Showing posts with label opinions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label opinions. Show all posts
Monday, June 30, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Let's check some real men's physiques
Bodybuilding has done some nasty damage to men's perception of what they should look like. I cheery picked those pictures of top athletes from many disciplines where full body strength is needed such as circus, gymnastic, MMA, early 20th century weightlifting, dance and pilates. You will notice the rectangular shape of the torso instead of the artificial ''V shape'' created by modern bodybuilding. Bodyfat is usually lower than 15% by the look of it and athletes who need to compete in a certain weight class, like GPS, got leaner for the event. Of course muscular emphasis will vary depending of the discipline of choice, but the bodies seems pretty balanced to me. Train hard for many many years, fix your nutrition and let your real body arises!
Monday, December 2, 2013
Choose your words wisely
I will stop using the word workout to talk about my strength training. It sounds insignificant, but there is a huge difference between exercising/ working out and training/practicing. Practicing my strength is an integrated part of my dance training now and it is just as important as any other part of it.
Therefore, I keep track of my data and I need to watch progress over time, if not I have to make adjustment. In the fitness industry, they call that principle progressive overload which I think applies for any skills. Statu quo is only possible once you got really good at something. We all know some dancers who used to be at the top in 2006, but somehow still manage to place in that one competition they go every year even if they don’t practice anymore. It works with dancing, strength, music instruments, languages, sports, name it! The minimum effective dose can be really low just to maintain something you can do.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Human is a creature of habits
Practice when you feel like it and you will never get any better. Practice daily at 7pm 9or any other time) and you will be a champ 1 year from now. Change 1 habit at the time, control the data and enjoy the improvement.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Wisdom from Pavel
‘’Someone has made an observation that lawyers tend to be a lot more successful in strength sports than artists. Because the former can deal with the boredom of repetitive but necessary tasks.’’,Pavel Tsatsouline, Enter the Kettlebell p.136
Monday, January 14, 2013
Balboa guy, fitness guy, massage guy, nutrition guy...or about being labeled.
Over the last couple of years, I received several labels. Truth is, labels are often there for a reason, but just part of the portrait.
Because I have never seriously competed into Lindy Hop, I still known mainly as a Balboa dancer even if I practice just as much in Lindy Hop, Ballrooming and other minor specialities such as Collegiate Shag, Break Away and Charleston 20'.
Because I started to develop an more athletic vision of the path of the Swing, people starting calling me fitness guy. I admit that I know a lot now about athletic development and how a dancer should train for peak performance, but fitness as never been my final goal.
Fitness lead me on the nutrition topic, fat loss and peak athletic performance, and I got deep into it as usual. Shortly after that, I became nutrition guy!
Pain releasing techniques, anatomy, fitness, nutrition, those are all tools any athlete should be aware of, including Swing dancers. I only decided to school and educate myself and keep doing it everyday.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Understanding the system part 1: follow the money
Why does capitalism works so well? Because it is based on self preservation and fulfilling self interest. I will do as I usually do and use my sledgehammer which seems to be the only tool I know how to use properly.
I will start with a neutral example. If you go and consult a massage therapist to help you with a pain in your lower back, what do you think would be in his best interest? Businesswise, a returning customer brings you a lot more money than having to find new costumers all the time. Of course, the treatment has somehow to seem effective, or else you will find someone else to heal you. If the therapist wants to make as much money as possible, he should then offer the best temporary release and help you to rationalize why you need to come back later for another treatment.
Of course, this the coldest hypothetical situation, but the truth remains, this is a system relying on good faith. I like to think that most people would consciously rather step on their self interest for the greater good, but what is going on unconsciously, that we will never know.
This is in fact a typical scenario in the martial arts world. The master will only show his secrets to his most advanced students to keep them as long as possible. What do you think happens when a student is as good as the master? Not only will he stop taking classes with his former master, but he might also become a new competitor in the same area.
Is the system very different in swing dancing? The short answer is no! Why do people keep on doing swing dancing? Because it satisfies certain needs. A short list would look like this:
- Feeling like part of a group and position yourself within that group.
- Having a good time
- Easier to socialize and meet people.
- Impression of exercising.
- Getting better at something or being on the impression of.
