Learning Ceroc / Dancing Ceroc in New York City

Sagitta

Sagitta

Well-Known Member
http://www.ee.princeton.edu/~aria/NY_dance.html#LongList



Ceroc
111 Manhattan Avenue, New York, NY 10025
212-678-6064

Ceroc is a derivative of swing/jive, a partner dance somewhat like swing, but it is danced to any type of music. It is a combination of French Jive and Rock-n-roll. It was developed in France, aimed at those who want to have fun with dancing but don't necessarily want to spend much time and effort to learn dance technique. Because of a somewhat loose lead-follow, swing and Latin American dancers find Ceroc to be sloppy and forced. However, it is also true that Ceroc has gained quite a bit of popularity in Europe and many enjoy it. In the US, it is relatively new.

This organization presents Ceroc classes and open dances. The location is at "Dublin Over NYC" (formerly called "Twist Nightclub"), 209 E. 84th St. (between 2nd & 3rd Ave.) The beginners class Tuesdays 7:30-8:15pm (no partner required) followed by a short free style session. Intermediate class at 8:30-9:00pm. Free style dancing to DJ music 9-10pm. Admission is $8 per person. Complete beginners welcome every week.

Contact persons for Ceroc are Jamie and Shelly Macdonald at ceroc@mindspring.com
 
Because of a somewhat loose lead-follow, swing and Latin American dancers find Ceroc to be sloppy and forced.
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WHAT? Anyone who believes that lead-follow in Modern Jive is "loose" hasn't danced it enough. At the more advanced levels it is one of the most "free form" of partner dances and consequently lead-follow must be extremely accurate and precise. It's something I expect to be working on until I can no longer dance.

Modern Jive is very accessible to the beginner because it has no prescribed footwork, is initially danced even-tempo and is heavily move based. However, more advanced dancers very rarely dance a sequence of moves. The lack of proscription about footwork, beat patterns and ability to insert elements of other dances - moves, footwork, styling - means that you have immense freedom to interpret the music, express your mood and communicate with your partner. For example, I frequently use 6 & 8 beat Lindy moves and have been know to lead an AT cross and ochos in the middle of a Jive dance. To do that you need excellent lead-follow and there is nothing "sloppy or forced" about it.

As a bit of background, the word "Ceroc" is actually the registered trademark of a franchise operation. In certain parts of the UK and, I believe, Australia a fair number of dance venues are operated under the Ceroc umbrella. The most common generic term for the dance is "Modern Jive" but the names of sundry other franchises, federations and other generic terms are also used to describe the dance. If you come across LeRoc, Mo'Jive, French Jive, or anything that sounds kind of "Frenchified" and includes "rock" they are probably referring to Modern Jive.

It's a fabulous dance - give it a try. Modern Jive has very few boundaries: you should see some of the top dancers making use of the freedom that offers. "Loose lead.....sloppy and forced"? I don't think so.
 
Thanks for the info. JonD. Very informative. :D

f you click on the link in my first post it will provide info on various dances available. I haven't confirmed the avilidity of any of these listings, though. I'm ashamed I didn't remember this, but with so many posts it's difficult to keep track of things. :oops:
 
Hi Sagitta,

I've emailed the contact listed on the link and asked if the classes are still running - I'll report the response, or lack of one, here. The page is marked as "no longer actively maintained" so I think anyone using it would know to confirm the details before going along to a venue.

I'd be amazed if you could remember 10% of the posts! This is a fantastic forum and I'm glad I discovered it. I was being a bit of a "sad dance bore" and spending a quiet evening listening to Radio Tango from Buenos Aires on the internet and looking for places to dance in NYC. It was time well spent!

Love the Bill Austin quote

Jon
 
Thanks, for the forum praise and the quote. I've kept on looking for a way to describe my dancing and finally settled on the Bill Austen quote. I seek connection, a oneness of music, partner and myself. Speaking of tango I seemed to have an easier time doing this for the American tango at tonight's dance. Not sure why, though. [shrug] :)
 
Well, my email to the Ceroc people bounced back as undelivered so I guess that class isn't running anymore. One day someone will make a success of a Modern Jive class in the USA!

