Last year Bongerz and a few others thought it’d be a good idea to get a Sydney based Melbourne Shuffle forum going. They called it ShufflinI caught up with Leonard Hall (Len) on Shufflin to get some more details of the forum and the Sydney Melbourne Shuffle scene
MSO- Do you shuffle yourself?
Len - Yep, I'm in a couple of the earlier Shufflin vids, but I've missed out on the last few because I'm usually the one holding the camera!
Where did you learn the shuffle?
I'd known about the shuffle for a few years but it wasn't until early last year about the time that Shufflin started that a group of friends and I started meeting a lot more shufflers. Just meeting and watching shufflers dance with a real sense of passion boosted our own desire to learn the dance even more. Shufflin created a community where we were all progressively learning from each other. And of course, a few trips to Melbourne clubs were always useful in helping pick up some new tips and tricks ;)
What prompted you to start up the shufflin forum?
I wasn't the original founder of Shufflin, however I had met and stayed in touch with one of the founders a couple of months prior to its launch. I'm more well known on Shufflin for contributing the music videos showcasing shufflin dancers. A link to one of my videos is always displayed on the front page.
What is WeDanceHard.com ?
I started up wedancehard.com to give my videos their own home, but also as a way of compiling footage scattered throughout youtube and similarly, and to give a summary of how the dance is currently being expressed.
Homemade Hardstyle - March 2007
Shuffle Shakedown - March 2007
shufflin@gasaholic19jan2007
shufflin@energy27jan2007
Kryal Castle - Rave Roundup
What sort of cam do you use for your vids?
Just a basic Olympus digital camera with a video mode haha. The quality is decent enough for stuff on YouTube. The main problem is getting enough lighting in the clubs. I filmed a few of the vids with one of the first generation HDD video cameras however it unfortunately went missing at a big event =( So I'm currently cameraless.
What sort of software do you use to make your vids?
Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0
Do you have a particular style of music you prefer shuffling to? (Hardstyle, trance etc)
I've noticed that the various types of hard dance music has given rise to a number of distinct shuffling styles. Recently I've been influenced by the harder styles of shuffling, emphasizing a stomping action to reflect the tougher hardstyle beat. But I've always been a fan of pure trance, where the music takes you away into a smoother more relaxed and flowing style of shuffling.
Have you any background in the music/dance industry DJ/promoter/producer etc?
Nope. Just luv to dance. And besides, there'd be nothing to promote if we didn't keep showing up to the clubs every week ;)
What is it you like about forums?
The ability to communicate with a large audience in an easy and timely manner. The forums create a place where people from all sorts of backgrounds can gather and discuss anything to do with shuffling and the scene.
Have you met any people on the forum at clubs/parties etc?
I've met many people via the forums, and have made many friends in the process. Especially in the early days where there were fewer members, a club called "Energy" was targeted towards Shufflin members, so this gave everyone a place to meet up every week. The forums grew very quickly because the community was growing both online and offline in clubs and raves. A set of t-shirts was also released for some of the original members, so you'd typically meet a lot of new people who knew about the website and introduced themselves when they saw the shufflin logo. A second release of shufflin t-shirts and also hoodies have been released and to my knowledge these are still available for purchase via the forums.
LINKS:
Shufflin: http://www.shufflin.com
We Dance Hard: http://www.wedancehard.com
