Ceroc (pronounced /sɜːrɒk/ and short for the French "C'est le roc!")^[1][2] is a popular partner dance developed in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. It is owned by Ceroc Enterprises^[3], who describe it as a "stylish form of Modern Jive which is a fusion of Salsa and Jive that is easy and fun to learn". ^[4] Partner dance. ... Ceroc Enterprises is a Franchised dance company that was started by James Cronin & Sylvia Coleman to promote Ceroc partner dancing. ... Modern Jive, sometimes called French Jive is a dance style that originated in the 1980s. ... This article uses Weasel Words. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Ceroc has grown in popularity over twenty years and has also spread to other countries. As of 2005, there were 120 Ceroc venues in the UK and classes in other parts of Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Dubai.^{[5][6][7][1][2]} For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... United States may refer to: Places: United States of America SS United States, the fastest ocean liner ever built. ... Coordinates: , Emirate Government  - Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Area [1]  - Metro 4,114 km² (1,588. ...

Dance style, dancers, and equipment

Ceroc is derived from many other dances including Salsa, Jive, Swing, Lindy Hop, and Rock and Roll,^[7] the main change being simplified footwork which makes it more accessible to beginners.^{[citation needed]} The footwork and hand patterns are similar to Merengue, but with the inclusion of outward turns, multiple turns and dips. ^{[citation needed]} This article uses Weasel Words. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Swing Dancing The term swing dance is commonly used to refer either to a group of dances developing in response to swing music in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, or to lindy hop, a popular partner dance today. ... Dancing the lindy hop at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, Sacramento, California, USA (2006) Lindy hop is an African American dance that evolved in New York City in the late 1920s and early 1930s. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Merengue can mean either: A style of music from Hispainolia based from either Domininican or Haitian origin [1][2]  ; see merengue music See also Méringue, style of music. ...

It is danced to music with 4 beats to the bar (4/4 or Common time). It can be danced to most types of popular music from the past several decades, from classic music of the 1940s to the latest chart hits.^[7][1][2] Music is typically between 108 and 160 bpm. Experienced jivers occasionally dance to music outside those broad constraints. ^[8] The time signature (also known as meter signature) is a notational device used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each bar and which note value (minim, crotchet, eighth note and so on) constitutes one beat. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ...

Ceroc does not require special clothes, although cool clothing is recommended. For both men and women, smooth soled (non-rubberised) shoes that are easy to turn/spin in are also highly recommended. One can buy specialized dance shoes, and long-time dancers often wear professional dance shoes.^[6]

Ceroc is, like many partner dances, traditionally a male-led dance, with the male indicating the move to his partner via a range of signals. Ceroc events usually have more women than men participating.^[6][1] Despite the tradition of the male lead, many female dancers today also learn the lead role, even though few male dancers learn the follow role. This is usually because of the sex imbalance, and because many males are less comfortable engaging in a partner dance with a member of the same sex than females are.^{[citation needed]}

Ceroc dancers are typically aged between 25 and 50.^[6]

History of Ceroc

Ceroc was created in London, England, by James Cronin, the son of writer, Vincent Cronin, and grandson of Scottish author, A. J. Cronin. Visits to his French grandmother involved Cronin with the French social life, and he soon picked up the French style of dance at Normandy parties. Back at Exeter University, he was president of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Club, but as soon as he graduated he took his jive and business skills to London. In 1980, he and other Sloane Rangers organised the first Ceroc gathering. One of their leading lights was the young Diana Frances Spencer (this was a year before she married the Prince of Wales), and many of the devotees were the swish set of Chelsea and Knightsbridge. In such an atmosphere, press coverage abounded, and Ceroc could be promoted as trendy, chic and jolly good fun. Cronin worked as a DJ for Gibson Chance, playing up-to-date sounds for the "Ceroccers," and he had taxi dancers on hand to help beginners in lieu of formal teachers. He had the single-minded goal of reinstating the popularity of partner dancing. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Vincent Cronin (born May 24, 1924 in Tredegar, Wales) is a British historical, cultural, and biographical writer whose works have been widely translated into European languages. ... Scottish can refer to: Look up Scottish in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (as an adjective) things to do with Scotland (see also Scots and Scotch) (as a noun) the Scottish people. ... Archibald Joseph Cronin (July 19, 1896–January 6, 1981) was a Scottish novelist, dramatist, and nonfiction writer who was one of the most renowned storytellers of the twentieth century. ... For other uses, see Normandy (disambiguation). ... The University of Exeter is the principal University in the English city of Exeter, in Devon. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... The term Sloane Ranger (often pluralised to just Sloanes or Sloanies) originally referred to the young upper- and upper-middle-class men and women living in West London. ... Lady Diana Spencer is a name shared by several members of the Spencer family, an aristocratic English family related to the Churchills of Blenheim Palace. ... This article is about the title Prince of Wales. ... Statue of Thomas More on Cheyne Walk. ... Knightsbridge is a street and district spanning the City of Westminster and theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London notable for its eclectic mix of rich, famous, and international residents including several billionaires Roman Abramovich, oligarchs from Russia, China and India, international businessman Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge, trend setters Charles... DJ or dj may stand for Disc jockey, dinner jacket The DeadJournal website, or Djibouti. ...

