Ceroc

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Ceroc (pronounced /səˈrɒk/, short for the French "C'est le roc!")^[1][2] is a popular partner dance developed in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. The term is a trademark owned by Ceroc Enterprises^[3], who describe it as a "stylish form of Modern Jive which as a fusion of Salsa and Jive that is easy and fun to learn". ^[4]

Ceroc has grown in popularity over twenty years and has also spread to other countries. As of 2008, there are 150 Ceroc venues in the UK and classes in other parts of Europe, (France, Spain, Italy, Ireland), also in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Dubai.^{[5][6][7][1][2]}

Contents 1 Dance style, dancers, and equipment 2 History of Ceroc 2.1 Ceroc worldwide 3 Class format 3.1 UK format 3.2 Australian format 3.3 New Zealand format 4 Events 5 Workshops 6 Ceroc UK Championships 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links

[edit] Dance style, dancers, and equipment

Ceroc is derived from many other dances including Salsa, Jive, Swing, Lindy Hop, and Rock and Roll,^[7] the main change being simplified footwork which makes it more accessible to beginners.^{[citation needed]} The footwork and hand patterns are similar to Merengue, but with the inclusion of outward turns, multiple turns and dips.^{[citation needed]}

It is danced to music with 4 beats to the bar (4/4 or Common time). It can be danced to most types of popular music from the past several decades, from classic music of the 1940s to the latest chart hits.^[7][1][2] Music is typically between 108 and 160 bpm. Experienced jivers occasionally dance to music outside those broad constraints. ^[8]

Ceroc does not require special clothes, although cool clothing is recommended. For both men and women, smooth soled (non-rubberised) shoes that are easy to turn/spin in are also highly recommended. One can buy specialized dance shoes, and long-time dancers often wear professional dance shoes.^[6]

Ceroc is, like many partner dances, traditionally a male-led dance, with the male indicating the move to his partner via a range of signals. Ceroc events usually have more women than men participating.^[6][1] Despite the tradition of the male lead, many female dancers today also learn the lead role, even though few male dancers learn the follow role. This is usually because of the sex imbalance, and because many males are less comfortable engaging in a partner dance with a member of the same sex than females are.^{[citation needed]}

Ceroc dancers are typically aged between 25 and 50.^[6]

[edit] History of Ceroc

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Ceroc was created in London, England, by James Cronin, the son of writer, Vincent Cronin, and grandson of Scottish author, A. J. Cronin. While visiting his grandmother in Normandy, Cronin quickly picked up the French style of dance at parties. Back at Exeter University, he was president of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Club, but as soon as he graduated he took his jive and business skills to London. In 1980, he and other Sloane Rangers organised the first Ceroc gathering. One of their leading lights was the young Diana Frances Spencer (this was a year before she married the Prince of Wales), and many of the devotees were the swish set of Chelsea and Knightsbridge. In such an atmosphere, press coverage abounded, and Ceroc could be promoted as trendy, chic and jolly good fun. Cronin worked as a DJ for Gibson Chance, playing up-to-date sounds for the "Cerocers," and he had taxi dancers on hand to help beginners in lieu of formal teachers. He had the single-minded goal of reinstating the popularity of partner dancing.

In January 1980, Cronin, his brother and a friend hired Porchester Hall in Bayswater ^[9] and put up some posters. Around eighty people turned up, though within three months, the numbers had grown to seven hundred.^{[citation needed]} By 1982, Ceroc had a cabaret team that went around to various London nightclubs and venues, performing routines. The line-up included James Cronin and Yum Yum Norman, Paul Aves and Janie Elton, Mark Derrington Bailey and Christine Keeble, and Richard and Katie Orr. Throughout the spring and summer of 1982, the Ceroc troupe worked with choreographer Michel Ange Lau, whose classes Cronin and Norman had attended at the Centre Charles Peguy, a French youth centre, in Leicester Square. The first recording of Ceroc moves appears on the description for the "Gold Bug" routine, performed at the 1982 Ceroc Ball, a charity event, at the Hammersmith Palais. After the ball, one of the troupe's own dancers, Janie Elton, who would later marry Cronin, took on the role of choreographer, producing some highly creative new numbers. Harpers and Queen gave the Ceroc Ball a double page spread, describing the dance as "Ceroc - the imported Breton dance craze," and Cosmopolitan pronounced: "Ceroc - C'est le Roc, C'est Chic."

