Yeah the underground is cool, like we're not into violence etc, got better things to do. The city had a really good underground scene for years, but it's gone now. So we've all just moved out to more peaceful areas.

This has all just happened in the past 2-3 years, it's been a really big change, it's really the begining of a whole new underground scene in Melbourne. I find it quite exciting.

It's like we're at ground zero, we can make the new scene what ever we want it to be. So it's nice to see shufflers saying No Fights in their publicity for meet-ups etc. It's a great start to say no to bad crap, that way people who want to fight can go somewhere else, and people who want to be friendly can go to the shuffle events.

One great thing now is, it's so much easier to communicate with the underground online. Before you had to physically be in town to find out whats going on, but now it's simple.

So yep change is certainly coming, I look forward to it. And it's like Shufflers themselves can do it, they don't have to wait until the official Melbourne underground says lets do this or that. local shufflers can work it out for themselves, for their part of the world.

They can create their own new underground right where they live, and really make it their's, do it how ever they want it.

I'm really looking forward to the future, it's a buzz

I should add, it's like you guys in São Luís can create your own underground scene. Sounds like you're there already.

The shuffle underground doesn't only include dancers. It's more about the same attitude, than everyone doing the same things.

Like we did these pirate TV broadcasts with the same underground attitude as dancers did to the shuffle, especially when we showed the shuffle footage on TV.

We were two seperate groups that found a common attitude and we just merged together at the edges where we connected. It was like a network of underground scenes all who had different specialist activities, but the same attitude.

There were people like me who was involved in the tech broadcast scene and the dance scene, where I worked as a musician. So I already had a connection and others found their connections, even lawyers at some stages who helped out with broadcast permits etc.

We often called it the Fabulous Beast, like we were amazed at what we could do, like you mention punks, emo's hippies, are all underground scenes with the same attitude.

The attitude is CREATIVE FREEDOM it's a long tradition in Melbourne, mainly because of the cultural diversity. People wanted the freedom to both speak their native language and create in it too. And to do it boldly and openly in a supportive scene. So the underground became a great place for that.

It was always a buzz to see what people would come up with, because they were so different to you, not because they were the same as you. But they were really like you anyway it's a fabulous paradox, We loved it, it didn't make sense, but it did.

So some people might not wanna dance, but they're cool with dancing, it's not like they're dance nazis or something. So they connect from a different angle, like fashion design, or artists, or technicians, underground film makers, musicians, bands, or people who just like hanging out with any of those just mentioned .

And the networks overlap, all part of the same underground. We loved the diversity, you'd have a casual meet-up and you never knew who'd you'd bump into, it was like a gathering of the clans.

In Commerce House where I lived 1990-96, there were these role playing gamers on the 3rd floor and they had RPG's 7 days a week.

On Monday nights from sunset the Vampyre gamers would do a full on free form game in full costume and take over the whole building as a fantasy set. Fake blood, swords, capes fangs, people screaming as they ran down the corridore - a great way to introduce new friends to the underground, was invite them to your studio ona Monday night. The gamers loved an audience too, so they'd really let fly Sometimes other gamer clans would come too, like the werewolf game meeting the vampyres, doing bargining for gamers souls in the corrodore

But the rest of us loved it to even though we weren't gamers. It just looked like a hell of a lot of fun, so, we were into that

Here's the actual building, and you'll get a glimpse of part of my studio that I lived in for years as I pack up. The building was to be redeveloped, we all got 30 days to move out. This is the last footage of it as it was in the oldskool days.

Commerce House 1996


So each network gets to be exactly like they wanna be, no compromise, no holding back, and the 'other guys' in other networks become friends rather than the competition. So you can be an underground scene of just 10 people but you link in with the broader underground of hundreds, then just add the 6000 or so towns that regularly visit MSO...

So...it can be pretty big, but still underground.

I would like to show you the city (specifically the center) and the people, but unfortunately my camera was stolen x.x

sad to hear about your camera. Love to see some shots

Hi
Im new to the melbourne shuffle but love the style its briliant and i want to learn it.
I m also from the uk and not many people now about this type of style well basicly no one and i would like to make it bigger in the uk. Ive just started learning like 3 days ago using the tutorials on here and they are very helpful but im realy stugling with the shuffle im keep on losing my balance and and just finding it hard to do it fluently.
I cant do it fast at all only slow and i know it takes ages to get good but i feel like im not getting anywhere.
Im not the best with my feet though .ive had a problem called hercules which is to do with short tendons in ur leg but its better now im also very tall for my age and a good rugby player becuase i have a lot of strength and im fast but im not to lite on my feet for some reason and im not fat .lol.
Im just wondering is it a thing which u can ever can do or u cant, or can anyone do with a lot of pratice.

