http://www.idtasoutheast.co.uk/events

On Mayday (yeah, I know!) there will be a qualifying event at Bracknell 
leisure centre.

http://idta.co.uk/Site2/events.php

I'm guessing the 12th of November is the competition that this is the 
qualifier *for*.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, you figure it out... ;-)



[You have literally *no idea* how much Google searching it took to find 
this data! The website for the IDTA is hopeless. You can't access 
anything unless you're a member (i.e., a qualified dance instructor). 
Given the quality of the bits you *can* access, I'm guessing it wouldn't 
be very helpful anyway. The website for Bracknell leisure centre is run 
by Bracknell Forest County Council - so you can imagine what their level 
of IT skill is. You'd think knowing that a competition is happening on a 
specific date at a specific place would enable you to look it up... but 
no, not very easily.]

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Consider the attached picture. This is me and my lady last saturday night.

I should point out that it wasn't broad daylight like this until some 

Before that, the room was actually almost pitch black, so we're not 
quite as brave as we look. ;-)

As we left the building, some bird stopped my lady and said something to 
her. Obviously I couldn't hear what they were saying to each other. But 
when we got outside, I discovered that the lady stopped to ask whether 
we're professional dancers. (!)

Well, I guess if you've never actually seen real professionals up close 
and personal, you might mistake somebody who knows what their doing for 
a pro. ;-)

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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On 14-4-2011 23:14, Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> Consider the attached picture. This is me and my lady last saturday night.
>
> I should point out that it wasn't broad daylight like this until some

> Before that, the room was actually almost pitch black, so we're not
> quite as brave as we look. ;-)
>
> As we left the building, some bird stopped my lady and said something to
> her. Obviously I couldn't hear what they were saying to each other. But
> when we got outside, I discovered that the lady stopped to ask whether
> we're professional dancers. (!)
>
> Well, I guess if you've never actually seen real professionals up close
> and personal, you might mistake somebody who knows what their doing for
> a pro. ;-)

Well, you were wearing a number on your chest.


-- 
Apparently you can afford your own dictator for less than 10 cents per 
citizen per day.

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On Thu, 14 Apr 2011 22:14:37 +0100, Orchid XP v8 wrote:

> Consider the attached picture. This is me and my lady last saturday
> night.
> 
> I should point out that it wasn't broad daylight like this until some
> guy with a £2,000 Nikon DSLR fired is dazzlingly bright flash at us.
> Before that, the room was actually almost pitch black, so we're not
> quite as brave as we look. ;-)

I don't see any reason for you not to be brave enough to do that in the 
light.  It's hard to tell from a still, but you sure look like you're 
having fun, and that's certainly at least as important as anything else.

> As we left the building, some bird stopped my lady and said something to
> her. Obviously I couldn't hear what they were saying to each other. But
> when we got outside, I discovered that the lady stopped to ask whether
> we're professional dancers. (!)

Well done. :)

> Well, I guess if you've never actually seen real professionals up close
> and personal, you might mistake somebody who knows what their doing for
> a pro. ;-)

Well the difference between someone with a skilled/competent amateur and 
someone who's a 'pro' is the pro is getting paid (most likely).  You 
don't have to be being paid to be good (and one could argue, that 
amateurs tend to be better because they're not motivated by the paycheck, 
but rather by the sheer joy of just doing what they're good at).

Jim

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>> As we left the building, some bird stopped my lady and said something to
>> her. Obviously I couldn't hear what they were saying to each other. But
>> when we got outside, I discovered that the lady stopped to ask whether
>> we're professional dancers. (!)
>
> Well, you were wearing a number on your chest.

Haha! Yeah, true...

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>> I should point out that it wasn't broad daylight like this until some
>> guy with a £2,000 Nikon DSLR fired is dazzlingly bright flash at us.
>> Before that, the room was actually almost pitch black, so we're not
>> quite as brave as we look. ;-)
>
> I don't see any reason for you not to be brave enough to do that in the
> light.  It's hard to tell from a still, but you sure look like you're
> having fun, and that's certainly at least as important as anything else.

There's a little kid called Aden who comes to this particular venue. We 
know he's called Aden because although he's less than 3 feet tall, he 
can flail around the dance floor with energy, stamina and enthusiasm 
that would put international dance champions to shame. No technique, but 
it looks fabulous anyway.

The other day we were practising for the upcoming competition, and 
Debbie told us that enthusiasm is basically more important than 
technique. (Provided your technique isn't hopeless, of course.)