In the late 1980s, Cronin and Sylvia Coleman created Ceroc Enterprises, registered Ceroc as a trademark and started to sell Ceroc franchises around the country. At this point, teachers who taught this form of dancing but were not part of the new company were legally obliged to stop referring to the dance style that they taught as Ceroc. Some clubs (particularly those in the Bristol area) adopted the name Leroc instead, whilst many others names also appeared. Around this time, Ceroc took steps to avoid the circulation of secondary material (such as dancer produced lists of moves or move sequence).

In 1990, one of the original Ceroc Franchisees, Robert Austin, (who had broken away from Ceroc to form LeJive) coined the phrase "Modern Jive". This description later became a generic term for Ceroc, that was used by teachers and clubs that were not part of the newly created Ceroc Enterprise.

[edit] Ceroc worldwide

Over the following years, Ceroc spread to Australia and New Zealand. However, the business model and teaching formula followed by the companies that teach Ceroc varies from country to country. Ceroc can be broadly split into two subtypes: the type of Ceroc taught at franchises of Ceroc Enterprises in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland venues, and the type of Ceroc taught at non-franchises companies such as those in Australia.

In the UK, Ceroc Enterprises is operated as a franchise business, and Ceroc is now a registered trademark of Ceroc Enterprises Ltd, founded in 1991. Currently (Feb 2008), there are over 150 Ceroc venues across the UK. Ceroc has also spread from the UK to other countries, such as Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, UAE, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the USA. 50,000 regularly dance the Ceroc in the UK.

[edit] Class format

Most Ceroc venues run regular classes, every week, usually on Monday through Thursday (although a handful of venues run classes on Fridays [1] and Sundays [2]).

The franchise nature of Ceroc enforces a degree of uniformity across all teachers and all venues.^[2] The uniformity between franchises and venues is significantly greater in the UK than in New Zealand.^{[citation needed]}

Ceroc classes are not arranged as a fixed sequence. Beginners can "just turn up" (to quote the advertising) to any Ceroc classes. The routine taught in the Beginners lesson is permuted from day to day such that if a beginner attends classes regularly for approximately two months, each beginner-level move will have been taught at least once.^{[citation needed]}

Dancers need not bring a partner, and classes are usually advertised as "no partner required". Lessons are organised so that partners are rotated every few minutes, or every couple of moves.^[5][6]

In Ceroc classes a small number of volunteer experienced dancers (called taxi dancers or taxis) are often available specifically to dance with beginners,^[2] and are in fact forbidden from dancing with other experienced dancers until near the end of the evening^{[citation needed]}. The number of taxi dancers varies according to the size of the venue.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] UK format

In the UK Ceroc classes follow essentially the same format, and comprise:

• A Beginners lesson, involving a routine of 4 moves drawn from a restricted repertoire of 19 beginner-level moves, and lasting approximately 30 minutes.^[6] The Beginners routine taught on any given day is the same across all teachers and all venues. This is intended to allow beginners to practice what they have learned with beginners from other venues.^{[citation needed]}
• A freestyle period of approximately 15 minutes, in which beginners are encouraged to practise what they have learned, and experienced dancers are free to dance whatever they wish. No moves are barred during a freestyle period, except aerials, and moves are improvised on the spot to the music. Partner swapping occurs whenever the music changes, and does not require leaving the dance floor.^[6][1]

  During this period certain venues run social dancing activities such as Dance With A Stranger (all students are to ask someone, that they never danced with before, for a dance) or Snowball (starting with a few couples on the dance floor, every 30–40 seconds the "Snowball" call is made by the teacher and all dancing couples need to "split" and ask someone else [not dancing] onto the dance floor until the next "Snow ball" call is made and the procedure repeats. After a few calls, based on an even number of males to females, all students should be dancing).^{[citation needed]}

• An Intermediate lesson, involving a routine of four moves drawn from a much larger repertoire of Intermediate-level moves, and lasting approximately 30–45 minutes. Individual teachers are less constrained as to the content of the intermediate-level lesson. Intermediate moves are more complex and may contain footwork.^[6][7][1]

  In many venues, depending on available space, a Beginners Review class (often referred to as Consolidation) takes place at the same time, where beginners may review the moves taught in the Beginners lesson with the help of the taxi dancers. Beginners may instead watch the Intermediate lesson, if they so choose. The usual recommendation is for Beginners to complete approximately six Beginners classes before attempting to move up to Intermediate level.^[6][2]