Dude, I felt the same way when I started. Im not that great, but it has become much more fluent to me now. Just keep practicing and you'll get it.

Hi and welcome to the forum DanUKShuffleR, Vicda's got it in one, practice

No worries, anyone can shuffle, and great to hear it's in the UK. MSO has quite a lot of visitors from all over the UK , so it's only a matter of time before you start meeting up here and there.

If you have tendon issues or other things that will limit your movement, try going for something similar. Modify your style to suit you.

If you've got a rugby players built, you probably won't be as light on your feet as a marathon runner. So that's when you modify the moves to suit your build. Sounds like you're athletic anyways, so you shouldn't have too much bother co-ordinating your feet and legs in a way that suits your build.

You have a lot more body mass and gravity to deal with, so your movements compensate for that. You'll find you get a lot more flexability in your moves with practice. The same as building for strength in rugby.

But first, basic things like balance are common to everyone whatever your build.

The practice gets your body used to adjusting to keep you upright. It's your whole body too, not just legs. You'll find, your arms, shoulders and neck will get involved, all trying to keep balance.

So take it easy when starting, like I've mentioned above in a few spots, and let your brain and muscles get used to the new moves, then start picking up pace.

BALANCE EXERCISES
Try a few simple balance exercises such as standing on one leg.

At first use your hand to keep balance, like holding the back of a chair, table or against a wall. Then take your hand away. You'll feel your whole body shift and wobble.






That gives your brain the location of the muscles that need to be controlled for balancing on one leg, something you'll do a lot in shuffling.

The more you repeat, two things happen. Your muscles get stronger, and your brain to muscle memory becomes clearer. Your brain gets used to the different balance positions, and knows what muscle groups to use to counter balance.

Then try your other leg. Try it with arms outstretched, then at your side. Vary the whole lot.



Then try standing on one leg while slowly bending the other at the knee, then raising your bent leg. Repeat this - even while brushing your teeth While it seems a bit funny, doing little things with your arms redistributes your balance centre, forcing your brain to correct the balance.



You'll fall over a lot with these balance exercises - not a bad fall of course, just loosing your balance. But this is also a great indicator to how you are improving. The less you loose balance, the better you're getting.

thanks a lot i realy apriciate it im praticing all time just on little things like bance first like u said.hopfully i will improve bit by bit realy nice to be able to speak to someone about it.

(this is to qote things you guys were talking about on page 8 i diddint see there was a page 9 :'D)

wow :O melbourne really that violent ?? thought that shit only happend in the movies, i just hate it when like 10 or more people go and attack just one guy what pussys :/.
but hay about getting getting the shuffle moving here in iceland finally got some of my friends to learn this and they are nuts about this as well hehe figures and also talked to another friend and he was talking about some of his connections so he will probably get some huge sound system thingys and since this crash as bankrupt so many companies here and the army has left we have some good places to start this of at :'D just hoping things will work out right but i gotta get me a camera and tape me shffling ive gotten pretty good for just practicing on and off

hehe yep you're both right

Unfortunetly yes, the violence is real, for most people it doesn't affect them if you stay away from trouble spots, but the tourism ads don't tell you where the trouble spots are. So I like to mention it so anyone coming to Melbourne is at least aware of the trouble spots. - Avoid any club in or near King St, Crown Casino, or Russel street to start with.

It's not the best advert for Melbourne, but tourists will find out about it when they arrive, cause it's in the news

For instance yesterday there was another drive by shooting at the Bandido's bikie headquarters one senior guy was killed (pic below), part of a turf war over drugs most likely.

News Story> http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24543520-661,00.html



Now you're not likely to be hanging around the Bandido's, but 200 of them rode into the CBD about 2 weeks ago, to party in clubs, so you might bump into them. Or like a Hells Angels guy last year who had a brawl in a King Street club with a stripper, chased her into Flinders Lane around 7am in the morning and shot her, and shot dead a guy going to work who tried to help her, and shot a Dutch tourist who also tried to help her.

The bikie was staying in a hotel 5 doors down from where I lived, his car was parked where I used to get coffee. My building is in the distance in the pic below.



This used to be a safe friendly quiet underground area in the 1990's full of artists, but not any more sadly.

