We would love to hear your thoughts on the last class you took part in. Can we do better? What did you think of the move and were you made to feel welcome? Honesty is the best policy in our eyes. Thanks and hope to see you on the dance floor very soon. The Groove Team.
Hi Kate, Just registered but cannot find any threads? I have no criticisms of the classes. I just have difficulty learning the steps and keeping up.
Cheers and all the best, mike
Hi, the groove team. Classes are great, I have just started. I like dancing next to Phil as he can push me hard so I can get my dance moves right!
The social evening was nice on the 14th of March was nice and was great to dance with different people.
Hope to see everyone soon.
Yours
Jonathan Shaw
Hello – Classes are great and welcoming. Any chance of recording or somehow documenting previous class routines for posterity/practise/so we can remember what we did last week! I guess the best method is practise, but it’s very useful to have a fallback on what routine we achieved and the major technique points. I guess anyone could with a partner go back home and write out/video the routine learnt that night, but if that kind of feedback loop was integrated into the lesson, it could help the whole class potentially? Maybe it’s a goldfish brain, but there might be other followers and leaders in the same boat! Just a thought, Tom
Absoutely agree with everything you say Tom. Am loving it, but a bit frustrated that I seem to start in panic mode every week! Karen
Guys don’t get stressed, we are only dancing. I know we go through a lot of moves, but you just need repetition. To get this you may wish to visit more than 1 venue a week, as we cover the same moves at all of them. Or stay on at the 2 venues that we have social dancing at. These are IKON Cafe Bar, Newcastle or Stafford Rangers Social Club. The way the programme is designed means that in about 20 weeks time we will cover the same core move again. Even when you practise, make light of the mistakes as there aren’t any hard and fast rules, just fun to be had. Remember, we are always on hand to help.
hi it’s Kathy from Newcastle the classes are good, but we need more men for the social dancing. Poor Ian, Barry and Phil are worn out lol.I can’t be there this Tuesday, but will still be doing Salsa in Essex.Can’t wait for the show and party at the Regent.I’m sad I can’t be at the Stone party this week, but see you all soon. Love Kathy X
hi enjoying the class thanks kate! thought i would have to stop going when my friend stoped but still having fun helen
Julie Phillips 22/4/08.
Hi it,s Julie from Stafford, Last Saturday in Trentvale was such a laugh, complicated but good fun. So glad Anne marie convinced me to go! Anyway is anyone else anxious, nervous or indeed downright petrified at the thought of possibly performing in public in Burslem ?? Is anyone going to rise to the challenge and video Tom?? I know what he means, I forget everything as soon as i get home! maybe it,s an age thing?? although that would exclude Tom! Anyway keep the faith GROOVERS!! oh and good luck to the fabulous L.F.C tonite! No Salsa tonite for me! see you all at Stafford on Thursday. xx
Kate – is it possible to find a link to the song name, so as to legally find a copy if anyone wants to just run through the song/get familiar with where the chorus/ verse/ up/down come in?
I don’t think it’s an age thing as i’m just as bad Julie :)
Found a similar version to practise with till Tuesday. Bit of a hunt!
Just mulling over it a bit more.
2 links: http://www.salsakernow.com/videos.cfm – password is salsavid (with thanks to Ian Cox for sharing this in reply to a message on his blog). He’s set up this particular account I believe to showcase what is possible. (He’s at www.youtube.com/user/panomanias too)
Say there are wonderful hard working Salsa Teachers A & B. And not so nice salsa teacher C & D. Certainly a video of A & B’s turn pattern/move/routine could be copied, and also it’s possible Salsa teacher A & B’s corresponding text material could be copied with alterations by Teacher B & C. If there was such a problem, you could always add some fictitious ones in there and see if they get taken up (the outlandish octopus, the fosbury flop, The Stoke City shuffle…) hehe.
How useful would it be for Teacher B & C, or Teacher B & C’s pupils? The pupils would soon find out where the turn patterns were coming from. B & C are not much the wiser in terms of teaching the material they’ve found.
In a way, by actually making the information open, it indicates ownership by fact of the date of publication. Watermarked videos, private sites, watermarked text – could all be used.
It’d gain exposure, be free advertising, and so on. How does it affect £? "Open source" salsa teaching is monetisable i’d say e.g. If you can get site or video views, link that up to some advertising and voila. Ultimately it’s a suck it and see moment. Ian doesn’t do ad, Anthony does for example. I don’t think having a few million views of Anthony’s videos has harmed him too much (he’s got a selection of Google text ads and some picture ads on the front page. Also a2s has a front page called Salsa dancing lessons (free videos) which probably and he’s looking into making specifically a salsa move library last I heard. If it did help the learning of the leads and followers, does that help too? I guess there’s a fine line between rate of progression and retention.
I’m sure the followers would enjoy a varied and wide array of moves from their leads – bar learning the move well enough to lead, the next biggest problem is remembering it! The process of learning a move and how to lead it needs a class primarily (it’s hard to learn salsa by yourself, and it’s much more social at the classes!) and practise. remembering it enough to be able to practise it, and then practising/using it enough to remember it. Quite interrelated.
Anyway, that’s enough babble from me. Hopefully not stressful to read. As the Dr Pepper advert goes, what’s the worst that could happen? :)
Tom, you have obviously got too much time on your hands mate! I know I disoriented you on tuesday night going the wrong way but I,m even more confused than usual now! ps, Babel is a great player for the fab LFC! and the worst did happen!!!! Who,s Dr Pepper by the way?? I know a dog called Pepper??
Hehe – I think the confusion had gone by the end of the lesson, usually does :) I imagine it’d take twice as long to make the above readable hehe.
A can of whup-ass? Dr Pepper? No? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5DkFEFlpX8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjWcbz00Wm4 hehe – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2×2W12A8Qow will probably confuse you more…It’s quite nice as a mixer. Cold. Ok. Haven’t heard of Babel. I thought it was a fish ;)
never heard of a fish called Babel? there was a fish called Wanda though! anyway maybe we could ask Kate to rename a salsa step Babel or Wanda? especially after our outstanding Demo last Saturday in Burslem! Thank God it all came together in the end and well done everyone, especially Kate who kept us all focused with supportive, and very necessary prompts. (I think we all enjoyed it really inspite of our nerves!)