MSO (Melbourne Shuffle Oldskool): Melbourne Shuffle 1990:2010

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Melbourne Shuffle 1990:2010

Happy New Year everyone and happy 20th birthday to the Melbourne Shuffle !

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I'm working on the Global Shuffle documentary at the moment. It will be released later this year 2010, check back to MSO for updates.

The documentary will be featuring the very earliest videos of the shuffle done by the original creators of the Melbourne Shuffle.

New shufflers today I'm sure will be surprised at the dozens of shuffle steps they have never heard about, mainly because they are not on youtube.

Most will not be aware that there were actually 3 main genre's of shuffling at the beginning (1990-96),

Dance Party
Rock
Goth

Only 2 steps have survived in mainstream shuffling, stomping (hardstyle) and shuffling (T step).

But as regular MSO readers will know, there are heaps more and you'll see them done by original shufflers for the first time ever !! on the Global Shuffle 1990:2010 documentary.

There will be limited cinema screenings and an international dvd release. There'll be plenty of Global Shuffle webclips and online extra's, bio's, free music downloads, online competitions and more...

It's taken 2 years of editing and preparation so far. The biggest challenge has been salvaging the original footage. Most of it on 20 year old video tape, which degrades with time, moisture and dust. Then degrades further with each playing and copy.

Just that concept alone will be unknown to most new shufflers who have grown up with digital everything.

In 1990 we were still firmly in the analog era. Digital was 8bit and only available in specialist areas, music, games and private online networks known as bbs - bulletin boards, the same as todays forums.

There was no internet/www, email was like having your own space shuttle and phones were hard wired into your house and used for talking ! text ? WTF?

Most people were still getting to grips with vinyl records being replaced by 'digital' CD's. There were lots of arguments about which format was better. Though everyone agreed they were better than audiotape cassettes. But nothing beat the Sony Walkman for personal mobile sound. It even took another decade from 1990 for Apple to digitise the Walkman into an ipod. That's how far back the shuffle started.

Melbourne in 1990 like the rest of the world was in recession, just as were are today. Times were very tough, the future was scary and nobody seemed to be in control anymore.

Just the year before 1989, Wall Street had crashed, the Berlin Wall had been torn down and we'd watched lone protestors face off with tanks in China.

The 'Cold War' we'd lived with for all our lives was over, because ordinary people decided we'd had enough of that.

We wanted to have some fun now. We were tired of all the pain, the politics, the corruption, the bullshit. We could do what ever we wanted to now. We, just ordinary people, were in control for a change.

So in Melbourne, we danced a new dance. We kept what we liked from the past, added our own stuff and shuffled them around to suit our mood.

There were no rules, no limits. We wanted to explore and find out what else there was to life.

And so began and still goes, the Melbourne Shuffle...

Have a great year everyone

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ABOUT: The origins, history, culture of the underground dance style called the Melbourne Shuffle, commonly called 'shuffling'.

> The Shuffle mission : To really give a damn (Scooter. J'adore hardcore)

> This is a Melbourne Australia based blog by Melbourne born and based artist Garry Shepherd

> The Melbourne Shuffle was created in the underground arts community of Melbourne (Australia) in the early 1990's.

> The Melbourne Shuffle has 3 main genre's: Party, Rock and Goth. Each genre has it's own distinctive moves, fashion, art and lifestyles.

> There are no fixed steps in shuffling. It is largely a free form dance tradition. Each shuffler has a set of moves they shuffle around to suit their mood and setting.

> Shuffling skill is judged on the choice, sequence and presentation of the moves. Individual shufflers are encouraged to create their own moves to mix in with established moves.

> Shuffling can be done anywhere at anytime, alone or with others. Original oldskool shufflers broadcast their moves on underground TV in the 1990's. Today, Youtube is the favored medium.

> The Melbourne Shuffle has it's own unique dance pants called, PHATS.

In the time of the ancients, the Melbourne Shuffle was originally called STOMPING

Locals pronounce Melbourne - Mel-BeN

ERA's
Oldskool: 1990-96.
Commercial: 1997-2003
Global: 2006-today

DANCE CONCEPT
The Melbourne Shuffle is a dance concept. It uses all sorts of moves like building blocks, and you shuffle these moves around to suit your mood. The basic moves are easy to learn, but will take years of regular practice to reach pro level.

SHUFFLE MOVES
Stomps, turns, spins, shuffles, back steps, hand moves, lifts, jumps, hops, arm moves, elbow moves, hi-kicks, lo-kicks, glides, running man, kick behind, ...and always adding ;)

SHUFFLE GENRE'S
Oldskool, Hardstyle, Rock, Competition, Freestyle, Group Formation

SHUFFLE TERMS
Style: A collection of shuffle moves.
Sequence: A fixed order of shuffle moves.
Routine: A choreographed combination of shuffle moves.
Meet-Up: A casual gathering of Shufflers usually free in a public place, mall, carpark etc, to meet other shufflers and Shuffle.

Shuffle Vid: A youtube video of someone shuffling.

Shuffle Comp: A shuffle competition for individuals and crews.

Shuffle Crew: A group of friends who are interested in Shuffling.

Shuffle Team: A shuffle crew who perform or compete in Shuffle competitions.

Pro: An experienced and talented Shuffler.

> SHUFFLE CULTURE
Shuffle is 'All about the DANCE'. It's a dance culture, the Shufflers are the focal point. Where as RAVE culture is 'All about the music' it's a DJ culture, where the DJ's are the focal point.

> SHUFFLE RULES
The Shuffle saying 'There are no rules' came from the reality nobody in the oldskool would bother obeying them ;) But here's some general principles we're happy with.

> The Shuffle is based on freedom and mutual respect. Violence, hate, aggression, racism and sexism are not tolerated. The real world has plenty of that, and Shufflers are not interested in them.

> There is no restriction to creative freedom in shuffling. You can Shuffle to Express and Impress.

> The Shuffle can be danced solo or in a group. Both male and female can Shuffle.

> Group Shuffling can be unstructured like at a meet-up or structured in a Crew.

> The Shuffle can be spontaneous freeform or a choreographed style.

> You can Shuffle for fun, fitness, art or comps, or all the above. There are no restrictions.

> There is no limit to where you can Shuffle. In the street, carpark, mall, dance party, at home, outdoors in a forest, a city, a suburb, where ever you want to.

> Individual Shufflers are encouraged to add moves to the artform. Saying the Melbourne Shuffle is just one set of steps, is like saying spinning on your head is the only dance move in hip-hop.

> And who decides which new moves are part of the Melbourne Shuffle? Anybody! It's an inclusive artform. The Shufflers make it what it is.