In January 1980, Cronin, his brother and a friend hired Porchester Hall in Bayswater ^[9] and put up some posters. Around eighty people turned up, though within three months, the numbers had grown to seven hundred.^{[citation needed]} By 1982, Ceroc had a cabaret team that went around to various London nightclubs and venues, performing routines. The line-up included James Cronin and Yum Yum Norman, Paul Aves and Janie Elton, Mark Derrington Bailey and Christine Keeble, and Richard and Katie Orr. Throughout the spring and summer of 1982, the Ceroc troupe worked with choreographer Michel Ange Lau, whose classes Cronin and Norman had attended at the Centre Charles Peguy, a French youth centre, in Leicester Square. The first recording of Ceroc moves appears on the description for the "Gold Bug" routine, performed at the 1982 Ceroc Ball, a charity event, at the Hammersmith Palais. After the ball, one of the troupe's own dancers, Janie Elton, who would later marry Cronin, took on the role of choreographer, producing some highly creative new numbers. Harpers and Queen gave the Ceroc Ball a double page spread, describing the dance as "Ceroc - the imported Breton dance craze," and Cosmopolitan pronounced: "Ceroc - C'est le Roc, C'est Chic." Bayswater is an area of London in the City of Westminster. ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... Leicester Square at night in 2005: a view towards the northeast corner. ... Located on Shepherds Bush Road, London W6, the Hammersmith Palais de Danse was opened in 1919 to host the newest jazz bands. ... Harpers Bazaar is a well-known American fashion magazine, published as Harpers Bazaar UK in the UK after the rebranding of Harpers & Queen. ... Historical province of Brittany, showing the main areas with their name in Breton language The traditional flag of Brittany (the Gwenn-ha-du), formerly a Breton nationalist symbol but today used as a general civic flag in the region. ... June 1936 issue Cosmopolitan is a magazine for women, sometimes referred to as Cosmo, which has been published for more than a century. ...

In the late 1980s, Cronin and Sylvia Coleman created Ceroc Enterprises, registered Ceroc as a trademark and started to sell Ceroc franchises around the country. At this point, teachers who taught this form of dancing but were not part of the new company were legally obliged to stop referring to the dance style that they taught as Ceroc. Some clubs (particularly those in the Bristol area) adopted the name Leroc instead, whilst many others names also appeared. Around this time, Ceroc took steps to avoid the circulation of secondary material (such as dancer produced lists of moves or move sequence). This article is about the English city. ... LeRoc is a form of Modern Jive, a dance style that was derived in the 1980s, from dances including Swing, Lindy Hop and Rock and Roll, the main innovation being to simplify the footwork. ...

In 1990, one of the original Ceroc Franchisees, Robert Austin, (who had broken away from Ceroc to form LeJive) coined the phrase "Modern Jive". This description later became a generic term for Ceroc, that was used by teachers and clubs that were not part of the newly created Ceroc Enterprise. Modern Jive, sometimes called French Jive is a dance style that originated in the 1980s. ...

Ceroc worldwide

Over the following years, Ceroc spread to Australia and New Zealand. However, the business model and teaching formula followed by the companies that teach Ceroc varies from country to country. Ceroc can be broadly split into two subtypes: the type of Ceroc taught at franchises of Ceroc Enterprises in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland venues, and the type of Ceroc taught at non-franchises companies such as those in Australia.

In the UK, Ceroc Enterprises is operated as a franchise business, and Ceroc is now a registered trademark of Ceroc Enterprises Ltd, founded in 1991. Currently (Sep 2004), there are over 30 Franchisees holding around 100 events per week which are attended by over 10,000 people each week. Ceroc has also spread from the UK to other countries, most notably Australia and New Zealand. Franchising (from the French for honesty or freedom[1]) is a method of doing business wherein a franchisor licenses trademarks and tried and proven methods of doing business to a franchisee in exchange for a recurring payment, and usually a percentage piece of gross sales or gross profits as well...

