RIT Swing Dance Club: Week 8
Week eight of swing dance club was certainly better than the week prior. However, it did not get off to the best start. Eboard members show up 30 minutes before club starts to update anyone who missed the day meeting. My teaching partner Colin also shows up early so that we can go over material for class.
It would be preferable if Colin and I practiced the material earlier than 30 minutes before class but since he hasn’t been coming out social dancing on Wednesday nights that is usually the only time I see him during the week. Having only 30 minutes to prepare is sometimes not enough and if Colin ever shows up late we are completely unprepared. Not to rag on Colin, but he showed up late this past week.
We never have to practice the material for the beginner lesson, only the intermediate one. Therefore, I had eboard members Dan and Adrian start teaching the beginner lesson while Colin and I stepped outside the room and prepared. Then I had an idea. Dan and Adrian could teach the entire lesson and Colin and I would take notes and do a feedback session later.
This worked out very well. We have not done the feedback session yet but I have lots of notes. I wrote down what we liked and what we thought needed improvement. Since at least Dan may end up teaching many of the beginners next school year this is actually a very good thing to do early on. I also plan on teaching a class with Dan and having Colin teach with some of the more experienced followers who are interested in teaching next year. This will mix us up with those who have less teaching experience and help them learn.
Attendance was a little low this week. About 10 couples in the first class and maybe six in the second. Week eight is the time that attendance starts to continually dwindle down until our last class right before finals week when all students are sleep deprived and ready to pull their hair out. Fun times at RIT.
RIT Swing Dance Club: Week 7
Week seven of swing club was kind of a catastrophe. On Wednesday night during Lindy Jam, which is just one night before swing club, I heard that there was going to be a live band at Swing-In. This dance occurs weekly at the same time we hold club so it is often not possible for me or other club members to attend.
I really wanted to go and even more I wanted club members to have another chance to dance to live music. After speaking with some students and eboard members, the last minute decision was made to cancel club and try to get as many people as possible to the live band dance.
An email was sent with the notice and it was arranged that there would be several drivers waiting at club to take people who needed rides or were unaware of the change in plans. Many people were also arranging their own rides so that they could show up to the dance on time.
Only two hours before the dance was to begin on Thursday, I got a text message from a fellow dancer Beth saying, “Swing in canceled due to weather.” Since I was in class when I received this and not near a computer, I had to do some frantic text messaging to let as many people as possible know. Another problem, we also had to decide whether or not to still hold club.
The text message that made the decision for me was from eboard member Laura saying that some of the campus shuttles weren’t running and the roads were terrible. Also, I had no dance shoes or music with me. An email was finally sent only 1 and 1/2 hours before club with the cancellation notice. I still hope that nobody ended up driving out to the live band dance only to be disappointed.
Sometimes decisions like this need to be made and it’s all part of being the president of a club. I try to do what is best for most club members and in this case try to keep everyone safe and happy. However, I hope situations like this do not arise again anytime soon. This may be a problem considering I live in Rochester, the home of cold, wind and snow.
Journalism Update
Just realized that I haven’t posted any of my recently published articles. Here are my latest that I wrote for Reporter magazine:
It was a bit difficult to make a story about winter car care interesting and entertaining but I sure did try. I think readers will like it because it’s useful and offers easy and cheap tips to take care of your car. I certainly changed some of my car maintenance habits after speaking with these mechanics.
2. The Psychology of Michael Scott
I was given only a few days notice to write this article and it turned out completely different from what the editor and I originally planned. It was supposed to be more like a case report diagnosing Michael with psychological disorders. However, the clinical psychologist I interviewed convinced me that this was not the best idea. First, case reports are dry and boring. Second, it would be hard for me to write from a psychologist’s perspective. Third, Michael does not necessarily have any psychological disorders. With more time this could have been a better article but I hope it offers readers a few laughs.
3. Recipe Review: Skillet Baked Apple Pancake
First recipe review for Reporter. It was fun to have an excuse to make something delicious. I don’t bake much anymore now that my sister Ellie (the professional baker) is living with me for a bit, which is more than fine, but I liked dipping back into the baking world for one night.
In other journalism news, I am involved a new project at school called, “The Docking Station.” It’s an online magazine for the department of communication that I am heading along with my professor Andrea Hickerson. In addition to writing articles I will also be an editor and possibly a photographer when I have more experience. I am taking photography this spring and super excited! Speaking of spring, it is gearing up to be a busy quarter. Looks like great classes and a not so great schedule.
Also, looking for a co-op this summer! I’m in contact with a few people right now but I’ll take any leads you’ve got in local publications.
RIT Swing Dance Club: Week 6
There is a constant struggle with drop-in classes to keep the regular students learning and entertained while also making sure the new people learn the basics and do not feel overwhelmed. New students come to club every week, which is truly wonderful, and I hope I am doing a good job at structuring the lessons for them. After the live band dance we got another handful of new students so I spent most of class reviewing lindy hop basics. For those who already knew these steps, I added a good way to transition from 6-count to 8-count (a send out).
