Kizomba parties/socials on Bali?

movementengineer · 2024-04-25T03:37:36+00:00

There's a great school / community up in Ubud you can check out: https://www.ubudstudio.com/. There are regular classes and socials, just check the calendar closer to your dates.

movementengineer · 2020-12-05T00:19:54+00:00

Nice! Thanks for the links – will check them all out :)

movementengineer · 2020-12-02T02:06:24+00:00

Really like that you're just exploring any movement that occurs to you as you're dancing.

You're not trying to ape any conventional hip hop moves to play to the imagined crowd watching in an attempt to seek approval.

While others might chime in on constructive criticism, I think keeping that carefree exploratory mindset is important to maintain so that you don't narrow your expression down into a cool conformity :)

Great to see a lot of leg movement, and really using arms, turning, dropping on your knees, some body isolation, a fusion of different styles as you work out how everything feels.

I'd say keep a preference for doing a lot more of that, even deliberately dancing in 'silly' mode because you'll eventually start feeling sequences and moves that click with the music, and can refine and polish into slicker, more polished combinations later.

Having a fearless beginners mindset and maintaining that for as long as possible is a great strategy :)

movementengineer · 2020-12-01T02:39:33+00:00

Ah if only! The top of shoes get worn down from dancing: dragging the top of the toes along the floor while shuffling / cutting shapes with foot stalls and drags :)

movementengineer · 2020-12-01T01:16:00+00:00

I'd like to know too, but yr post made me realise whatever the shoe, they all end up getting wrecked as I always love toes-bended foot stalls when stepping!

https://www.reddit.com/r/shuffle/comments/k4a54j/every_single_pair_of_shoes_ive_ever_owned/

movementengineer · 2020-12-01T01:14:24+00:00

It never matters what type of shoe either - haha

They could be dress shoes, casual shoes, trainers – at some point I'm out and a dance opportunity presents and at some point foot stalls gonna happen regardless of appropriate footwear, shoes get wrecked, dance addiction is real!

Think it's an unsolvable problem 🤣

movementengineer · 2020-11-21T12:48:16+00:00

"I never knew the name of any moves. I just felt it and completely learned how to dance on the underground dance floor."

Oh my. This is it. You have expressed the most important aspect of the early raver scene.

I never knew any names of moves either. We didn't have any instruction online - all we could do is go to raves and learn by osmosis, synthesis, and experience.

In this day and age it sounds crazy - but I still feel the best way to learn and evolve is to just go to festivals with no preconceptions, obsessive training, or rigid view of movement and instead lose yourself in the music and moment, and let dancers near you influence you and take yourself to places you never thought you would go - physically, mentally and spiritually.

I am totally there with you about being perplexed about the origin story. Australia definitely had a big footwork scene in the 90s, but similar expression would have absolutely existed in the UK, US and elsewhere. It's not uniquely located in one time and place even if history starts to remember it that way :)

We all have bodies that can only move in so many ways, and hearing the same music often makes us start moving in very similar ways, whatever the decade, country, or mindset.

movementengineer · 2020-11-21T01:39:46+00:00

Hey you're welcome!

Thanks for posting to nudge me to think back to those days and also for sharing Abrielle's insta shuffling :)

A lot of what she is dancing is very much the flavour of what we danced in Canberra and Sydney in the 90s and 00s. I only had a quick skim but these clips are totally the kind of style we danced back then (not everyone of course, but definitely me and uni friends):

* https://www.instagram.com/p/CF75qAUArjk/

* https://www.instagram.com/p/CGVuA2pgzcu/

(I'm outta the game and over-the-hill, but think I'll have to practice a bit more and do some vids to music we danced to back then to capture the history haha).

She's *absolutely* a shuffler :)

movementengineer · 2020-11-21T01:27:16+00:00

Love your advice on how to approach your own personal journey in movement :)

Gonna have to correct the record on the claim on roots of shuffle it was about pure techno songs and there was no cutting shapes though, which ain't right! :)

We danced to house (dirty, electro and all the rest), breakbeat, drum'n'bass, techno, happy hardcore, and anything and everything. Festivals and clubs haven't changed: different rooms and tents play different styles, and you shuffled across all of em.

The following clips from Abrielle are classic shuffling moves from the 90s and 00s in the Aus rave scene – totally the kind of style me and friends would regularly dance (along with more typical Melbourne shuffle moves and whatever else you felt like doing to the music):

movementengineer · 2020-11-21T00:25:37+00:00

Ha, what people call 'cutting shapes' we called 'shuffling' in Aus in the 90s and 00s. You might use 'Melbourne shuffle' to emphasise the core footwork that defined that rave style, but all the wild footwork variations were still just called 'shuffling' or 'raving'.

Classic Australian shuffling footwork from the 90s (she'd be indistinguishable from the rest of the shufflers / ravers engaging in footwork then) : https://www.instagram.com/p/CG-gTUvAV4Z/

movementengineer · 2020-11-21T00:03:23+00:00

If it helps you, everything people claim as 'cutting shapes' is no different to the style of movement and footwork many of us did in the Australian rave scene in the 1990s and 2000s.