Class format

Most Ceroc venues run regular classes, every week, usually on Monday through Thursday (although a handful of venues run classes on Sundays).^{[citation needed]}

The franchise nature of Ceroc enforces a degree of uniformity across all teachers and all venues.^[2] The uniformity between franchises and venues is significantly greater in the UK than in New Zealand.^{[citation needed]}

Ceroc classes are not arranged as a fixed sequence. Beginners can "just turn up" (to quote the advertising) to any Ceroc classes. The routine taught in the Beginners lesson is permuted from day to day such that if a beginner attends classes regularly for approximately two months, each beginner-level move will have been taught at least once.^{[citation needed]}

Dancers need not bring a partner, and classes are usually advertised as "no partner required". Lessons are organised so that partners are rotated every few minutes, or every couple of moves.^[5][6]

In Ceroc classes a small number of experienced dancers (called taxi dancers or taxis) are often available specifically to dance with beginners,^[2] and are in fact forbidden from dancing with other experienced dancers until near the end of the evening. The number of taxi dancers varies according to the size of the venue. ^{[citation needed]} A taxi dancer is a professional dance partner in one of many forms of partner dance. ...

UK format

In the UK Ceroc classes follow essentially the same format, and comprise:

• A Beginners lesson, involving a routine of 4 moves drawn from a restricted repertoire of 19 beginner-level moves, and lasting approximately 30 minutes.^[6] The Beginners routine taught on any given day is the same across all teachers and all venues. This is intended to allow beginners to practice what they have learned with beginners from other venues.^{[citation needed]}
• A freestyle period of approximately 15 minutes, in which beginners are encouraged to practise what they have learned, and experienced dancers are free to dance whatever they wish. No moves are barred during a freestyle period, except aerials, and moves are improvised on the spot to the music. Partner swapping occurs whenever the music changes, and does not require leaving the dance floor.^[6][1]

  During this period certain venues run social dancing activities such as Dance With A Stranger (all students are to ask someone, that they never danced with before, for a dance) or Snowball (starting with a few couples on the dance floor, every 30–40 seconds the "Snowball" call is made by the teacher and all dancing couples need to "split" and ask someone else [not dancing] onto the dance floor until the next "Snow ball" call is made and the procedure repeats. After a few calls, based on an even number of males to females, all students should be dancing).^{[citation needed]} Look up Freestyle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Improvisation is the practice of acting and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of ones immediate environment. ...

• An Intermediate lesson, involving a routine of four moves drawn from a much larger repertoire of Intermediate-level moves, and lasting approximately 30–45 minutes. Individual teachers are less constrained as to the content of the intermediate-level lesson. Intermediate moves are more complex and may contain footwork.^[6][7][1]

  In many venues, depending on available space, a Beginners Review class (often referred to as Consolidation) takes place at the same time, where beginners may review the moves taught in the Beginners lesson with the help of the taxi dancers. Beginners may instead watch the Intermediate lesson, if they so choose. The usual recommendation is for Beginners to complete approximately six Beginners classes before attempting to move up to Intermediate level.^[6][2]

• A second freestyle period lasting for the rest of the evening, which is usually around an hour and a half.^[6][7]

The start time varies from venue to venue, but is generally between 7pm and 8pm. Sunday classes often start earlier in order to comply with English and Scottish licensing laws, which require that music and dancing be licensed. ^[5] Whatever the start time, the entire evening lasts 3 hours in most venues (with rare exceptions).^{[citation needed]} For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the country. ...

Australian format

An Intromediate or Bridging class has also been introduced in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney, involving a routine drawn from a mixture of intermediate and beginner level moves, and taught at the same time as the Intermediate class. Individual teachers are less constrained as to the content of the intermediate-level, however they do focus in teaching intermediate technique (footwork, dips, leans, styling) and developing the students' freestyling confidence. This article is about the Australian city; the name may also refer to City of Melbourne or Melbourne city centre. ... For other uses, see Brisbane (disambiguation). ... This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. ...

A video clip of a Ceroc class filmed in Melbourne can be seen at Mind Body & Soul

New Zealand format

In New Zealand there are typically Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced classes, with the clearer separation of moves between the classes. Moving up the classes leads to moves which are more complicated, more syncopated and closer. Beginners moves have 2-4 timing, preserve contact between partners at all times, have single speed, single turn spins, the dancers keep their balance (no leans, drops or dips) and partners only contact with each other is hands, arms and shoulders. Intermediate moves introduce single speed double spins and assisted double speed turns, contact with the partners back, and leans (in which one partner takes the others' weight with their body). Advanced moves can include multiple speed, multiple turn spins, loss of contact, significant syncopation, dips and drops (in which one partner takes the weight of the other with their arms) and/or contact with different body parts. In music, syncopation is when a stressing of a normally unstressed beat in a bar or failure to sound a tone on an accented beat occurs. ...

