Hyperreal

I went to a Leroc party tonight… A very interesting experience…

Apart from a couple of charity or private events, every Modern Jive event I’ve been to has been run by Ceroc. The two others were attended primarily by people who go to Ceroc, and both were DJed by a Ceroc DJ.

So, a non-Ceroc experience was a novelty.

I don’t think it’s fair to come to conclusions based on first impressions, so I’ll probably go back a few more times before really making up my mind about the local Leroc scene. But here’s what I currently think…

First, I was surprised by the number of dancers there that I knew. I had quite a few really good dances with the Ceroc dancers.

Everybody else that I didn’t know I will assume, unless I know different, that they go to the local Leroc class.

So, getting down to it… There seems to be a noticeable difference between Ceroc and Leroc dancers. I maybe only had a couple of really good dances with a Leroc dancer. All the others, it’s funny… but they seemed to dance like beginners. Maybe they actually were beginners – this is one reason I was to go back and see what it’s like in a month or so. I found dancing with one or two quite a struggle. They’d miss leads and anticipate a different move instead. One or two seemed to be dancing to a different beat than me.

I hope the difference is that the Ceroc follower are familiar with Ceroc moves, and Leroc followers with Leroc moves. Where they overlap, things go fine, but even in simple things like a yo-yo, I understand there are significant differences in the move and the way it’s performed. So it’s no wonder the follower struggles when she meets a leader from the other side…

That said, one Leroc lady recognised I was a Cerocer as a result of my non-grippy hand-hold. If all the guys who do Leroc grip their partners’ hands, then it’s no wonder the followers struggle when they meet someone who isn’t trying to break their fingers and arms while dancing with them.

One of my best dances actually was with someone who hadn’t done any Leroc or Ceroc, but had done Salsa. She knew enough about how partner dancing worked that we managed to have a very enjoyable dance. I’m looking forward to reversing the experience when I start Salsa lessons this coming week.

During the night the free-style was interrupted twice for a lesson by a couple of teachers who were up from somewhere in England, teaching a few workshops. I’m going to break my normal system, and not describe the moves we did … mainly because there weren’t that many moves, and just a lot of messing about with beating your chest and doing body rolls. :? The second mini-class was just some footwork stuff that we were never actually shown how to do, and just had to pick it up from other people around us who had done the workshop in the afternoon. A total waste of time.

The venue itself was quite good, though a little small. The dance floor was way too crowded everywhere but the stage. One thing I’ll give it over the Henry Wood Hall, is that is was well cooled. They had lots of fans and had left doors open to allow a through draft.

Over-all the organisers presented themselves on stage much better than the typical Ceroc, with lots of high quality gear. The light system alone was like night and day against the typical Ceroc event.

The music… It wasn’t so different from typical Ceroc. They played many of the usual favourites… But they played more music I just didn’t like. At the same time, they played a lot more modern dance music compared to what I’m used to from Ceroc, so I liked that. Overall, I don’t know if I liked the music or didn’t. I don’t think I should be so undecided though, so let’s just say that I don’t like that I’m not sure if I liked the music.

Last thing to talk about is my new shoes! I got my new Bloch’s trainers during the week, and this was my first try out in them. I think it went well, but we’ll see how my feet feel in the morning. Overall though, I’m happy here.

So, not a fantastic night, but I did enjoy myself, so I’ll probably go back again…

Doesn’t compare with the Ceroc events I’m used to, but maybe there are things they could learn from Leroc…