Fieldwork Diary Entry (April 17, 2013)

This is my last entry into this fieldwork diary.  I never really planned a finish.  My two parameters were the end of Rosaria Sativa's classes at the Cockpit Theatre in February and the time when I would need to start writing up instead of researching.  After Nikki's class at Wild Times in March,  my fieldwork journey seemed to come to a natural end.

As predicted, Baz Luhrman's  film of The Great Gatsby due for release in the UK on May 16, 2013 is sparking off a wave of interest.  The Evening Standard on Thursday April 18, 2013 printed a four page life and style spread all to do with 1920s dress, lifestyle, Gatsby-esue quotes and a half page about the Charleston.  I was pleased to see that Rosaria's classes got a plug although they misspelt her website.

I have relished the fieldwork process.  Of all the modules I have taken at Roehampton so far, it is the one I have most enjoyed as it was so self directed.  And driven by experience than theory.

For me the most significant thing I have learned about fieldwork is that it is an emotional experience and needs to be.  If you are not emotionally invested in your subject matter, I think it would be difficult to be sustained during times of disappointment, dead ends and other challenges that may occur.  However the difficulty of this emotional investment is that you also need a certain degree of detachment; scholarly or otherwise.  Without  this detachment, your fieldwork perhaps may have too much personal fiction and not enough fact.

It is a fine line to walk; this insider-outsider tightrope. And as all researchers are different,  our fieldwork will resonate through us differently. The outcomes surely reflects the disparities amongst us all.

I  think I have not been detached enough throughout this experience.  But I also believe in the old but good maxim, The personal is political.  It is my fieldwork.  It is driven by me.  It does reflect my opinions, my life, my prejudices and my interests.  This fieldwork is but a moment in time. Everything changes once you write it down. 

That said, I know I needed more detachment throughout. I think if I could leave my fieldwork research to breath for a few months and then come back to it, I would be able to handle the results with a clearer head.

Speaking of results, I cannot really say that the 46 respondents to my online general survey about Charleston nor the 5 completed questionnaires I got back from class participants shed any great light for me as to why the Charleston is less popular than other vintage dances in London. It was clear from the responses that the majority of people regard Charleston as a fun, energetic and frivolous vintage dance. I feel that this lack of an answer is more due to a flaw in my survey and questionnaires rather than anything else. I left out a key question. I didn't ask why they thought Charleston was less popular than other vintage dances! If they did that is.

Talk about being too embedded in my research.  Or just being stupid!

The clues I did get as to why Charleston is not as popular was through my interviews with Rosaria and Nikki. They both have a good feel for the vintage dance scene on London and also, I remembered to ask them! I won't cover the reasons here as I will be looking at that in my essay.

Throughout the process, my interest in solo Charleston dance has remained.  I know more about it now than when I started.  I have a good handle of where to go and who to speak with in London about solo Charleston.  I can dance it more easily now and it still makes me laugh more than any other dance form I have experienced. By far.

My journey with Charleston is far from over.  Since finishing fieldwork I have attended a solo Charleston class with Julie Oram and will be attending some of Rosaria's advanced Charleston course she is starting in late April 2013.

What will happen now that it is no longer a fieldwork project. Will my interest in solo Charleston wane over time?

I have no clue.  The one thing I do know that has been further confirmed by my fieldwork research is this.

Even though many view Charleston  as dance of the past, it isn't.  No more than ballet, jazz, tap dancing and other popularised forms of dance are.  It seems to me that the historical themes embedded within Charleston, themes of freedom, gender equality and rebellion are more relevant than ever. The physical rigours and unusual technical demands inherent in the form make Charleston a dance to be reckoned with at any time.  It is off beat;  in personality, in execution and in general. 

It is fitting therefore to quote the last sentence of the seminal novel of the 1920s, the Great Gatsby to highlight the relevance and contribution of the Charleston to modern dance:

And we beat on , boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

We may try and place it in the past but that is our mistake. It is as relevant as ever and always will be.



Fieldwork Diary Entry (March 12, 2013)

Nikki Santilli met with me tonight before her Solo Charleston class at Wild Times so that I could interview her.  We met at six pm at Itsu in Convent Garden at her suggestion.  This would give us an hour before we needed to leave for her dance class.

I arrived first and it was odd to be waiting to interview someone I had never met before.  With the last two interviews, the interview subjects were people I had known prior and also had attended their dance classes.  Nikki arrived and she couldn't have been friendlier. She looks to be in her early to mid- 30s and is of Italian heritage although born and raised in London. She has a PhD in English Literature and was very interested in my research.  She has a company called Hot Jazz Rag through which she teaches vintage dances including Balboa, Lindy hop, Authentic Jazz and Charleston. Before the interview begins, I am worried about the loud background music being played in Itsu. I resolve to try and take as many notes as possible if the recording turns out to be undecipherable because of the music.

Nikki Santilli. Photo courtesy of Hot Jazz Rag

The interview with Nikki goes well and she raises some points that I have not considered as to why  solo Charleston is not as popular in London as other vintage dances.  She says that solo dancing is no longer a big deal now the way it was in the 1920s when it was a statement to dance solo. Also that in the 1920s they were possibly all incredibly intoxicated or high which fuelled the madness of dancing the Charleston for hours on end. Something that is harder to do when sober.  Her view about vintage social dancing is that people do it nowadays to meet people and hence the partner swing dancing is more popular for this reason. She is very open with me about her view of the swing dance world and if it weren't for the class that she is teaching and I am attending, I feel we could have continued talking for some time.

Afterwards we walk to the class together.  The last time I had been to Wild Times was in September 2012 where I took a solo Charleston workshop with the Bees Knees. It was my first every Charlestonclass and whilst the class was less than brilliant, it clearly did not dampen my enthusiasm for the Charleston.

Wild Times is a weekly dance night run by the London Swing Society in a venue in Holborn. The venue has a large hall where partner swing classes are taught and a basement lounge space where solo jazz classes are taught.  The basement lounge looks like a seventies student den with a bar along one wall,  booths along the other and a square open space with tarquet flooring in the middle where the classes are taken.

At tonight's Charleston class there are 23 students in total ranging in age from approx 20's to 50s.  Over half of them are men which is unusual to me.  Some of the students are dressed in 40s swing dance style clothing and I guess they are attending this class before moving upstairs to the swing lessons.

Nikki launches straight into teaching us a call and response routine Busby- Berkeley style. She splits the men into one group and the women into another  and shows us our different movements,  It's an unorthodox way of teaching with no warm up which I find troubling as some of the movement she has us do include small jumps.  We then run through our actions, the men starting, the women following, the men going again and so on.  The men are together in a cluster in the middle of the room whilst the women form a circle round them, facing out.  Throughout this I wonder when the Charleston will come into the routine.

The men's movements consist of a sailor jig, Cossack style jump with both legs tucked under whilst in the air and side kicks.

The women's movements were travelling steps going clock-wise facing out. We took two shunting steps backwards, torso bent forward, bum sticking out with one arm stretched out in front at 90 degrees and the other in a triangle position (the point of the triangle being the elbow). We then took two steps to the side and then kicked left and then right.

Together we all then did the Birdy walk to the centre to form one group. And then Nikki taught us the following routine:

• 2 x basic Charleston
• 1 x basic Charleston with wide kick. 
• The wide kick happens when kicking one leg up in to a wide circular arc off the ground by bringing the leg to the front and instead of stepping onto it as you normally would do for the Charleston, you lift it up and kick it and then fall back into the basic Charleston.
• 1 x basic Charleston with kick forward into Scarecrow pose.
• End the basic Charleston with a flick kick forward and then drop into Scarecrow pose
• 2 x Charleston slaps on right leg
• 2 x Charleston slaps on left leg
• 4 x Charleston slaps on right leg turning
• 4 x Charleston slaps on left leg turning

As the class progressed, I tried to maintain enthusiasm but felt increasingly like I wanted to leave. Nikki's teaching style was very haphazard and scatty with none of the structure I am used to in a dance class. The movements weren't really explained and 3/4 of the way through the class, I still did not feel warm.  Nikki herself could do the movements very well but her transmission of them to the class was not so well done.  I felt bad about my thoughts, especially as Nikki had given me such a wonderful interview.