I am always impressed at how quickly new students pick up the steps that some students have already been working on for several weeks. I applaud their efforts and enthusiasm for the dance and trying something new.
The club is toying with the idea of having two simultaneous lessons during the first hour beginning next quarter. The room we held the live band dance in has a divider which means the beginner lesson could happen at the same time as the intermediate lesson. This would allow time during the second hour for either social dancing or a joint lesson like the big apple, shim sham, etc.
The disadvantage of this is that there would be no intermediate “ringers” in the first class to help the new students learn. I have always liked this aspect of club even though most beginner lessons do not have it. However, one good thing about the switch to simultaneous lessons is that it would give some of the more experienced dancers a chance to teach the beginners. Teaching can help your dancing tremendously and it would be great to give some of the students that opportunity.
For the second hour of week six Colin and I taught what I called “moves with unusual timing.” Looking back at it, it was actually variations on basic turns with unusual timing. We prepared four moves but only taught two. The reason for this, as I told the students, is that I would rather them get two moves down really well than only sort of be able to do four. The other two will be taught at a later time.
RIT Swing Dance Club: Week 5
Dancers at the RIT live band dance. Photo by Robyn Mac Chlerie.
I did not teach at swing club during the fifth week because I had enough on my plate preparing for the live band dance and doing homework. Therefore, most of my post will be about the dance and not about the lesson. I had two e-board members Dan and Laura teach the beginner lesson (swing out from closed and lindy circle) and for the second hour the entire e-board conducted a “swing out clinic.” The second hour was for all club members, not the usual intermediate lesson, and consisted of a lot of feedback on basic steps. Some of the e-board was in the rotation giving advice on connection, frame and how the dance feels and others walked around and critiqued the visual aspect. I heard it went really well. If you are thinking of doing this at your club be sure to announce who the e-board is so that nobody is surprised when somebody starts telling them to change the way they rock step.
Now for news about the live band dance! First off, it was a great event. I had so much fun and I heard the same from e-board, club members, other attendees, photographers and the band. I will start at the beginning. I got to the venue an hour before the lesson along with my sister Ellie and two volunteers. Prior to the event we had submitted a diagram of how we wanted the chairs and tables arranged but this apparently did not get into the right hands. There were tables and chairs everywhere. Now, I was already nervous about the dance so this was not a reassuring site to walk into. After some frantic rearranging we moved onto the rest of setup which went well.
About 20 couples showed up for the lesson. Most of these people I had never met before and I was very happy to see the new faces. The students were smiling, laughing and dancing by the end of the hour and most of them stayed all night.
The Smugtown Stompers were exquisite. I had only heard them once before on a riverboat at the Rochester International Jazz Festival and they certainly lived up to my expectations. They had a great energy and even spent one song playing their instruments while walking around the dance floor. Vocalist Katie Ernst joined them for several tunes and I am constantly amazed by the quality of her voice. They finished up the night with “That’s A Plenty” and a high-energy charleston jam circle broke out (pictured above).
There were about 100 people who attended the dance. This was far more than I had anticipated. We had only posted fliers about five days before the event but part of me thinks that kept the event fresh in people’s minds. Most of the attendees were RIT students. There were also some members of the Rochester swing dance community and other local colleges.
With money from student government funding, admission cost, t-shirt sales and raffle tickets we were in the green. The money we raised will most likely go toward our club trip in the spring. I want to bring the club members to a really great event and these earnings will certainly help.
There is so much more to say about the event but you just had to be there to truly appreciate it. We will certainly have another live band dance next year and I hope the tradition will continue for as long as the RIT Swing Dance Club is around.
Thanks to Steve, Ryan, Dan, Adrian, Laura, Colin, Mike, the volunteers and The Smugtown Stompers. I couldn’t have done it without all of you.
RIT Swing Dance Club: Week 4
The RIT Swing Dance Club is back from winter break and better than ever. Since our PR board member Adrian posted fliers around campus a couple days before our meeting last week we had about 10 new students. I imagine it will only increase from there. I knew that posting fliers around campus was important but I can’t stress how important it really is. It makes students aware of your club. Even if they don’t even consider going they know you exist and may tell their friends about it or be convinced to go in the future. We are also posting the flier above around campus for our live band dance this Saturday!
Colin and I reviewed the basic lindy hop step during the first hour of club. I was very impressed that the students who had never attended before were picking it up rather quickly. I tried not to overwhelm them in hopes of their return in the coming weeks. On the other hand I was afraid of boring the students who had learned this step before break. However, I gathered that they were willing and even excited about the review and as a result becoming more comfortable with it. This week I will teach them a swing out from closed and lindy circle. With these steps and their 6-count knowledge they should be ready for the social dance this weekend.
