Ceroc is a company
that runs Modern Jive classes as franchises.
1. What is modern jive???
Modern Jive is a
dance style derived from swing, Lindy Hop, rock and roll, salsa and others, the
main innovation being to simplify the footwork - by removing syncopation such
as chasse. The term French Jive is occasionally used instead, reflecting the origins
of the style. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Jive)
2. Where can I learn to modern jive???
You can learn to modern jive all over the country. Check out www.ceroc.com for your local venue(s). My local venues are:
Monday – St Chad’s, Otley Road, Headingly, Leeds, LS16 5JT
Tuesday – Riley Smith Hall, 28 Westgate, Tadcaster, LS24 9JB
3. What time do the classes start???
Doors open at 7:30 pm with the beginners class at 7:45 pm and the intermediate class at 9 pm.
4. How much does it cost???
It Varies. At Ceroc
Yorkshire which is my local franchise, it costs £9 per class night.
5. Is there any membership to pay for???
Yes. It cost a one-off
payment of £2 so your first lesson will cost £11.
6. Is there any special offers???
If you are a brand new
beginner who has never been to a Ceroc venue then there is a special offer. This
offer is only available on your first night. It is 6 lessons for half price
making it £29 for 6 lessons instead of £56. You can, however, do that night’s
class and if by the end of the night you decide you want to do the offer then
you can sign up before the end of the night. The money paid for your first
night will be taken off and you pay the remainder. This will be class one of
six.
7. What happens if I can’t make it every week??? Will I lose one of the classes that I prepaid for???
No. As long as you don’t miss months worth of classes in between coming. You do not need to use it consecutively.
8. What happens at the classes???
When you first go to a class you will find that they do three lessons. There is a beginner’s class, a beginners taxi session which is a refreshers class on the beginner's moves and an intermediate class.
When you first arrive at a venue for a class night you will be greeted by the door person. At Ceroc Yorkshire, it is usually Lisa. Sometimes there is a cover person which is either Chris or Sarah. You may also be greeted by two or three taxi dancers. Taxi dancers are there for beginners to help them out and to answer any questions. They are identified by wearing taxi t-shirts. At the beginning of the night, they assist the door person with signing up the beginners. At this point, the beginners learn who is tonight’s taxi team. Taxi dancers are volunteers and done in rotation. Here at Ceroc Yorkshire Taxi dancers taxi once every three weeks.
Mordern jive is a partner dance. The classes are done in rows of partners usually consisting of 3 rows. If there are any spare ladies or men then one will be at the beginning and the others dotted in between a couple. The partnering is usually men lead and women follow. When there are women over you may find some of the more experienced women being a lead.
The first class of the night is a beginners class. This starts at around 7:45 pm. This lasts around 45 minutes and teaches you 3 moves. The moves in this class are predetermined by Ceroc in a special set of 12 moves and 8 routines. Each week you learn a different routine which may be a brand new set of moves or may have a move repeated from a previous week. Some moves in the beginner's routines get repeated. Once the 8 weeks is up the cycle is then repeated. The teacher starts the class off by going through the basic footwork and handhold before teaching the moves. Do not worry if you did not start the class with a partner the teacher will move you on so you get to dance with everyone being a lead. Once you have learnt all three moves the last thing the teacher teaches is how to link the last move to the first one so you can continuously dance to a whole track without stopping and starting.
After the beginner’s class, there is a chance for you to practice the moves you have just learnt with the people you have just met for around 30 minutes till 9 pm. This is known as freestyle. You get the opportunity to ask people for a dance. Men can ask the women, women can ask the men.
At 9 pm the teacher will teach an intermediate class in the main room and taxi dancers will take beginners for a beginners refresher class in another room.
For the beginner's refreshers class, the taxi dancers go over the moves just learnt in the beginner’s class. This is the opportunity for beginners to ask any questions. This class aims to get the beginners dancing the three beginners' moves over and over so they become engraved in their muscle memory. At the end of the class, the taxi dancers remind the beginners that the night is on till 10:30 pm and the etiquette of Ceroc as well as some tips for getting dances and asking for dances.
For the intermediate class, the three moves learnt can vary from week to week. There are thousands of moves in Ceroc and not all the moves get taught on a class night. The teacher usually teaches their favourite moves or moves that are similar to the previous weeks so that they can easily be added to your repertoire of moves.
The class usually starts with a beginner variation and then a classic intermediate move before ending with a little bit of a challenge.
The beginner variation is either two beginner moves put together to make one move or one beginner move with something extra. The classic intermediate move gives the dancer some intermediate foundations that were not taught in the beginner's moves. The little bit of a challenge move is the one that not everyone will get. If you are fairly new to intermediate classes you do not need to get this move. You can work up to being able to get it. The moves taught in this class work well together and provide a good routine once put together.
If this is your first night we have what is known as taxi dancers who will take those people who have been dancing for 6 weeks or less into the back room for a beginners practice class. They will go over the moves that the teacher taught in the beginner’s class and will be able to answer any of your modern jive related questions. They will let you know once the class is finished that you can go back into the main room to join in with the freestyling and will let you know when the night will end.
After both the beginner's practice session and the intermediate class has finished there is more chance to practice the moves learnt with other dancers. This is more freestyle time like before.
9. What is a taxi dancer???
Taxi dancers are volunteers who are there to assist the teacher with the beginners. They also help with signing up the beginners. They also take the beginners refreshers class. If a beginner is struggling with the moves or has any questions they can go to the taxi dancers for help and advice as well as the teacher or door person. A taxi dancer is on duty in rotation. At Ceroc Yorkshire, it is usually one in every three weeks. It will vary from franchise to franchise. Taxi dancers are identified by wearing a taxi t-shirts.
The video below
will tell you more about Ceroc.
If you have any
other questions feel free to write them below and I will try to answer them as
soon as possible.
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