Mandeville Ballroom - "Dancing on the Northshore"

Performances and other videos from Mandeville Ballroom

2010-12-02T21:09:00.002-06:00

The quick, easy, cheap way to become a great dancer!

2010-10-30T20:01:00.000-05:00

Does not exist. If something is worth doing, it will take lots of investment in time, effort, and money.

Most people think they can learn to dance in 5 easy lessons. That's not entirely the case. You can learn the basic foundations of a dance in 5 easy lessons, skimming the surface of timing, partnership, and floorcraft; but to truly learn a dance will require much more application. You can't sit at the microwave, tapping your feet on this one. It takes time. It takes dedication. And the better you want to become the more time, energy, and dedication it will take.

The more you learn, the more you begin to see that there is even more to learn.

The "Bees' Knees!"

2010-09-30T21:10:00.002-05:00

Bees are fascinating creatures, that are so small, so aggravating (when they sting you), and yet so vital to the plants of the world. Why? To continue growing and creating new plants- baby plants- flowers need to be pollinated. Bees do this by spreading the love from flower to flower, helping to create beautiful new species of plant life, add variety to our natural gardens, and keeping the plant populations from going extinct. Yes, they are *that* important! ...so I heard.

Dancing is much the same way. The best dancers realize that dances become stale without new ideas and innovations from other dance communities. In my humble opinion, the Lindy Hop world has the right idea. They host "exchanges" where dancers from around the country and world come to one city, where the local dancers open their houses and organize special dance events for the dance guests. They are week-long parties.

The dancers who travel into town, bring with them their own unique views, stylization, and quirks; and take with them some of the flavor of the host city. These exchanges enrich the dance styles and personalities of everyone involved, from the host community, who gets fresh ideas and styles delivered right to their front door, to the traveling guests, who are permeated with the culture of the host town (taking some new ideas to their own homes). It's a relatively inexpensive way to promote fresh dancing- to enrich dance communities everywhere.

Thought for the day: Go out dancing somewhere new. It may be in another country or the next city over. When you experience something new, it could have profound impact on your dance ability

The Best Way to Become a Great Social Dancer

2010-08-30T20:19:00.000-05:00

Lessons are great! I recommend them highly (not that I'm biased, by any means).

Private lessons have their special purpose; group lessons have their purpose. But once you have a few moves under your belt, the best way to improve your *social dancing* is to go into the field and dance as much as possible, with as many different people as possible.

Gentlemen: sit back and look around for an entire dance party and see the number of women who come to dances, waiting for a dance- only to be ignored and passed over for other ladies who already have a partner or more skills, or for a plethora of other reasons. You have it within you to make that woman's day AND test your leading skills by dancing with someone you've never met before. Not to mention you may make a new friend. Where's the harm in that?

Ladies: Don't wait around. While the guys are distracted by the above task, tap them on the shoulder and ask for a dance. Don't be shy, because the guys are well-acquainted with the butterflies that are fluttering around *your* stomach. They won't say no... at least they won't be mean about it... no more mean than any of the ladies who turn them down.

The Perfect Circle

2010-07-30T10:44:00.001-05:00

Many people who are interested in learning to dance have ideas of how they want to learn. Whether they want the economy and socialization of group classes or the discretion and personal attention in private lessons, set their sights on the goal and call a local studio.

Each avenue of dancing has its benefits, its shortcomings, and its place in the perfect circle.
~Group lessons are great for meeting new friends and learning to lead and follow while gaining a basic understanding of a dance or pattern. Because of the nature of group lessons, they cannot be individually tailored.
~While private lessons offer much flexibility in pace and material (that's being taught), it cannot offer access to a variety of partners. So private lessons cannot instill the practical practice of leading and following in a class atmosphere.
~Dance parties are great for practice and socialization. Dance parties, however, are no place to learn patterns. There's just not enough time!!

