Magic Pill

Swing Addicts,
The Magic Pill is a Teaching Method that will guide you through several Basic Lindy Steps, and will enable you to go dancing with a variety of partners well within a 20 minute period, IF you follow instructions faithfully. It will be helpful if you practice the 'LANZA SIX COUNT LINDY', Teaching Method with a partner. If none is available, hang onto the back support of a chair for a partner.
The Magic Pill will arrive July 4th, but please prepare yourselves in the two specifications below:
1) You should be able to identify the Down and Up Beats in Swing Music. Have a friend help you if need be.
2) I will assume you are or have heard the rhythmic count, 'TRIPLE , TRIPLE, ROCK STEP'.

There are only Two Rules involved in this method that you will have to follow faithfully for the Magic Pill to take
affect.

Black Sheep d.lanza@netzero.net
Only subscribers who Email me a YES vote will receive the MAGIC PILL. Non subscribers will have to buy it on the Black Market! Only two weeks left to vote!

To Skeptics,
Simplified Swing is a Teaching Method which I am offering to whomever is interested with NO STRINGS attached! Why should I share a priceless secret to the general public. What's in it for me?
In the past few days 'YES' votes have been trickling in, but I notice not one vote is from a Southern California Instructor! And a few voters have expressed that they thought the Magic Pill is a 'HYP' like so many offerings on the internet. So let me give you an 'Overview' of what the 'LANZA SIX COUNT LINDY' (a teaching method) will accomplish
Last Friday June 13, I was at Hilary Alexander's closing, final Venue at Suzy Q. As usual;l I searched for a Wallflower to employ my Magic Pill method on. This night I found two young ladies sitting in a corner stuck to the wall. A few steps with one on the dance floor convinced me the lady was willing but had no idea what Swing was about.We returned to her friend and I escorted both to an empty area away from the crowd. Within six minutes I had them dancing on syncopated rhythm and following the lead on several basic steps and then l left them practicing holding onto the back of a chair. Within minutes they were asked to dancer and spent the rest of the evening dancing with a variety of men. When I bid them good evening, both Chee and Jamie were almost in tears with gratitude. And that made my day! What's in it for me?
I was a wall flower until I was 27 years old. My High School dances were very lonely for me and after a few dozen rejections, I never returned to that humiliating situation where no lady would dance with me because I was a club-foot exemplar. Ten years later when I became a dance teacher, it has become my personal commitment to help other wallflowers to share in the ecstatic experience of social dancing. What's in it for me?
Now allow me to explain the Overview of the Magic Pill. There is one factor of the Magic Pill method, that some dancers will have difficulty with if they are West Coast Swingers; The Lanza Six Count Lindy' is strict, authentic Savoy style Lindy. A complete beginner will learn to apply this dance literally within minutes, but the student with previous Swing experience will take much longer depending on how strong his WCS dance habits have become. When I changed from West Coast Swing, after four years of teaching it at my Hollywood Dance Club, to the authentic Lindy Hop, it took me about a year to reach an accomplished level in Savoy Lindy. And I had an authority on the Lindy Hop teaching me, Dean Collins. In the past three years, I have taught countless dozens of patrons at the vasrious Swing Venues using the Magic Pill teaching method. Occasionally, a dancer would feign being a beginner and the results were frustrating for me only to discover after I quit trying, that they were already taking private lessons in West Coast Swing.
In addition to the concise integral structure to the Magic Pill method, I will include some of the crucial techniques and also the most effective way to teach the Lanza Six Count Lindy, (a teaching method).

Your 'YES' vote places you automatically on my special list of Recipients for the Magic Pill, the complete ball of wax, gratis! NO VOTE, no Magic Pill!

Black Sheep d.lanza@nwtzero.net

Magic Pill is Coming Your Way

For Teachers Only,
The Magic Pill will be hard for some teachers to take, because it may suggests a competitive way of teaching. And it is an assumption that the new way is a criticism of the established way. But keep in mind that if my Magic Pill is capable of addicting new students to Swing within the first 15 minutes, you can be assured that the student will return. What a great interviewing tool for selling new students on an extensive dance course!
The Magic Pill Teaching Method has many other benefits to Professional Dance Teachers: It will, not only give a student a quick jump start, but there is in the method a consistency in the COUNTING that makes teaching much less complicated because the numbers are a rhythmic mechanical guide for any move or combination of moves that your imagination can conjure up.
A further consideration that will allay any qualms of competition or concerns of contradicting your own methods of teaching, is the simplicity and logic of this Magic Pill I offer with no strings attached. And if you don't see the benefit, just hit the delete button.
An additional value of this innovative teaching method is that it brings a much needed uniformity to teaching so that a student can move from one Venue Class on a Wednesday and feel comfortable in another Venue class on a Friday, instead of being subjected the confusion of different counting that is now being used.
The Magic Pill, will not turn out a finished dancer in 15 minutes, it will only bring students to the point of dancing several Swing steps with leads and follow in sync with the music. The Professional teacher will be needed to help student develop styling, teach them techniques, choreograph routines, introduce them to Shim Sham Steps, show them how to incorporate Charleston eight count jazz moves with the Swing; there is an infinite number of facets in dancing left for the PROFESSIONAL Dance Teacher to work on, once the new student is hooked with my Magic Pill that gets them started dancing within 15 minutes.

