I have just completed updating the DANCE QUEENS Dance Database and we now have 10,165 entries. This is about 1500 more entries since the last update a month and a half ago. Many thanks to Psyche Lunasea, Beach and Barbara Collazo who sent me information on new or missing dances and animations.
I have been having difficulty uploading the database to the Google spreadsheet. In fact I have not been able to upload the updated version even though I am using exactly the same procedure as I have used previously. I have also experienced problems sorting the data that is already uploaded, so I expect that many of you may have problems also.
I decided to look at other ways to share the data and found that Microsoft has a method for doing this. It has two disadvantages, but also two advantages. The advantages are first that I can upload the entire spreadsheet and you can access it on the web, and second that you can download the spreadsheet into your own Excel program and manipulate the data as you wish. Of course, we all worry about viruses, so, if you do not want to download the spreadsheet, you can cut and paste it into an Excel or other spreadsheet. Anyway, this is a big plus for you to use the data.
The negatives are first that you have to sign up for Windows Live to see the spreadsheet. It's an easy process and I used my Nottoo Wise name instead of my real name without problems. It takes less than 5 minutes to sign up. The second negative is that, although you can see the data once you sign up, you cannot manipulate it unless you have Excel. To manipulate the data you need to download the spreadsheet then open it in another spreadsheet program like Google spreadsheet on your local computer.
The database is found by clicking on the link "Dance Database" in the upper right of the DANCE QUEENS blog. I have put two ways to access the database. The new way has all the updated information. The old way I will leave until the next update in about a month and a half, but it gives you only the information that was posted a month and a half ago.
Snuma Whitfield makes the MLDU5 Dance HUD which is good for couples dancing. Here is a really cute video she made of a group dancing to a song by the Japanese group akb 48.
When you switch dances when doing either Freestyle or Sequenced choreography the place to do it is the centerpoint of the dance. Almost all dance makers now start their dances at the centerpoint with the avatar facing forward. The dance loops at the centerpoint so the motion is smooth at the loop. This makes it much easier to switch dances at the loop because the dancer is at the centerpoint for the ending of one dance and the beginning of the next dance.
But, what if you want to switch a dance away from the centerpoint? Maybe, you like only the first part of a dance or the music makes a change. If you switch to another dance that starts at the centerpoint, you get a noticeable jump.
There is another solution ... use dances that start off the centerpoint. There are three types of dances that start off the centerpoint:
Couples Dances - The individual parts of couples dances start off the centerpoint.
Chair Dances - These dances start either behind or next to the centerpoint about 1 m
Sequenced dances - These are dances that contain two or more animations that are done in a sequence. The Michael Jackson sequence from Sine Wave or the TIS Mega dances are examples. Snuma Whitfield also offers sequenced dances on SL Marketplace for free.
Here is the start of Snuma's dance HR3_4 on the choreography grid taken from above. This dance starts about 1 m to the right.
It is a challenge using dances that start off the centerpoint since you have to match your desired switching point from the first dance (Dance A) with the starting point of the off-centerpoint dance (Dance B). Also, if you want to switch from the off-centerpoint dance (Dance B) to a different dance that starts at the centerpoint (Dance C), you have to find a place where the off-centerpoint dance crosses the centerpoint.
I think this is a niche dance area that needs filling. I would love to see a pack of off-centerpoint transition dances of maybe 2 or 3 seconds each of different styles. For example, they could be categorized as starting 1 m to the left of the avatar with a pack containing hiphop, house, latin and other styles. Another pack could start 1 m left and 1 m back with hiphop, house, latin and other styles. All of these transition dances should move the dancer back to the centerpoint in 2 or 3 seconds.
Hendrik Schroeder sent this notice to the Henmations Group today ...
==================
Dear Customers,
we just released the first part of our new HipHop & RnB Dance Series!
Additionally we offer a new Happy Weekend Deal... 50% OFF for the Female House Dance Pack!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW: HipHop & RnB DANCE SERIES Enjoy the new HipHop and RnB Dance Series, rhythmic motions, smooth and flawless looped. Real life performed to todays Club Bangaz... many styles... inspired by Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson. Each Animation is UNISEX.. like most of our Dances! First Dance Pack available! Try them out at our Mainstore
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50% OFF - Female House Dance Pack Limited time offer, 9 copyable dances for only 1200LS!