Which is why Shufflers in Melbourne make such a big deal about everyone getting along and not having style wars and fights or whatever. Even if it's in 'fun' or online battles. We get enough of the real thing in real life, we don't want it involved in our dance culture.

BUT ON A HAPPIER NOTE, the rest of Melbourne is fine

Great to hear about progress in Iceland Tristan. That's the way to do it. When the big companies etc got hit in the 1990's recession, suddenly the door opened for the Shuffle to move in.

You just need to think creatively, and keep an eye open for opportunities, anywhere.

It's a new world, and there's no reason why you guys can't contribute to your future, to make it the way you want.

Man, I thought that life in other countries would be wonderful, and
without any complication, but after I read these news,
unfortunately I guess I was wrong.

hehe, yeah I know, it's a bit disappointing. It'd be really nice if we could all get our shit together

I guess that's were we can have success in the underground. Basically everyone in the underground wants to make it a better place than the outside world. Otherwise you just hang around the mainstream world.

We might not be able to change crap stuff everywhere, but we at least make a start with stuff we can control, like our self, and how we treat our friends etc.

We had a general attitude in the oldskool underground, that everyone was accepted at face value, no matter your past, this was a fresh start and we would extend friendship and trust because you were a human being.

But we weren't noobs either. We knew there was nasty stuff, but we wanted to start from a position of trust and friendship, hoping that others would do the same for us in return. The hope was we could live like that on a big scale. Which we ended up doing for quite a few years

So Melbourne's not that bad. It sounds terrible when you clump a bunch of bad stuff together,

But it's Saturday here and tonight the CBD will be crawling with drunken yobs looking for a fight, so the rest of us just stay away, hang out with a few friends, have a good time and no drama's.

Unfortunetly the violence in Melbourne is not restricted to drunken yobs at dodgy strip clubs.

So called PLUR rave clubs (Peace Love Unity Respect) such as 3D are anything but peace loving or respectful. A court case in Melbourne has just heard about the rape of a young woman who went to 3D, by guys she met at the Club. The young woman was raped in the back lane while unconscious by the guy as his 'mates' looked on and cheered. The rapist has been charged, I reckon the 'mates' should of been too. Bloody disgusting.

3D has now closed and most of the other commercial PLUR clubs have closed due to falling support. Unfortunetly that is what the rave club scene decended into in Melbourne the past few years. Not a safe place, not a happy place. These commercial PLUR rave clubs are generally disowned by the shuffle community in Melbourne, we want no part of a scene where rape is considered entertainment.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24557408-661,00.html

PLUR PLUR the so called Peace Love Unity Respect tag for the shuffle really didn't come into use until the late 1990's, well past the end of the oldskool era, and into the Commercial era. It doesn't really relate to the shuffle at all, rather it's about commercial rave culture.

The main difference between the RAVE scene and the SHUFFLE scene, is

RAVE is 'All about the music' and is basically a DJ culture, where DJ's are the focal point.

SHUFFLE is 'All about the dance'. It's a dance culture, the Shufflers are the focal point.

Oldskool : 1990-96
Commercial : 1997-2003
Nuskool 2006 - today

The Eureka flag of rebellion which I mention on page 2 http://mso1.cultureforum.net/tutorials-f1/where-do-i-start-t54-20.htm has hit the news again, after the Soccer Federation of Australia, stupidly tried to ban it at soccer matches. But they didn't account for a bunch of patriotic Melbourne folk giving them a severe ear bashing online and behinds the scenes today forcing them to back down.


We're very protective of our Freedom of Expression in Melbourne, which is why we get cranky when idiots try to restrict the shuffle, like banning crews, meet-ups and where you can shuffle etc.

As decendants of the original Eureka rebels said about flying the Eureka flag

"It's an act of free expression and I would encourage those supporters to fly it as an act of defiance, with the best wishes of the Eureka descendants."


http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24556959-661,00.html



The Eureka flag has been used by many political groups since the rebellion, but the flag was now listed as an object of state significance on the Victorian Heritage Register and was named an icon by the National Trust in 2006.

Paul Murphy, founder of Eureka's Children, a group consisting of descendents of Eureka, said the flag was a symbol of unity.

"Whenever you see the flag, whether it's farmers in Mildura, soccer fans or on building sites, it simply means, 'I'm pissed off with whoever's in charge'," Mr Murphy said.