It sounds like our delight in dancing comes from the same kind of things. For me it is like a private conversation between my partner and I in the context of the music. When you get that connection it is very, very special - it feeds my soul. Tango is wonderfully intense isn't it? My teacher, Fernando Guidi, says "There is no emotion that cannot be expressed through Tango: remove whatever masks you are wearing and just dance"!

Thanks for your welcome and your help.

Jon
 
Hi JonD and Sagitta,

I found your conversation by accident - was looking for some interesting websites to link to on an Australian Modern Jive that I've been helping to set up recently. Shame that the New York Ceroc classes aren't running any more. :(

I so agree with you, JonD, about the lead in MJ. I tried some swing a while back and *that* was vague and neublous in terms of lead sompared to MJ. Free form modern jive is amazing to watch. And even better to do.... :D

Modern jive is BIG here in Australia. I have put up a list of Aussie modern jive sites on the Le Step website if anyone is interested.

http://www.lestep.com.au/page.asp?name=Resources_DanceLinks

This site only went live yesterday afternoon so if there are any hiccups, whoops! Should all be straightened out in a few days.

Thanks for running a fantastic forum, Sagitta!

MissKate
 
JonD said:
Modern Jive is very accessible to the beginner because it has no prescribed footwork, is initially danced even-tempo and is heavily move based. However, more advanced dancers very rarely dance a sequence of moves. The lack of proscription about footwork, beat patterns and ability to insert elements of other dances - moves, footwork, styling - means that you have immense freedom to interpret the music, express your mood and communicate with your partner. For example, I frequently use 6 & 8 beat Lindy moves and have been know to lead an AT cross and ochos in the middle of a Jive dance. To do that you need excellent lead-follow and there is nothing "sloppy or forced" about it.
Click to expand...
So true - Modern Jive requires excellent lead-follow as generally the sequence of moves danced is decided by the lead as the dance progress's - this is a requirement at all levels of competition (except showcase & team)

JonD said:
As a bit of background, the word "Ceroc" is actually the registered trademark of a franchise operation. In certain parts of the UK and, I believe, Australia a fair number of dance venues are operated under the Ceroc umbrella. The most common generic term for the dance is "Modern Jive" but the names of sundry other franchises, federations and other generic terms are also used to describe the dance. If you come across LeRoc, Mo'Jive, French Jive, or anything that sounds kind of "Frenchified" and includes "rock" they are probably referring to Modern Jive.
Click to expand...
Australia and New Zealand very widely dance - really taking off - Australian's apprently have a reputation for being addicted to aerials :oops:
 
In NYC and want to ceroc / modern jive / le roc

I see this thread is a bit old. Is there still a place where people are dancing ceroc, modern jive, or le roc?
 
You mean in the USA?

There are two Ceroc Venue's in Jackonville Florida and Phoenix Arizona. There is at least one other Modern Jive class that I know of (thorugh friends) in LA. There are probablly more.
 
Yes, a couple years ago there was a monthly modern jive (aka ceroc) dance in New York City, midtown, west side. It was held in a dance studio. There was a second one being held in a church basement somewhere in midtown. But I can't remember the exact venues. Can anyone help? Or know of anything else?

I wish there was one web site that shows all of the modern jive/ ceroc / le roc dances across the USA. After all, its the same dance, and those of us who love it dont care what franchise its under. We just wanna dance!

Albanaich - Where is the venue in LA? Actually, can you provide any venue or contact details on all three? Let's get the ceroc-USA party started! Let's spread the word!
 
I love dancing ceroc. Never danced before two years ago when my 13 year old daughter asked me to teach her to dance for her birthday present. I was at a loss. She found a local Ceroc group offering 6 lessons for a cheap price. I bought them and we are hooked. We were living in the UK at the time. We have since moved back to the USA (Oklahoma) and we are teaching Ceroc at a local university. However, we don't own the franchise, so we are just teaching "modern jive". After one semester, we have 90 on our Facebook page and our weekly lessons see 40-50 dancers most weeks. I wish there were more groups around the country, if you know of any besides Pheonix, please let me know. NEVER MISS A CHANCE TO DANCE!
 
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