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All Shook Updance studio

NewsletterWinter 2016

Edition 1—Issue 35

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Tony & Debbie presentedwith their Five Year

Certificate of Achievement

Tony and Debbie have beenregulars at casual lessons for thepast five years. At the time ofpresentation, they have beenwith ASU for five years and haveattended over 300 casuallessons. Tony and Debbie haveperformed at dancedemonstrations; bothpromotional and for charity.They always attempt new dancestyles when introduced by ASU.Tony and Debbie regularlyattend social outings held by thestudio. They both walk-the-floorduring beginners’ lessons toencourage and assist newstudents in a very helpfulmanner.

Tony and Debbie have beenwith All Shook Up Car Club Inc.for a couple of years. They areregulars at the club’s car runs andsocial functions.

Tony and Debbie now qualifyfor half price casual lessons forlife for so long as the currentprincipal and owner is in thosepositions at the studio.

Well done to them both.Their loyalty and efforts in everyaspect of the dance studio and carclub is an inspiration.

Photo’ below of Tony, Debbieand other family members at arecent social outing.

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All Shook Upat Kurri Kurri Nostalgia Festival—2016

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There’s something aboutcompetition -

by Nathan Major

It's a bit odd... It's been a week sincejudging and, in small part, competing at theNSW State Titles 2015; you'd think I'd havestopped thinking about it by now. Yet,although the adrenaline has passed, I'm stillrunning it through my head and cruising on ahigh from the experience. No particularlydifferent judging, no partner to share it with,and no first place trophies... So why? What isit about this competition that has made itstand out? Well - I won. Seriously. In a bigway. 'Cause it's not about the trophies...

InclusionPeople seem to worry too much about

competition results, rather than how they gotthere and, more importantly, who they did itwith. Partnered dancing is, inherently, a jointpursuit. However, what is often overlookedwith regard to competition is that it is also ateam pursuit - you don't compete in isolation.

A good dance partnership is not createdsimply by two people with similar skills andconnection, but also forged by the sharedexperience and focus acquired by overcomingthe mistakes and challenges of training. As aseasoned competitor there is a consequentrealisation that every other dancer who getson the floor has done the same thing. Likeyou, these people have pushed themselves toachieve more than they have before. Hence,like you, while there may be disappointment,there is no bitterness or acrimony when thejudges score cards don't reflect in your favour.Rather there can be appreciation andcelebration that other dancers have had theirchance to shine - you all share a commongoal... Let's dance better!

Beyond the esprit de corp thatcompetition dancers may share, there is alsothe energy and fun that arises at acompetition when a "team" approach isembraced. Whether it is club vs. club, state vs.state, or "the old guard" vs. "the newhotshots" the atmosphere and level ofdancing lifts when there is team pride on theline. That is so much fun! When peopleparticipate, not as individual athletes, but asteam players (e.g. Can the judges still showthe competitors that they are more thanjust critics??? Can the Aussies beat theKiwis???) that is when competition reallyshines.

Finally, I believe there is nothing quitelike being on the competition floor with yourdance partner. For a few minutes the worldcloses out - it's just your dance partner, themusic, your dance space, and the connectionbetween all three... When you're in that zoneand the weeks, months, or years of trainingall "click", well, results become secondary.Other forums rarely push you to lift yourdancing and give the extra 10/20/30%.Competition drives you to be the best danceryou can be, not just for yourself, but also foryour dance partner. The events where youcan both walk off the floor feeling youhave danced "outside of yourself" are hard tobeat. If you haven't experienced this yet, Iurge you strongly to keep at it until you do.Nothin' beats those dance feels!

ParticipationI don't believe in participation trophies;

not only because, in real life, near enough istypically not good enough, but also becauseparticipation is its own reward. You don'tneed a trophy or certificate to make gettinginvolved worthwhile. Just think about it: onthe day of the competition you've gotten goodexercise, seen some great dancing, perhapsmade new friends, and generally had a funtime. Do you really need a trophy for that?You've also had the benefits of training andworking with like-minded people. That's allwin.

Beyond this, simply by getting on thecompetition floor your confidence as a dancerwill improve. Why? Because you've backedyourself! Confidence, which correlatesstrongly with competence, is a funny thing -you have to do something (often repeatedly)before you acquire it. Waiting to be "ready" totry at competition is an excuse; because whenit comes to confidence, you're never readyuntil you do. To quote the great sage, Yoda,"Do or do not. There is no try". So, have a go!

AspirationFor more than a decade I've spent a lot

of time (and money) travelling to dancecompetitions and events. Why? Obviouslythis is something that I enjoy but, moreimportantly, it's how I remain inspired as adancer. With limited opportunities for highlevel dancing in WA I realised some time agothat I would become stagnant and/or jadedas a teacher and dancer without qualityexternal input. (continued on page 5)

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(from page 4) That input is competition.YouTube and workshops are nice, you seegood dancing and acquire content, but onlycompetition gives you the energy, effort, andsacrifice put in by other dancers. That's thereal inspiration and, for keen dancers, alsothe fuel of aspiration. Competition dancingprovides the external benchmark againstwhich internal goals are best measured.

As a young dancer my main goal was,quite literally, to make the grade.Competitions were graded; your skill/standing as a competitive dancer was thusrelated in no small way to your grading.Other competitive dancers at higher gradesshowed you what you were working towards,what you needed to do to be better, what keyareas you needed to work on. Notably, judgesweren't your enemies, they were your bestsource of information on how to improve -because you wanted to be better. Now, as ajudge (or teacher), my biggest thrill is beingasked "how do I improve?"

