Відео

That's interesting, there aren't any more steps in Jive than most of the other dances, but because of the tempo of Jive, you dance through them faster, and so leaders are constantly needing to select figures. If you compare how many figures you dance in 90 seconds of Jive compared to 90 seconds of Rumba, you'll see what I mean. When it comes to figures vs. routines, there's no simple answer I'm afraid. It is, in my opinion, dependant on the dancers involved and why they dance. Some studios will exclusively teach routines to beginners, while others like ours take a mixed approach to figures and routines. Some leaders suffer from choice anxiety and simply cannot lead figures fast enough in something like a Jive, so learning just figures with no choreography is very hard for them. In this case, learning a simple routine is often easier, until they can develop their leading. The danger of this is that routines often become embedded and then dancers actually aren't leading and following they are just doing the same old steps they have done before, and this can turn into sloppy leading and following technique that is actually harder to remedy when dancers are ready to upgrade their routines and figures. It also causes problems when you don't have room or otherwise can't get your routine out on the floor... what do you do, just stop dancing and start again? That's never a nice feeling. My usual recommendation (in the dark knowing nothing about the dancers) is the learn a small amount of interchangeable figures, only 4 maybe 5 different moves that will all precede and follow each other, and then start by doing each move in succession 2 times each, so: Step 1 x2, Step 2 x2, Step 3 x2 etc... and then slowly but surely learn to do them in a different order, and don't tell the follower what that order is. This gives you the ground work for developing your leading and following, and keeps the dance fresh and fun on the dancefloor.

Open finishes in Tango, and the Open Promenade figure, are such a boon to your Tangoing. With practice it allows the dancers to really dance to the music and provide light and shade of movement and avoid the too-staccato Tangos that can sometimes develop when dancers rely too much on stopping between figures.

That's an interesting observation, and you're kinda right. The Drunken Sailors in Jive are taken from (or based on) Bota Fogos in Samba. It's a classic case of figure stealing. The 1a2 in the Samba and QaQ of the Jive makes it an easy transition, much easier than converting Jive or Samba moves in to Cha Cha for example. However, Drunken Sailors in Jive are not very "leadable" and they don't have a universal definition of what they actually are. Many dancers will dance some variation of "Back-Replace" and then a Bota Fogo followed by a variation of "Back-Replace" and then another Bota Fogo. This gives the entire "Drunken Sailor" a step count of 10 and ensures the Bota Fogo part of the figure is replicated on each foot. But this is not the only way the figure can be danced, and it's in no way leadable without prior choreography. Actual Samba Bota Fogos on the other hand are entirely leadable, and can be performed in many ways and in many different holds. The travelling Bota Fogos are often thought of by theory buffs as the most basic (because of the closed hold), but they often aren't the ones first taught to students, because the backward Bota Fogo is more challenging.

Simple, but effective, and you never stop working on the basics!

Thank you, it is a lovely dance, and so smooth when you get it working well. It's one of my favourites.

Our pleasure, glad it helps.

Thank you, Julie did very well on her medals. We will gladly do a walkthrough video for the Starlight Waltz. The Black Knight Tango will come out soon, and we'll record the Starlight after that.

Glad we can help.

Lindsey is going to look for a script. It's not one we usually dance, but we'll learn it and do a walk through for you. It might take us a little while.

You need to come back to class and put it to good use!

Glad you liked it, when will we see you in class or back at the socials?!

Sometimes it's just in the words we use! It was explained to me why it's a "Reverse Turn", and I get it, but it's so much easier when you think of it as a "Rock Turn". Glad we can help out.

You're most welcome, keep dancing.

Hey Warwick, you're most welcome, and good luck with your medals. What level are you doing?

Bronze Star

How did you go Andi? did you get it right?

@@longstepsdancing Yes!!!! THANK YOU. Also, I Blitzed the Basic Weave first time - totally due to your video. I didn't even tell my partner I was going to lead it :-)

Thanks Andi, we're glad the videos are helping. I miss the UK, good luck on the dancefloor with your heel turns!

Thanks Tim, good to know we're not losing the touch, or getting too waffly!

You're very welcome Julia, that's very kind of you. I'm not familiar with the Dream Waltz, but if you've got a link I'll check it out. One of our other commenters directed us to the Opus 5 Waltz, that looks like a pretty one too. There are so many (too many) lovely sequence dances to learn!

ua-cam.com/video/4uHKH6dfbWY/v-deo.htmlsi=OOUgj6wbauFdm5OF

@@longstepsdancing this is the Dream waltz: ua-cam.com/video/4uHKH6dfbWY/v-deo.htmlsi=OOUgj6wbauFdm5OF

I tried to paste a link but it wouldn't let me. If you search for Dream Waltz in UA-cam it'll come up. thank you

I'll take a look, thank you.

