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Letters - September 2001 - Letters - August 01
Many of the spectators seemed very embarrassed about this incidence, and I wondered what the officials thought. What do they intend doing about it. I think, when something like that happens, the couple should leave the floor and sort it out. This also means they will automatically be penalized for poor preparation.
Another thing. Social dancers are just big mouths. Your site caters for all forms of dancing, across the board, but mainly for the social dancer, yet the social dancer's response to all your hard work is, to say the least, pathetic. You had Wez Mayo and DanceCrit making a brave attempt, at least they kept the social amber burning, but they too have dwindled - totally fizzed-out. It's quite a shame, because I know of so many fanatic social dancers who show so much passion for dancing, but are too darn lazy to communicate their feelings.
Cheers, Theresa
Ed
Any female dancer who doesn't safe-secure
her straps prior to taking the floor, is either a comp flasher who prefers
to attract the judge's attention by quaint means, or is blatantly stupid.
The idea of dressing your best for the comp occasion is to ensure that
all's totally free to express your dancing without niggle or distractions.
But this "boob 'n lena" incident must have given the onlooker extra value
for the R60 they paid. In fact, I think many spectators would have pay
R120 to see the great exposure again - it's sensational. My woolly guess
is that the officials will do a Gestapo scan on contestants from here on
forward.
Theresa, the same Q was posed to the officials of DanceSport . Here's how they explained it.
To your second Q, I've come to realise
that social dancers don't have a deep enough passion for dancing to concern
themselves with petty things like sharing their joys or hobby with others
of the same interest.
Happy dancing!
Best Wishes, Matthew & Nicole Cutler
www.matthewnicole.com
Mailto:cutler@matthewnicole.com
Please send me details of what you require to do the page , etc, as well as banking details.
Thanks
Ben
Ed
I'll need your logo, and everything
you would like mentioned in your studio profile, such as:
Then you send it all to me and
pay your R50 into my account. Here are the details:
J. J. Helm
FNB
Branch # 25 06 45 (Sunnyside)
Account # 510 6100 7775
Once you are on, the secret is then
to supply me with frequent info about the things that happen in your Come
Dancing studio. More and more South Africans are becoming web-wise, and
my online letter system is a very cheap and effective way of giving your
studio oodles of exposure - those who use it regularly benefit greatly.
My details are:
I'm looking for a Lady dancer in Gauteng. She must be able to dance in the Adult Pre Championship section. My contact details are (011) 777-5220 (w), (011) 435-5261.
I dance at Tanz Cafe, in Bryanston, Sandton.
My telephone numbers are (011) 783 2237 and Cell. 082 452 7166.
To cut a long story short we eventually came to an agreement, amongst others, that they could use the name Come Dancing Studio (not just Come Dancing) so as not to confuse the two studios. I just want to bring this to your notice. I have competitors, including the KZN Amateur Ballroom Champions, who dance under the name Come Dancing and my studio is very well known and would not like it confused with the Pretoria studio.
Thanking-you, LYNN LEA.
Ed
Lynn, thanks for enlightening us
on the Come Dancing issue. It was round about 1998 when I received a letter
from a dancer in the Free State with the same studio name. At the time,
I pointed out that there were 5 other studios I knew of with the
same ever-popular Come Dancing name. Yours being registered, effectively
takes care of the rest.
Many studio owners don't realise what
a serious felony it is to use the name of a registered studio. That's why,
before a studio or business can be registered with a name, the law carefully
checks to see that no other business has the same name. Glad KZN and PTA
came to an amicable agreement, it could easily have turned very nasty.
BOOK NOW FOR SATURDAY 29/9
Eric is an internationally renowned maestro from Holland who specialises in the salon style of Tango, and extremely adept at conveying the feel of the dance. His classes are pleasant, informative and a must.
The good news is that Eric will be back in South Africa during November. Courses will be presented in Cape Town only, but the effort of going down will be well worth it!
The following provisional programme
has been proposed:
SOCIAL COURSE for social Tangueros
R300 pp
Monday 19th Nov
Tuesday 20th Nov followed by general
Practica
Thursday 22nd Nov
These 3 sessions will all be conducted
in the evening.
Please note that BEGINNERS will be
MOST WELCOME for this course and it would be a great kick-start to your
Tango technique.
PROFESSIONALS COURSE for teachers
& performers R500 pp
Thursday evening 22nd Nov
Friday evening 23rd Nov
Sat 24th Nov late afternoon
with SALON in the evening
Detail can be obtained from Marc Hoeben
in Cape Town who will be hosting the course @ 082 397 9868 -
Alternatively contact Mareli at the
Tanz
Café on 011-4633128, who has been promoting the Tango actively
through demonstrations, teaching and marketing for ages, and who was responsible
for bringing Eric to Gauteng earlier this year.
It is essential for the structuring
of the courses that Mark Hoeben has numbers of attendees as soon as possible.
All interested parties must please book immediately - see entry form below.
Payment will be required in advance to ensure attendance.