Anyway, we probably _would_ dance in a more brightly lit arena. I was 
just pointing out that on this occasion, we weren't being quite as brave 
as it appears in the picture. ;-)

(If I was good with the GIMP, I'd have a go at trying to recreate the 
/actual/ lighting levels...)

>> I discovered that the lady stopped to ask whether we're professional dancers. (!)
>
> Well done. :)

LOL! It was nothing. ;-)

>> Well, I guess if you've never actually seen real professionals up close
>> and personal, you might mistake somebody who knows what their doing for
>> a pro. ;-)
>
> Well the difference between someone with a skilled/competent amateur and
> someone who's a 'pro' is the pro is getting paid (most likely).  You
> don't have to be being paid to be good (and one could argue, that
> amateurs tend to be better because they're not motivated by the paycheck,
> but rather by the sheer joy of just doing what they're good at).

Mmmmmmyeah... but the other difference is that a pro usually has the 
time to dedicate hundreds of hours per month to practise. That makes a 
big difference.

Look at the other people in the photo. How many grey hairs can you see? 
How many fat beer bellies? How many wrinkles? Most of these people don't 
even dance, or if they do, it's a casual saunter around the floor. And 
then there's me, a young slip of a thing, practising my moves for a 
dance competition with my lady.

[It still seems very wrong to me that my lady is twice my age and yet 
she can dance rings around me. I just don't have the stamina...]

Trust me, if some of our classmates had been there, nobody would have 
even noticed us. Some of these people dance almost literally without 
actually touching the floor. (Not forgetting that the current raining 
national R&R dance champions are apparently in our class...)

We only look good because there was nobody there better than us. In 
dancing, there is *always* somebody somewhere who's better than you. 
It's just a question of how far away. ;-)

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On Fri, 15 Apr 2011 10:00:17 +0100, Invisible wrote:

> There's a little kid called Aden who comes to this particular venue. We
> know he's called Aden because although he's less than 3 feet tall, he
> can flail around the dance floor with energy, stamina and enthusiasm
> that would put international dance champions to shame. No technique, but
> it looks fabulous anyway.

Similarly, when I used to live in Minnesota, there was a group of us who 
would go out on Friday afternoons after the plant closed and play 
football (soccer, not American football).  There was a kid who used to 
show up on occasion who was absolutely incredible.  We had a couple of 
guys who used to play professionally in Europe, and this kid could run 
circles around them.

One day, he took the ball from one end of the field to the other (we 
didn't play on a full size field, but on a field set up for 'kiddie 
soccer') without letting the ball touch the ground.  The 40 or so of us 
from the plant just watched, including the two ex-pros.  I'm sure they'd 
seen something like that before, and could probably have done it, but it 
was just completely effortless and poetic the way he did that.

He ended by kicking the ball into the net using one of those 'over your 
head' backwards kicks.  It was simply amazing - I'm pretty sure he got 
applause for the display. :)

> The other day we were practising for the upcoming competition, and
> Debbie told us that enthusiasm is basically more important than
> technique. (Provided your technique isn't hopeless, of course.)

Enthusiasm is a good thing.  :)

> Anyway, we probably _would_ dance in a more brightly lit arena. I was
> just pointing out that on this occasion, we weren't being quite as brave
> as it appears in the picture. ;-)
> 
> (If I was good with the GIMP, I'd have a go at trying to recreate the
> /actual/ lighting levels...)

I can pretty much imagine myself, it sounds like it was pretty dark.

>>> I discovered that the lady stopped to ask whether we're professional
>>> dancers. (!)
>>
>> Well done. :)
> 
> LOL! It was nothing. ;-)

Remember what I said about people who are competent at something thinking 
that what they do is nothing, when in fact it really is an achievement?  
That applies here. :)

> Mmmmmmyeah... but the other difference is that a pro usually has the
> time to dedicate hundreds of hours per month to practise. That makes a
> big difference.

Only if they have talent.  I've seen people who practice at what they do 
professionally for thousands of hours a month who still don't do a very 
good job at it.  Practice helps, but having the innate ability also helps.

> Look at the other people in the photo. How many grey hairs can you see?
> How many fat beer bellies? How many wrinkles? Most of these people don't
> even dance, or if they do, it's a casual saunter around the floor. And
> then there's me, a young slip of a thing, practising my moves for a
> dance competition with my lady.
> 
> [It still seems very wrong to me that my lady is twice my age and yet
> she can dance rings around me. I just don't have the stamina...]

