Southern UK Jive

[RichardP]

What makes a class night good for you? Please feel free to comment on as many different aspects as you think are important. To get you started here are a few topics for consideration:

Moves:
difficulty,
style,
safety,
variation,
beginners practise session

Music:
popularity/how well known the tracks are,
tempo,
genre,
variation,
volume,
sound quality

Venue:
size,
car parking,
distance from home,
temperature,
appearance,
drink availability/prices,
lighting,
floor

Dancers:
how many people you know,
number of dancers,
standard of dancing,
age range,
friendliness/willingness to dance

Other

I wonder if anyone can pin down exactly what makes their favourite venue their favourite and sustain their choice with reason???

[Southern Jiver]

Hmm...difficult to tie it all down like that but I'll try :

Moves :
difficulty : I like them to be a bit challenging without being overdifficult.
style : Jive mainly but not averse to other influences especially latin.
safety: Definitely, especially with dips and drops
variation: New moves are usually fun but I would prefer that they were usable at freestyles not just with a partner that has done the same class.


Music:
popularity/how well known the tracks are : I like Jiving to tracks I know,
tempo : I prefer more uptempo but the odd slower one is fine
genre : Not fussy as long as it's good to Jive to.
variation: Don't mind.
volume: Not too loud, I like to hear afterwards. Not too much bass like the Moclub earthshaking system.
sound quality : Good, of course.

Venue:
size: Big enough to dance comfortably with the numbers there.
car parking : As long as there is somewhere to park.
distance from home : I have been known to travel distances up to 30 miles to good classes.
temperature : Some fans are always essential.
appearance : Good decor can always improve the quality of the night.
drink availability/prices : Reasonable prices for soft drinks. I don't expect to pay more for a pint of lemonade than I do for a pint of lager! (see Pavilion).
lighting : Brighter for the class, obviously and more subdued for the freestyle part.
floor : Must be in good shape, well polished and clean and preferably sprung wood.

Dancers:
how many people you know : That's a very difficult question.
number of dancers : No idea
standard of dancing : beginner to expert
age range : 16 to 70
friendliness/willingness to dance : Most dancers are there to dance and won't refuse unless I smell really badly or have been labelled as lecherous (which hasn't happened so far!).

Other :
I think it is important that the Teacher gets involved outside the class and dances with all levels of dancer at the class freestyles. People appreciate it.

The prices of the classes seems to have been going up...which is understandable but if they go much higher, people will restrict how many classes they can afford to go to.

As far as favourite venue goes, many different ones have good points but it depends on the mood of the night. For example, I really enjoy the DYD tuesday nights in Winchester as I love the Guildhall, Danny's teaching and music selection and the people that go there but I get fed up with being battered there as it seems there is less consideration for other dancers there and the rate of collisions is higher than at other venues.

I hope that helps. SJ
_________________
"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance."
~Japanese Proverb

[qdos]

Pretty simple for me really

Can I follow what it is the instructor is talking about?

Some I can some I can't. The best instructor I've come across recently is Steve at The Thing. Prior to that was young Dan at Mo'Jive now doing his own thing (Debut Dancing).

What I hate the most is when an instructor keeps interrupting and goes on and on and on and on about some tiny superfluous detail and you get bored stiff listening to them rabbit on and on and on. I think a lot of people will know what I mean there.

[RichardP]

Thanks for your replies SJ and qdos - very useful! I must say I wasn't expecting quite such a detailed reply SJ! It's interesting to see that you both mention the teacher as being important but for different reasons (what have I got myself into?!)

I know what you mean about dance courtesy as well SJ - a few kicks and knocks can really down your mood! I might have to mention that again at classes sometime soon...

Any more from anyone????

[lotusflower]

I must say that I know you get hot dancing, but some venues don't seem to help. When Ceroc was at Hamworthy the other week (Thurs) it is always so HOT there. I can only go on a thurs night & don't normally go to hamworthy when it is there of that reason but I thought I would at Easter. As it turned out it was a good night!

I know everyone harps on about MoJive & I would like to as well - but not going to................. BUT at the pavilion they did have huge fans on the stage which helped a lot - the air con doesn't always seem to work there (unless it's an age thing!) And I do use a fan.

[Nicky]

ATMOSPHERE!...Simple as!

As a "70+ and on my way to Heaven" female, (FYI Sugarfoot ), I realise just how difficult it is to get the atmosphere right; there are so many contributing factors...