I don’t think most locals classes, weekend workshops or even private classes are design to help people reaching the top, but rather to give them the impression they are on the right track. Don’t get me wrong, those settings are great from what I observed for pre-advanced dancers. Also, I believed everybody is well intended and nobody really has an evil agenda of any sort.
Follow the money! It is in everybody’s interest, both instructors and promoters, to keep students at that level where they fulfill all their needs and they have the impression the product/service they’re buying is what will help them getting better. There are two ways to drop retention: people who quit and people who get so good they don’t need the products/services anymore. The level system also contribute to that illusion. Of course one feels like he progressed since last year, for he used to be in Intermediate and he is now in Intermediate/Advance.
We can easily notice how few new superstars, full time instructors, there are in the swing dancing world in the past 5 years or so even with that many more very good dancers around. Beside few dancers who got their game above everybody else, most of them are now obviously interchangeable. Do the new guys really have a shot in the current settings, maybe if they play their cards right, but they will most likely try really hard to make a name for themselves until they fail and quit. The system however will keep making them believe that all they need is another year of competing, just another year…
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Methods & findings in swing dancing
In an Era, where certification is all that matters, it is so hard for self taught like myself to get any credibility in fields like fitness and nutrition. It’s alright for the moment though, for I have no intention to turn that knowledge into a business anytime soon, and if I do one day, I know I will need some monkey paper to prove I’m good. Well, that’s life in the 21st century.
The most useful certification I ever got was my degree in Ancient Studies. It sounds farfetched doesn’t it? Well, that degree was so difficult, du to a bunch of enthusiast over qualified teachers that it forced me to develop a learning method that works for me.
I have started martial arts and then swing dancing pretty much in the same period. It struck me right away, coming from a hardcore academic program, how unstructured and amateurish those fields were. Most of the talented dancers or martial artists I looked for to teach me had a hard time passing away their knowledge.
I eventually found decent teachers, but having developed a method in my earlier years is what served me the best. It become obvious to me what the basics were and that I had to work on them neglecting everything accessory. Fortunately, I never had a hard time managing my ego, so while people who started dancing about the same time I have were working on fancy stuff, I kept on working on the basics. Then when I’ve mastered them enough I moved to the fancy stuff and it became obvious to everyone that I have become an advanced dancer at that point.
This is about the time I started wondering about how they train in similar professional disciplines such as gymnastic, other form of dancing, circus, partner skating and so on. I was coaching a team with the Swinging Air Force back in those days, but the way they trained, mostly treadmill and machines, didn’t seem like something that will truly help me out.
My first clue was Pilates. If this is a well kept secret of the ballet dancers, it’s probably worth checking out. So, I taught my Pilates with books and videos. This is about the time P90X became very popular among star dancers. I decided to give it a shot after a couple of months starting with the videos that develop abilities Vs. those that develop muscles. It worked great! This is why I will never spit on that program. It gave me a bunch of clues about athleticism and what I should work on. So, I focused mostly on core workouts, a lot of yoga, Pilates and mixed with Insanity workouts. This is also when I started noticing that Pilates seemed only to improve when mixed with other workouts which rang a big bell to me!
The drawback with such a regimen is that if you dance and workout 6 days a week, it becomes very taxing for the body. Studying anatomy, reading a lot of books, watching a lot of videos and surfing the web finally put my on the trail of strength training.
I finally discover that beside some cultural differences, this is how most of professional athletes are doing. They treat strength as any other skills they have to master to improve in their respective field. And the great news was, there is no such thing as a specific program depending of the sport you practice. Despite the different strength programs, theories and schools, the basic ideas are always there: low reps, heavy weights, lot of rest between sets and you should feel energized after your workout and ready to practice your sport. Forget about ‘’cardio’’, crunches, machines and other non sense. 2 or 3 big bang exercises such as deadlifts, squat, bench press, overhead press, pull ups or any of their variations is all that you need.
It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well the major obstacle to success, especially in a world without anyone to guide you is yourself. Our fitness background tells every one of us that we should sweat, work hard and be sore after a workout and if we did a good job, we should even feel it for a couple of days. Even for someone as open minded as myself, it took me months to finally accept that I should do less and keep my workout very short and very efficient.