I wasn't the only one who felt the way I did.  I noticed one lady who had told Nikki  that it was her first Charleston class, leave halfway through the class. The other thing about the class that was disconcerting was a sense of cliquiness and coolness.  Many of the students seemed to know one another and obviously were waiting  to go to the swing class upstairs.  Everyone seemed very serious.  The atmosphere was different to Rosaria's classes which I feel are warm and accepting.  Nikki had discussed this clique aspect with me in our interview and I experienced it for myself shortly after.  She had said some people get very serious about the dancing, so serious that the enjoyment goes out of it.

I think that if I had started Charleston at Wild Times and only here, I would not have progressed with it.  Not because of the dance but because of the oppressive and cliquey atmosphere that prevails there.

Dance Fieldwork Diary (February 24, 2013)

I went along today to Rosaria's new Solo Charleston course at the YMCA near Tottenham Court Road.  This new course is on Sunday afternoons from 1330-1430.  I know Rosaria is hoping that the class time along with the more central location will result in a larger numbers of students attending.  I am attending so that I can supplement the core fieldwork I have done with her at the Cockpit Theatre and also because I miss dancing the Charleston.

The YMCA venue is very different to the Cockpit.  From the street, the doors open and you enter in to a vast, cavernous, multi-levelled building.  A huge, underground rabbit warren with many studios, a gym, pool, cafe and exercise spaces.  It takes me awhile to find the studio where Rosaria is teaching.

The studio is about half the size of the one at Cockpit Theatre with lower ceilings but a better floor.  It has mirrors along one length of the room. There were twelve students present including many familiar faces from the last course. Lynn, Amanda, Jane and Otila are all present.  New people included four males, one of which is a young child.  In fact there were two children in the class - they looked to be around 9-11 years of age and had come along with their mother.  It was refreshing to see new faces and have a few more men in the class too.

Rosaria ran the class as usual but I did notice she kept the pace punchy and there was no lag.  The class was an introduction to Charleston and she covered steps that I and several others in the class already knew.  Rosaria is aware of this as she commented to me after class that she might run an Advanced Charleston course for those of us that are ready to move to a different level.  I resolve to attend a few more of Rosaria's current classes, more to keep my hand in than for any other reason.  I  hope she runs the Advanced course.

I noticed during this class that although we have very little space to dance, this creates an interesting dynamic for the dance.  Charleston is originally meant to be danced in small spaces and I found that by having to keep the movement small and contained, I had much more control and could dance faster, with more fluidity. By keeping the 'wild, crazy' movements of the Charleston contained, the dance could be more wild and free. An interesting juxtaposition.  These thoughts reminded me of a clip I had seen of Bee Jackson doing the Charleston where her feet never moved from the one spot:

                                          Bee Jackson - Charlestoning on the spot - Youtube

Last Monday I went along to a Balboa dance night to listen to the music. The Balboa dance classes were run by a lady called Nikki Santilli who teaches vintage dance through her company, Hot Jazz Rag.  I saw on her website that Nikki was going to be teaching some one-off Solo Charleston classes at Wild Times.  I emailed to book a place in her class and also explained my research and asked if she would be interested in an interview.

On the interview front, Alia from Bees Knees has not replied to my email so I have sent a follow up one. Sharon Davis has emailed me back to say that she is teaching in America at the moment. I respond to say I can wait for when she returns to conduct the interview as it will still fit within my fieldwork time frame.  Fingers crossed.

Some of my email correspondence with Sharon Davis. Unfortunately the interview never happened



Fieldwork Diary Entry (February 23, 2013)

After the very useful editing lesson with Eulanda at uni today, I realise that a lot of my fieldwork photography and film footage is not up scratch.  Not for the way I would like to use the material anyhow. It is too late now to go back but I do wish I had known some of the things that Eulanda taught us today about story telling through editing before I started recording footage in the field.  It's all a learning curve however.  Next time.... 

I hear back from Sharon Davis this week. The body of her reply is as follows:

I don't know of any regular Charleston classes in London, but there are certainly irregular ones around town. This is a good page to find out all the different schools in London:

 

http://www.swingoutlondon.co.uk/

Most dancers serious about learning 1920s Charleston and other jazz roots styles, usually go to dedicated weekend workshops, such as the Paris Jazz Roots Festival, Stompology, or the Authentic Jazz tracks at Herrang Dance Camp. There aren't many places in the world where you can take regular authentic solo vintage jazz dance styles - there's just not enough of a demand for it. I mostly teach at festivals (here is my calendar: http://www.sharondavis.com.au/calendar).

If you're interested in taking a private lesson with me, my rate is £50/hour and you can come to my apartment in Dalston (N16 7XB). Just let know.

 

I have already contacted the people running the SwingOut London website and hit a dead end re Solo Charleston classes.  I wonder if I should use 1/3 of my fieldwork fund to go and have a private lesson with Sharon.  In truth I am a bit taken aback at her requesting me to pay for her time. It is not unreasonable for her to request this though.  I realise that  up until now I have been lucky so far in my fieldwork to have been the recipient of people's generosity with their time and knowledge, all of which so far has been given freely.  Sharon makes no mention of my request for an interview.  This is really what I would like from her, more so than her to teach me for an hour.  I email back offering to pay her £25 for 30 minutes of her time in an interview.

 

I wonder what the response will be?




 

Fieldwork Diary Entry (February 17, 2013)

Responses to the survey I sent out are coming through. To date I have 26 responses. The results can be viewed here by signing in with the user name of MrsMoz and the password is Mozaffar.

So far the results show that people do see Charleston as a dance of the past, an old-fashioned or vintage dance which they know about through popular culture mediums such as television, books, magazines and /or film.  Some have experienced dancing it at a class or night out. The keywords associated with how dancing the Charleston made them feel is fun, happy, silly and drunk.  Most of those who had not danced it were open to trying it out as it looks fun.  Its image is strongly associated with the 1920s Prohibition era; that being the flapper and gangsters.  It is perceived as genderless in that both sexes can dance it.   It is generally viewed as a fun, free, happy dance.  The music is seen as an important part of the dance as is dressing in the style of the 1920s.  A few respondents acknowledge the influence of Charleston on current dance but most seem to regard it as a gilded dance form of the past.

I have been doing some online searching for other Solo Charleston classes in London. My search led me to Adora Derriere, aka as Melanie Bryant who runs Sugar Blue Burlesque, a company that teaches vintage style dances in London and Perth, Australia - my home town.  I email her to see if she has any advice as to where I can access more solo Charleston classes in London and also to ask if she would be interested in being interviewed.  She responds almost immediately and suggests I get in touch with Sharon Davis; another Perth person who is now based in London and travels internationally, teaching and competing in a range of vintage dance styles.

I look at Sharon's website and I see that she has described herself as an international Charleston champion. Furthermore she has released an instructional DVD on 1920s Charleston and has put up a Youtube clip to give a brief overview of 1920s Charleston:

 

Clip featuring 1920s Charleston posted by Sharon Davis on Youtube

 

 

Sharon Davis performing a Charleston routine at

Rock That Swing Festival in February 2013

 

Sharon seems like an absolute minefield of information about Charleston so I email her immediately, explaining what I am doing and asking if she would be interested in being interviewed. I also ask if she knows of any solo Charleston classes or courses in London I could attend in the next few weeks.  I feel very hopeful that she will get back to me. After all, we're both from Perth!

