In Advanced Shuffle Footwork I mention the choreography of Feet Of Flames - Warrior using body building poses as dance moves. The moves are examples of iconic images or gestures which you can use in your shuffle routine to convey meaning in your shuffling.
This can become part of your shuffle vocabulary ( 1 move = 1 word ). How you present that move is called the context. The context in shuffling is the moves before and after the iconic image or gesture. They convey whether you are taking the move in a serious or fun way.
To reverse this for the shuffler, here is a great vid of a bodybuilding contest. This guy uses the standard body building poses, and then expands his pose vocabulary with dance moves.
The person who posted the vid thinks it's a joke, but he's actually very good.
Dance by Bodybuilder
See the similar poses used in Feet Of Flames.
Feet Of Flames - Warriors
We've had a great response from our Advanced Shuffle Footwork post, and lots of questions on HOW YOU DO IT ! :)
As we've mentioned, shuffle footwork is based on Celtic Dance and the vids posted below will give you enough information to keep you busy for 6 months.
Turns, spins, jumps, hops, sideways steps, kicks, all these basic movements are used in shuffling and this is where they came from, Celtic Dance.
You don't need to do them exactly like the vids unless you want to learn strict Irish Dance. But the exercises are great for getting your similar shuffle moves working properly. They'll also give you a breakdown of the steps from different angles with English language commentary.
The moves and steps are for both male and female.
Irish Dance Movements
beginner slip jig
men's reel
steps broken down
Here's some great instructions from Learn To Dance http://www.learntodance.com/
The first thing to remember is that at all times during the dance your arms must be straight and held down by your sides (Like a soldier at Attention)
Basic Position (This position is usually called the 'T" in shuffling)
Start with your feet together with the heel of your right foot by the toes of your left foot. Feet at 90° to each other. This will mean your right knee has the left tucked behind. This position is the normal position after each step, changing to ending with the left foot in front instead, and vice versa.
The Basic Steps There are three basic steps to Light shoe dances, around which all dancers are built.
Teachers weave these into their choreography in different ways and vary them slightly, but if you can't master them in their basic form you will never really make the grade as a step dancer.
The basic steps are the Jump Threes, the Hop Threes and the Sevens or Side Step.
Jump Threes (basic step) Start in Basic Position
1) Now lift the front leg (in this case the right) keeping it dead straight with the toes curled forwards, so don't try to lift too high. (The worst thing you can do is point your toes up so that people see the soles of your shoes) Jump off the foot still on the floor onto the raised foot, landing just in front of where it started.
As you jump bring the back foot up to kick your behind. This is all done at the same time so takes practice!
2) As you land, step forward onto the original back foot, placing it just in front of the other foot.
3) Tuck the original front foot "behind" to end up in "basic position" but with the other foot now in front
Jump threes are always started from whichever foot is in front.
Do threes very slowly to start with and build up speed. One Three per bar of music. Once you have the hang of them try the lead round
Hops threes (basic step) Start in Basic Position
1) Hop on the back foot as high as possible, landing back on the same foot.
At the same time the front foot is brought up across the knee of the other leg, as high as possible (try to touch your hip with your toes)
2) step very slightly forward on front foot
3) tuck back foot behind
Hop threes are always started by hopping off whichever foot is behind. One three per bar of music.
Sevens or side step (basic step)
1) is a hop or jump 2) The leading foot is moved to the side (for example, the leading foot is the right one so move right, left foot move left) 3) back foot moves the same direction but crosses behind 4) front foot again 5) back foot behind again 6) front foot again 7) back foot behind again
All Irish Step dances follow the same basic pattern. There are usually several components :
The Lead Round The First Step
The Second Step (or Lead Back)
As the dances become more advanced these become a little harder to distinguish. However in the early stages they are very easily defined. Below is a basic beginners reel.
A Beginners Reel this is a Beginners Reel, so choose Reel music. Try not to make it too fast, as this is hard work!
A Reel is a soft shoe dance so either get some proper Irish shoes, or use ballet shoes or the like (preferably black)
For a costume you need something with a shorter skirt (above the knee) with plenty of material so that you can lift your legs freely. A Sports skirt would be fine, although something a little more colourful would be better.
A simple white blouse with loose sleeves would also suffice. If you really want to look traditional then take a simple scarf and pin it onto the left shoulder. Then drape it across the back and pin it at the waist on the right side.
Count the bars in your mind, stood in basic position.(the bars are usually easy to count in Irish music)
At the first note of the sixth bar point your front foot and toes forward moving the leg ahead of the back foot so that only the toes touch the ground.
Keep your feet in the same turned out position as in basic position.
You do not start dancing until the first note of the ninth bar
LEAD ROUND The lead round is simply Eight continuous Jump threes in a circle, alternating leading legs.
You must end up back where you started, facing the front again.
As each persons jumps are different don't try to follow someone elses circle.