Guess what? It works! And the results were almost immediate. 8-10 weeks were all I need to note a real change in my athleticism, even while doing too much. I would move faster, jump higher and could throw my girls like never before for an incredible amount of repetition. How about my cardio? I got better as well! That is the beauty of it. What being stronger really means is that everything physical that used to be hard becomes tolerable and everything tolerable becomes easy. The stronger you get, the easier it becomes to do what you could not or barely could do before. Strength is a skill and should be treated as such. Plus, working out 3 days a week for 30-40 minutes or so and focusing most of your time on your dancing skills put all the pieces together.
Despite some adjustments I am still doing on my method, it seems to be surely what a professional swing dancer needs to differentiate himself from the others. As we often hear in the world of strength: ‘’at equal skills, the strongest opponent wins’’. It does sound better when talking about UFC fighters, however facts remain. The objective is not to be as strong as a power lifter, but simply stronger to maximize your other skills!
Swing Dance Montreal
Rock’n Swing
Follow me on Facebook
Follow me on twitter @FredBarbe
Follow me on Google+
The most useful certification I ever got was my degree in Ancient Studies. It sounds farfetched doesn’t it? Well, that degree was so difficult, du to a bunch of enthusiast over qualified teachers that it forced me to develop a learning method that works for me.
I have started martial arts and then swing dancing pretty much in the same period. It struck me right away, coming from a hardcore academic program, how unstructured and amateurish those fields were. Most of the talented dancers or martial artists I looked for to teach me had a hard time passing away their knowledge.
I eventually found decent teachers, but having developed a method in my earlier years is what served me the best. It become obvious to me what the basics were and that I had to work on them neglecting everything accessory. Fortunately, I never had a hard time managing my ego, so while people who started dancing about the same time I have were working on fancy stuff, I kept on working on the basics. Then when I’ve mastered them enough I moved to the fancy stuff and it became obvious to everyone that I have become an advanced dancer at that point.
This is about the time I started wondering about how they train in similar professional disciplines such as gymnastic, other form of dancing, circus, partner skating and so on. I was coaching a team with the Swinging Air Force back in those days, but the way they trained, mostly treadmill and machines, didn’t seem like something that will truly help me out.
My first clue was Pilates. If this is a well kept secret of the ballet dancers, it’s probably worth checking out. So, I taught my Pilates with books and videos. This is about the time P90X became very popular among star dancers. I decided to give it a shot after a couple of months starting with the videos that develop abilities Vs. those that develop muscles. It worked great! This is why I will never spit on that program. It gave me a bunch of clues about athleticism and what I should work on. So, I focused mostly on core workouts, a lot of yoga, Pilates and mixed with Insanity workouts. This is also when I started noticing that Pilates seemed only to improve when mixed with other workouts which rang a big bell to me!
The drawback with such a regimen is that if you dance and workout 6 days a week, it becomes very taxing for the body. Studying anatomy, reading a lot of books, watching a lot of videos and surfing the web finally put my on the trail of strength training.
I finally discover that beside some cultural differences, this is how most of professional athletes are doing. They treat strength as any other skills they have to master to improve in their respective field. And the great news was, there is no such thing as a specific program depending of the sport you practice. Despite the different strength programs, theories and schools, the basic ideas are always there: low reps, heavy weights, lot of rest between sets and you should feel energized after your workout and ready to practice your sport. Forget about ‘’cardio’’, crunches, machines and other non sense. 2 or 3 big bang exercises such as deadlifts, squat, bench press, overhead press, pull ups or any of their variations is all that you need.
It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well the major obstacle to success, especially in a world without anyone to guide you is yourself. Our fitness background tells every one of us that we should sweat, work hard and be sore after a workout and if we did a good job, we should even feel it for a couple of days. Even for someone as open minded as myself, it took me months to finally accept that I should do less and keep my workout very short and very efficient.
Guess what? It works! And the results were almost immediate. 8-10 weeks were all I need to note a real change in my athleticism, even while doing too much. I would move faster, jump higher and could throw my girls like never before for an incredible amount of repetition. How about my cardio? I got better as well! That is the beauty of it. What being stronger really means is that everything physical that used to be hard becomes tolerable and everything tolerable becomes easy. The stronger you get, the easier it becomes to do what you could not or barely could do before. Strength is a skill and should be treated as such. Plus, working out 3 days a week for 30-40 minutes or so and focusing most of your time on your dancing skills put all the pieces together.
