General FAQs
Just Starting
Question: I'm new to 'Retro Dance'. What's the difference between the dance styles Cool Cats teaches? What is a good style for a beginner?
Answer:
All of the dance styles we teach ultimately find their heritage in the Blues. Swing and Rock 'n' Roll music stem from the mixture of blues music with the popular music of the ~1930's-50's and most dance styles are ultimately a derivation from Lindy Hop - the original swing dance. However, full 8 beat Swing can be difficult to start with and we recommend beginners learn a simpler 6 beat dance like Jive or Rock 'n' Roll first.
Rockabilly music is distinct from Swing and Rock 'n' Roll and stems from a mixture of blues and country music, with the dance style arising from a mixture of folk (Hillbilly) and rock 'n' roll dancing. This is a great style to start with, particularly if you like the music or want to dance fast!
4Beat is possibly the most versatile dance style as it can be danced to almost any piece of music in common (4/4) time - which is essentially all popular music since the start of the 20th century. It is a very easy dance style to pick up in it's basic form, while having significant scope for development and personal expression. Great for traditional blues, classic rock, or modern pop music.
Links:
Check out the videos and information on our 'Dance Styles' page -
http://www.coolcatsrocknroll.com/dancestyles.asp
Check out the videos and information on our Facebook group -
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=21976234290
Find out more about the history of Rock 'n' Roll, Rockabilly, and Swing. Check out some of the websites (e.g. Rockabilly Hall of Fame) on our 'Links' page -
http://www.coolcatsrocknroll.com/links.asp
Question: What's the difference between Cool Cats general classes, structured courses, and short courses? What are good lessons for a beginner?
Answer:
General classes are, well, general. Chose your style(s), chose your level/pace of learning, chose your goals. These classes allow us to teach our complete range of dance styles at each venue and work with students at many different interest and experience levels. However, because everybody is doing something different it is best to attend with a partner (or small group of friends to share those always rare leads about!). These lessons are great for beginners because there is no need to keep pace with course content - go faster or slower as it suits. These lessons are also very flexible, which is very useful for those who have irregular work schedules or other life commitments.
Structured courses offer a 6wk program that covers the fundamentals of a dance style, while offering a variety of progressional content. There are 3 courses for each dance style that focus on a different core aspect of dancing (body mechanics, pressure, timing and harmony) and an additional 'Mix-Up' course where we examine how all these elements come together. Courses are offered in (optional) rotation and partnered formats.
Short courses provide a focused 6wk program that examine specific skills (e.g. timing, footwork, leading) or introduce specialty dance styles (e.g. Triples, Aerials). These courses allow us to spend time on fun and interesting dance elements that we would otherwise not have time to examine in detail.
Links:
Check out the information on our 'Lesson Formats' page -
http://www.coolcatsrocknroll.com/lesson_formats.asp
If you're serious about getting the most out of your dancing, particularly check out -
http://www.coolcatsrocknroll.com/lesson_formats.asp#Lesson_Use
If you're interested in dancing as a sport, check out how Cool Cats can help you with competition and performance training on our 'Sport & Training' page -
http://www.coolcatsrocknroll.com/sport.asp
Question: Wow - Cool Cats does a lot! Why do you teach so many styles and have so many different courses at different venues? Why not 'just keep it simple'?
Answer:
We love teaching dance. As qualified instructors of a wide variety of dance styles, it is difficult to play favourites. While it would be much easier for us to just teach a single style in the common beginners/ intermediate/ advanced format, that would mean that students would miss out on all the other styles we know, many of which are not offered by any other dance school in Perth. For this reason we offer General Classes at each of our venues, North and South of the River, so that as many dancers as possible have the opportunity to learn the best suited dance style(s) for them.
Unfortunately there are only so many days in the week and it is just not possible to dedicate a full course to each dance style (even if we taught 7days a week). Short courses and specialty workshops provide us with the opportunity to introduce less common and 'boutique' dance styles and content on specific skills/theory.
Links:
To understand more about how and why Cool Cats teaches the way we do, check out our 'Teaching' page -
http://www.coolcatsrocknroll.com/lessons.asp
Check out the videos and information on our 'Dance Styles' page -
http://www.coolcatsrocknroll.com/dancestyles.asp
Check out the videos and information on our Facebook group -
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=21976234290
Question: There's a lot of dance information on the website and people have told me that Cool Cats offers very technical instruction. I only want to dance socially - why not 'just keep it simple'?
Answer:
We encourage all of our students to have a great time dancing socially. However, we firmly believe that having a good time dancing, for you and your dance partner(s), means dancing well - and you can't dance well if you haven't been shown how. Put simply, there are ways in which a dance style will (or will not) work and we aim to make sure that you get that information from the start. To some people this approach may seem 'technical', but it's really just the fundamentals to make sure your dance is safe and moves the way it's supposed to.
For beginners (Structured Courses and General Class) we keep the information in general (non-technical) terms and make sure to explain any specific dance lingo we use. Lessons are very much about having fun while you learn the core skills and figures of a dance style. As your dancing continues to develop you may then be exposed to advanced dance concepts and elements of technique through more focused instruction (Workshops, Short Courses, General Class). In this way Cool Cats assists your progression as a dancer, while letting things 'fall into place' before you Take the Next Step.
Links:
To understand more about how and why Cool Cats teaches the way we do, check out our 'Teaching' page -
http://www.coolcatsrocknroll.com/lessons.asp
Check out the videos and information on our Facebook group -
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=21976234290
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