Private Lessons- Accommodates your schedule, allows to speed through patterns faster than group classes or slow down to dwell on important issues, can cover more in-depth material than groups, discrete and private

Group Lessons- Lots of fun learning with others who are in the same boat (same level and experience), run through patterns in a particular dance style, least expensive option, great for hands-on lead/follow learning and practice

Dance Parties- Practice! Practice! Practice!, variety of great music, free snacks (usually), less expensive than a movie, fun with other dance enthusiasts, the best way to validate your time and money spent on lessons

There is no "one best way" to learn to dance. The only best way is to take all three and combine them into a synergistic program that works like this: Attend a group class to learn a pattern. Take a private lesson to learn the best way to enhance or embellish your new pattern. Go to a dance party and practice (show off) your newly-polished pattern.

These are not the only considerations- just a few things to think about when deciding how best to hop into dancing on the right foot (excuse the pun).
Happy dancing!

More Movies to Make Your Dancing Prettier

2010-06-28T07:10:00.000-05:00

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. What an interesting story, used by many as a political allegory. In dance, it represents another way to remember something important.

East Coast Swing and Cha Cha, in particular, have steps that most people shuffle through. To make your syncopated steps clean and precise, the "triple steps" of the East Coast Swing or the "Cha-Cha-Cha" of the Cha Cha, you should always bring your heels together. That's where Dorothy comes in...

How did she resolve her problems? She clicked her heels together. Like Dorothy, click your heels together during your syncopated steps to make your steps precise and clean.

As an added benefit, bringing your feet completely together (clicking your heels) will allow more freedom of movement, with regards to distance covered and Latin motion.

Movies to Make Your Dancing Prettier

2010-05-28T06:46:00.000-05:00

Dancing equals footwork.. At least that's the area of concentration the first few classes. But, while concentrating on the feet, most people (I'd say all of them) JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THEIR HANDS!
So, they just let them hang.. This never fails to remind me of the Flintstones ("yabba dabba doo!") If you've ever seen the cartoon, you may remember that Fred and Barney usually walked with their arms hanging and their fingers curled in (probably like the artists expected cavemen to walk- like a ape, but not hunched over).
Most people probably don't begin dancing to learn how to look more like a caveman, so they quickly adopt a better arm position: elbows bent, hands above the waist.

This position not only looks better, but also has practical applications.
Any time I dance with a girl, I like to know her hand is about waist level. That takes one more complication out of the mix. I never have to find her hand. And I don't have to move my own hand very much to connect. It's almost automatic!

Five keys to becoming an in-demand leader

2010-04-20T05:02:00.000-05:00

Leading a lady on the dance floor, as with anything worth doing, should be done with confidence. A confident leader, whether he has fancy footwork or dusts off the same old 5 patterns he always uses, will get all the attention he wants.

To be a great leader, it's important to know what you want. If you can't decide between two moves, you'll probably do a little of both. Once you know what you want to do, commit to it fully.

You should also note that no matter how petite your partner is, you want to lead her with your entire body. Everybody wants a good "frame." You always hear this term, but what does it really mean? Lock your arms into place and lead with your body. Your body is [insert your weight] pounds of force, whereas your arms can only exert so much force against your partner's entire weight (as little as it may be).

Keep it simple. Remember, as a gentleman, your job is to make the lady look good. When I first meet a lady on the floor, I start off very easy and lead her into progressively harder patterns. Once I recognize that I've reached her limit, I stop testing and happily run through patterns she can easily follow. Or, if I reach my limit before I reach hers, I can be imaginative and experiment to push myself farther.

Finally, no matter what, have fun on the floor. Your dancing is a part of your personality. Have fun- it's contagious.

Keys:
*Confidence
*Decisiveness
*Body leads
*Simplicity
*Have Fun

Rule #1 of Social Dance

2010-04-13T06:25:00.000-05:00

Every group class starts with two founding principals: A)The guys are in charge, and B)Rule #1.

Before I give rule number one, I ask to see who can guess. Most answers include some variation of "guys are in charge" or "have fun" or "be nice" or "have a good frame."