FIRST STEP
A Hop three twice Hop Seven side step to right Jump three twice Jump seven side step back to left
B repeat A but to opposite side
C Repeat A again but this time move forward more with each hop three (on step 2 of the three)
D repeat C but opposite (your sevens should be along the very front of the stage)
LEAD BACK
Repeat Lead round (eight jump threes), but instead of creating a circle just curve back to end your last three facing the front again in your original starting place in basic position
FINISH
To finish any Irish Step dance do the following : Point your front foot as if starting, and bow from the waist, head and face up, arms still by your side.
Then turn towards the musician (or person running the music machine) and bow in the same way to them.
This is a recognised show of respect that all Irish dancers uphold, and it looks very smart.
Stand up straight, turn left and walk off stage with arms still by sides, and still straight legs and pointed toes.
Most Shufflers get bored with running man, and lets face it, a move you can learn in 5 minutes can get pretty dull after a few months.
The move popularised by one hit wonder McHammer (1990)was a common sight in aerobic gyms across the world for a decade by then. It's what people looked like on a gym tread mill. Running on the spot was also a warm up exercise for sportspeople across the world, as well as dancers.
McHammers running man was often derided as his failed attempt at Michael Jacksons Moonwalk. It was too hard for McHammer, so he did this gym exercise instead.
McHammer's only hit U can't touch this, is a classic 1980's gym workout music video, like former Melbourne girl Olivia Newton-John did in 1981 with (lets get) Physical and the frightening Jazzercise - Move your Boogie Body of 1982...oooh yes, it is as bad as it sounds, but the video tapes sold more than records.
So people like McHammer jumped on the gym bandwagon and did a McHammersize track, complete with cheesy lycra/spandex booty in your face. To give you something to look at while exercising in front of your TV.
Jazzercise - Move your Boogie Body 1982
McHammersize. MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This (1990)
McHammer was probably the last of the genre, thank god ;) In 1990 Wall Street had just collapsed and triggered global recession and the Berlin Wall had been torn down by ordinary people on both sides of it, just fed up with the whole superpower, superego trip Russia and America had been on for a lifetime.
It was a brave new world and we didn't want anything to do with the one we'd just torn down, we were sick of it. Like life was the running man, you run but you go nowhere.
Because of Melbourne's large and long established Celtic community ( mostly Irish, Scottish,Welsh ) Celtic dance was our first stop for inspiration when wanted the foundation to create a new dance for a new era.
The so called shuffle 'T Step' is the classic Shuffle. It's a simplified version of Celtic Dance.
I'd recommend shufflers who are tired of Running Man to have a look at this stuff. Because that's what we did in the creation of the shuffle when we needed inspiration.
You will find enough steps in the first 60 seconds of the opening solo of 'Feet of flames' Warriors from Riverdance in the vid below, to keep you busy all year.
For all you crews looking for inspiration...
You will see synchronised choreography for 30 members so tight, you will weep with tears of joy. And in the vids are original Melbourne Shufflers, who auditioned in Melbourne and landed roles to tour the world with Riverdance in the mid 1990's. All done live on stage in front of picky audiences who love excellence in dance, just like shufflers today.
And the more you see it the more you see the brilliance of the artistry that has been cherished for centuries. Like fine interlaced Celtic artwork itself, whether on shields, swords and jewellery, or in sacred books and carved in stone. It still has a magic buzz like no other.
Dance in Celtic culture is seen as a sacred part of it's culture, often with magical powers. There are many tales of Celtic dance transporting you to the Celtic OtherWorld.
Shuffle footwork is based on Celtic dance, Welsh, Irish and Scottish Highland mostly. Most Europeans would spot the similarities in the dance styles in a seconds.
The earliest direct linage is Clogging
More than 800 years ago Welsh seamen danced on the wooden decks of their sailing ships in wooden clogs, and Clogging was born. Clog is from a Gaelic word (traditional Celtic language) meaning 'time'.
'Time' as in keeping time when dancing. The clogs were the percussion / drum section. The rest of the music usually provided by pipes, banjo's and later fiddles (violins). The dance quickly became a favourite and is still practiced centuries later, today.
Variations spread to different regions by the sailors when they were in port, often combining with local folk dance traditions to form Irish dance, Scottish Highland dance and Flamenco in Celtic Iberian/Spanish.
Clogging went on to become the foundation for tap dancing, introduced to America first by Irish/Welsh sailors and later Celtic and European immigrants. Over the centuries regional variations emerged and local cultural dance was often included.
The full wooden clog made way for a leather top clog around the 1400's as the dance moved inland to wooden floored dance halls and ballrooms. Such as the traditional Lancashire wooden soled clog (pic above right)
Clog dancing is also known as Stomping, which is what the oldskool Melbourne Shufflers called themselves - Stompers.
The single biggest difference between Shuffling and other street dances today, is that Shuffling is danced 'in time', ie strictly on the beat. Your stomping foot keeping time, exactly as it's been done for centuries in clogging.