 

 

 



Interview with Glambop Fitness (February 13, 2013)

Interview with Glambop – Naomi Coombes & Sara Anderton

Wednesday February 13, 2013

20:15

Mission Hall, Parsons Green, London

Set Questions Pre-Interview 

• What are your dance background/s?
• What is Charle-swing?
• Why Charle-swing and not another amalgamation of other dance forms?
• What was it about Charleston that suited the needs of your dance fitness choreography?
• Where has your knowledge of Charleston come from?
• What do you know about Charleston?
• What has been the feedback of Charle-swing from your class participants?

Transcription:

LS: Ok, so thank you for agreeing to be interviewed, umm, can you tell me a little bit about your, firstly just say you names and your ages if you don’t mind, or your age range if you’d rather?

NC: Absolutely. So I’m Naomi Coombes and I’m 28, 29 this year.

SA: And I’m Sara Anderton and I’m 26 tomorrow.

LS: Ok, so can you tell me a little bit about your dance backgrounds?

NC: Yep, I used to study, well when I was a kid I went to a local dance doing ballet, tap and modern um, then I did an A level in dance and at eighteen I went to the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts for a year and then I did some freelance dance work and then when I was twenty three I applied to study a degree in dance at Roehampton.

LS: Ok and was that majoring in contemporary or classical?

NC: Yeah - The degree was in, did a variety of contemporary dance, like Graham technique, Cunningham, ballet, Limon.

LS: Alright. Thanks.

SA: So similarly I did a lot of dance growing up like jazz, tap, ballet. Then at sixteen I went to Miskin (?) Theatre Dance school to study advanced dance for two years and that was doing shows and stuff like jazz, modern, tap and everything. Then I went to performance college and then I decided to, I was only there for a short time, decided to do a degree in dance same as Naomi, at Roehampton.

LS: So how did that lead you guys to Charle-swing?

NC: Well in our second and third year at uni, we taught a lunch time class in jazz fitness and we both really enjoyed teaching, well teaching generally, but also teaching a dance fitness class. [We] both have quite a strong interest in fitness and spent a lot of time in the gym doing other fitness classes, um and then when we graduated, decided to put together a dance fitness class just to test it and see how it went, um and having a full-time job it proved really tricky finding the time to fit it in so it took a little bit longer than expected but eventually we came up with a class, just decided to test the waters and that’s how we got here really.

LS: And can you tell me a bit about why you chose the forms of swing dancing and Charleston in particular as opposed to say, maybe other forms?

NC: Well we initially we actually wanted to African dancing

LS: Oh, ok!

SA: We did start looking into that and I think we just…

NC: My partner gave me a CD of an artist called Parov Stelar and we really like their music and it kind of gave us a taste for, their music is commercial beats but it is very much a Charlestoney influence

LS: Ok, can you just stay their name again?

NC: Parov Stelar

LS: How do you spell that, do you know?

NC: [Spells it]

LS: Ok, alright.

NC: And the music just really motivates us. It makes you want to dance. It makes you laugh.

SA: It’s a bit cheeky

NC: Yeah, really cheeky so we thought why not just try it and we found it was actually more fun for us to try and improvise movements to that music than come up with an African routine.

LS: And was that like, your kind of first, kind of exploration into Charleston and swing?

NC: Absolutely, yeah.

LS: And so in terms of, as you both have done various types of dance before, um, when you were exploring it, when you danced the Charleston, how would you say it was different to the other styles you’ve studied? What is unique about it to you? What makes it, distinguishes it as Charleston?

SA: Certain types of movement. I think it’s quite cheeky. Bouncy. Quite um. Very quirky.

NC: I find that you, um, you almost don’t have to take yourself too seriously. Like ballet is very rigid, very, you know. Very, very disciplined whereas Charleston, I’ve never studied Charleston professionally, I don’t really know. We’re yet to do an actual Charleston dance/class but uh, just from improvising movements from a Charleston influence we’ve found that its just really fun and easy to pick up if you’re teaching it.

LS: And um, ok, sorry, I just have to go and get my list of questions over here. Cause I’ve forgotten what I was going to ask you next. Um. Actually you’ve pretty much answered most of my questions that I have here. Um, what kind of feedback have you been getting from the classes that you’ve been teaching and the people that have been doing it?

SA: Well my classes that I’ve been doing, [Sara teaches classes at lunchtime in a gym in Canary Wharf] they like it because it takes their mind off about going to the gym. You don’t feel like as if you’re exercising because they are coordinating their body at he same time, they sort of forgetting almost that they’re getting a lot of exercise

LS: A workout at the same time

SA: Yeah and they find it good fun and takes your mind off it

NC: Yeah and here similarly they find that it’s just a fun way of getting fit and um also , they are also, there are lots of other dance fitness classes out there but I guess it is very similar to them but with a slightly different take if you like. But there again, we haven’t been going for too long and um, we haven’t had a huge number of people come into our classes and take part in the experience yet. We need to do a lot of promoting and then eventually, hopefully we’ll have more feedback

LS: What was I going to ask you? Have the participants said anything about it being based on vintage dances, have they commented on that at all in terms of that it was new to them or um, you know, it interested them in a different way to maybe, like Zumba or Body Jam or some of the other classes out there?

NC: One comment I had from a lady who does attend the class regularly is that she does Zumba as well but she finds that with Zumba they very much ask you to feel sexy whereas in this class it’s more about, almost being a bit foolish and having fun with it and taking the mick out of yourself really and not taking it too seriously at all. So I think that’s the difference between the two. Um But you know it depends on the persons taste

LS: Of course

NC: I think we did actually have someone attend our class initially and she had quite a strong Charleston background. She came once and she hasn’t come back yet.

LS: So maybe a bit of a Charleston snob, maybe?

NC: I think something we both need to learn is that we’d like to experience a lot more Charleston classes.

LS: It’s a matter of time isn’t it as well? Finding the time. Um, I forgot to ask you at the beginning of this interview. It’s your business so how would you kind of, like, define Charle-swing? What is it? What is Charle-swing?

NC: Well how we describe it on our website is a combination of Charleston and swing influenced dance moves within a fitness routine, so we focus on having fun. The benefits are, well, you obviously have fitness benefits but it’s very much taken from Charleston swing influence. Dance influence.

SA: It’s a mixture of 1920s and 1950s sort of beats

LS: Do you think, obviously this is a fitness class so you wouldn’t be dressing up in the Charleston gear but do you think that the music is key to those kinds of dances or do you think the choreography stands alone?

NC: What do you mean?

LS: You know how like Charleston music is quite distinctive that syncopated beat, do you think um. You know how you said you were inspired by the music to explore the dances a bit, do you think with the Charleston, the music is quite crucial to the dance itself?

NC: Yeah I do. I think that it’s really important to have the right beat for Charleston, possibly even the right instruments even so to be able to have that flavour of Charleston and that can influence your movement, your choreography and it makes you feel like you’re…. it’s a little bit slapstick isn’t it, the Charleston.

SA: People in my class say that the music gives them more energy almost. It really keeps you going, they really like the music.

LS: It’s very perky isn’t it?

SA: Yeah it makes you want to bounce

LS: Yeah, definitely. So if you guys could define your experience Charleston in one word, in terms of the Charleston dances’ personality, what word would you choose?

SA: Quirky

NC: I‘d say cheeky

LS: Well thank you very much and all the best with Charle-swing and Glambop.

