Are work shops worth the money we spend on them? It was just a question we were kicking around at the swing house last night. I thought Id see what everyone on here thought.

Im still fairly new but Ive had about 4-5 workshops. One thing I noticed was that the workshops I felt I got the most out of i didnt pay a lot to take.

It may sound a little odd but one of the ones I liked the best was the work shop we did in Logan after the Andy and Nina work shop. It could be that I was better prepared for it after having a work shop the week before. I felt like I got a lot more then just moves by going to logan and dancing.

I think the ones Im wondering if it will be worth the money for would be the one during ULX which im not even sure I qualify to go to and the seattle one we just got the post cards for.
scott

it depends on whq's teaching and how it is set up. an advanced class with a bunch of begginers isn't going to help much. and ya, attitude is everything.

Boogaloo:

and it also depends on what it is you are looking for when you go to these workshops..

I think that is a big part of it. I wouldnt go to the workshop coming up with Frankie thinking I would gain moves as much as I would gain a scence of the history and better understanding of what lindy really is.

Buzz:

I wish there was a way to foretell which workshop will give me what

There has to be some sort of way to do this. I think it would be a good idea to start a section on the forum that would be a review section. you could list the workshop and what you got out of it. Kinda like when I sell a tarantula I have a feed back spot. We could set something up. it would cool to have something like this set up but for dance workshops: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=75596[/quote]

Boogaloo:

Turkey Sub..

[Emoticon not found]

For me, it varies. At Camp Hollywood last year I took half a class and watched parts of others. I took a few private lessons while there. At Rhythmic Arts I watched one class, took another and slept through the rest. I took a lot of the classes at Camp Jitterbug.

If you like workshops, take them. If you pay for one you wish you hadn't paid for, the least you can do is try to learn something from it and help all the follows you are with during the rotation. Being able to lead what's being taught in a class is an easy way to make friends with the follows who are really trying to learn or who are in the same situation as you--maybe not wanting to be there, or maybe wanting to learn but not enjoying all the beginners.

Maybe if there are too many beginners, and you don't appreciate that, you can just watch.

For things like Camp Hollywood, Camp Jitterbug, and Rhythmic Arts I totally don't mind paying for the classes and sleeping through them. I'm weird like that I guess.

Like lindysnob said, it's your attitude.

gumby:

I think bob is working on something cool for reviews. I think it will be cool to have a review section for us to see what others learned.

testing the idea here. Go tell everyone what you thought of Andy and Nina's workshop on Halloween. Lets see if this crazy idea of Scott's is going to work.

Buzz:

new rating thread barfed and:

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i was in the middle of writing a regex to replace the ghetto way i was making stars before... it's all better now.

Unique learning styles are also key here. I know that my learning style goes in cycles and as long as I'm in tune with where I'm at, then I benefit the most out of every dance or class or video.

1.) Period of time where I learn very little new stuff but I work hard at solidifying and making more consistent the concepts I have already learned. (It helps alot when I am able to teach these concepts and demonstrate them in a class. Talk about getting those babies ingrained!)

2.) Period of exploration and experimentation where I try all sort of crappy stuff on the dance floor. A few of them work really well, and the rest of them become bad habits but learning experiences. I'm sure all of you have seen me at the peak of this period of time. (Ryan, I think you and I have shared a few dances there that were most memorable.) [Emoticon not found]

3.) Plateau and resting. Alot of people complain about this when it happens to them, but I value it as an essential part of my development in any subject. It's like the calm before the storm. It gets my learning juices and desires in gear for what's coming up.

4.) Private lessons/Hints for my personal needs. It gets my mind in gear for where my weaknesses and strengths as a dancer/student are. It often helps me realize that I'm not all that.....or even close.....

5.) Deep despair and humility mixed with this uncontrollable urge to study film clips.

6.) Workshop Marathon-- at this point I am PUMPED!!!! Hit me with 12 hours of workshops with no water breaks and I'll still be there plugging away! Grrrrr! Mind you, I'm near death's door by the time it's over.....which is great preparation to start the cycle all over again. Yes, the more I invest into the workshop, the more I get out of it, so I take copious notes, I get video footage, I laugh really hard at the jokes, I retype the notes, etc. Afterwards I study more film footage with a new perspective on the dance.