All of those answers are excellent answers; all of those issues are important to understand and follow in order to have a great dance experience, HOWEVER- none of those merit the title RULE NUMBER ONE.

Rule number one has two parts: Part A)fresh breath; Part B)good hygiene.

Most of the people I dance with have impeccable hygiene. Their bodies smell good, or at least not bad. Generally, most people are great about keeping rule #1b. RULE NUMBER ONE, however, can easily be broken without the person even knowing! So, take precautionary measures: brush, floss, and mouthwash.

Once you are at the dance, gum and mints are great to have handy.

Some of the best items I've found for those times between brushings are Colgate Wisp mini-brushes.These are single use, little brushes with a breath-freshening bead and a toothpick end. I recommend these when you are on the go. The other item I recommend is Breath Rx Gum. This is found at Walgreens in the dental care section, and can give you a complete assurance that you aren't breathing fire.

Bad breath can keep the best dancers from getting repeat dances. But that's not you ;)

Effortless following

2010-03-31T06:21:00.002-05:00

The most valuable skill of a good follow is sensitivity to a lead. In other words, beyond everything else, you should strive to be the best follow you can be. Any woman can chide a man who isn't dancing the right way, but it takes a real gem to follow even the worst lead.

A good frame is an invaluable tool in following. Always keep your elbows in front of your body. Four out of five doctors agree that good frame is key.

One of the first things that we learn as dancers is with which foot to start. Dancing is very much like walking: Right, Left, Right, Left... That is the pattern in almost 100% of social dancing. You will almost never place weight on the same foot twice in a row (American Tango being the obvious exception). This principle takes most of the guesswork out of following.

Close your eyes. We as humans rely too heavily on sight, even when we know our eyes can be very deceptive. Next time you are dancing, try it (within reason). You may be surprised by the results.

Close your ears. As a follow, you want to follow the leader. It's the gentleman's job to follow the music. If he's off time, it's so much better to just go with it. A dance couple is two people dancing as one unit, so when you follow the leader (even if it's not on-time), you not only make yourself look better (people can tell who is following well), you also make the gentleman look better. It's a win-win situation.

Okay, I know this sounds mean, so don't take this the wrong way, but disengage your brain. Perfect example: Let's say that you are led into a pattern you have learned and you know. Or so you think. In the middle of the pattern, the gentleman switches up and ends the pattern differently than you learned. Because your mind has been set to run through your pattern, you realize pretty quickly that you are no longer following your partner. *Note: Disengage brain does NOT mean to disengage frame, posture, or technique.

Keys:
*Good Frame is key
*Always be on one foot then the other
*Close your eyes
*Close your ears
*Disengage your brain

**Helpful exercise often used to demonstrate a great leading a following principle: Partners grab hands at waist level and shift all their weight so the starting foot is free, and the ladies close their eyes. With everyone keeping their respective frames in place, the gentleman shifts his body forward, backward, or sideways, allowing his left leg to move one of those three directions. The lady, feeling the shift in weight, allows her right foot to catch her from falling (AKA: stepping) forward, backward, or sideways. You really get a feel for how to follow the gentleman by his shift of weight.

Dancing: A life long journey, part 2

2010-03-06T11:22:00.004-06:00

Frankie Manning, an early pioneer of Swing, created many of the acrobatic Swing moves that people still use to this day. When well-advanced in years (he danced up until his passing, a month shy of his 95th birthday), he was asked how to do a perfect basic, to which he replied, "I don't know; but I'll tell you when I get there."

For a man who spent years creating and perfecting a dance style, he probably had every right to suggest that he had achieved perfection. He understood, rather, that there would always be room for improvement, there would always be room for innovation, there would always be room for expansion.

The better a person gets and the more he learns about a particular subject, the more he realizes that there's even more to learn. Learning never stops.

Everyone who aspires to be a black belt (in martial arts), sees the rank as a final destination, a goal to achieve. Everyone who has achieved a black belt, understands that this rank is just the beginning of his martial arts education.

