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