Black Sheep d.lanza@netzero.net

Email me your YES vote and I'll share my 50 years of teaching experience with you in this MAGIC PILL.

The Magic Pill - getting beginners dancing in 15 minutes

THE MAGIC PILL PART I

Lindy Lovers,
For your July 4 holiday enjoyment I have decided to POST the Magic Pill
earlier than promised, so that those of you who know how, can get your
wallflower friends unglued and dancing Swing/Lindy within 15 minutes.

THE MAGIC PILL PART I
(The Magic Pill is a uniform, concise method of teaching the authentic Savoy
Lindy Hop that expedites the learning process in a simplified manner that
makes the rhythmic patterns UNFORGETTABLE when using the 'Lanza Six Count
Lindy' (LSCL) Guide Lines.)

Basic Lindy Steps are danced to Six Quarter Beats or Notes;
LSCL: ONE & TWO (2 quarter beats), THREE & FOUR (2 quarter beats), FIVE -
SIX (2 quarter beats)

'Lanza Six Count Lindy' (LSCL) Guide Lines.
LADY ON THE 1&2 ALWAYS travels or turns only on these 3 steps;
LADY ON THE 3&4 ALWAYS takes 3 steps in-place;
LADY ON THE 5-6 ALWAYS Rocks Back.

MAN ON THE 1&2 and 3&4 ALWAYS takes six steps in-place;
MAN ON THE 1&2 ALWAYS gives his leads.
MAN ON THE 5-6 ALWAYS Rocks in the direction of his leads;

PART II will give procedural method of using LSCL most effectively.
To receive your Part II, send in a YES vote to d.lanza@netzero.net :

Joe Lanza aka Black Sheep

Magic Pill Addicts,
Those of you who have received Part I of the Magic Pill will
automatically receive Part II on August 4th, so you do not have to send me a
second 'YES'. Once your name is on tyhe MP list, you will receive all
subsequent teaching materials for using the MP, i.e., Procedural Methods for
getting the best results when using the MP, teaching techniques, and styling
pointers. Those of you who have not yet sent in your 'YES' for the Magic
Pill, Teaching Method for the authentic Savoy Lindy Hop, Send me a simple
'YES' and I will send you the 'Pill'!
Joe Lanza

For Part II of the Magic Pill, procedural steps for the most effective way to use the 'Lanza Six Count Lindy' teaching method, Email your YES vote to d.lanza@net zero.net

For Teachers Only,
The Magic Pill will be hard for some teachers to take, because it may suggests a competitive way of teaching. And it is an assumption that the new way is a criticism of the established way. But keep in mind that if my Magic Pill is capable of addicting new students to Swing within the first 15 minutes, you can be assured that the student will return. What a great interviewing tool for selling new students on an extensive dance course!
The Magic Pill Teaching Method has many other benefits to Professional Dance Teachers: It will, not only give a student a quick jump start, but there is in the method a consistency in the COUNTING that makes teaching much less complicated because the numbers are a rhythmic mechanical guide for any move or combination of moves that your imagination can conjure up.
A further consideration that will allay any qualms of competition or concerns of contradicting your own methods of teaching, is the simplicity and logic of this Magic Pill I offer with no strings attached. And if you don't see the benefit, just hit the delete button.
An additional value of this innovative teaching method is that it brings a much needed uniformity to teaching so that a student can move from one Venue Class on a Wednesday and feel comfortable in another Venue class on a Friday, instead of being subjected the confusion of different counting that is now being used.
The Magic Pill, will not turn out a finished dancer in 15 minutes, it will only bring students to the point of dancing several Swing steps with leads and follow in sync with the music. The Professional teacher will be needed to help student develop styling, teach them techniques, choreograph routines, introduce them to Shim Sham Steps, show them how to incorporate Charleston eight count jazz moves with the Swing; there is an infinite number of facets in dancing left for the PROFESSIONAL Dance Teacher to work on, once the new student is hooked with my Magic Pill that gets them started dancing within 15 minutes.

Black Sheep

ANDIRA, I thought you would never ask.
In this Dance Forum's Archives, you can find the breakdown of the SIX COUNT LINDY teaching method and comparing and explaining the difference with the Eight Count.