Clogging, or Stomping as it was called locally, was the standard dance style in Melbourne for much of the 1960's to 1980's as traditional folk dance became popular in the folk revival years. Melbourne has a very large Celtic population. The steps fitted as easily with pub rock as they did with electronic dance or traditional Irish jigs.
It's from here the Melbourne Shuffle inherited it's core basic steps. All the instantly recognisable shuffle moves are in traditional clogging.
Hardstyle (Stomping), Shuffling (sideways movement by twisting heel/toe) kicks, running man, glides.
The big hit Irish Dance stage show Riverdance hit the world stage mid 1990's just a few years after the Shuffle started, and really kicked interest in Shuffling over the moon.
Celtic dance has been around for many centuries, as well as the Celtic dance music styles, the jig (gigue) and reel.
These are basically melody loops. The musicians would play a 4, 8 or 16 bar melody then repeat it 4 times often getting a bit faster each time, then change tunes, They could go on for as long as people wanted to dance. Exactly like DJ mix today.
You could go on all night with fresh musician's 'sitting in' when the other musicians got tired. All without missing a beat.
This is a dance style that has lasted centuries and still has people in awe with the skill and pleasure this extraordinary dance brings.
In the 1700's it was actually outlawed by the English Monarchy along with playing Celtic pipes and wearing tartan. The penalty was death - yes seriously. The law lasted for 50 years.
So we figured something that had survived wars and death threats, was something that had soul and spirit and freedom, just like we felt at the end of the Cold War.
These 5 vids are taken from live Riverdance and feet Of Fire performances, no trick photography, no quick editing to make it look faster, just well practiced dance.
This is the Irish styled celtic dance, the arms are generally kept firm at the sides, in Scottish celtic dancing the arms are used a lot more, such as in The Highland Fling and Sailors Hornpipe. This arms-at-the-side thing is a common sight today in Shuffling, with attention on the footwork.
Scottish highland styled arm work (G.Shepherd 1994)
There were a number of very well known oldskool shufflers who did great intricate Irish styled footwork. I even have footage of a famous shuffler who did variations of jigs, sailors horn pipe etc, and The Goodies, Tim Brooke Taylor's 'I'm A Teapot' routine - excellent :)
A common sight at oldskool parties, shuffle girls with traditional Irish Dance skirt and stockings. (G.Shepherd 1994)
You'll hear the traditional pipes, and all the footwork is strict Irish dance - the original tap dancing introduced to New York by Welsh and Irish Immigrants in the 1800's.
Remember the footwork is in strict time with the music, the tapping sound from the heel and toes are used as percussion instruments as well as feet. Originally the shoes were chunky wooden soled ankle boots, now they have small metal plates.
If you wanted a slight pause you would time your footwork to include a small leap where you could change feet and leg positions ready for the next sequence, landing precisely on the beat.
You will also see costumes with reflective lines and patches inspired by Melbourne's Phats.
Riverdance is based on stories from Celtic Mythology.
In Celtic Culture women and men are honoured as great warriors, heroes, champions and artists. There is never any question or suggestion that girls can't dance. Any oldskool celtic shuffle girl could dance a guy on the dancefloor into the ground, with ease... ;)
In Celtic tales a young male warrior would often have to fight a female champion to prove his worth. They could never beat her, they could only survive the test.
A shuffler will need 5 hard years of training to just do the steps of the synchronised routines, and 5 more years to make them brilliant.
SHUFFLE LANGUAGE
For shufflers wanting to increase their shuffle vocabulary ( 1 move = 1 'word'), here's a clear and brilliant example of how it is done.
Take note of the first vid in the series below. Watch the lead male character, the guy with the mask and Celtic X on his chest.
Feet Of Flames Warriors, is about the noble, but often nasty, celtic warrior class. To illustrate that, the choreography uses para-military uniforms that would immediately suggest an Army to a modern audience. Even including some marching routines if we didn't get it the first time.
To demonstrate the power and honour the warrior class has about itself, the choreography uses modern day body building poses as symbols of modern masculinity.
The poses show off different muscle groups to be judged for balance and perfection. They are based on ancient Olympic marble sculptures of Olympic athletes doing exactly the same thing.
In dance language such a simple move in between the main routines, can convey immense pride and power. They are iconic gestures of victory and the victors.
Don't limit yourselves to just a few moves, put some depth to your style. Not just global things, but local things. Draw on your own cultural tradition too, make the shuffle part of you.
Feet of Flames - Warriors
Feet of Flames - Break Out
Riverdance "Thunderstorm"
River Dance Finale~Michael Flatley & Jean Butler
And it that finale wasn't big enough for you, try this below ... lots of great feet close ups in this one too.
The opening Flamenco solo by Michael Flatley, is tribute to the Iberian Celts who have been living in modern day Spain / Portugal for 1500 years or so.
Feet of Flames - Finale