If I were to break this cycle or to spend too long on any one of the periods, then I am doing the wrong things and I won't get as much out of it. I can usually tell if a workshop is coming up and I know I won't respond to it as well. In the end, I don't regret missing it. However, there are those workshops that I'll never have the opportunity to go to again. I will make exceptions to my rules and try to get as much as I can out of it even if it is less than what I am capable of at other times.

haha, but at least it was a well written plug.

"(Ryan, I think you and I have shared a few dances there that were most memorable.) [Emoticon not found] "

[Emoticon not found] [Emoticon not found] has ryan been using his blues moves on you?

ElChuy:

I saw it all..... [Emoticon not found]

Um... wow...
Ryan, you aren't supposed to dance THOSE kind of blues in public!!

Sounds like a plug to me...

*sigh* No. No plug at all. Just alot of my personal thoughts and approaches to learning dance. I thought I'd sit down and get more involved in this forum. I must admit that it is a little discouraging to know that is how my participation comes across. Nope, no plug. It was sincere and in the spirit of discussing topics that interest me.

Besides, what part about it felt like a plug?

bwahaha

This part:

frutyspice:

I can usually tell if a workshop is coming up and I know I won't respond to it as well. In the end, I don't regret missing it. However, there are those workshops that I'll never have the opportunity to go to again. I will make exceptions to my rules and try to get as much as I can out of it even if it is less than what I am capable of at other times.

I didn't care. I just laughed to myself. Though it probably should have been accompanied with a [Emoticon not found] so as to better relay the way in which I said it.

Lol no worries we wont. Ive been trying to figure out which workshops and exchanges I plan on going to the next three months or so. Im excited for HN and the sac exchange. Which do you think improves your dancing more an exchange or workshop? [Emoticon not found]:
scott

everyone go to down home blues! definately the best value (imho). [Emoticon not found]

but i've never been to harlem nights, so my opinion might be invalid.

Tiffany, take everything they say on this forum with a grain of sand in your eye, or however that cliche goes.

gumby:

Which do you think improves your dancing more an exchange or workshop? [Emoticon not found]:
scott

I agree with Buzz, and would like to add my opinion that I think they kind of go hand in hand. If all you do is attend exchanges, you will only improve to a certain level (exceptions excluded). If all you do is attend workshops (*cough* Logan dancers who didn't come to ULX because there were no workshops *cough*) you will only improve to a certain point. In order to really improve you need both. If I were Dr. Lindy I'd prescribe 1 workshop for every 2-3 exchanges.

I think that changes though when you get past a certain point. Like I think has been mentioned somewhere in this thread (at least on this forum) that the level of dancers in workshops tends to be more beginner/intermediate. Advanced workshops don't really take place (do they even exist? to be really truly advanced I think it requires more personal attention?). To get really advanced you have to take private lessons and/or work with a few friends on stuff together and critique each other*, study the dance and practice a lot.

* Remember what Andy and Nina said about Ithica, NY? That's where dancers like Andy, Skye, and a bunch of others started. They got good because they helped each other. In Denver it's the same thing. Kenny, Joe, Truman, Dan, etc. It doesn't have to be formal. Next time you see the Roach out on the dance floor and he screws up yell out something like "oh man do it again, that sucked!" or if he does something great yell out "whooo! that was awesome! do it again!" I am going to start doing this! Not just for the Roach though, but for anyone I know. Ryan B. mentioned this same thing to me in one of the private lessons I took from him.

I would have to say amen to that.

BUT, I don't to see our dances becoming a shouting match or overly critical. Make sure it's somebody you know and that they know that you really do want to help them out. That my 2 cents.

Oh wow! I'm glad I read this thread! Otherwise I woulda been crying in the corner next time pops yells "Grant, your dancing stinks like yesterday's sushi!"

Seriously, I saw this in action at DLX. I was trying to talk to Tyler, but I couldn't figure out why he wouldn't make eye contact with me. Next thing I know he points at the floor almost violently and yells, "THAT'S IT! STOP! MEMORIZE IT! REWIND! DO IT AGAIN!" I turn and it turns out he's yelling at Joe and ____.

If you assume it, they will do.

haha! well maybe you could have some sort of a filter, like Ginny? You could say what you think to her and she'd yell out a nicer version of it?

I saw a good number of recognizable Logan dancers. Most of the famous ones anyway.

Do tell...

Famous... Logan...?

Just doesn't seem to fit.