The dance counts are for the same Swing/Lindy Hop dance only the Magic Pill is a teaching method instead of just a way of counting beats at random.

In the Dance Forum archives you will find 'THE MAGIC PILL' by Black Sheep which explains and compares both counts in detail.

The confusion comes when the 6 & 8 counts are intermixed by the instructors in the same dance lesson which is due to a lack of their understanding the 'SIX COUNT' teaching method.

Here is a brief comparison of the counts:

1980' counting tripple triple Rock Step;
1940-50's counting 123- 123- 12
Standard 8 ct. 123- 456- 78
Magic Pill 6 Ct 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5-6

The Magic Pill is a more precise and consistant counting method for the Basic step Patterns (but varies slightly in the advanced Swing/Lindy Patterns) since the techniques and the rhythm are locked into each specific number, e.g.
< 1 & 2 are where the leads take place;
< 3 & 4 are in place movements;
< 5-6 are always back Rocks for Lady
< 5-6 the Man always Rocks i the direction he leads the Lady into;

The even numbers, &2, &4, -6 are subtly accented instead of the downbeats (the Odd Numbers) this is where the dancers gets the euphoric feeling of dancing in Syncopated rhythm with the music.

Uncle Joe aka Black Sheep
The Lindy Hop is America's cultural gift to the world.

RAWTOOTHBONE, SIX VS EIGHT
The Six Count Swing is a unique teaching method which uses a Six Count as the structure of the dance; the Six Count only came in use when I introduced it in my book, Lindy By Lanza in 1997.

When using the Eight Count, instructors are counting the number of steps in the Basic Swing step pattern, e.g. Triple (3), Triple (3) Rock Step (2) = 8 steps;

When using the Six Count, instructors are counting quarter beats and eighth beats, e. g.
1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5-6. = Six full quarter beats; the & 2, & 3 counts are eighth beats which can be counted `Slow Quick Quick, Slow QUICK QUICK, Slow Slow.

Each counting method is only using six Quarter beats, which is a bar & a half of music, which gives you the feeling that you are out of phrase on every other Basic Pattern.

To avoid getting distracted, just dance on the down beats, without trying to stay on phrase.

In this Dance Forum's* Archives, you can find the breakdown of my Magic Pill SIX COUNT LINDY teaching method, or check my Website < WWW.LINDYBYLANZA.COM >.

Uncle Joe aka Black Sheep
The Lindy Hop is America's cultural gift to the world.

On Jun 20, 2009, at 1:31 PM, Joe lanza wrote:

ANDIRA, I thought you would never ask.
In this Dance Forum's Archives, you can find the breakdown of the SIX COUNT LINDY teaching method and comparing and explaining the difference with the Eight Count.

The dance counts are for the same Swing/Lindy Hop dance only the Magic Pill is a teaching method instead of just a way of counting beats at random.

In the Dance Forum archives you will find 'THE MAGIC PILL' by Black Sheep which explains and compares both counts in detail.

The confusion comes when the 6 & 8 counts are intermixed by the instructors in the same dance lesson which is due to a lack of their understanding the 'SIX COUNT' teaching method.

Here is a brief comparison of the counts:

1980' counting tripple triple Rock Step;
1940-50's counting 123- 123- 12
Standard 8 ct. 123- 456- 78
Magic Pill 6 Ct 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5-6

The Magic Pill is a more precise and consistant counting method for the Basic step Patterns (but varies slightly in the advanced Swing/Lindy Patterns) since the techniques and the rhythm are locked into each specific number, e.g.
< 1 & 2 are where the leads take place;
< 3 & 4 are in place movements;
< 5-6 are always back Rocks for Lady
< 5-6 the Man always Rocks i the direction he leads the Lady into;

The even numbers, &2, &4, -6 are subtly accented instead of the downbeats (the Odd Numbers) this is where the dancers gets the euphoric feeling of dancing in Syncopated rhythm with the music.

Uncle Joe aka Black Sheep
The Lindy Hop is America's cultural gift to the world.

SIX COUNT VS EIGHT COUNT
RAWTOTHEBONE, In March 2001 a book came out, 'Lindy by Lanza' where a unique Lindy Hop teaching method was first introduced by the author called the, 'Magic PILL'.

For the first time in known Swing history the Swing dances were broken down to a six count syncopated rhythm instead of the Eight count step patterns. The difference is that the Eight count is just a another method of counting STEPS like TRIPLE TRIPLE or 123, 123, 12 etc.
While the Six Count Lindy Hop is an actual complete compact teaching method with the syncopated rhythm built into the SIX counts along with the Cues for the leads and primary techniques of tension and rectangular directional control, all in the SIX Counts <1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5-6 >.