• A second freestyle period lasting for the rest of the evening, which is usually around an hour and a half.^[6][7]

The start time varies from venue to venue, but is generally between 7pm and 8pm. Sunday classes often start earlier in order to comply with English and Scottish licensing laws, which require that music and dancing be licensed. ^[5] Whatever the start time, the entire evening lasts 3 hours in most venues (with rare exceptions).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Australian format

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A Beginner Progression [3] class (also known variously as Bridging, Beginner Consolidation, Intromediate or Freestyle class [4]) taught at the same time as the Intermediate class has also been introduced in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide, involving either a review of the preceding Beginner class (possibly with some extensions or variations to the moves from that class) or a new routine drawn from a mixture of intermediate and beginner level moves. This class is taught at the same time as the Intermediate class.

Individual teachers are less constrained as to the content of the Intermediate classes, however there is generally a stronger focus on technique (footwork, frame & connection, balance etc.), intermediate skills (dips & drops, leans, spinning etc.) and styling rather than just teaching moves.

A video clip of a Ceroc class filmed in Melbourne can be seen at Mind Body & Soul

[edit] New Zealand format

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In New Zealand there are typically Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced classes, with the clearer separation of moves between the classes. Moving up the classes leads to moves which are more complicated, more syncopated and closer. Beginners moves have 2-4 timing, preserve contact between partners at all times, have single speed, single turn spins, the dancers keep their balance (no leans, drops or dips) and partners only contact with each other is hands, arms and shoulders. Intermediate moves introduce single speed double spins and assisted double speed turns, contact with the partners back, and leans (in which one partner takes the others' weight with their body). Advanced moves can include multiple speed, multiple turn spins, loss of contact, significant syncopation, dips and drops (in which one partner takes the weight of the other with their arms) and/or contact with different body parts.

[edit] Events

Most Ceroc venues occasionally put on special events, termed freestyles, on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.^[6] (Sunday freestyles are often termed tea dances.) The format of these is less rigidly determined by the franchise agreement, and franchisees often exercise the greater leeway that they thus have to differentiate their own franchises from others. Some franchisees organise their freestyles exactly as they do normal weekday classes, with Beginners and Intermediate lessons; some have just fun lessons, with "guest" teachers or unconventional moves, near to the beginning of the evening; some simply have freestyle dancing, with no interruptions, for the entire evening; and some organise themed events, sometimes even to the extent of having accompanying dance workshops through the daytime, prior to the main evening event.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Workshops

Many Ceroc teachers also occasionally run daytime dance workshops at weekends, which in the UK are known as Cerocshops.^[6] Places on these are booked in advance, and one cannot just turn up as with regular classes. This is to ensure that the numbers are limited, allowing the teacher to focus far more on individuals, and that the sex ratio is approximately 1:1.^{[citation needed]}

A workshop lasts for several hours, and covers more moves than are covered in a single regular evening class. The standard Ceroc workshops are graded (Beginners 1, Beginners 2, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Advanced), although the grading is fuzzy at intermediate level and no workshop is a prior requisite for any other. (In particular, the attendance of a 1 workshop is not a prior requisite for attending a 2 workshop, and Advanced is not of a higher difficulty than Intermediate.)^{[citation needed]}

Some teachers will teach additional workshops. These will vary according to the specific teacher, and include (amongst many):^{[citation needed]}

• Style & Footwork,
• Dips, Leans, & Seducers,
• Lifts & Drops,
• Latin,
• Double Trouble (one leader with two followers), and
• "set piece" choreographed routines.

[edit] Ceroc UK Championships

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Ceroc Enterprises holds an annual UK dance championship. This is held in London at the beginning of May with a mix of freestyle dancing and competitions. Competitions range from beginner oriented ones, such as the Lucky Dip in which dancers are randomly allocated partners, all the way up to the Expert and Team competitions in which competitors will dress up to a particular theme.

Competitions are held over a number of rounds, with judges deciding who will continue on to the next round.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• UK Licensing Act 2003
• Ceroc Kidderminster's list of Beginners moves
• Ceroc Kidderminster's list of "classic" intermediate-level moves

[edit] External links

• Find your nearest Ceroc club via interactive maps
• The History of Ceroc
• The Ceroc international web site
• Ceroc & Modern Jive Dance Company, Australia
• Ceroc New Zealand
• Ceroc Nelson, New Zealand
• Times article about Ceroc