: I've talked to some dancers/teachers who say the follower is the one that changes to match the leader. I'd prefer a compromise. I'd also add not only is it the comfort zone/nerve/gut thing but some folks have some sort of moral thing against it. We could also talk about a lack of manners some have and the need for some to bring a change of clothing.
A couple told me they feel like it's a waste for them when they have to rotate. They like to go to a dance lesson to learn then dance with who ever in the dance. They said they've been in lessons that were suppose to be geared towards the experience crowd but the group included those that were beginning or had no idea. I was at a Bal lesson with this gal who did Lindy moves, I can see their point.

 

[Vintage Betty]

....If you have the bottle to change partners at dance classes, it really is a great way of improving. Especially for men, who are learning how to lead. It makes you more atuned to the moves of the other person. If partners dance too much together, they start anticipating the moves and that's never a good thing, as the 'lead' should always be giving the signals for the next step.

But...I appreciate for some it is 'very difficult' and even 'traumatic' to move out of the comfort zone of leaving their partner and dancing with someone else, as it does make you feel vulnerable. But it really does help the dance process and makes you a better dancer

Thank you Paisley; you've listed some great advice.

And to add a thought to Mr. Paddy's note above; there is no greater confidence booster to a new partner than to give them a big smile when they join you. All the sudden the posture improves and their attitude. And guess who gets asked to dance when the rotating partner exchange ends? It's a small effort with huge rewards.

Paisley, I'd also like to mention one thought: if you are part of a dance club or studio, try to support the club. Maybe the owners have a weekly dance party: try to attend if only for an hour! Or offer to man the door or refresh the drinks. By supporting your dance studio or even your local gymnasium, you can meet more people to dance with, and keep their costs down for yourself and everyone else. My husband took dance lessons and volunteered at a dance studio for over 10 years. You'd be very surprised to find out how often we didn't have to pay, because we helped out and had to insist on paying the owners. We often asked what we could do to help, and were favored in return. It's a win-win for everyone, regardless of where you dance.

VB

 

[Paisley]

Let me tell you some of my experiences with not rotating partners.

When I first started dancing, I was in a weekly East Coast class that didn't rotate. There was a guy there named Tom that I usually had for a partner. Tom was a pretty good dancer, so it was easy for me to learn with him, but when he wasn't there, I'd often end up with a noodle-armed lead who thought he knew a lot more than he did. One partner I had thought he knew it all and actually just walked out of the class, leaving me without a partner. And when there wasn't a partner available, I was just out of luck. My teachers once said that married couples were the worst: they'd stand there and argue, even though neither of them knew what they were doing.

Back to Tom, he somehow got the idea that we were an item. We never went out, I never gave him my number, even wrote him a note saying there wasn't going to be any relationship, but he persisted. It got so creepy that I had to stop dancing with him.

I don't know if people who stick with one partner learn faster, but my observation is that they seem to get to a moderate level and hit a plateau. When I dance with leads who rarely dance with anyone but their partner, I find they don't lead very well. I can follow but I can't anticipate their moves. Those are two different things.

In the rotating classes, though, I meet a lot of people and dance with good leads, bad leads, and everyone in between. The good leads help me learn the moves and the bad leads force me to follow better. On the rare occasion I have a creepy lead, I spend the time taking a great big drink of water. Once I was a lead in a beginning lindy class because there weren't enough guys...and some of the follows told me I was the best lead there. Without rotating, they'd have had to sit out the class.

What my teachers do now is this: those who don't want to rotate get on one side of the room, those who do want to rotate get on the other.

 

[twobarbreak]

In the rotating classes, though, I meet a lot of people and dance with good leads, bad leads, and everyone in between. The good leads help me learn the moves and the bad leads force me to follow better. On the rare occasion I have a creepy lead, I spend the time taking a great big drink of water.

If the reason you dance is to meet new people and avoid the creepies, then there is no better way to have fun then to not have that regular partner, i very much agree.

What my teachers do now is this: those who don't want to rotate get on one side of the room, those who do want to rotate get on the other.

i see this all to often...followers that Lead better then the leaders! lol