Marcus Adkins sent this notice to the HUMANOID Group today ...
===================
HUMANOID - New smooth Warm Up Dances OUT ! Fri, Nov 09 2012 12:45:19 PM PST
HUMANOID DANCE RELEASE ! - JOHN is OuT NoW !
Dont`t forget to check the Preview Video --- http://youtu.be/iBqXbrM7kkY --- With his warm up grooves, this Man is nerdy like Johnny 5 and as cool as Johnny Cash !
MarissaCloud sent us this video and said, "The Cupid Shuffle is a little known USA dance craze from the South, growing in popularity since Cupid's appearance on NBC's popular reality show The Voice."
MarissaCloud of the A&M Maniacs & Di4Dance is a creole dancer from Lafayette, Louisiana. She asked fellow cajun Spicey Milneaux & me to join her in her SL backyard to do the "Cupid Shuffle", a new dance available from A&M.
It's really cute and good for parties. I really had to laugh at the insertion of the grilling during the song. The video was made by Chet Silverfall.
I love how SL dancing let's us express our own cultural heritage and share it. I mean where else could a high-rise living girl from Buenos Aires get to eat crawdads.
This fall, add YOUR venue to the famous Trans Siberian Orchestra Tribute Tour!
The most realistic Trans Siberian Orchestra Tour in SL is gearing up for a VERY busy 2012 Fall / Winter Season! For more information about the popular RL musical group, check out their official website at www.trans-siberian.com
Their blend of classical and holiday tunes and the sass of heavy metal flare make a unique concert experience!
In 2009, this group, lead by Clint Quandry took the grid for a wild journey, and was unanimously voted to be the #1 Tribute to TSO by the TSO Fan Club of SL! Every year since, they have made improvements and added more shows just like the RL TSO! The laser light show will astound you, and their shows are a true recreation of the very shows the RL TSO is performing today on their summer Tour!
The band performs the Christmas Story, Nightcastle and Beethoven's Last Night! Book your shows today!
Seats ARE LIMITED (to maintain a low lag atmosphere and guarantee a quality show) For more information, contact Clint Quandry or BetinaValentin Biler for details
Hendrik Schroeder sent this notice to the Henmations group today ...
======================
Dance Style Requests! Mon, Nov 05 2012 6:27:42 AM PST
Want a special dance Style on SL? Send us your Requests now! Just drop a notecard with the style description and reference video or pictures to Hendrik Schroeder... TY!
A DANCE QUEENS member told me about the Romah Dance HUD being sold on SL Marketplace by Mahsoobk Violet. The HUD is a copy of the Huddles EZ Animator Basic and contains stolen Sine Wave dances. Easy Babcock knows about it and I expect the HUD will be removerd soon. I also sent a note to the Huddles maker, Keiki Lemieux.
Although we have seen dance animations copied previously, this is the first time a script has been copied that I know of. It seems that the copiers are getting more sophisticated. Fortunately, we have a lot of DANCE QUEENS members helping to find these destroyers of SL fun.
Anyway, I put it on the Illegal Dance List. It seems every rock we turn over has one of these slimy people under it.
With Easy Babcock's return and the addition of a new illegal dance maker this week, I decided to update the Illegal Dance Maker list. I understand that Easy is filing DMCA reports on the copiers of his animations and you can see from the list that some of the more blatant copiers are no longer selling illegal dances. There still are a few left but I expect that most of them will be gone in the next week or so.
If you bought illegal dances, you will get a notice from Linden Lab telling you that you now have replacement animations. When you click on the dance name the replacement dance plays. Usually it is a simple turn that is of no use at all. This will occur to all illegal dances you own including those in inventory and your HUDs.
What can you do? Generally you can do nothing. By buying illegal dances you lose your money and you have to deal with the dances populating your HUD and the mess it creates. This is one reason most DANCE QUEENS members are so careful about purchasing legal dances. However, if you bought dances from a seller who is still in business, I suggest that you demand your money back and give them a piece of your mind for messing up your HUD. I added the names where I could of the sellers so you can go after them if you want.