NC: Thank you very much

Dance Fieldwork Diary (February 13, 2013)

I attended my second Glambop Fitness Charle-swing class tonight for the express purpose of filming and interviewing Naomi & Sara after class.  It was a freezing cold night  and I had forgotten to bring my trainers so I did the class in my boots. Sara had come to tonight's class especially to speak with me afterwards; a bit of a hike for her as she lives in Canary Wharf.  There were only two other students in the class apart from myself and Sara.  Naomi put us through our paces as vigorously as she had done at the last class I attended.  It was a good way to get warm on a cold London night.

The thoughts I had during this class was that with it being such a fast paced class with no explanation or break down of the moves by Naomi, the average person might have trouble picking up the choreography; especially  if they had no dance training.  Naomi teaches by doing the exercises as they were meant and leaving the class to follow. I think a more methodical approach to teaching the exercises might mean a better outcome all round.

After the 45 minute class ended, I asked Naomi and Sara to pick one exercise from their Charle-swing repertoire that was strongly derived from the Charleston for me to film.  I had decided to film only one exercise as prior to class starting, Naomi had mentioned that Sara had come a long way to be at class that night and they were both tired.  I understood the subtext so resolved to keep filming to a minimum.  They launched straight away into a routine which obviously had many hallmarks of the Charleston.  As I filmed them, I started smiling as did they. The Charleston is infectious in this way:

                                    Charle-swing routine demonstrated by Sara & Naomi

Prior to the interview beginning, Naomi asked me what questions I would be asking so she could be prepared.  I  showed her my list of questions but assured them both that I was more interested to have a conversation with them about the development of Charle-swing and for them to feel free to ask me questions as well.   I sensed they were anxious about the footage I had just filmed so reassured them that the footage would only be seen by Ann and my classmates.  As it was a cold night and the girls preferred to do the interview in the studio, I said I would keep it brief.

As the interview progressed, Naomi did most of the talking with Sara answering occasionally.  They seemed slightly uncomfortable about being interviewed, perhaps concerned as to what was going to happen with the information.  Or  maybe they were just cold and tired.  I had a strong sense that they were worried about their Charle-swing concept being co-opted by others.

After the 'official' interview had finished, I turned the recorder off and we continued to chat.  They both were much more relaxed and wanted to get my feedback about their concept and business idea. My feedback to them was to copyright Charle-swing straight away.  I suggested Dance UK as a starting point of how to do this. They then told me that they were concerned about others stealing their idea but because they both worked full-time, they had little time to build up the business.  My response was that if they wanted it to work, they would have to find a way to build it up regardless.  I said to imagine how they would feel if someone else did it before them, especially since they (they told me this) had worked so hard to develop the whole choreography and idea.  I said that they could get in touch with me any time if they needed any help and we all left the studio much warmer than when we had walked in.

Fieldwork Diary Entry (February 9, 2013)

Have set up a survey on SurveyMonkey which I have emailed out to 105 people in my address book. The aim of the survey is to get a vox pop feel of what the average person on the street thinks of Charleston dance. The survey that was sent out can be found here. 

My thoughts prior to  seeing survey results are that people still view Charleston as an old-fashioned dance from the past, not the present.  However I do believe that everyone will know what the Charleston is, even if they have scant knowledge about dance. So I am curious as to the reasons why  a dance that has such a strong legacy and recognisable features & imagery (certain moves such as Granny Knees, basic Charleston, flappers) is given short shrift in today's dance spectrum. I am hoping that maybe the answers to the survey might give me an insight into one of the original questions raised by my fieldwork.  That being, why in modern London is solo Charleston dance less popular than other swing and vintage dances?

The age group I sent my survey put to ranges between 25 to over 60. So I hope (if they respond) this broad pool will throw up some interesting views.  Or maybe not.

Alia from the Bees Knees responded to my email request and has said again she is interested in being interviewed and asked me for another time availability. So I have replied again with various options.

Some of my correspondence with Alia from The Bees Knees

Naomi from Glambop Fitness emailed me to say that she has checked with the students in her Parsons Green class and they are uncomfortable with being filmed.   Instead we agree that I will film her and Sara executing some of the exercises after class as well as conduct an interview with them.  I am disappointed but I do understand as it is a small class and they don't really know me.

I missed the last lecture on filming at Roehampton with Gemma.  As it is, I already have done all my filming, my fieldwork with Rosaria having finished last week.  Although I'm sure that the footage I've captured could be much better but I am now limited to using what I have.

Fieldwork Diary Entry (February 8, 2013)

Today is my last fieldwork session with Rosaria in her current course.  There is one more class next Friday but I will be unable to attend as my daughter is having brain scan the same day and will be admitted to hospital for the procedure.

I spent many, many hours transcribing my interview with Rosaria so I could have it done by today and give her a copy.  I now know what Ann meant about transcribing being hard work.  It is not only hard, but tedious.  But always good to try something new I guess.   Apart from a transcribed and audio copy of the interview, I am also giving her copies of all the photos and film clips taken during my fieldwork with her.

I sent out a questionnaire via email to all the class participants (all six of them) a few weeks ago and so far, four people have completed and returned them. I will also be conducting a general survey through Survey Monkey to get a view of what the person on the street thinks of Charleston which I will have up online shortly.

Tonight Rosaria handed out some flyers promoting her next block of classes:

She gives me a wad to leave in the RAD foyer as I had promised to during our interview.  I resolve to attend as much of the new course as I can to supplement the fieldwork I have done so far.

The Class Format

Warm up

Rosaria warmed us up as usual with:

• Boogie forward
• Fishtail
• Dosey doe
• Hip Pushes
• Arm circles

Body of class

The rest of the class was spent learning a long routine which Rosaria built up as we went along. She introduced some news moves along the way which are highlighted in red.  The full routine in the end was as follows:

2 x basic Charleston with foot swivel

2x basic Charleston with foot swivel. Arms up in the air on count 1. Torso low and arms touching the floor on count 2

2 x shuffle kick to the right side. Drag foot back and drop into Scarecrow pose.

1 x Charleston hop. 

Starting legs together, torso straight. Kick ball change with right leg kicking forward and then swinging leg to the back and place ball of right foot onto the ground.  From there, jump both legs into semi squat second position, feet hip width apart,   Jump both legs up and turn 360 degrees into the air, landing back facing front in the same position with legs squatting, hip width apart.

1 x Shimmy walk forward
Strutting walk forward whilst shimmy the shoulders.

4 x Charleston slap in a circle

Another iconic Charleston move. Lift right leg off the ground in an inverted pose with the knee inwards towards the torso and the calf and foot directed outwards. The torso leans towards the lifted leg and the right hand slaps down onto the right calf. The other arm is in the air. Repeat on opposite side going around oneself in a circle.

2 x Messing Around
A full circle hip swivel with the balls of the feet bouncing up and down on the ground at the same time.

2 x Granny Knees - slow.

4 x Granny Knees - fast.

8 x Figure of eight
A travelling step. The torso faces forward and is still. The left foot steps in front of the body to the right and the hips follow. Then right foot steps out to the side and the torso is straight facing front.  The left steps across to the right but behind the body. The right foot steps across to the right and so on.  To increase fluidity, rise on balls of feet when doing the step. To go the other direction, the right foot is the leading foot that steps across the body.