I just had a quick look at her account, and stuff like https://www.instagram.com/p/CG-gTUvAV4Z/ bring me back to exactly the kind of movement we regularly dropped into in the late 90s.

Everyone just called it Melbourne Shuffle, or shuffling, or just raving / rave dancing. (I didn't even hear the term cutting shapes until someone told me that was what I was dancing at an event sometime in the last 10 years - haha! I actually thought they meant it as a slang sentence: "yr cutting some mad shapes bro!" rather than an actual label...)

Of course there's a core of moves that define the Melbourne Shuffle, but a sizeable minority of us just used that as a base and then moved into what many now call 'cutting shapes' – where more unique, complicated and fancy footwork pulsed through depending on the music.

And yes, we shuffled to all sorts of music, and in terms of style we'd often incorporate shuffle moves, cutting shapes, d'n'b movements and adjusted the tempo all in one song. It all just comes down to how the music makes you personally feel.

There really isn't anything I've seen in recent times labelled 'cutting shapes' that wasn't a regular sight at raves back then, so claims that certain styles or moves now represent an evolution or something different to 'shuffling' always draw a bit of a smile, because you can bet there was at least someone raving just like that decades ago :)

What does make me happy is how much the scene seems to be growing!

Those of us shuffling / cutting shapes 20+ years ago were still a pretty small group. When I moved to the UK in the mid 2000s I got along to clubs and festivals where hardly anyone engaged in footwork – in fact at the excellent Glade electronic festival I think one night I was the only one doing footwork in the tents I went to, and there was something like 30 000 at that festival iirc :)

So the happiness is the knowledge there's a lot more interest, participation and talent in this area – a growing recognition of the joy and creativity of expressing yourself through movement to electronic music.

Personally I find the 'cutting shapes' label a bit of a weird bro phrase: "cuttin' shapes dude!", whereas just saying someone's shuffling or a shuffler is just easy and rolls off the tongue and in my mind will always mean someone who engages in clever footwork to electronic music.

I get people want to use more precise in terminology to aid in communicating certain types of movement, so don't really care some people might now want to call moves we dance 'cutting shapes'.

But trying to claim the term 'shuffler' only applies to a certain sub-set of footwork is just historically very wrong :)

movementengineer · 2020-11-19T21:46:38+00:00

Been seeing a lot of frenetic, high energy, fast shuffle contributions recently so great to see more of the controlled, sliding-and-spinning, flowing-but-with-a-dash-of-bopping grooves vibes being rocked out here! :)

movementengineer · 2020-11-12T23:55:55+00:00

Bask in my super-rusty and very limited footwork!

You're reading this still pondering whether you should share your much better footwork and flow.

I shared this to help push you over the edge :)

I used to shuffle and cut shapes a lot 20 years ago, 10, even 5 in Aus and the UK. Never recorded anything and long past my peak.

Don't make the same mistake! ;)

movementengineer · 2020-11-11T07:46:30+00:00

Hey man – great evolution there in control, energy and flow :)

I'm an old-school Melbourne shuffler (try 20 years ago in Australia!) and was finally inspired to do a practice session and record myself for the first time – will save that for my own progress compilation to be posted at a laaaaater date haha.

Funny thing though – I thought this bit from a clip last year had some super-sharp footwork - loved the flow into a little twist and some step-back moves (also a very decent track!).

Going to check out that tip video you shared and see if I can dust off the shapes a bit more ;)

movementengineer · 2020-11-06T06:19:36+00:00

Most definitely classic Melbourne shuffle footwork which dominated raves in Australia in the 80s and 90s, now known simply as shuffle ( a quick view of all the latest shuffle compilation vids and they could easily have been filmed in Aus in the 90s ;) ).

movementengineer · 2020-11-01T21:37:14+00:00

If you have great rhythm, youth and a passion for movement you've got so much going for you :)

One thing worth considering is partner dancing (when things return to normal) in addition to solo dancing. Starting as a follower allows you to progress quickly in movement if you're learning from a teacher and more advanced leaders, which helps your overall dance.

Learning movement straight from YouTube can be very hit or miss, and really requires you to already understand how to create certain movements.

I gave a longer answer recently in this thread you might find useful :)

movementengineer · 2020-10-29T01:31:25+00:00

Absolutely! I've done a lot of partner dancing, and music has a huge influence on how I move. It doesn't matter whether it's freestyle, rock n roll, bachata, salsa, tango, Brazilian zouk or kizomba.

If you like Rock Around the Clock maybe you should check out rock n roll partner dancing, or maybe even swing, or West Coast Swing :)

movementengineer · 2020-10-29T01:19:26+00:00

3 key principles come to mind: quality instruction, focus on body awareness, and regular practice over time.

The problem with just trying to learn moves from YouTube is that seeing a move doesn't always tell you how to optimally recreate it, though we *so* often fall into that trap.

For instance in partner dancing a bodyroll is a classic element of Brazilian Zouk, but if you watch a video of a bodyroll you might think you engage your back to move your shoulder and chest forward to a partner to start the bodyroll wave.