Despite some adjustments I am still doing on my method, it seems to be surely what a professional swing dancer needs to differentiate himself from the others. As we often hear in the world of strength: ‘’at equal skills, the strongest opponent wins’’. It does sound better when talking about UFC fighters, however facts remain. The objective is not to be as strong as a power lifter, but simply stronger to maximize your other skills!
Fred Barbe
Personal WebsiteSwing Dance Montreal
Rock’n Swing
Follow me on Facebook
Follow me on twitter @FredBarbe
Follow me on Google+
Monday, July 9, 2012
Art fears business fears art (re-blog)
I find Seth Godin's blog usually very insightful. Here's the original article.
The artist says, "that sounds like business, and I want nothing to do with it. It will corrupt me and make me think small."
The businessperson says, "art is frightening, unpredictable and won't pay."
Because the artist fears business, she hesitates to think as big as she could, to imagine the impact she might be able to make, to envision the leverage that's available to her.
And because the businessperson fears art, she holds back, looks for a map, follows the existing path and works hard to fit in, never understanding just how vivid her new ideas might be and how powerful her art could make her.
There's often a route, a way to combine the original, human and connected work you want to do with a market-based solution that will enable it to scale. Once you see it, it's easier to call your bluff and make what you're capable of.
The artist says, "that sounds like business, and I want nothing to do with it. It will corrupt me and make me think small."
The businessperson says, "art is frightening, unpredictable and won't pay."
Because the artist fears business, she hesitates to think as big as she could, to imagine the impact she might be able to make, to envision the leverage that's available to her.
And because the businessperson fears art, she holds back, looks for a map, follows the existing path and works hard to fit in, never understanding just how vivid her new ideas might be and how powerful her art could make her.
There's often a route, a way to combine the original, human and connected work you want to do with a market-based solution that will enable it to scale. Once you see it, it's easier to call your bluff and make what you're capable of.
Fred Barbe
Follow me on Google+
Friday, May 11, 2012
Strong Words - repost
This is some inspiring words from Mike Robertson's Newsletter.
"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work." - Colin Powell
A few topics I've talked about extensively on my blog are change, focus, etc.
But one thing I haven't talked about enough is flat-old, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone hard work.
Look, we can't control everything in our lives.
And often, things happen to us that are beyond our control.
But one thing that we can always control is our work ethic, and how hard we work.
It's not enough to want something...
It's not enough to dream about it...
It's not enough to have good, or even great, ideas...
Because until you start taking action and working hard, success will always be just beyond your grasp.
One thing that I always fall back on when things aren't going well is to re-focus and just start working harder.
Have I been slacking in any way, shape or form?
What is something I can get better at?
What can I do to take my own performance to the next level?
Not only does this give me a feeling of control, but quite often, it pays off in numerous others ways as well.
When I'm working hardest, that's when I'm the luckiest as well.
Next time you're struggling, down, or not seeing the type of success you want, go back to basics and just start working harder than those around you.
Chances are, the results will speak for themselves!
"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work." - Colin Powell
A few topics I've talked about extensively on my blog are change, focus, etc.
But one thing I haven't talked about enough is flat-old, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone hard work.
Look, we can't control everything in our lives.
And often, things happen to us that are beyond our control.
But one thing that we can always control is our work ethic, and how hard we work.
It's not enough to want something...
It's not enough to dream about it...
It's not enough to have good, or even great, ideas...
Because until you start taking action and working hard, success will always be just beyond your grasp.
One thing that I always fall back on when things aren't going well is to re-focus and just start working harder.
Have I been slacking in any way, shape or form?
What is something I can get better at?
What can I do to take my own performance to the next level?
Not only does this give me a feeling of control, but quite often, it pays off in numerous others ways as well.
When I'm working hardest, that's when I'm the luckiest as well.
Next time you're struggling, down, or not seeing the type of success you want, go back to basics and just start working harder than those around you.
Chances are, the results will speak for themselves!
Fred Barbe
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Fighting back Resistance
Resistance is so cunning. It told me I should stop looking for a competition partner. That even if I find someone new, she won't be ready for the next year or so and chances are I will be disappointed.... again. Plus, I'm leaving a month this summer in Europe, so why should I bother right now. And anyway, there is no need to be proactive about it, because if I have to meet a formidable dancer, she will magically appeared. Rationalization.....deadly if you are not careful.