4 x Fishtail

4 x Charleston slap

This class and the one before it have felt much more vigorous.  Rosaria has pushed us harder and I am feeling the physical rigours of doing the Charleston and why Rosaria says she uses it to keep fit .  Tonight we did the routine endless times without stopping, I did not count but I think we repeated it at least 20-30 times.  The more Rosaria has pushed us, the more the class responds and it feels that as  group, most of us are ready for something more challenging.  Over the last few weeks I have sensed a shift in the mood of the group in that it doesn't feel as tentative as it used to. We all seem more relaxed, comfortable and carefree with the dance and with ourselves whilst doing the dance.  For myself, I definitely feel more inclined to relax into the mood of the dance when doing it rather than be overly concerned about the exact steps or technique.  Overall I think we are all more confident in dancing the Charleston and feel we have come a long way in five weeks.  I wonder if I will see any of the other students again in Rosaria's' new classes.  They all seen unsure when I ask them and I suspect this is because they wonder if her next class will be just a repeat of her current one as they may be ready for something that pushes them more.

 A short clip made in Eulanda Shead's editing class featuring

 some of the Charleston moves learned 

Interview with Rosaria Sativa (February 1, 2013)

Interview with Rosaria Sativa

Cockpit Theatre, Marylebone, London

17.00-17.45

Friday February 1, 2013

Set Questions Pre-Interview

1. What is your background in dance
2. How did you become involved with Charleston?
3. How long have you been teaching the Charleston?
4. Why do you teach the Charleston?
5. What do you think is the Charleston’s place amongst 20th century dance?
6. Why do you think there are comparatively few Charleston classes and social nights in the London dance scene?
7. What attracts you to the Charleston?
8. What is involved in dancing the Charleston? What does it involve physically? What does it involve mentally/emotionally?
9. How do you feel when you dance it?

                                                                    Audio Version


Transcription:

LS: Right, so Rosaria, can you just tell me a little bit about your dance background? And how you came to be teaching Charleston?

RS: Yes, I start dances quite late. I was 14, 13 when I start with ballet like you do in Italy because there is nothing else and then I progress into contemporary dance and jazz dancing, modern jazz and then I moved over to England where I did the Laban center.

LS: Was that when you were a teenager?

RS: No, I was 23. It was in 1988, I moved to England and I went to the London Contemporary Dance School and the Laban but I did all my qualification at the Laban centre

LS: And was that in contemporary dance?

RS: Yes, because I think to work within dance, especially teaching, you need to have some solid training on your part, so why I left Italy and came to London. And the Laban centre was absolutely wonderful.

LS: So teaching was something you were already thinking of doing in the future?

RS: Yes. I started to teach quite young because my parents were more prone to encourage me to carry on my dancing as a dance teacher than as a performer, but I was sneaking out so I did perform quite intensely. But I love to teach. I h this passion for…

LS: You are a very good teacher. I’m not just saying that. You are a very skilled teacher.

RS: Oh, thank you. That’s wonderful. And so the passion for the Charleston and the vintage dances, it grew from always, besides ballet as a little girl, it was tap dancing. I used to be addicted to watching old musicals, especially films like Stormy Weather with the Nicolas Brothers and I loved it. I just fell in love. I used to record the soundtrack with the old fashioned tape recorder and then…but there was no tap dancing in Italy at the time where I lived so it was a dream.

LS: Do you mind me asking whereabouts in Italy you are from?

RS: Pescaria

LS: (Spelling it out loud)

RS: Yes! Well done! And yes. And yes, and then in my early forties I started to do tap.

LS: And why did you start then? Why did you not start earlier?

RS: Because I had been working in dance theatre extensively in contemporary dance and what happened is that although I have a strong background in dance, in jazz, I fell in love with the Charleston because my grandmother, when she was a teenager in the 20s she used to be in a boarding school in Germany so she was all glamorous and trendy and she knew all these dances and she used to teach me the Charleston. Because I was passionate about ballet and I tried to teach my grandmother about ballet but she was No, No, these are the dances that we used to do at school.

LS: What a lovely story

RS: Yes, and I used to love that because of all the show business.

LS: Yep, yep.

RS: And all the tap dancing and the music of the Charleston is infused in all these dance styles just like a big melting pot with jazz dance…

LS: In terms of I guess, maybe, like, kind of, learning Charleston more and coming into teaching it, when did that all happen for you?

RS: It started with; I started to do Lindy hop professionally in 1999, 1998. I fell in love with Lindy hop and I totally revamped my jazz career. I put the contemporary dance a bit on the side to give more space to the jazz. For me, just a breath of fresh air and it is a breath of life for me. I love the jazz music and I just love jazz dancing. And the Charleston is creative and it’s witty and it’s fun. And it keep you fit. And it just makes me smile. I love the music. I like Ragtime and hot jazz.

LS: That’s a really interesting term that you say that it’s “witty.” What do you find about the Charleston in that…?

RS: It’s free. It’s so free. And it’s not contrived. It’s one of the few dances that you can literally express yourself and have fun. It’s just mucking around. There are few little rules but more than rules I would call it styles and foundation that we obviously need to learn.

LS: So you think once you’ve learned the foundations, you’re free within that?

RS: Yes, yes. Something that comes from (unintelligible) As I said, being a social dance at the time of my Grandmother the only way they used to do dance classes was on a social dance basis.

LS: Yep, yep. Keep going.

RS: And there is these things that you learn from each other and you practice. It really doesn’t exist- Oh I’m going to dance school to learn the Charleston. It’s something from that what my teachers from the States, from what I could gather; a really really old school masters, it’s something that you just do socially.

LS: And do you like this aspect of it?

RS: Oh yeah. It’s a social dance. And I like it because it’s one of the early solo form of dance that you can do socially because at the time they used to do a lots of ballroom and partner dancing but with the Charleston, although you can break away with the Lindy hop as well, with your authentic jazz but I think that the Charleston gives you lots of freedom. You can do a very pretty solo social dance just with the Charleston. I like it very much.

LS: So why do you choose to teach? Is that the reason why you chose to teach Charleston?

RS: Yeah I feel very passionate. Yeah I teach all the contemporary dance but the other passion I have is funk.

LS: Oh, you mentioned it. [In class]

RS: I love locking and all the hip hop dances and the party dances from the 70s and the 60s and there is such a strong parallel within the Charleston and the hip hop dances

LS: What are the parallels?

RS: Well the footwork. And lots of the figures and names are the same. You’ve got the Scarecrow in popping and you’ve got the Scarecrow in Charleston and authentic jazz. You’ve got the Camel walk in popping and boogaloo and then we’ve got the Camewalk in jazz dance. So there is, I do strongly believe and is, that all the jazz is the foundation of the hip hop today.

LS: Right, so do you think that a lot of the hip hop now comes from the Charleston and…

RS: Yes and it always did. I think African dances; African dance is the main catalyst for all this.

LS: Yes. It’s true, it’s true.

RS: All this is rooted from is the belly where everything comes from.

LS: Yes it’s true. Here [indicating solar plexus]

RS: Hmm, I do, I do

LS: So what’s the difference in when you do the Charleston when you’re teaching and then when you do hip hop, even though there’s similarities…

RS: Oh well, it’s different. The music is different and…

LS: Is it the rhythm and the accents?

RS: Yes the accent is different and the phrasing and the choreography is slightly different.

LS: So if you had to give the personality of the Charleston compares to the personality of the hip hop, how you would describe the two?

RS: Charleston is very similar to locking; it’s like a character dance. When you dance locking, you make faces, you take on board a character.

LS: So pop and lock?

RS: Locking is a dance from the early 70s from Greg Cumberlock and is a dance that you dance with funk music. You think of well, early funk.

LS: Is it like what they would have danced on the 70’s TV shows. On Solid Gold?

RS: Yes, if you see the Soul Train?

LS: Oh yeah yeah.

RS: That’s it.

LS: Ok. Alright.

RS: Like with the Charleston, the locking as well has the social side of it and the performing side of it. Like with Charleston when you do a social dance you would avoid high kicks and things that are not etiquette when you dance in a club. But when you see the Charleston performed, yes there are high kicky and there are showing off steps and flashing that maybe you do not do when you are just socially dancing.