For the advanced class we started with a group critique. Colin and I watched them dance for several songs and gave them some tips that they could all benefit from. I start with group critique so that nobody feels singled out if they are uncomfortable with that type of feedback. The first tip was to have more rhythm and bounce in their bodies. The second tip was to use their entire bodies when leading and following. Many leads were using their arms too much. After some exercises and practice I started individual critique. I did not force students to partake in this exercise. Three out of the six couples ended up volunteering and I don’t think they were happy about this decision. I allowed peers to critique the couples if they wished and then Colin and I gave each person one or two tips. It is important not to overwhelm the students during this exercise.
At some point I would like to do a video critique. This gives students the rare and much needed opportunity to watch themselves dance. I encourage peer feedback during this time and also self feedback. I find self feedback has more impact on the student than any other kind. If they can see for themselves the areas that need work they are motivated to change it.
A lot of work has been done over this quarter toward the dance this Saturday. With the recent addition of funding from Student Government I am confident that we will meet our fundraising goals. Now the goal is to get people there. Lots of people. I know that students from UB, UofR, Geneseo and RPI are attending. I am excited to bring so many college swing clubs together in one place. In addition I hope to attract many new people from the RIT and Rochester community.
I will post about it next week! Hope to see you there.
RIT Swing Dance Club: Week 3
We held one last swing club meeting Thursday before most students headed home for the holidays. When students return we will have seven more weeks of club left and only a few weeks to get them ready for the live band dance on January 16.
We had about six new students show up this week and overall attendance was good. I didn’t expect as many people this week since club membership fees were due. I think this is a good sign.
During the first hour, the beginner lesson, Colin and I reviewed charleston and began teaching Lindy Hop. I took it very slow since the students had only been dancing for two weeks and some were swing dancing for the first time. They were troopers. The students seemed to be having fun and we managed to get through a full basic step by the end of class. I imagine that many people will forget this over break but I encouraged them to watch videos on YouTube and to go out social dancing in their hometown.
For the second hour, the intermediate lesson, we reviewed tandem charleston and taught our second variation. It begins in tandem and turns to the right on three. The leader then leads a prep down on four in order to do a heel click on six, landing on “and seven.” It took a while for the students to get the heel click but they looked good by the end of class. Colin is much better at this move than I am so I had him teach it. When we execute the move partnered I do just fine because Colin can give me an extra boost.
I haven’t mentioned this in series yet, but my sister Ellie runs the RPI Swing Club. Her last post was about the club and how much she will miss them once she moves to Rochester. I used to teach at this club with her before moving to Rochester and I am proud of what she has done with the club since that time. One of her students e-mailed me recently and said he was excited about my blog series as he will soon be the new president of the RPI Swing Club. I will try hard to make this series helpful to him, the RPI Swing club and any other person starting up a college club.
RIT Swing Dance Club: Week 2
Club flier designed by Adrian Yablin
This is my second post in a series about the winter quarter of the RIT Swing Dance Club. I hope you are enjoying it!
Last Thursday was our second club meeting. Since we haven’t done any additional advertising, there was only one new student. The task of printing and handing in fliers to the campus center was the responsibility of one of the e-board members and unfortunately I don’t know where it stands at the moment. I hope it has been done but I don’t see any fliers around campus. This will certainly be dealt with during our e-board meeting tomorrow afternoon. If it hasn’t been done already it will be done upon return from winter break. At that point we will also begin advertising for our live band dance in January.
The number of students at a club meeting never influences my teaching. If students show up I will provide a good lesson. These students are showing passion and dedication by attending and they deserve the same from me. Therefore, we had a great class last week. Back to the regular format of a beginner lesson during the first hour and intermediate material during the second, Colin and I began with reviewing basic 6-count steps. After that we introduced 30s charleston. I have recently changed the way I teach the basic charleston step and it works very well. The method begins with only steps and touch-steps and then I slowly add in the kicks.
For the intermediate lesson Colin and I prepared some tandem charleston variations. Since many of the students did not know tandem we only got through teaching that and one of the variations. The one we taught began in tandem, then the leader twists the follower on five, six, seven, and spins her to face-to-face position on eight. The students had it pretty well by the end of the lesson. I’m looking forward to teaching the other variation this week.
One thing I have learned from being a member of Groove Juice Swing is that it helps to have weekly meetings to discuss classes and events. The RIT Swing Dance Club e-board now does this and it is extremely helpful. We also just started to track all of our notes from the meeting on a google site. This is much better than searching through an inbox to find when somebody mentioned whether or not we have a room reserved. The site also features a “To-Do” page which makes it easy to assign and keep track of tasks for each member.
