April, 2014

  1. Why Brush Up?

    April 16, 2014 by Joo-Lee

    DSC00787I believe there are 2 ways to learn to dance:

    1. We can fill our brains with information in the hope that the more we have, the better our dancing will become.

    Or

    1. We can focus on the little things that make a big difference, using our time effectively and seeing more rewarding results.

    My personal choice is the latter, which is where the idea for ‘Brush Up’ came from.

    Due to life’s busy nature, not all of us can come to class regularly. In between times we have the potential to develop bad habits; symptoms include- tense limbs, loss of bounce or, dare I say it… sloppy triple steps, eek!

    A triple step can cause problems in leading AND following. If they’re not well articulated, your partner won’t be able to tell what you’re leading or, will have a harder job trying to lead you.

    We don’t necessarily know if our basic steps are neat, precise and rhythmic; so we need someone to come and tidy them up for us.

    ‘Brush Up’ workshops are like a private lesson shared by a small group. As your teachers, this gives us time to look at your dancing, dance with you and provide tailored advice.

    As a dancer it’s an opportunity to ask the questions you’ve never asked in class. Helping you to identify simple things that could have a huge impact on your dancing.

    So, even if you think triple steps are something you’ve done before, brushing up your basics can help build strong foundations for your dancing to grow on.

    Go on, brush up your dancing skills!

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  2. Nick’s Lindy-versary!

    April 10, 2014 by Joo-Lee

    Nick WalkerNick is the first to feature on our monthly Lindy-versary blog. It’s here to celebrate the great people we have at Lindy Jazz and it’s great to find out more about fellow members.

    “I like the people. I like the atmosphere. I think it’s quite social, comfortable and supportive.”

    Nick is a Lecturer in Physical Chemistry. His dad is from Gibraltar and he has 2 cousins who play for their football team. Next year they play Scotland in the European Championships and Nick will be there with his dad cheering them on.

    After a brief encounter with dancing in Bristol, Nick joined Lindy Jazz when he relocated to the North East in 2012; being new in town, Nick thought it would be fun and a great way of meeting new people. Thanks to Google he found a class that was close to where he lived and we couldn’t be happier that it was us!

    His favourite Lindy Jazz memory is of social dancing the first year he went to DJam. When describing his first real experience of dancing in a crowded place, Nick said he actually felt more comfortable, learned a lot and found it satisfying… now there’s a commendation for social dancing!

    As an advocate for trying new things, Nick says if you’re unsure of coming to Lindy Jazz don’t think about it too much and just try it. “There’s nothing much to lose from trying new things… It worked well for me”.

    Nick’s final word was a massive thank you to both Joo-Lee and the team. He thinks having so many people involved is a good thing as it’s nice to be surrounded by supportive people. We couldn’t agree more!

    Happy Lindy-versary Nick!

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