Events

Most Ceroc venues occasionally put on special events, termed freestyles, on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.^[6] (Sunday freestyles are often termed tea dances.) The format of these is less rigidly determined by the franchise agreement, and franchisees often exercise the greater leeway that they thus have to differentiate their own franchises from others. Some franchisees organise their freestyles exactly as they do normal weekday classes, with Beginners and Intermediate lessons; some have just fun lessons, with "guest" teachers or unconventional moves, near to the beginning of the evening; some simply have freestyle dancing, with no interruptions, for the entire evening; and some organise themed events, sometimes even to the extent of having accompanying dance workshops through the daytime, prior to the main evening event.^{[citation needed]}

Workshops

Many Ceroc teachers also occasionally run daytime dance workshops at weekends, which in the UK are known as Cerocshops.^[6] Places on these are booked in advance, and one cannot just turn up as with regular classes. This is to ensure that the numbers are limited, allowing the teacher to focus far more on individuals, and that the sex ratio is approximately 1:1.^{[citation needed]}

A workshop lasts for several hours, and covers more moves than are covered in a single regular evening class. The standard Ceroc workshops are graded (Beginners 1, Beginners 2, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Advanced), although the grading is fuzzy at intermediate level and no workshop is a prior requisite for any other. (In particular, the attendance of a 1 workshop is not a prior requisite for attending a 2 workshop, and Advanced is not of a higher difficulty than Intermediate.)^{[citation needed]}

Some teachers will teach additional workshops. These will vary according to the specific teacher, and include (amongst many):^{[citation needed]}

• Style & Footwork,
• Dips, Leans, & Seducers,
• Lifts & Drops,
• Latin,
• Double Trouble (one leader with two followers), and
• "set piece" choreographed routines.

Ceroc UK Championships

Ceroc Enterprises holds an annual UK dance championship. This is held in London at the beginning of May with a mix of freestyle dancing and competitions. Competitions range from beginner oriented ones, such as the Lucky Dip in which dancers are randomly allocated partners, all the way up to the Expert and Team competitions in which competitors will dress up to a particular theme.

Competitions are held over a number of rounds, with judges deciding who will continue on to the next round.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Folu Merriman-Johnson. "Ceroc", Dance Today!, Dancing Times Limited, April 2005. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Clare Spurrell. "Ceroc dancing: the place to find a date?", iVillage, iVillage Limited, 2005-06-15. 
3. ^ Ceroc membership form. Ceroc Enterprises. Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
4. ^ Ceroc.com website. Ceroc Enterprises. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Chelsea Heatley. "Ceroc at Northampton Saints", BBC News, BBC, 2007-01-16. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Clare Bowman. "Ceroc — a new dance craze to get you jiving", BBC News, BBC, December 2003. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d e} Christopher H.D. Davis. "A little bit of everything", Dance Today!, Dancing Times Limited, August 2002. 
8. ^ Matthews, Neil. Chapter 1: What Is Modern Jive?. Modern Jive - A Dancer's Guide. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
9. ^ http://www.ceroc.co.nz/

Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• UK Licensing Act 2003
• Ceroc Kidderminster's list of Beginners moves
• Ceroc Kidderminster's list of "classic" intermediate-level moves

External links

Ceroc in countries around the world

• The History of Ceroc
• The Ceroc international web site
• Ceroc Australia Dance Company (Australia)
• Ceroc Club Brisbane (Australia)
• Ceroc & Modern Jive Dance (Perth, Australia)
• Ceroc & Modern Jive Dance Company (Sydney, Australia)
• MegaRock Ceroc Dance Company (Australia)
• Ceroc in Canada
• Ceroc in England
• Ceroc in France
• Ceroc in Italy
• Ceroc in New Zealand
• Ceroc in Scotland
• Ceroc in Spain
• Ceroc in the United Arab Emirates
• Ceroc in the USA

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Discussion forums

• CerocWiki
• CerocForum
• Ceroc Scotland Forum

Dance advice

• Scottish Jive -- Dance Tips
• AfterFive "A Dancer's Guide", a free downloadable guide to dancing Modern Jive (including Ceroc and LeRoc), plus maps, links, etc.
• Jiveoholics Anonymous -- Modern Jive Dance Step Database with over 600 moves, 400 animated, over 80 with videos and plenty of advice.

Other Useful Sites

• Find your nearest Ceroc club via interactive maps
• AmanteBallo A music recommendation and download website run by DJ Kenobe which has a large and regularly updated range of Ceroc dance music, including dance, swing, pop, Latin, jazz, dance, blues, etc.
• UK Jive Find classes and events in Ceroc and Modern Jive
• Jango Classes combining tango and modern-jive