To wrap things up, plans are coming together for our live band dance in January. I have started advertising to nearby colleges in hopes of students from other swing clubs attending. We have also secured some of our raffle prizes:
- One all-in pass to Stompology 2010
- Two pairs of Aris Allen dance shoes from DanceStore.com
- Two RIT Swing Dance Club t-shirts (designed by Adrian Yablin)
RIT Swing Dance Club: Week 1
RIT Swing Dance Club, Spring 2009
This is the first post in a series about the winter quarter of the RIT Swing Dance Club. I have been president of the RIT Swing Dance Club since Fall 2008 and have thoroughly enjoyed it. As I wrote about previously, it has certainly been a learning experience for me as a teacher and organizer. Many people have asked me for advice about their current swing club or starting up a swing club at their college. I often write lengthy responses and/or direct them to my already mentioned post. However, I think these people deserve more advice. This is part of the motivation for this blog series. Another reason is that 10 blog posts are required for my Specialized Reporting (with a focus on new media) and Public Relations Writing classes this quarter (5 posts for each class). Since the RIT Swing Dance Club runs for 10 weeks, this works out pretty perfectly. I also hope that this series will bring feedback from others about the RIT Swing Dance Club for me and how to make it better.
Last Thursday was the first week of swing club in this winter quarter. At the beginning of each quarter there are usually many new faces that are eager to learn how to swing dance. By the end of the quarter there are notably fewer of these faces. Part of this, I imagine, is due to the fact that each student must pay the club dues ($15/quarter or $40 for the year). As a swing dancer, I know that this is a steal. I calculated that the entire year, which includes instruction, a practice CD, t-shirt, and club trip (last year we attended the Boston Tea Party) is worth about $300. However, even though I explain this to the students, I think that they do not always see the value. I’m not sure of the other reasons that people decide to leave the club. It may be because of the time commitment or lack of interest.
This quarter began differently than most. We had fewer than 10 new people show up. This was discouraging to me but I do realize that I didn’t advertise as much as usual. I am pretty good about hanging fliers around campus but this quarter I haven’t gotten around to it. It is possible that RIT students simply aren’t aware of our club. Adrian (on the executive board and in charge of PR/advertising) did create and hang a large sign on the quarter-mile (a high-traffic area at RIT), but it got taken down the next day. We weren’t aware of any posting limitations for this area, but we are looking into it. We are also looking into getting a large number of fliers posted around campus. RIT will hang 50 fliers around campus for student clubs/events. I plan on handing in those fliers this week for posting. Now we just wait and see how many people show up on Thursday.
Despite the lack of new people, the beginner lesson went very well. We extended it to the full two hours instead of one hour for beginners and one hour for intermediate dancers. This allowed Colin (my teaching partner at club) and me to cover a lot of material and not rush through it. I got the students comfortable with 6-count basics in closed and open, turns, and basic dance concepts (connection, bounce, lead/follow). We return to our regular format this week. Another thing I changed this quarter was the introduction of “Shave and a Haircut” to wrap up an exercise. I call out the first part “ba dada da da” (shave and a haircut) and the students respond by stomping their feet to finish the tune with, “da da” (two bits). This will help me with getting students to end at the proper time and remain quiet when I begin speaking.
Lastly, I have some exciting news for the RIT Swing Dance Club. We are holding a swing dance on January 16, 2010 featuring the Smugtown Stompers! This is the first swing dance with live music at RIT in seven years. This dance will benefit the RIT Swing Dance Club and I hope that a lot of people will come out and support us. Here is the info if you are interested in attending:
Location: RIT, The New Campus Center in the Student Alumni Union (SAU, building #4) rooms 2610/2650
Campus Map: http://facilities.rit.edu/campus/maps/general/general.pdf
Directions: http://www.rit.edu/maps/
Parking: U-lot or D-lot
Cost: $10 $5/students
Time: 7-8pm beginner lesson, 8-11pm dance
Also…
Raffles
RIT Swing Dance Club T-shirts (designed by Adrian Yablin)
Snacks
Interview with Adam Frank
I recently heard Adam Frank speak at TEDxRochester. I was very intrigued by his new outlook on the science vs. religion debate. Therefore, when I saw that he was slotted for an interview in an upcoming issue of Reporter magazine, I jumped at the chance to speak with him.
The article was supposed to be 600 words but by the time I had finished writing it was over 800. I could have written 1000 words had I been given the opportunity. He had so many interesting and new points of view that I felt were important for RIT students to know. Thankfully, the editors at Reporter allowed the word count change.
A week after I performed the interview with Frank I noticed that he had signed up for Groove Juice Swing’s upcoming swing basics class. I would love the opportunity to be able to share some of my knowledge with him after he shared so much with me, but unfortunately I’m not teaching this session. Maybe I’ll be able to slip in as a sub one week.
Read it here!
http://reportermag.com/article/12-04-2009/interview-with-adam-frank
And check out his new book, “The Constant Fire.”
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