"It's an act of free expression and I would encourage those supporters to fly it as an act of defiance, with the best wishes of the Eureka descendants."

omg that is sick they all diserve at least 8 years in jail :/ but its good there are some clubs that those kind of people dont go to but garry did you take part in this PLUR thing ?? i mean did you like take part in making it or something and does PLUR have more of the shufflers than the other clubs ???


hehe
ive been seeing many type of shuffle spins but the one i like the most is the one that it looks like the shuffler is shuffling while spinning i think its awesome but i cant find out how you do it on youtube so maybie u know something about it and can help me a little with how i can learn it ?

The attitude of you shows that at least there are still people who are at parties for fun, make new friends and not to create confusion and fight for stupid reasons

Yeah, there's still people around who just wanna have fun, avoid all the fights and commercial club nasties.

I avoided the whole PLUR thing. It was an attempt by commercial clubs and parties to sound like they were oldskool, but the oldskool wasn't interested.

The commercial clubs and parties started late 1990's and tried to sum up the oldskool with a bumper sticker slogan PLUR. The sentiment was mostly right, we weren't really peace love and unity, we'd fight like cats and dogs over creative issues, we were all strong willed and driven to excel in whatever we did. But we respected each other, like I've mentioned before, this is part of the culture of Melbourne to respect diversity. and we had a group commitment to see the underground survive and flourish. So from the outside it looked all love peace unity etc. But the reality was more complex.

The oldskool didn't need to describe itself, we just were. If you wanted to know what the oldskool was about you got involved. But by 1996 after 5-6 years of parties every weekend, the oldskool almost all at once decided to do something else.

This Flinders Lane area (pic below) became THE underground centre of activity. No longer did we just meet up on weekends, we all started to move in together. There were about 300 artists living in this area alone.



We were creative and wanted to move on, not just do the same old same old for another 5 years.

So we shifted out of the scene as it became more commercial, Rave, cliched and rather boring, although quite spectacular with huge budgets to do grand laser shows, decor etc.

We'd still work on parties, but that was work. The underground culture went underground again mostly based in the CBD in a community of buildings. We'd do small studio parties, it was all intimate, friendly small scale etc.

The CBD scene became the new underground, and the commercial parties tried to imitate the underground community using the PLUR slogan on their flyers, like it was code for the underground, but it really wasn't. But if you were new to the scene you wouldn't know that.

From about 1998 the commercial events actually dragged shufflers off the dance floors so they could fit more people into the dance floor. They were only interested in ticket sales, not shuffling. Security would literally grab you on the dance floor and 'escort' you to the door.

These were the sorts of clubs that would put PLUR on the flyer, they were rave based clubs, rave as in 'It's All About The Music' the superstar Dj wanted all the attention, so the shufflers on the dance floor in front of the DJ, were thrown off, and a crowd of people who would cheer the DJ's stood there.

Shufflers basically stopped going out, or shuffled in the dark corners where there was room.

Then a whole new generation of commercial clubber from about 2001-02 came into the scene thinking that shuffling was the lone shuffler almost unseen in the dark corners. They are the ones who are anti crews, anti meet-ups, anti shuffle competitions, anti anything that draws attention to shuffling, because they have never experienced the real shuffle scene, just the dieing days of it, all summed up in a bumper sticker slogan that they think is code for underground, but isn't.

Like today in Melbourne, the dance clubs are basically dead, all the recent big ones like 3D, Pharmacy, PHD, Hard Kandy etc are all from the commercial PLUR era, most of them didn't even start until 2001-02 and only lasted a few years peaking around 2003-04.

So the shuffle scene today is completely different, it's back to a bunch of friends meeting up where every they want to.

More like this recent Shifter vid. They might perform at big commercial competition or event, but as you see in the last half of the vid, for fun they meet up with a bunch of trusted friends, turn up the car sound system and shuffle in a car park.

That way you control who joins you, you sus out dodgy people etc, and just get together and have fun. That's more like the oldskool shuffle scene, casual, friendly, but unless you know someone in the underground, you'd probably never hear about it. Of course, now we just post it on youtube , so it's hardly secret, but at the same time, the vids are posted after the meet-up. It could change location everyweek end, so drunken yobs don't turn up to spoil things.

That's how we did it in the oldskool era, we changed location every meet-up, that way the yobs couldn't find us. But a commercial club, is at the same venue every week for years, they advertise everywhere and that's why it attracts the violence and rapists, the club is a soft target for nutters.

you sure they are only kicking :O hehe how the f**k :'D i mean do they like kick backwards or to the side how do they kick :'D ??