Building stamina comes with practice.  It can be slow moving, but  
additional cardio workout probably would help with that, too.  But it 
takes time.

> Trust me, if some of our classmates had been there, nobody would have
> even noticed us. Some of these people dance almost literally without
> actually touching the floor. (Not forgetting that the current raining
> national R&R dance champions are apparently in our class...)
> 
> We only look good because there was nobody there better than us. In
> dancing, there is *always* somebody somewhere who's better than you.
> It's just a question of how far away. ;-)

In any field, there's always someone who is better or knows more.  
Welcome to life. :)

Jim

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>> The other day we were practising for the upcoming competition, and
>> Debbie told us that enthusiasm is basically more important than
>> technique. (Provided your technique isn't hopeless, of course.)
>
> Enthusiasm is a good thing.  :)

It's harder to fake than skill though. ;-)

>> Mmmmmmyeah... but the other difference is that a pro usually has the
>> time to dedicate hundreds of hours per month to practise. That makes a
>> big difference.
>
> Only if they have talent.  I've seen people who practice at what they do
> professionally for thousands of hours a month who still don't do a very
> good job at it.  Practice helps, but having the innate ability also helps.

My point being that it takes a stupendous level of innate ability for 
someone who can only devote a few hours a week to something to be able 
to out-perform somebody who spends thousands of hours a month at it.

> Building stamina comes with practice.  It can be slow moving, but
> additional cardio workout probably would help with that, too.  But it
> takes time.

I think "slow moving" is my entire problem. :-P Then again, I've always 
been a sprinter. Unfortunately, dancing requires stamina, in large 
quantities.

> In any field, there's always someone who is better or knows more.
> Welcome to life. :)

My point being, it's no good pretending you're great. There is /always/ 
somebody far better than you. It's just a question of how far you have 
to go to find them. In my case, not very far. Then again, I go to the 
same dance school as the reining UK Rock & Roll dance champions...

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On 4/18/2011 1:27, Invisible wrote:
> out-perform somebody who spends thousands of hours a month at it.

I think if *anyone* spends thousands of hours a month at something, you have 
more to worry about from him than his skill or enthusiasm. You should be, 
for example, looking for his time machine.

> I think "slow moving" is my entire problem. :-P Then again, I've always been
> a sprinter. Unfortunately, dancing requires stamina, in large quantities.

It's not too hard to build up stamina. You just have to consistently work at 
it whether you want to or not.

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   "Coding without comments is like
    driving without turn signals."

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On Mon, 18 Apr 2011 09:27:23 +0100, Invisible wrote:

>>> The other day we were practising for the upcoming competition, and
>>> Debbie told us that enthusiasm is basically more important than
>>> technique. (Provided your technique isn't hopeless, of course.)
>>
>> Enthusiasm is a good thing.  :)
> 
> It's harder to fake than skill though. ;-)

Which means you weren't faking it? ;)

>> Only if they have talent.  I've seen people who practice at what they
>> do professionally for thousands of hours a month who still don't do a
>> very good job at it.  Practice helps, but having the innate ability
>> also helps.
> 
> My point being that it takes a stupendous level of innate ability for
> someone who can only devote a few hours a week to something to be able
> to out-perform somebody who spends thousands of hours a month at it.

Depends on whether the person spending all that time has any skill.  
Practice can't make up for skill, it can only hone existing skills.

>> Building stamina comes with practice.  It can be slow moving, but
>> additional cardio workout probably would help with that, too.  But it
>> takes time.
> 
> I think "slow moving" is my entire problem. :-P Then again, I've always
> been a sprinter. Unfortunately, dancing requires stamina, in large
> quantities.

Which means more cardio would help.

I spent a few years going to the gym (if you'll recall) and I was able to 
do a lot more.  I stopped going about a year ago and I've noticed a huge 
difference (and not a good one).  I'm going to have to start again 
because I hate getting winded so easily.

All it would take is 30-45 minutes of solid cardio a day for me.  For you 
it might be more or less.

>> In any field, there's always someone who is better or knows more.
>> Welcome to life. :)
> 
> My point being, it's no good pretending you're great. There is /always/
> somebody far better than you. It's just a question of how far you have
> to go to find them. In my case, not very far. Then again, I go to the
> same dance school as the reining UK Rock & Roll dance champions...

Have some confidence, man!  You enjoy doing this and you're good at it.  
Don't tear yourself down by saying "well, compared to the best in the 
world, I suck!" - just give yourself credit for finding something you 
like doing and are good at.

Jim

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