You're most welcome Sharon. We'll put out a poll for the next one seeing as this one has been so well received thus far. I'm thinking maybe one of the Tango rhythms?

No we don't, that's not one I've actually heard of at all, is it pretty? There are so many sequences out there!

@@longstepsdancing yes. It is! Very difficult . Russ Heskith (?) created it. It’s on utube. A big challenge it seems!

Hi Marguerite I watched the Opus 5 walkthrough, you're correct it is attributed to Russ Hesketh. It looks like a lovely dance, thought my personal preference at that speed would be to remove the shadow sections and just dance it like a Modern Waltz, but that's just me. With the exception of the shadow sections those figures and mini-sequences would be quite pretty when used in a Modern Waltz. Though certainly not a beginner dance, and I would expect not a sequence New Vogue dancers would find easy to dance without some measure of Modern Ballroom experience too. Thank you for sharing.

Hi Marguerite, that's an excellent suggestion, we'll look at incorporating that in future videos.

I have a problem keeping my head up and facing where it should. Concentrating on feet and steps means the head position gets forgotten!

That is a common problem, and sometimes even more so in sequence dances when the positions of the body, and therefore the head, change throughout the dance.

Our pleasure, keep dancing.

Thank you, glad these lock-down era videos are still helping people get out and enjoy their dancing!

Our pleasure, glad you enjoyed it and found it useful!

You're welcome, always happy to know the videos are helping dancers out.

You're very welcome, glad we could help out.

It is easy to use, and from the little testing we've done so far it seems very responsive. For more complex shots and if you're using multiple cameras (up to 3) it will take some thoughtful set up and then some practice too, but that's like anything. A larger screen is an advantage, I really noticed a difference in usability between my phone and my tablet.

The tracking feather is what we were after, to have the camera come too as an all in one was a real bonus. Usually these sorts of trackers hold a separate camera and you've got to work with 2 devices, double the opportunity for something to go wrong, we're hoping that won't be the case here!

Hi Karin, I'm glad you're as excited as we are. A walkthrough of the Engagement Waltz is certainly on the cards!

Thanks David, our pleasure to help!

Tell me about it! I look down all the time. I say it's because I'm checking people's footwork so I can teach them better. LIES! 🤣 It's just a habit, and I'm working at breaking it. Better dancing all round if we're upright and balanced.

Hi Shannon, glad you liked the video. We have covered some of the basic points of "Feather Finishes" in the Reverse Turn (Incorporating Feather Finish) Blitz - ua-cam.com/video/tvpWaERkEss/v-deo.html But, after your comment we recorded a blitz on Feather Positions, which will be coming out in a few weeks.

Hi Tricia, that's a good question. There are 2 main differences between Cuban Rocks, and Cucarachas 1) Cuban Rocks do exactly that, they just rock. Wherever your feet are at the start of the figure, they don't move - you plant your feet and rock from 1 foot to the other. In Cucarachas you usually commence and conclude the figure with closed feet, and open your feet to take the step 1. 2) In Cuban Rocks each step is a complete weight transfer from one foot to the other. 100% of your weight is swapped 3 times, over the 2 3 4-1 count. In a Cucaracha, step 1 is a part weight step, that is only about 50% of your weight is transferred to the foot that "squashes the cockroach". This is what gives the Cucaracha action such unique qualities, particularly when used as part of a more complex figure. Hope this helps, and thanks for watching the video!

您好，謝謝您的評論。 如果您覺得本教學包含太多解釋，我很抱歉，它是針對那些不僅想要學習步驟，還想要學習使這些步驟發揮作用背後的細節的人。 正如你所說，舞蹈是關於跳舞的，但學習主要是關於交流，這往往充滿了說，然後是聽。 簡單的演練影片可能很好，但對於從這些影片中學習舞步的舞者來說，如果沒有對舞步的解釋，尤其是感覺和期望的結果，那麼學生舞者往往注定無法實現他們從影片中尋求的目標。 祝您舞蹈順利，我們希望您繼續享受慢狐步舞，並充分利用三根羽毛。

Hey Charles, thank you for the comment. We have just recorded one especially for you. It's not due to come out for another couple of weeks (Thur 28th of Sep), but if you contact us via email, I'd be happy to send you an advanced copy to show your friends.

It's an easy one to practice yourself, we'll put it into action when you return.

See you on the floor soon.

Hello Kath, glad you're enjoying the blitzes while abroad!

Enjoy the trip, and the blitzes too!

When Lindsey gets this mad, you know it's a thing!

Practice is the only thing for your Foxtrot. Heel Turns are always a challenge when learning this dance, but they are a dream when you perfect them.