It is called Magic because the Six Count Lindy Hop teaches a beginner how to dance the basic steps well enough to follow or lead any stranger on the dance floor within 15 or 20 minutes of instruction using this SIX COUNT teaching method.

I spent a whole year testing and teaching Wall Flowers how to Swing dance at the various Swing venues in Southern California in the year 2000 before publishing the Magic Pill on my book. Before my book came out, all swing dancers including Frankie Manning admitted dancing Swing to eight counts.

Today many Swing teachers mix the Six counts with the Eight counts. which is confusing for novice Swing dancers. And it just takes a few moments to check the MAGIC PILL paradigm to know the difference between a count and a Compact Teaching Method.

The Magic Pill is in the very earliest archives of Dance Forums or you can log onto my Website and check the Menue, 'Strictly Swing' for a graphic display of the MAGIC PILL.

< WWW.LINDYBYLANZA.COM >
Uncle Joe, the instructors best friend.

Rawtothebone, EIGHT COUNT SWING VS SIX COUNT LINDY
The difference between 8 Count Swing and 6 Count is that in 8 count the instructor is counting the number steps in a step pattern;

In Six count Swing < 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5-6 > the instructor is using the rhythmic Quarter Notes (beats) and Eight Notes (beats) to focus on rhythm.

The Six Count Lindy is a Teaching Method while the Eight Counts in Swing are similar to Triple Triple or i23, 123, 1-2 or 123, 456, 7-8. or any way of counting step patterns.

For more Detailed explanation see 'Magic Pill' in Dance Forum Archives.

Uncle Joe

SIX COUNT OR EIGHT COUNT IN SWING MUSIC
The Basic step in Swing only takes a bar and a half of music to execute; SIX QUARTER NOTES (BEATS).

The 4/4 time Swing music is built in phrases of two bars, four bars, eight bars, etc. so staying in phrase in regular dancing is a little confusing unless you have a dance routine built on two bar phrases, i.e. `.

In Swing music there is a predominant accent on the first Quarter Note (beat) of each bar of music which is a little more accented than the third Quarter note (beat); the second and third notes are unaccented in relation to the other two Notes.

With a little practice you can feel or hear the accented sound on the FIRST beat of each bar on the bass drum or on the bass guitar; hitting that first accented beat is the best way to start dancing.

And forget about phrasing because you will only be on phrase every third bar of music and off on the rest the other two bars.
Uncle Joe
A dancer's best friend.

uncle joe said:

... The Six Count Lindy is a Teaching Method while the Eight Counts in Swing are similar to Triple Triple or i23, 123, 1-2 or 123, 456, 7-8. or any way of counting step patterns.

Click to expand...

Uncle Joe,
When I read your posts, I seem to only come up with 6 beat swing for each combo? What about all the 8 beat patterns? Maybe, I am just not understanding what you are posting?

Kayak,
After WW II, a new jazz dance became the dance craze in my home town NYC called the 'BIG APPLE; it consisted of several Eight count Jazz moves e.g. the Suzy Q, the Shorty George, Truckin-on-down, Struten, the Bug-a-loo, and several others; these Eight count jazz moves in the 1980's began to be used in Swing routines creatively, and as long as the Leader used smooth transition steps to stay with the flow of the rhythm the continuous euphoria of the dance was maintained.

The Charleston Kick from the 1920's is also used as an eight count step pattern in Swing routines in a variety of ways, e.g. side by side, behind your partner holding hands, or face to face.

When I returned to the swing scene in 1997 after a 32 year hiatus, I saw many dancers doing the Charleston Kick to Six counts which works OK, but the original Charleston Kick is an Eight count Step pattern with two Quarter beat pauses, the first Quarter beat pause is on the count of #3 and on the second pause is a Quarter beat held at the very end of the pattern for an Eight count pause; a much more rhythmic and stylish configuration.

So yes, you can mix Eight Count Steps in Swing, and it enriches the variety of dance patterns euphorically.
Uncle Joe
The dancer's best friend.
All rights reserved @ 2009 by Joe Lanza

EIGHT COUNT SWING VS SIX COUNT LINDY
The difference between 8 Count Swing and 6 Count is that in 8 count the instructor is counting the number steps in a step pattern;
ANDIRA,
In Six count Swing < 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5-6 > the instructor is counting the rhythmic Quarter Notes (beats) and Eight Notes (beats) to focus on rhythm.

The Six Count Lindy is a Teaching Method while the Eight Counts in Swing are similar to Triple Triple or i23, 123, 1-2 or 123, 456, 7-8. or any way of counting step patterns.

HOWEVER, Six Counts < 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5-6 > can be used interchangeably but it is confusing; It is logical to just used one or the other.

For more Detailed explanation see 'Magic Pill' in Dance Forum Archives.

Uncle Joe