Obviously, clear and concise teaching done by a teacher with personality are pretty essential to any class night..... A good or bad teacher can make or break an evening. As a follower, my learning is done during the freestyle, but a couple of challenging moves during the intermediate class helps to maintain interest.

Venue... Basically, a decent floor of reasonable proportions is a must.... Ample parking and cheap drinks are a bonus..... Fans, yes please! The more the better

Music... Sooooo important, but so difficult to get right... Everything else can be right, but if the music doesnt hit the mark, people will go elsewhere.

People....Happy ,friendly, like-minded people of any description, (lots of men preferred !), are vital to create the right atmosphere.....If everything else is right on the night, they'll be there!!!

Believe it or not, such a night does exist.... Hamworthy on a Monday night!
Richard and Heather, you've got it right

[lilblue]

A good night is a night where I am challenged a little by the moves on a class or by a partner at a freestyle, where everyone is grinning and no-one minds if you go wrong, and where people who bump (it's pretty much inevitable) apologise. This is harder than I thought actually.

In detail:

Moves:

Difficulty, fairly challenging, but if you can't lead it in a freestyle with a partner of fair ability I don't see the point.
Style, whatever style as long as I don't feel invaded!
Safety, people doing aerials in a packed room really get my goat.
Variation, as long as it's led well and with enthusiasm I don't tend to notice if men repeat moves.


Music:

Popularity of tracks isn't really important
Tempo, I love fast songs, but I'm sure I'll learn to love the slow ones too. Eventually.
Genre, too much tango type stuff can really grate after a while.
Variation, a little bit of anything that has some feeling, whether slow or fast, I'm just not keen on wishy washy tracks typical of the George MIchael/ Spandau Ballet/ etc era that don't go anywhere. Doesn't mean I won't dance to them though!
Volume, fairly loud but not so loud you can't chat.
Sound quality, not tinny or topping out, and I can't stand clipping! Or as at some venues, echo.


Venue:

Size, doesn't matter, as long as there is comfortable room to dance. In my limited experience the smaller the better.
Car parking, has only ever been an issue at the Pavillion when I parked in some overflow car park in the back of beyond and we were too scared to walk back to the car so a fellow dancer we knew gave us a lift.
Distance from home, within 40 miles!
Temperature, it's nice if the venue is cooler, but I carry a fan.
Appearance, I haven't seen a venue yet that wasn't lovely in some way
Drink availability/prices, gets on my nerves, last night I paid £2.70 for a pint of coke (no ice or lemon) and a pint of orange squash (not juice)! I think tap water should be free.
Lighting, so that you can clearly see for classes, more subdued for freestyle.
Floor, a slippy floor is nice, but it doesn't make the night.


Dancers:

how many people you know,
number of dancers,
standard of dancing,
age range,
friendliness/willingness to dance

The only one of the above that bothers me is friendliness, though it is nice to meet a challenge!

Other - if the other people there are happy, whether staff or guest it makes a massive difference to the night. Bramshaw is my favourite venue for this reason alone. And that was before I was biased!

[qdos]

Woooh what a comprehensive list Lilblue Spot on too totally agree with everything you've said

[Olly]

lilblue wrote

[TeeDee]

[qdos]

LOL yeah not been to Bramshaw yet no. Hope to get there sometime though

[Andy T-R]

Thing I like most about a teacher is when they (briefly) explain subtleties in how to do a move and WHY it's better this way or that. Full marks for that Richard - I have heard people says you go into too much detail but it sets you apart and better to do that (and let them ignore those bits) than leave the good stuff out so those who want it don't get it.
_________________
Andy

[Mick Hyall]

Since I no longer expect to learn anything in a lesson, it's gotta be a) the music and b) the other dancers.

What we desperately need down here is teachers who will emphasise that there is more to dancing than ripping through the moves at the maximum velocity permitted by the music.

For example: ask most women and they will tell you that they don't especially enjoy lots of complicated arms-over-the-head knotting-and-unravelling type moves, especially when the beat is fast-ish. Yet you see blokes doing it all the time. Rock around the clock (or something equally vile) is on and blokes are doing pretzels and the like. WTF?

The essence of LEADING is selecting moves that 'go' with the music.

(This is one way to tell a 'bad' jive track. If it doesn't matter whether you are doing a Madison or a catapault or a sway, it's a rubbish track.)

[TeeDee]

[Mick Hyall]