Dancing: A lifelong journey

2010-03-04T11:01:00.008-06:00

When people begin dance classes, they invariably picture themselves as Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers. They loved the grace and poise the couple possessed on the big screen; and they envision themselves with such elegance and style. But, as all people are inclined, we overlook the years of hard work and dedication, assuming that this skill will be attained in a class or 6 easy lessons.

The truth is, as with anything worth doing, dancing takes time, practice, and dedication. That's how greatness (or even comfort) is achieved.

Besides having started his dance career at a young age, Fred Astaire was infamous for requiring perfection in his routines before anyone could see them.

They would spend weeks creating all the dance sequences in a secluded rehearsal space...

His perfectionism was legendary...

~Wikipedia~

A few practice tips:

A little practice goes a long way.

Don't think that you have to spend hours per day, practicing, to improve. (Just if you want to improve substantially.)

You don't always need a partner to practice with, and sometimes it's necessary to practice alone.

Always practice your basics. (Even taking a basic beginner's class can be a great way to improve or refresh- and certainly reinforce- good technique.)

Frame, Frame, Frame.

2010-02-21T19:29:00.007-06:00

Imagine, if you will, that you are holding a beach ball in front of your chest. Reach around that ball and touch your fingertips together. Your imaginary ball is only as big as your arms allow. Now pull your shoulder blades together and your arms out, like an Eagle (or Turkey, if you'd prefer). DO NOT LET YOUR ELBOWS GO BEHIND YOUR BODY. Using the Muscles in your back (the ones that run along your spine and the ones that run under and behind your arms), lock your arms into position. You should notice, once your back is engaged, your shoulders become less integral in holding your arms in place. Once you are in this position, your forearms, below your elbows, can be positioned to suit your dance partner and dance style.

Benefits of a good frame include: keeping your shoulders in tact and uninjured, being a tremendous leader, being a fantastic follow, being awesome in general, improved performance on the dance floor, more attention from happy dancers who are eager to dance with you, and the list goes on.

Social Dance Shoes - For Gentlemen

2010-02-10T06:18:00.004-06:00

When shopping for shoes, it becomes obvious rather quickly that men have fewer options than ladies. I'll step off my soapbox now.

Shoes specifically geared toward ballroom dancing are the best tool for the job, hands down. But when a dancer is dancing at a venue that doesn't have a clean wood dance floor, clear of spills and rough patches, ballroom dance shoes are simply not the ideal option.

All too often I find myself at the D-Day Museum, the church on St. Charles & Henry Clay, or even out on the street with some good music. It's these times that my alternate type of dance shoes come in handy.

Bostonian Classics

These leather sole (rubber heel) dress shoes have been there for me in countless dance situations. They are classy, with a simple design, functional, and they last a long time. Shine them every so often, and they keep their luster for years. I just got another pair from Joe's Shoe store over near Taco Bell in Mandeville.

Every pair of shoes that I like and use often, I end up getting resoled at Tip Top Shoe Repair on Hwy 22. They resole and even shine them for me!

NOTE: when getting a suede shoe resoled, ask for chrome suede.

Welcome to Mandeville Ballroom

2010-02-09T13:39:00.002-06:00

We are always striving to improve "Dancing on the Northshore" by helping to spread the most pertinent information to those who need it and want it.

To me dancing has always been more than just a fun hobby. It has been a passion; an avenue of self expression; a framework of confidence that I needed to build my self-esteem. It is an endless journey, stretching and molding me into a higher quality person, more self-assured and personable.

Even better- Dancing is something I can learn AND ACTUALLY USE frequently. Before dancing, I had studied martial arts. Martial arts afford many a level of self-confidence by instilling discipline and dedication to learn to protect oneself against an attacker. It's a great feeling to know that I could protect myself if the need ever arose. HOWEVER, I have never been in a fight, and I rarely have the opportunity to get into a fight.

Personally, I want to dedicate my time and energy into something that applies directly to my day-to-day interactions with others: Dancing.