The Advanced Social Dancers Course
will be presented on Mon, Tues and Thursday evenings. Depending on number
of registrations, an Intermediate Course may also be offered on Mon, Tues
and Friday evenings. These social courses will be offered at R300 pp per
course.
Teachers and Pros need to register immediately in order for Marc to arrange the Pro's course - cost will be R150 per class and times probably Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Should there be less than 6 students registered by end September, this course may be cancelled.
APPLICATION FORM
I wish to enrol for the 3 night course presented by Eric Jorissen in September during November:
NAME
COURSE .
Special topics you would like covered in course
.31
Please pay fees to acc MARK HOEBEN
Standard Bank, Plein street, Cape
Town
Branch code 0209
Savings acc no 07 563 987 5
Fax deposit slip and entry details
to Mark at 021 439 0119.
PAYMENT GUARANTEES PLACE IN COURSE.
Are there couples out there who compete or dance without routines? Jay, I am particularly interested in hearing what you have to say on this subject.
Regards, David and Mari
Ed
Whether you are social or competitive
dancers,
do yourself and your partner a favour, GET HOOKED on routines. Think about
it, every activity we learn or would like to excel in, is fundamentally
routine-orientated. To break records or perfect a move, a high jumper,
golfer, rally driver, you name it, must repeat the same laborious routines
over and over and over again - to the millimetre. At least, in dancing
we are not totally restricted to the same short "high jumper's" routine,
we have a variety of dances and styles to perform and to entertain us with;
all the more reason why routines are an imperative part of becoming a good,
competent dancer.
A set routine of figures, coupled with regular solo practice-sessions on basic movements and techniques separately, are my emphatic recommendations. The advantages are:
Most learners (students and teachers) oddly enough, recall a routine of patterns better than they do individual steps.
Routines force you to dance all the variations of that dance repeatedly, and repetition, although not the learner's kindest friend, is definitely the learner's BEST friend. By so doing, your limbs become fully acquainted with the various directional changes and motions of that dance, thereby developing good all-round co-ordination.
Knowing routines also eliminates having
to think, "did we leave out anything?", and, to a certain extent, also
reduces much of the leading and following. It is hard for the leader to
remember every pattern of every dance. A routine helps you know it cold
- you won't leave out your best steps.
More than that, if you both know what's
coming, you're free to concentrate on your technique, rhythm and styling
instead of being bogged with lead and follow per se.
Although routines must be your basic
addiction, competitively, it's also important to practise without a routine...
mix up your moves more when dancing socially or when warming up - a lead
and follow preparation. This way, if you stray from your routine because
other couples are in your way, you'll be ready for it.
Learn to enjoy working on routines.
Most top dancers think of routines as their choreography. They work within
a framework of phrasing in music, in bars of eight and get their pieces
choreographed to accentuate their movements to the music. That doesn't
mean that they can't change when other couples get in the way. There are
so many steps, lines, etc. to perform. For the beginner dancer, it is a
good skill to develop floorcraft by "winging it", but at the same time,
most parts of your dancing must be finely tuned to gel with the musical
phrasing, that's when your routine helps.
Remember, if you were to practise
a routine of 5 raw steps without the correct technique, a few things will
happen; your knowledge of the patterns will improve, but while that's happening,
you are ingraining bad habits. Good leading, following and style come from
the right solo exercises done separately, such as the Rumba Forward and
Back walks, stepping forward heel-first on slow counts in Ballroom, reaching
back from the hip on the tip of the toe and rolling the ankles as the weight
is gradually transferred onto the supporting foot in Ballroom, etc.
Tip: When working on the sequence
in its raw form, don't talk technique, and don't be bothered about how
you are doing the steps, your main focus and concern must be to get mobile
with a variety of movements - get the routine rooted. Technique and style
must be practised separately, i.e. whatever basic styles, such as foot
placements, hip movements, length of stride are introduced, rehearse these
separately on your own so as to cement the correct techniques and styles
solo.
Granted, using a routine on its own
is not enough, it must be followed by the main elements of learning such
as styling, leading and following, posture, footwork, movement, rhythm
and timing, etc. but first get the steps out of co-ordination's way so
that you have less to concentrate on. A good routine is a combination of
figures dressed in style, leading, following and presentation
Routines in dancing are like life's
routines: repetition breeds confidence and familiarity. If you have one
routine that goes on for three minutes, you're in trouble; if you have
4 routines comprising 3 patterns each (used interchangeably), your flexibility
to lead or follow is greater. A routine is the dancer's mechanical means
of amalgamating the individual patterns or coupling-up movements - it's
the construction work for laying the foundation of your dancing. Once that
is achieved, then a variety of things can be applied.
Finally, to all competitive and social
dancers out there, here is some sage advice; you learn by DOING not TALKING,
whether you are dancing routines or not. The time you waste arguing about
who is right or wrong could be much more valuably spent on DOING it over
and over and over again - dancing is a physical activity (excellent exercise)
which requires repeated practise and LOTS of it... and it's FUN.