LS: So why do you think, at the moment, because I know that when I was trying to do research to look into places where I could study Charleston, even before I decided to do it for doing this project, when I was just curious; there were so few people teaching it in London. Why do you think that is?

RS: It’s quite underground I think, and also because people don’t know about it and they still see it like a thing of the past and at this moment today it’s just the passionate, eh, I’ve always been attracted by vintage lifestyle and retro things and you must be passionate about these things to do the music. I know people that went into dancing through the vintage fashion, they love it so much and (unintelligible)

LS: But I’m still curious. I know there are other dances like swing and lindy hop which are also, you know, from bygone times and they are much more popular. They’re around more.

RS: Maybe it’s the music that doesn’t appeal although you can dance the exactly the same Charleston footwork in my class, you can dance it with a funk song. Because in locking we’ve got the Sarah walk which is literally the swivel and the basic Charleston step that you do in the class. So you actually can do. I guess it’s maybe the hot jazz, the jazz of the time that is not so appealing to a wider audience.

LS: I was thinking maybe, because I was thinking about it as well because I don’t understand why it’s like that and I was thinking maybe because Charleston, it can be seen as quite an eccentric dance because if you do it with your whole personality as well, it’s quite kooky. Well it can be that. Whereas things like swing and lindy hop, its more laid back, you’re still doing it with your personality but it’s different. Do you know what I mean?

RS: Yes because it’s a solo dance , there is obviously the partner aspect….

LS: More exposed maybe

RS: But for me the nature of the music is funny, it’s fun. You just make you smile.

LS: What is it? What is that? Everyone says that? Why does it make everyone [starts laughing]

RS: I think it’s the magic of the beat. It’s got a nice up-tempo. It’s like funk music. I cannot feel depressed or sad when I play funk. And hot jazz. It’s the only thing that really cheers me up. Yes or a good night old school disco. It can’t fail. They do cheer you up. But maybe the younger population are not so into this – all the music, the jazz. That is why maybe, it’s not so popular.

LS: That leads me onto another question which is what do you think is the role of Charleston in current dance. Where do you think it fits?

RS: Oh for me it’s always been there. For me it’s the foundation of the hip hop and the modern dances. And yes. Lots and lots of new dances stem from the basic poses and basic footwork of the lindy hop. Even before the lindy hop, I mean the Charleston everything intertwines with the authentic jazz, the Charleston, all the vintage dances like the Black bottom, the Turkey strut and all this eccentric dances; they all are the foundation for this hip hop.

LS: Do you think it’s different for women than men to dance Charleston?

RS: No. I see very good solo male dances. Of course the girls are more glamorous. But the guys are good, good dancers. I think it’s the perfect dance. I would call it the hip hop of the twenties. I do feel passionate about this parallel so the next project finalising and finding a partner that wants to work with me to develop this program…

LS: Is this one you were talking about re Oval House?

RS: I like to do it through Rawhead Dance Company. A project about the foundation of hip-hop, going back to the roots.

LS: That’s good. Are you going to use young people for that?

RS: Well I’m going to, prepare some material and the contact one of my locking hiphop teachers and see if we can work together. And even if street jazz fusion, or what we call the Northern soul has got lots and lots of shadows of Charleston and this authentic jazz. I think most of them, if not they stem from there, it’s a progression. It’s an evolution of the old dances, what is now. Even I think the locking and popping already are evolving into other form of dances. There are so many new dances.

LS: It’s interesting watching the…and it happens in the clubs and the dance floors. And then it goes into the classrooms.

RS: Yeah even kids getting together and practicing and mucking around…

LS: Yeah on the street… What was I going to ask you about that actually? So obviously back in the 20s when Charleston became a craze in America, um, you know, it tied in with the whole flapper thing and the emancipation of females. What are your thoughts about that?

RS: Well I think, even the solo dances was developed, by this, woman emancipation because up to then you were partnered dance in ballroom or quadrille. You had a mix of, in the States I’m talking about; you’ve got a mix of European dances mixed with African folk dances. So you’ve got a mix of all this European and African dance and then there is all this dances that you’ve got today that is fun. But also because, before they also use to strictly dance with partners, solo dances was quite rare socially but with the Charleston the, don’t forget there was the Recession and people were a bit stressed…

(At this point we were interrupted by a member of the Cockpit Theatre staff who wanted to speak
to Rosaria)

LS: You were talking about the whole female emancipation…

RS: Oh yes, even the fashion, the fashion played a big role because before then the women used to wear long frocks and don’t forget the basques and all the paraphernalia they use to wear so the dance obviously was restricted

LS: Minimal

RS: The woman was restricted so with the Charleston, everything went crazy. It was - off you go - women showing off their knees and the arms are exposed, the beautiful cleavage exposed. The limbs can go free now so they did all the high kicks and all this things. And also interesting with the Charleston, the high kick as well, there is quite an element of the Can-Can.

LS: That’s true. Do you think it’s derived from the Can Can?

RS: Yes especially the performing Charleston I would say. It’s got elements of this eccentric woman, glamorous ladies’ dance.

LS: That’s true.

RS: Yeah I think but you know also cutting the hair short and having this empowering woman.

LS: Do you think, um, that it really did originate from the place, Charleston?

RS: Yeah, yeah.

LS: And the African, the American Negroes?

RS: Absolutely, as early as the end of the 1800s.

LS: And then it travelled.

RS: Yes and then it was in Louisiana

LS: It’s amazing isn’t it dance?

RS: Yes it was all through to, unfortunately, the slavery

LS: Yeah, yeah.

RS: There is no good thing about it but if I can say something positive is that at least we’ve got these dances

LS: I know

RS: Although there has been terrible Holocaust and something that people try to brush under the carpet. For me it’s still uh. And I go the extent that the way they treat Africa these days nothing has changed.

LS: It’s true isn’t it?

RS: There is still slavery and there is still so much pain. I see Africa really, like a raped woman. Sorry to say but this is the image that I have. But thank god, all the treasure, culturally.

LS: It’s very rich

RS: Although it was a totally negative episode but something good stem from that. And hopeful the white man learn something from that.

LS: Hopefully. That’s debateable

RS: Yeah, but I love it. I did study African dance when I was in Italy for three years.

LS: I think you studied all the styles

RS: Well I love dance and I haven’t got a family myself, that’s the thing. Dance is my life and something that never lets me down.

LS: So how do you feel when you do the Charleston?

RS: Aah, I totally mediate. When I dance, it’s my meditation.

LS: That’s how I feel too

RS: It’s my place. It’s where I go and I know that I’m fine. I love it. It’s magical, like I believe music or playing an instrument is magical. And the dance especially if you play with live music, oh, then you’ve got the full monty.

LS That would be great wouldn’t it? Are you still looking into, may be possibly, what was the venue [to have a Charleston social night]

RS: Aaah to do the, there is a little venue in Leicester Square that I want to…

LS: Are you still thinking about that?

RS: Yeah, yeah I want to do a social. I’m going to call it Retro Dance Social but it’s a project that I cannot do on my own. I’m in a process myself. I need to bring people into the company because I’m literally on my own.

LS: Is this your Rawhead Dance Company?

RS: Yes, I can’t do all of this on my own, it’s a lot of work so I’m looking for a partner, potential business partner and then there is all umbrella possibilities but my main interest is saving the dances, carry on maintaining this legacy and passing on the dances to the younger generation and at the same time, I want to learn the new dances

LS: No wonder you’re so busy

RS: Cause if I don’t learn it

LS: You want to be current as well because it’s only doing both that you can understand

RS: And if you work with young people and the young generation as a far enough you’ve got your dances, you’ve got to show that you

LS: Understand their dances

RS: Yes know their dances too so it’s very important to open this dialogue. It’s like learning a language

LS: Have you seen that documentary they made about krumping in the States?

