beginning dances: which *looks* more fun?

[double3s]

My coach wants me to do some exhibition dances with him this winter. The goal is to encourage "regular" people to skate. Presumably this is why he asked me to do the exhibition, and not a more advanced skater. So, of the Preliminary and PreBronze dances (which are the only ones that I do well enough to do as an exhibition), which do you think would be the most fun/engaging for a non-skater to watch?

Beginning dances: Dutch Waltz, Canasta Tango, Rhythm Blues, Swing Dance, ChaCha, and Fiesta Tango.

I've asked this in my own journal, and so far the results are:
Swing Dance -2 votes (because of waltz hold it looks like a "real" dance)
Rhythm Blues - 1 vote
ChaCha - 1 vote
Fiesta Tango - 1 vote
Canasta Tango - 1 vote (if tango-y arm movements added)

I think I love them all equally, and I can't decide. Your input is appreciated!

[icedancer2]

WEll, of those dances, I like the Canasta and the Rhythm Blues. It's true that the Swing has those Waltz holds and looks kind of "easy".

Have fun - what a great idea!

[jskater49]

None of them are that interesting to watch to regular people --sorry. The cha cha is probably sort of interesting. And this is from someone who likes to dance and who bought tickets to the senior dance compulsaries at Nationals in January.

[phoenix]

I'd probably vote swing dance for the already stated reasons.

[sexyskates]

I vote for Swing. But maybe you can keep it interesting by changing the music after one go around the rink. You could do one lap of the Swing and then do one lap of a Latin ChaCha or Canasta (with interesting arm motions).

[icedancer2]

None of them are that interesting to watch to regular people --sorry. The cha cha is probably sort of interesting. And this is from someone who likes to dance and who bought tickets to the senior dance compulsaries at Nationals in January.

I would have to disagree with this statement judging by the number of people we regularly have watching our dance sessions at our mall rink - there was a time when they were going to cancel the session permanently and basically the mall said, "Oh no, you can't cancel the ice-dancers - people come to watch them!)

I also think any of these dances can be fun to watch if you really like doing them - they are infectious!

I don't know if it will amke people want to learn to skate, however... because from beginning skating to actually doing the dances is a big, big leap!

But I encourage your effort.
A lot.;)

[Muskoka Skater]

I think the Swing or the Canasta would be the best for the non skaters who are watching because the Canasta is a little faster then the others and the Swing is a sort of stretched out dance, also is a graceful dance (of what I remember of the dances)! So both will get non skaters get up and crazy about figure skating.

[BatikatII]

Just a thought but if you can do them to non-ISU music they are all instantly more engaging.

We had a gala recently that I organised for our club and I asked the dance coach if she would get a group of skaters to do a compulsory dance medley (solo dancers but would work equaly well with couples) but using modern music. The girls did The Canasta Tango to 'Sexy Back ' by Justin Timberlake for 3 sequences and then she choreographed in some interesting movements including a spin in the middle and they segued into doing The Riverside Rhumba to 'Sweet Escape ' by Gwen Stefani.

That number became one of the highlights of the gala!

[SynchroSk8r114]

I love teaching the Rhythm Blues, so I'd pick that one for you. I believe that when done with the correct expression, this dance is slinky and fun.

Please avoid Dutch Waltz. Maybe it's just me, but that dance is so darn boring to watch! It's slow and oftentimes doesn't look that waltzy. Then again, my students absolutely love this dance, so who knows!

[Mrs Redboots]

Just a thought but if you can do them to non-ISU music they are all instantly more engaging.

None of those dances are done to ISU music in the USA - and the Swing Dance is done far, far slower than we do it! My coach says this is a Good Thing, as we actually skate it better to the slower music (we practice it at that speed for the Mountain Cup, and then usually find it's only British couples so we do it to the Rocker anyway!).

[jskater49]

Just a thought but if you can do them to non-ISU music they are all instantly more engaging.

