The best known Flat-footing teacher (Paul Anderegg) teams up with one of the wittiest and oldest (92 year old) living Flat-footers (Phyrell Coleman) to bring you an unforgettable learning experience. A comprehensive beginners instructional video DVD that teaches you how to do Buck Dancing / Flat-footing in a simple way, packed with 1 hr and 45 min of content. Filmed live at the Fiddle and Pick of Nashville, Tennessee. This video earns the “ASPS Learn” stamp, which is a standardized system for learning this art form developed the by the ASPS (Appalachian Step Percussion Services) Dance Company. This system developed over years of teaching over 10,000 students, provides the student assurance that they will engage in the fastest, most fun method of learning this dance. The “ASPS Learn” stamp recognizes the following components:
Each of the steps is broken into easy-to-learn sections. Video Outline –
This video contains 5 main parts: Instruction, Interpretive Section, Paul Anderegg Dancing, Phyrell Coleman Interview, Phyrell Coleman Dancing, and Extras.
Instruction – We have learned one thing from teaching so many students, and that is that everything works better when you are having fun. Paul sets the pace for the entire video by teaching the “Happy State of Mind” and how it relates to this dance. In this section Paul Anderegg show several different basic motions and steps. He first starts by talking about the person(s) the step came from and demonstrates it slowly, and then shows how to time it to the music. He includes helpful tips and trick with each step and sometimes includes humor. Each step is practiced to live music.
The following motions and steps are learned in this section: Motions – This is a section in the DVD that shows the ten basic motions that are common to all steps. By learning these simple motions the student learns how to add them into any step that they later learn. These motions include:
Steps – No instructional video would be complete without the steps. The steps are organized from the simplest to the most complex, constantly building on what you just learned. These are not standard steps that can be found at any Buck Dancing / Flat-footing class taught at a local festival. These steps were found through 10,000 miles of travel, from real dancers from the heart of Appalachia, many of which Phyrell Coleman uses. Paul Anderegg teaches that all Flat-footers use three basic steps: Soldier’s March, Zig Zags, and Chugs. These steps and many variations are covered in this section. These following steps and sections include:
· Questions and Answers – A round of questions is taken from the audience that include:
Interpretive Section – This section in mainly intended to demonstrate how the simple steps are combined into more complex steps known as Compound Steps. Although this section was not intended for teaching, one can still learn as many of the steps are done slower while Paul Anderegg speaks about each step and the motions used. There is no music in this section.
Questions and Answers – A round of questions is taken from the audience that include:
Paul Anderegg Dancing – In this section Paul dances to about seven minutes of live music showing lots of different un-named steps. In a very rare appearance he also demonstrates how he Flat-foots to a waltz.
Phyrell Coleman Interview – A favorite of everyone, Phyrell brings insight into what life was like in her time as one of the oldest living dancers alive today. Her sharp wit and humor is unmistakable as Paul Anderegg conducts the interview with her. She answers the following questions:
Phyrell Coleman Dancing – In this section she dances to several minutes of live music. She has a blend of smooth motions and percussive steps.
Extras– This sections has a bonus section of Phyrell dancing and there is a two sections of black and white close-ups of Paul Anderegg's feet showing his Compound Steps. The sound is very good of his feet.
Stories – Throughout the DVD stories are included in almost every section. Some of these stories are directly from the people whose step you are learning. Others are from Paul Anderegg’s own personal experience. The stories are a big part of understanding how the dance came to be and make it much easier to remember the steps. Many of these stories are funny.
Tips and Tricks – Throughout the sections Paul provides tips and tricks about how to do the dance and look better at it. Some of these tips and tricks help you better understand the culture and history of this dance.
Transitions – Flat-footing would be hard to do if you could never learned how to transition from one step to another. Through the use of the Soldier’s March, Paul quickly shows you how to transition between the steps. The process of transitions slowly increases throughout the video. This method known as Progressive Transition Strategy (Developed by the ASPS Dance Company) starts the student off with very simple steps and increasingly integrates more complex steps at rate we have found most people can do.
Layers – Every time you learn a step, you learn a “Layer” of the dance. As the video progresses these layers are added and subtracted so you can feel and learn the different styles and steps. More and more layers are added as you progress through the video. We are always amazed at how many “Layers” a new student can do by using this method after just one hour.
Learning Tempo – “ASPS Learn” technique has found through 1000s of students that some dance tempos are easier to learn at then others. There’s nothing more frustrating than a teacher who teaches too fast and uses music that goes faster than what you can learn to dance. The “ASPS Learn” stamp requires a music tempo of about 96 BPM. Not only is this a very comfortable pace for students to learn at, is a multiple of most people’s heart rate. Although Flat-footing is considered one of the most vigorous dance forms, using this method you will be amazed how easy it feels. Even after an hour of learning we find most students are not short of breath and not sweating.
Music – All the music in this video is of the Old Time style as it relates to this style of dance. Only ‘straight’ tunes are used, which means that the music does not shift unexpectedly for the students making the learning process easier. Some of the tunes in the video might make you want to get up out of your chair and start dancing. The following musicians are in this video:
Nature – The experience of learning Flat-footing is combined with having respect to earth, wind, and water. The production of the DVD uses green energies and packaging materials whenever possible.
Organization – Although Buck Dancing / Flat-footing is a freestyle dance we find that students learn better with well-organized material. All the sections happen in same teaching technique and music tempo. There are no sudden surprises. It’s so predictable you don’t even have to think about it at times.
Production Quality – The “ASPS Learn” stamp requires the use informal and innovative filming techniques. You find no big budgets or Hollywood movie styles here. These methods greatly increase the cost and consume lots of non-renewable energies. Instead all the focus is place on teaching by clear examples and clear filming techniques. The balance of sound between voice, feet, and music was matched as closely as we could. Not at any point in the DVD do you have to guess what Paul Anderegg is doing.
Experience – “ASPS Learn” Stamp requires the teacher(s) to come with experience.
Copyrights / Disclaimers / Warnings – If you are capable of reading this you probably already know about copyright and duplication laws regarding music and video, but we will mention it again here just so there is no confusion: copying, duplication, or distribution of these tunes in any way that will damage the property rights of the ASPS Dance Company or the Fiddle and Pick Heritage Center is prohibited.