RS: Yes. I as just going to tell you about krumping!

LS: Yeah, I was thinking about that. I’ve got it

RS: Have you?

LS: Yeah you can borrow it. I’ll bring it next week.

RS: Can you do me a favour and burn it on DVD?

LS: Aaah, I might be able to at work. I’ll try if it’ll let me.

[Conversation about burning the DVD for Rosaria]

RS: The only thing about krumping, I think there are some dances that suit men bets.

LS: Where do you think krumping comes from?

RS: Again, from African dance. There’s all his stamping. Tribal.

LS: It’s like a war dance

RS: Yes it does remind me of the Maoris, the dances of the Maoris in New Zealand and it’s this aggressive… and then I think, I am a bit too ladylike for the krumping. Body popping is the maximum I do although I think it is a male dance but when girls do body popping right they look good. I’m too ladylike for these things but it’s lovely to see young people doing this tribal dance.

LS: And just letting out there, stuff.

RS: Unfortunately with dance, the interesting things in part of a story that my teacher passed onto me was that at the time, they were forbidden by the church. For example in Italy there was a monastic culture of this hot jazz dance because it was considered…

LS: What time are you talking about now?

RS: Oh from the 30s. Like you‘ve got pockets of religious communities and they were very much against the dances. Also the drumming. It was forbidden. At the time of the slavery, drumming was forbidden because it was a way for the slaves to communicate and maybe revolt So they forbid the drums.

LS: And so that was when they developed capoeira.

RS: Yes, so they developed body drumming [demonstrates] and the clapping and that is the other social aspect of the… oh god, what did you ask me?

LS: It doesn’t matter, I just said let’s have a chat. I just asked you about krumping originally, because we were talking about learning current dances

RS: Oh yes, and the other dances that I’m learning that l love is the whacking (sp?)

LS: What’s that?

RS: Voguing and whacking. You know the poses…

LS: I know voguing but what’s whacking? How do you spell that?

RS: It’s the dance like that, it’s the one that you know [demonstrates with arms]

LS: Is it the one that Madonna does, kind of, with some her dancers on some of her tours? I think I’ve seen it

RS: Some. Now everyone mix it. That’s the thing

LS: It’s called whacking?

RS: Yeah, people call it street dance or hip hop and they mix all this style but I’m a bit of a perfectionist in terms of I like to learn the dance separately. Then of course, if I like to, if I want to teach, I’d rather teach the proper dance than my own style with a mix of everything. I like to do that when I choreograph. Then I like to choreograph with elements from hip hop and all the jazz, that’s fine. But when I study I teach, I like to teach Charleston or locking or whacking. But all this whacking and voguing, they are dances that still from the late 70s or early 80s and is inspired by Hollywood films. Very glamorous ladies and it is all about posing and this and the use of the upper body.

LS: Hence voguing. Vogue. So what were you saying as well, about the church, weren’t you and the …?

RS: Yes these dances were forbidden, it was the dance of the devils and so..

LS: One thing about Charleston, because it became a craze in America for 4-5 years, why do you think it was accepted?

RS: Because it was crazy times. It was really, really. If you think about at the time, marijuana was illegal for instance and everything was nice; in balance. Then the Prohibition happened and people went like this [waving hands around]. To rebel. Then there were the wars. So people need to have an outlet. So why today we have internet and nasty things. You see, those days you just go dancing.

LS: That’s true. And I remember you saying in one of your classes that you were working with some older generation and that their generation as much fitter than ours because they used to go out and dance rather than just sit at home

RS: Yes after the meal in the evening, usually the family, each member of the family could play an instrument so you’ve got a little playing music within the family and them some stomping or some dancing. Then the radio came in and the family started to listen to the radio and then unfortunately TV happen and the film industry, of course the film industry was doing something good but I believe it was one of the main reasons why lots of dances, ballrooms didn’t make it?

LS: Close down

RS: Yeah close down, and don’t forget that lots of ballrooms in the States, I can talk about it, got closed down because the amount of tax that people were supposed to pay to keep it open, it was too high, so lots of people changed business and it closed down.

LS: Even in London, the Hammersmith Palais…

RS: I was gutted when it happened. I was literally crying and it was for what? For offices.

LS: That’s pretty sad

RS: The same thing when the Marquis in Tottenham Court Road closed down. I went to see all the gigs in the 80s like Sister of Mercy or disco. Bow Wow. You name it. Jesus and Mary Chain. Now it’s a pub.

LS: That’s a shame.

RS: Yeah it is a shame. And the Astoria Theatre as well in Tottenham Court Rd

LS: I didn’t know that

RS: Nah, it closed down although it as mainly music venue, it closed down.

LS: There’s still the Savoy isn’t there?

RS: No the Savoy ballroom closed down in the 80s

LS: What’s the one in South London?

RS: Um the Rivoli. That is open and in fact that is probably the only one left open

LS: The history [loss of]. You know.

RS: So I believe, it’s not a conspiracy but I do believe in a way the system plays a big part in repressing the arts making the arts less and less accessible.

LS: It’s not a conspiracy, it’s obvious. Look at all the [funding] cuts!

RS: Yeah, yeah but I’d rather have a child spending less time in front of the TV or a video game than having a free dance class. I’m quite open to literally giving free dance classes to people who want it. I don’t mind. But I don’t know. We changed a lot.

LS: Do you think you will keep on teaching Charleston or do you think you’ll get to a point where you’ll… I mean you’ll always probably dance it but do you think?

RS: I like to mix. I like to teach Charleston and authentic jazz because the two really fuse together there are lots of steps like the Susie Q and the stomps and the pushes that um, obviously comes from the Charleston and then start to be called authentic jazz but for me the two really mate. And the lindy hop. It really influenced the lindy hop. Although there is Charleston lindy hop but it is a slightly different because obviously you dance with swing music so the beat is a bit different so everything interwines. Yeah.

LS: And have you danced Charleston in other places in the world?

RS: Yes.

LS: Tell me a bit about that.

RS: I went to Portugal, Lisbon. When was it? It was in the 90s. It was the Lisbon Expo. And then obviously I did some shows in Italy and I went to France and in Paris during some, what do you call it? Courses. International dance schools. And where else? And then lots in England. Mainly England and Italy.

LS: And where, from your knowledge, do you think is the Charleston hotspot in the world at the moment?

RS: At the moment Italy is picking up a lot?

LS: Really?

RS: They are getting into, more than Charleston, I must be honest, the lindy hop. Cause they like their vintage clothing

LS: OK, yeah the style

RS: They start to approach this type of thing. But I think the Charleston still slowly, I would like to devise some fitness work with jazz and Charleston.

LS: You know what though?

RS: Cause I want to do that now. You are the only one I am going to tell!

LS: No, no no. I have to tell you something. I went to a class that does that.

RS: Where?

LS: There are two girls who I’m going to be interviewing as well. They used to go to Roehampton, same uni, you know the dance school. They gradated and they looked at the market and said, ok there’s zumba, but we want to do something different

RS: Aaargghhh

LS: You should go to one of their classes or meet them and see. They’ve devised a dance workout called Charle-swing so it’s using Charleston and swing dance moves. You should check it out.

RS: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

LS: I’ll give you their website and you can have a look

RS: I like. I’ll probably do it a bit broader, I like to do it jazzy

LS: I think you should definitely do it because there isn’t much out there

RS: I do one that the name is Funksensation dance workout

LS: Where do you do that?

RS: I’m starting in Croydon.