We had a gala recently that I organised for our club and I asked the dance coach if she would get a group of skaters to do a compulsory dance medley (solo dancers but would work equaly well with couples) but using modern music. The girls did The Canasta Tango to 'Sexy Back ' by Justin Timberlake for 3 sequences and then she choreographed in some interesting movements including a spin in the middle and they segued into doing The Riverside Rhumba to 'Sweet Escape ' by Gwen Stefani.

That number became one of the highlights of the gala!

We did a christmas show and did the Rhythm BLues to "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" and 14 Step to Mariah Carey's "All I want for xmas"

Now we're looking to do a dance number for our beach/island vacation themed show and find a rhythm that will accomodate both high and low dancers. We were looking at "Somewhere beyond the Sea" and do both the Rhythm Blues and ten fox - but then I found this hokey song from Elvis Presley's Blue Hawaii that has a really obvious beat and we can do with grass skirts. Sorry, I still think for the general public you have to dress up lower dances with costumes and music because the skating alone isn't going to carry it. I believe the same thing about adult numbers as well.

j

[SkaterBird]

I love teaching the Rhythm Blues, so I'd pick that one for you. I believe that when done with the correct expression, this dance is slinky and fun.

Please avoid Dutch Waltz. Maybe it's just me, but that dance is so darn boring to watch! It's slow and oftentimes doesn't look that waltzy. Then again, my students absolutely love this dance, so who knows!

I wouldn't rule out the Dutch Waltz as an exhibition dance if the goal is to encourage "regular" people to consider ice dancing. Because it is so basic, it is one dance that even nonskaters and beginner-beginners might envision themselves actually doing it. I wouldn't make it the sole dance in the exhibition, but watching someone do a very entry-level dance in a polished way might be encouraging to people who would like to try it but believe that just about any type of skating is beyond what they'd be able to learn. Just a thought.

[double3s]

Thanks to everyone who commented and made suggestions. Here are the voting results (including the results from my own journal):

Swing Dance: 6
Canasta Tango: 4
Rhythm Blues: 3
ChaCha: 3
Fiesta Tango: 1
Dutch Waltz: 1

I really like the idea of using modern music to engage the audience. If you have suggestions for popular, christmas-y, or country western (I'm in Oklahoma and CW is biiiig) to go with any of the dances, please chime in.

Again, thanks everyone!

[kayskate]

IMO, the easiest is the DW. If you are appealing to non skaters to see skating as something they might be able to do, the DW is a good one especially if you can do it very well. My fav to do of those listed is ChaCha. Swing is good, but it req's backward skating, which may be intimidating to beginners.

Kay

[kayskate]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v5ZDKnDy4M

This is a vid of a solo DW on quad roller skates. I am not crazy about all of her arm movements, but her swing rolls are gorgeous. I do not find this boring at all. JMO.

Kay

[jskater49]

IMO, the easiest is the DW. If you are appealing to non skaters to see skating as something they might be able to do, the DW is a good one especially if you can do it very well. My fav to do of those listed is ChaCha. Swing is good, but it req's backward skating, which may be intimidating to beginners.

Kay


I do not believe the Dutch Waltz is an easy dance for beginners. It is deceptively simple but all those edge transistions are actually quite difficult for beginners. My daughter, for whom dance turned out to be her biggest strength and source of most of her medals was nearly turned off to dance for good because of that wretched dance. And the non-skating people I know do not find it that interesting to watch.

j

[icedancer2]

I do not believe the Dutch Waltz is an easy dance for beginners. It is deceptively simple but all those edge transistions are actually quite difficult for beginners.

It's a deceptively difficult dance. Someone told me that Jerod Swallow said that if the Dutch Waltz were a Gold Dance, no one with pass it! In fact, we had a seminar yesterday given by Olympic ice dancers (British, BTW) and one of the foci was the Dutch. It was great and their tips certainly made doing this deceptively simple dance easier to navigate.

My daughter, for whom dance turned out to be her biggest strength and source of most of her medals was nearly turned off to dance for good because of that wretched dance. And the non-skating people I know do not find it that interesting to watch.
j

I think the main problem is probably the dirgy-type of music that is often used. I think we have some better music that our dance group plays for that - I will look into it (although it sounds like you will not include this in your demonstration).

Maybe start with the Dutch and then the others will look more interesting!!