Fred Barbe
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Know thyself
There are many ways to reach similar results and what might be objectively the fastest course of action might not work with you at all. Why does the slow carb diet works so well for me? I have a compulsive nature. When I open a bag of chips, I won't stop until I reach the bottom of it. I also make it work for me in my dance practices. I'm always obsessed with some elements and this can go on for days, months or years. I let that fuels me and that's why showing up to practice is always easy for me. I have never stopped thinking about whatever I have been working on and I can't wait to get back at it.
You are not me. What drives you? Maybe you are a social bee that needs a group to work with. Maybe you need short term projects likes competitions, shows or else? Let your nature works for you. Know thyself.
Fred Barbe
You are not me. What drives you? Maybe you are a social bee that needs a group to work with. Maybe you need short term projects likes competitions, shows or else? Let your nature works for you. Know thyself.
Fred Barbe
Monday, March 19, 2012
10 habits of the professional we all know and do
Because I talk about War of Art in a post last week, I started to read it all over again. That book is fantastic! In the second chapter, Pressfield comes up with a list of the 10 habits of the professional must have to survive in the real world. We all know them, because we all need to be professional at our jobs.
"What exactly are the qualities that define us as professionals?
Why can we do something we don't like so much (or hate) and be professional at it, but when it comes to our passion, it is suddenly so difficult? Don't you find it strange? The good news is, others has been there before us and can show us the way.
Fred BarbePersonal Website
Swing Dance Montreal
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"What exactly are the qualities that define us as professionals?
- 1. We show up every day.
2. We show up no matter what.
3. We stay on the job all day.
4. We are committed over the long haul.
5. The stakes for us are high and real.
6. We accept remuneration for our labor.
7. We do not overidentify with our jobs.
8. We master the technique of our jobs.
10. We receive praise or blame in the real world."9. We have a sense of humor about our jobs.
Why can we do something we don't like so much (or hate) and be professional at it, but when it comes to our passion, it is suddenly so difficult? Don't you find it strange? The good news is, others has been there before us and can show us the way.
Fred BarbePersonal Website
Swing Dance Montreal
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Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on Google+
Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Genius in All of Us
I don't do that very often, but that blog from Michael Boyle was so insightful, that I decided to share it with as many people possible. In case you didn't know that about me, I don't believe in tatlent so much. You can change a good deal of attributes with a proper training, but you can't infuse someone with passion.
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''David Schenk’s The Genius in All of Us may be the best of the “success” books. I have spent parts of the last 12 months reading Outliers , Talent Code, Talent is Overrated and finally Genius in All of Us.
The interesting thing about my year-long study of success is that all roads have led to the same place. The conclusion of all of these works points to one word. Passion. All of these books debunk the myth of giftedness and genetic talent. The evidence is clear that as Geoff Colvin wrote talent is overrated. I must admit to being skeptical but after approximately one thousand pages I now understand.
I have read so much on the topic that I might accidentally plagiarize. I will try not to. Passion is the special sauce the makes the succeeder. Succeeder is not even a word but it defines the successful person.
The message of all these authors is nearly identical in the final analysis. You can’t create passion but, you may ignite in it in your child by creating the correct environment. From a parental standpoint passion can be nurtured but not forced. Passion is almost fleeting, ephemeral. Some have it, some don’t. Maybe it exists on a bell shaped curve, I do not know for sure. I only know that it is the common theme of all these books, the thread that ties all these success tomes together.
The other theme that arises in all books in one way or another is Anders Ericson’s concept of deliberate practice. Not just practice but, deliberate practice. The passionate seem to be able to perform deliberate practice or as it is alternately referred to deep practice. Schenk describes deliberate practice as “not inherently enjoyable’ and as “not the repetition of already attained skills but repeated attempts to reach beyond ones current level”. Schenk goes on to note that these attempts are “associated with frequent failure”. (P 55)
The other concept that appears in all of these works is the ten thousand hour concept. The idea is that mastery of an area will take ten thousand hours of this previously-mentioned deliberate practice. Schenk makes a point to note that “surfing the net is not deliberate practice”. It is important to state that ten thousand hours is equal to three hours a day for more than ten years. The concept might explain why so many of us seem to arrive on the strength and conditioning scene in our forties. The reality is that ten thousand hours may take twenty years to accumulate. Even more significant is that ten thousand hours is not a guarantee of success, only a common thread. (P57)
Shenk also goes on to say that ‘finding ones true natural limit in any field takes many years and many thousands of hours of intense pursuit”. (P 58) He makes us realize how few of us have explored our true limits as coaches or as athletes. In fact, many athletic careers may not last long enough for mastery.