LS: Just Croydon?

RS: Yeah, well I want to do it but I need to get a venue

LS: I’d love to do that

RS: I will. If you guys let me know. As long as I’ve got enough to put the booking for the room and then hopefully, because at the moment I’m literally

LS: Well you could keep the venue in YMCA?

RS: Yeah maybe I’m going to rent it for another day and see if it’s in the evening during the week, will be perfect

LS: You should let me know all your classes because I’ll help you publicise them

RS: I know. I’m going to send you, I’ve got your email haven’t I? I’m going to send you the, Oitilia, the Spanish girl, she did a postcard

LS: With the red hair, yeah, yeah

RS: She did a postcard for the other course. Oh my god, it’s so lovely

LS: Is it really nice?

RS: She’s very good

LS: Is she a graphic designer or artist?

RS: She does editing, everything. She came to my place the other day and we do exchanges. I taught her a class and she did a flyer for my class

LS: If you have any flyers or anything, give them to me. I work for the RAD so I can leave your flyers…

RS: The RAD? The Roehampton…

LS: No, the Royal Academy of Dance.

RS: Oh, come on. I’m on the books. I’m going to training next week

LS: Are you?

RS: Next Sunday. I’m going to a training…

LS: Are you? Which training?

RS: In body popping and hip hop.

LS: At the RAD?

RS: Battersea Park isn’t it? Battersea Square.

LS: Yeah, yeah, I work there.

RS: Oh, I’m on the books. I’m waiting for work

LS: Are you? The dance world is a small world. Well yeah, if you want me to put out you flyers for you, I can do that for you.

RS: Yeah, wonderful.

LS: So just let me know

RS: Wonderful, absolutely, absolutely.

LS: Well let’s finish there. So thank you.

RS: Anything else you want to know?

LS: Thank you. I’ll give you a copy of this. If it works out.

RS: Is that your child [looking at phone]

LS: Yes that’s my daughter

RS: You have a child?

LS: Yes my daughter

RS: But you look like a baby

LS: Not I’m not a baby. How do I turn this off?

Fieldwork Diary Entry (February 1, 2013)

Tonight I met Rosaria at the Cockpit Theatre an hour before class so that I could interview her.  I decided to voice record her rather than film it.   As we would be conducting the interview in the cafe/foyer area of the Cockpit as per Rosaria's suggestion, I knew there would be a lot of people coming and going. I felt these distractions would not make for a good filming experience.

Rosaria arrived on time and we launched straight into the interview.  I explained to her that I had a list of questions prepared  to use as prompts but really wanted us to have more of a chat and to see where the conversation would lead us.  I reiterated that the purpose of the  interview was to discuss her relationship with, and views of Charleston dance.

Once we started to talk, it was clear that Rosaria enjoyed being interviewed.  I was enjoying it too as it was the first time we'd actually sat down and talked at length.  Listening back to the interview, I realised there were times I interjected too much or got a bit carried away with the conversational tone and should have than pulled focus back to the topic at hand.

The interview lasted for about 30 minutes during which I found Rosaria's comments very engaging. The interview seemed to come to a natural end at that point. I had no further questions and we had started to drift off onto other topics.

I have yet to transcribe the interview and have deliberately left it for a week to put some distance between myself and the conversation we'd had.  The reason being that I had perhaps been too engaged by it.  Sentences, images and words from the interview continued to float randomly into my consciousness in the week following.

I felt the interview was a turning point in my fieldwork process with Rosaria.  She'd really opened up to me and in turn had asked me questions about myself and so I shared parts of my dance and family history with her.  I definitely felt more warmly towards her as a result and I think this was mutual.  She did not realise that I have a toddler and I think this explained to her why I was always rushing off after class rather than hanging around for a drink and chat as well as my reluctance to get involved in other side projects she mentions from time to time.

This inability on my behalf to do the 'extra-curricular' aspect of fieldwork (hang around after class to chat, socialise outside of the fieldwork site, get involved in projects that stem from the fieldwork site) means that my fieldwork is limited.  I realise this and I know how much more involved the experience could be if I did the above.  I have done so in the past for other creative work and it is of huge benefit.  This urban fieldwork I am doing is shaped most definitely by the parameters and responsibilities of my life at home in London.  Something that maybe would not be as evident in a fieldwork site away from 'home'.

The tone of the class following our interview was markedly more vigorous than it has been in the last three weeks.  I wondered if the interview had enervated Rosaria in some way.  She pushed us hard which was manna to me as I had wanted more of a challenge.   It felt as if she wanted to push us to a new level, maybe bearing in mind that she is starting a new Charleston course in two weeks at the YMCA near Tottenham Court Road tube in London.   After watching the footage that Nu shot last week, I do my level best to slouch as I saw how upright I was in those clips.  Slouching gives me much more control of the steps and results in a more fluid execution too.

The Bees Knees responded to my email and agreed to be interviewed but I have been unable to nail them to a time.  Glambop Fitness confirmed that they would be happy for me to film the class and interview them on February 13, 2013.  I am pleased by all  this activity as if feels things are moving along nicely for my research.

Fieldwork Diary Entry (January 30, 2013)

Tonight I made it to a Glambop Fitness, Charle-swing class at the Mission Hall in Parsons Green.  Having contacted Glambop prior to attending, they knew why I was coming and what my purpose was. 

Mission Hall is a small church which has been converted into a community space.  Glambop's classes are held in a loft type studio at the top of the church.  Upon arrival I introduced myself to Naomi who is one half of Glambop Fitness. Naomi was very friendly and it turns out that both she and Sara (the other half of Glambop) are Roehampton dance graduates, both having completed the BA Dance programme in 2010.

We fell into a conversation about Roehampton, during which Naomi offered up the reason why she and Sara decided to formulate Charle-swing.  They had evaluated the dance fitness market after graduating and found that apart from Zumba. there was very little on offer in terms of a dance fitness activity.  Naomi is a personal trainer as well as dancer.  She said they devised Charle-swing as a dance method to get fit without having to be as 'sexy' as Zumba.   Charle-swing was designed to be fun, carefree and something you could just do without caring what you looked like.  She then warned me that the class was a real workout.  After this conversation, I really had no idea what to expect.

Apart from myself, there were four other females in the class.  From speaking to them I found out they were all regulars and they verified that the class was a workout.  They were all dressed in gym type clothing with trainers and looked between early 20's to mid 30s.  All were Caucasian in appearance. 

The studio had no mirrors so when class began, Naomi chose which side was to be the front and we all placed ourselves accordingly to face her.  Once the music started for the first exercise, there was no gradual build-up.  The pace was fast and consistent from the very beginning.  The swing and Charleston dance origins of the exercises was evident but done in an aerobic class style.  I felt concerned about the lack of a warm up as I was cold and the studio was cold so I moderated my actions  until I felt a bit warmer.  That didn't take long as Naomi really put us through the paces.

During the class I knew I wanted to film it and I also felt that Glambop were onto something that potentially could be successful in the dance aerobic market.  Naomi had told me before class that she and Sara worked full-time and found it hard to find time to devote to building up Glambop Fitness which they started in October 2012.   They currently have classes in Parsons Green as well as Canary Wharf with potentially a third class in Waterloo in the near future.  I hope they can make it a success.

After class, I thank Naomi and we discuss the possibility of me interviewing her and Sara as well as the class being filmed in the next few weeks.   She is open to both suggestions and we agree to discuss further through email.  I leave feeling hopeful and excited about this new experience in my fieldwork journey.  I liked how Glambop Fitness was a completely new fieldwork site for me in all ways and how positive the experience had been.  I go away thinking how Charle-swing is definitely a workout and wonder if my muscles will be sore the next day.