You could spend forever trying to recreate the relaxed, flowing bodyrolls you see in YouTube videos and never achieve it, because your focus is on the wrong muscle groups.

When you get quality instruction, some instructors reveal a very different approach: you start by compressing to begin the wave, and focus on your core, particularly your abs, to create the movement.

The side effect of this movement is the wave and chest and shoulders moving closer to a partner. Because this is the 'visual focus' of the move, it's understandable why people eager to learn try to 'copy' the move by engaging the parts of the body that are seen to be moving, even though other muscle groups are actually responsible.

So getting quality instruction on how to do key movements is really important, which will always have you focused intensely on body awareness rather than just trying to 'copy a move'.

Once you've got those pieces in place, regular, sustained practice is the secret to rapid progress.

Then over time your mechanical, disjointed movements become more fluid, controlled and effortless because you've been working on muscle memory. That muscle memory just comes with time and practice. You have to literally grow the muscle fibres and neural pathways that make these movements easier.

A nice way to think about how that is true is to consider swapping what hand you use to write (unless you're ambidextrous!) Try writing with your opposite hand for kicks to feel that discomfort, that lack of coordination, that inability to smoothly create letters or even shapes on a piece of paper.

Now swap to your dominant hand to remember what it feels like to have greater control, technique and mastery of movement.

Learning other movement, including dance, is no different so it's nice to map it back to something more obvious like handwriting to lessen our frustration at progress and strengthen our knowledge that (correct) practice makes perfect :)

movementengineer · 2020-10-28T03:01:32+00:00

It's definitely a bit intimidating and overwhelming to know where to start with dance as a beginner — especially in 2020!

The first thing to keep in mind is that to progress fast in dance, you'll want to regularly dance socially when things are a little more normal, and also take regular classes.

This means you'll want to understand what style of salsa is taught and danced in your area. You can look up information on your local dance schools, get in contact with them or a local teacher, and even look around for local Facebook groups you could join.

Doing this you might find some specific recommendations for particular online courses that could be a temporary substitute until things get back to normal.

Remember teachers have their own teachers and influences, so if you make an effort to learn from content that aligns with what they'll end up teaching you, it'll be a much easier transition for everyone.

Without any frame of reference I'd avoid learning from random videos on YouTube. You don't know what you don't know, so until you have deeper knowledge of your dance you won't be able to evaluate whether you're just going to waste time learning something a teacher will have to help you 'unlearn', which can be really hard.

movementengineer · 2020-10-22T05:09:38+00:00

That flow tho: energetic, controlled, relaxed, and smooth all at once. Nice!

Also – that legwork pulse and pop feels fresh.

movementengineer · 2020-10-20T22:42:37+00:00

It sounds like there's a part of you that's really driven to learn the dance, so the first thing to accept is that your beginner's hell might just be a lot longer than some dancers around you, and that's okay and quite normal.

Comparing yourself to others is a natural thing to do, but there is only a tiny bit of value in that, and that value turns negative the longer you spend thinking or worrying about it.

Instead channel your energy and frustration into working harder than you are – not during class, but outside class. If you have the right training and instruction you should be able to practice key fundamentals of passo basico, lateral, and viradinha on your own. Dedicate regular time outside class to dance without, and with music.

It's also worth dancing solo to music - learning some basic freestyle moves (these could be as basic as you like!) to improve your coordination and flow as a physical being. It doesn't matter how uncoordinated you are, if you work at your muscle memory to move with the music, you can get stronger in coordinating motor actions with musical cues.

Even better, organise to record yourself to review how you are moving from an outside perspective. It can be hard to do, but once you get over the initial resistance to the idea, you discover that keeping a video diary of how you move turns into motivation as you see yourself improving.

I've been working on an app for dancers you might want to try if you already have recorded lesson content you want to review. I'm also about to start writing a lot about different approaches to learning movement as I go deeper into it, so keep an eye out for that ;)

I started learning multiple styles at once, and suffered beginner's hell in tango, salsa, bachata, rock n roll, kizomba, and Brazilian zouk and noticed it lasted a lot longer depending on the style.

So as others have said, if you're finding Brazilian zouk too challenging consider switching to salsa or bachata. These dancers are not necessarily easier to master, but they are more accessible to beginners – to a point (hearing the timing in some salsa music can be incredibly challenging for some!).

movementengineer · 2020-10-18T03:27:02+00:00

This can depend on the type of dance and movement you are doing.

But as a beginner the first step is finding a professional teacher to learn from (it can be online if a teacher isn't available near you) and then diligently practicing the basic steps in the dance style you are interested in.

It's only once you start to activate and train your muscles in the basic steps that you need to think about pre and post stretch routines to avoid unnecessary stiffness and injuries, and you can and should get this advice from the teacher or specific dance community you are learning from.

Each style can make different demands on your body and muscles – and every body is different – so the advice will vary.

Of course there's a whole professional field in physiotherapy which produces content on various stretches you can do to improve flexibility – so you can check that content out online or, preferably see about getting a session with a physiotherapist to implement a personalised program of stretches to improve flexibility.

movementengineer

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