The lesson is sports, particularly for youth sport parents is go to practice. Practice, at least good practice, has the capacity to make change. Games on the other hand allow for too little exposure to the vital skills needed to succeed.
All page references above are from Genius in All of Us.''
--------------------
I hoe you are as curious as I am about that book!
-------------------
''David Schenk’s The Genius in All of Us may be the best of the “success” books. I have spent parts of the last 12 months reading Outliers , Talent Code, Talent is Overrated and finally Genius in All of Us.
The interesting thing about my year-long study of success is that all roads have led to the same place. The conclusion of all of these works points to one word. Passion. All of these books debunk the myth of giftedness and genetic talent. The evidence is clear that as Geoff Colvin wrote talent is overrated. I must admit to being skeptical but after approximately one thousand pages I now understand.
I have read so much on the topic that I might accidentally plagiarize. I will try not to. Passion is the special sauce the makes the succeeder. Succeeder is not even a word but it defines the successful person.
The message of all these authors is nearly identical in the final analysis. You can’t create passion but, you may ignite in it in your child by creating the correct environment. From a parental standpoint passion can be nurtured but not forced. Passion is almost fleeting, ephemeral. Some have it, some don’t. Maybe it exists on a bell shaped curve, I do not know for sure. I only know that it is the common theme of all these books, the thread that ties all these success tomes together.
The other theme that arises in all books in one way or another is Anders Ericson’s concept of deliberate practice. Not just practice but, deliberate practice. The passionate seem to be able to perform deliberate practice or as it is alternately referred to deep practice. Schenk describes deliberate practice as “not inherently enjoyable’ and as “not the repetition of already attained skills but repeated attempts to reach beyond ones current level”. Schenk goes on to note that these attempts are “associated with frequent failure”. (P 55)
The other concept that appears in all of these works is the ten thousand hour concept. The idea is that mastery of an area will take ten thousand hours of this previously-mentioned deliberate practice. Schenk makes a point to note that “surfing the net is not deliberate practice”. It is important to state that ten thousand hours is equal to three hours a day for more than ten years. The concept might explain why so many of us seem to arrive on the strength and conditioning scene in our forties. The reality is that ten thousand hours may take twenty years to accumulate. Even more significant is that ten thousand hours is not a guarantee of success, only a common thread. (P57)
Shenk also goes on to say that ‘finding ones true natural limit in any field takes many years and many thousands of hours of intense pursuit”. (P 58) He makes us realize how few of us have explored our true limits as coaches or as athletes. In fact, many athletic careers may not last long enough for mastery.
The lesson is sports, particularly for youth sport parents is go to practice. Practice, at least good practice, has the capacity to make change. Games on the other hand allow for too little exposure to the vital skills needed to succeed.
All page references above are from Genius in All of Us.''
--------------------
I hoe you are as curious as I am about that book!
Fred Barbe
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Definition of the professionnal
How do you define the professional, swing dancer or else? The common sense would point out 2 factors :
''After years of painful anxiety and frequent bouts of mental illness, he died at the age of 37 from a gunshot wound, generally accepted to be self-inflicted (although no gun was ever found). His work was then known to only a handful of people and appreciated by fewer still. ''
We are back to square one it seems! I might sound like disciple of Pressfield, but why not just accept it when someone has got it right? The professional devotes his whole life to his form of art. The amateur on the contrary is the weekend warrior. The professional wakes up and works on his arts. It's its job! The amateur might work on it if he feels like it or when he has an available partner or when he has access to a studio or whatever excuses.
Should the professional make money out of his art? Of course he should! He should be a mercenary, detached himself from the illusion of pride he can have and sells his arts if he can at the highest price he can. Maybe this will not happen right away. Maybe it will unfortunately never happen. See money as a bonus and not a prerequisite.