As an experienced dancer (I yet refuseto use the term "older" - although, indeed, Ihave been dancing longer than juniorcompetitors have been alive...) theperspective changes considerably. There isnothing to prove to anybody else: you've wonyour competitions, you've had "that" dancepartnership, you've experienced (yoususpect) "peak dancing"... However, that firedoes not just burn out (unless you let it). Youmay not need the external recognition - butyou're still competing against yourself.Competition allows you to asses the internalbenchmarks: Do I still cut it? Can I still pushit? Is it still possible to go further, findsomething new, dig deeper, and be a betterdancer (in some way) than I have beenbefore?

Dancing is long-lived sport; that'sbecause peak performance is a sweet spotbetween fitness, training, and - critically -

developed skills. The body may age, lifecommitments may impinge upon the capacityto train, but experience continues to build aslong as you keep using the skills. It is this lastpart that should keep all experienced dancerskeen to remain involved in competition orperformance; because dancing is a joy for lifeif you keep feeding it. Personally, my goal isto dance for as long and as hard as I can; andI reckon there's years ahead of me yet! Iaspire to get the best out of myself - and it'scompetition and the efforts of competitivedancers that let's me know what this shouldbe.

Let competition feed youraspirations... you'll never know what

you might achieve!

RevelationBelieve it or not, there is more than one

way to dance. The blues/swing based dancestyles are particularly interpretive; withinrecognised broad frameworks, it's not StrictlyBallroom. I really wish more dancershad personal experience with the variety ofways the same core dance, figures, andmusic may be interpreted. For example,Rockabilly to the Japanese is vastly differentto the Rockabilly in Australia... Competitionopens your eyes to how other people danceand, perhaps more significantly, what otherpeople enjoy about dancing. Content is onlyone part of the equation; styling, musicality,performance, technique, and connection allvary depending upon how and where dancershave been trained. For active dancers thisengages the mind to consider how the bestelements may be incorporated into their ownstyle. Competition is a feast for the mind andthe soul.

Be a Winner!Competition is about so much more

than a day of music, costumes, and thecollection of pretty dust collectors for themantle piece. All of those things are nice, andit is important to recognise and reward effort,but getting too wrapped up in the extras is agreat way to ruin the fun. Share the goodtimes, enjoy the ride, make friends as you go,and it's hard not to end up in front.

So, Take the Next Step, get on the floor,and win - regardless of whether you end upwith a trophy or not. In the end, it's not whatreally counts.

I'll see you out there - with the otherwinners :)

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Hunter Valley SteamFest—2016

Blue Suede Shoes HighSchool Prom’ - 2016

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You may hear us follows from time totime admire our favourite leaders. We maycall them strong leads, but when we say‘strong’, it may mean something different.

When we say ‘strong’, we don’t meanmuscles. What we mean is security: how itis that you hold us. Our bodies are strong,but they are also fragile: one wrong movecan put us out for good. It is a risk we takebecause we love dancing. We don’t carewhether you can bench-press 200 kg, orwhether you can barely do a push-up. Wedon’t want to fear your dance, we want tofeel safe and secure within it.

Please don’t think that you must be abodybuilder to be secure. You can be a tinywoman who embodies this type of strength,or you can be a mammoth of a man thatgives us the security of tissue paper. Aim tohold us with the security you would hold ayoung child. That is the security we need.

When we say ‘strong’, we don’t meanusing power. We mean clarity. The bestcommunicators can say what they need in awhisper, but still be perfectly understood.The worst can yell at the top of their lungs,and we never catch a word. We have nodesire to wrestle with you; we simply desireto understand what you want. Aim forefficiency over volume: determine exactlywhat it is we need, and get rid of anythingextra. That is the clarity we need.

When we say ‘strong, we don’t mean

The truth about strong leads forceful. We mean sensitive. We do notwant to be hauled around the dance floor,stressing because we cannot keep up withyour movements. We want someone whocan feel when we are behind, when weneed more time, or when we don’tunderstand. We want someone who issensitive enough to slow down on theirown journey to take us with them.Understand our bodies, for they are theinstrument we use to connect with you.That is the sensitivity we need.

When we say ‘strong’, we don’t wantyour physical strength. We want you toconnect strongly with us. Feel us. Bepresent with us. Hold us and keep us safe.Then, we will create magic with you. Wewill give you ourselves with noreservations, because we are safe.

Be the right kind of strong, and wewill give you the best of us – with nothingheld back.

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ASU Contact Details

2/4 Elm Close Email: danceallshookup@optusnet.com.auLARGS NSW 2320 Internet: www.allshookup.com.au

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telephone: (02) 4930 1076 mobile: 0412 114647

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Dance instruction DVDs

FIRST class dance instruction DVDs tocompliment your lessons are availablefrom All Shook Up for just $27.00.Titles include:

Lindy hop beginners’ introduction;Lindy hop intermediate volume 1;

Slow swing beginners’ introduction;Slow swing intermediate session 1;

Rock ‘n’ roll beginners’ moves volume 1;Rock ‘n’ roll intermediate volume 1;Rock ‘n’ roll intermediate volume 2;Rock ‘n’ roll advanced volume 1;

Rockabilly beginners’ introduction; andRockabilly intermediate volume 1.

These DVDs are a great revision toolthat will compliment your casuallessons with All Shook Up and otheraccredited dance teachers. Thepurchaser can be confident that contentis accurate and will not contradict thatwhich is taught at lessons.