Should the professional be recognized by his peers? This should happen naturally, but if it doesn't, that doesn't define the professional. We know all about art circles and how artists can often snobbish about other people's work. Does that happen in swing dancing? I apologize for the rhetorical question!
Getting up and working hard on what matters the most for you, that's what being a professional artist is about.
- Do you earn money for what you do?
- Are you recognized by your peers?
''After years of painful anxiety and frequent bouts of mental illness, he died at the age of 37 from a gunshot wound, generally accepted to be self-inflicted (although no gun was ever found). His work was then known to only a handful of people and appreciated by fewer still. ''
We are back to square one it seems! I might sound like disciple of Pressfield, but why not just accept it when someone has got it right? The professional devotes his whole life to his form of art. The amateur on the contrary is the weekend warrior. The professional wakes up and works on his arts. It's its job! The amateur might work on it if he feels like it or when he has an available partner or when he has access to a studio or whatever excuses.
Should the professional make money out of his art? Of course he should! He should be a mercenary, detached himself from the illusion of pride he can have and sells his arts if he can at the highest price he can. Maybe this will not happen right away. Maybe it will unfortunately never happen. See money as a bonus and not a prerequisite.
Should the professional be recognized by his peers? This should happen naturally, but if it doesn't, that doesn't define the professional. We know all about art circles and how artists can often snobbish about other people's work. Does that happen in swing dancing? I apologize for the rhetorical question!
Getting up and working hard on what matters the most for you, that's what being a professional artist is about.
Fred Barbe
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Why did I ever get myself interested in Collegiate Shag again...?
Back from the Shag Explosion in Ottawa last weekend, I'm bagging my head on the walls. Collegiate Shag is hard. Not as developed by dancers as the other swing dances such as the Lindy Hop, the blues and the Balboa, the potential of the Shag is there and easy to grasp. Even the best Shag dancers, like Jeremy and Laura, do it as an auxiliary dance and even if they kick ass, we can see that their Lindy Hop and Balboa is way more developed.
I started a about 1 month and a half ago from the original and modern clips. The first thing that appeared to me right away was that if you intend to lead/follow even the basics (single, double, triple), you must be an advance dancer, period. After 1 day of workshops and two dances, I have foreseen what it could be at a very high level and I am far to be there. I will have to work on this new obsession of mine and see where it leads me. For over a year, I tried to separate my Balboa from my Lindy Hop to make them very distinct which is obviously hard, but I am quite pleased with the results. This is the beginning of a brand new challenge, because from what I have seen, my shag looks like bad Balboa at best right now!
Collegiate Shag seems to be made for rhythm variations. In Lindy hop or in Balboa, you learn them eventually to make your dance more interesting, but in Shag, the very essence of the dance depends on it. Of course you can do all those fancy moves, even those moves will be cool or not depending of the chosen rhythm. One of the biggest challenge of the dance, exactly as in the different forms of the Charleston, will be to get out of the very attractive and patterns that makes your life easier. All this is a good starting point and I can start practicing now!
I started a about 1 month and a half ago from the original and modern clips. The first thing that appeared to me right away was that if you intend to lead/follow even the basics (single, double, triple), you must be an advance dancer, period. After 1 day of workshops and two dances, I have foreseen what it could be at a very high level and I am far to be there. I will have to work on this new obsession of mine and see where it leads me. For over a year, I tried to separate my Balboa from my Lindy Hop to make them very distinct which is obviously hard, but I am quite pleased with the results. This is the beginning of a brand new challenge, because from what I have seen, my shag looks like bad Balboa at best right now!
Collegiate Shag seems to be made for rhythm variations. In Lindy hop or in Balboa, you learn them eventually to make your dance more interesting, but in Shag, the very essence of the dance depends on it. Of course you can do all those fancy moves, even those moves will be cool or not depending of the chosen rhythm. One of the biggest challenge of the dance, exactly as in the different forms of the Charleston, will be to get out of the very attractive and patterns that makes your life easier. All this is a good starting point and I can start practicing now!
Fred Barbe
Personal Website
Monday, February 13, 2012
Thoughts after my weekend in Quebec city for Swing A Dance Festival
I was in Quebec city all weekend for Swing A Dance Festival. The festival itself was a lot of fun, well at least the dances, for I didn't do any workshops, but I heard a lot of good about them anyway. The best part has been spending some time with my good friend Jason Herron who has to take break from swing dancing for his mental sanity. One of our favorite topic is competing and how crooked the current system is. He doesn't stand with me on everything, but as he likes to put it, after 12 years of that crap, one can get a little tired.
Most of opportunities to compete are at those events / weekend workshops just like Swing A Dance Festival. It's a star based system. Meaning? The events tend to hire the most popular teachers/dancers hoping to attract people. So far, it kind of makes sense right? Hold to that thought!
The main way dancers have to get noticed and get gigs is competition. There are very few exceptions to this rule and even instructors that are not competing anymore, like David Rehm, competed at some point to make a name for himself.
I hope you see the conflict of interest coming up?! The people who judge competitions are in position to decide who might become the next sensation. It might sounds harmless, but considering the very limited amount of gigs and the very large amount of great dancers, it's getting more and more messy every year.
Have you never got that feeling that X couple was so awesome that it wasn't even contest, but they end up in 8th place? Most of us, at first don't question that too much. We rely on ''experts'' and assume we were wrong. For those who know me, I will just stick to my motto: ''Awesomeness should be obvious''.
As long as a dancer or a couple is not a threat and relatively know (through group, private classes or simply acquaintances of some good dancers), he will get judged as objectively as swing dancing allows it. When this dancer / couple becomes to point where being on podiums would get them gigs, they suddenly start doing bad and will only get pitiful explanations which don't make sense most of the time.
Most of competitors will put the blame on the judges, but I don't. After all, we put them into a position where their judgement might affect directly their annual paycheck and we know that no one gets rich out of swing dancing. People are people and their actions are as natural as it gets. They form small groups, officially or not, and they are manoeuvring to keep what they have. I'm not saying that every international instructors does that consciously or has a hidden agenda, but seriously what kind of system is that?!
Knowing how the system is doesn't discourage me from competing yet. I like to show what I do matter how bad I get placed sometimes. At least, you will end up, for most serious events, with a nice videos and many cool pictures. However, last weekend made me realized that I need to wait to have something with a partner and stop showing up with random partners in Striclky or in Jack & Jills. It won't help me at all. I will then keep my travelling to a minimum and keep training and keep posting what I do!
Most of opportunities to compete are at those events / weekend workshops just like Swing A Dance Festival. It's a star based system. Meaning? The events tend to hire the most popular teachers/dancers hoping to attract people. So far, it kind of makes sense right? Hold to that thought!
The main way dancers have to get noticed and get gigs is competition. There are very few exceptions to this rule and even instructors that are not competing anymore, like David Rehm, competed at some point to make a name for himself.
I hope you see the conflict of interest coming up?! The people who judge competitions are in position to decide who might become the next sensation. It might sounds harmless, but considering the very limited amount of gigs and the very large amount of great dancers, it's getting more and more messy every year.
Have you never got that feeling that X couple was so awesome that it wasn't even contest, but they end up in 8th place? Most of us, at first don't question that too much. We rely on ''experts'' and assume we were wrong. For those who know me, I will just stick to my motto: ''Awesomeness should be obvious''.
As long as a dancer or a couple is not a threat and relatively know (through group, private classes or simply acquaintances of some good dancers), he will get judged as objectively as swing dancing allows it. When this dancer / couple becomes to point where being on podiums would get them gigs, they suddenly start doing bad and will only get pitiful explanations which don't make sense most of the time.
Most of competitors will put the blame on the judges, but I don't. After all, we put them into a position where their judgement might affect directly their annual paycheck and we know that no one gets rich out of swing dancing. People are people and their actions are as natural as it gets. They form small groups, officially or not, and they are manoeuvring to keep what they have. I'm not saying that every international instructors does that consciously or has a hidden agenda, but seriously what kind of system is that?!
Knowing how the system is doesn't discourage me from competing yet. I like to show what I do matter how bad I get placed sometimes. At least, you will end up, for most serious events, with a nice videos and many cool pictures. However, last weekend made me realized that I need to wait to have something with a partner and stop showing up with random partners in Striclky or in Jack & Jills. It won't help me at all. I will then keep my travelling to a minimum and keep training and keep posting what I do!
Fred Barbe
Personal Website
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