About the site..... and a little bit of me!

Are you boring yourself with your repertoire of moves?

   Do you need to refuel your habit with some new moves?

      Do you need some idea about style?

         Would you like to get your moves more technically correct?

            Do you wish to ask other jivers for some help?

If "yes" then this is the site for you!

My name is Richard Johnson.

When I started to learn jive in 1997, I found modern jive both exciting and nearly impossible to do!  Remembering the moves was essential, otherwise there was not hope at performing them confidently enough to lead a lady.  So each night when I came back at about 11 O'clock, exhausted and sweaty, I typed my description of each move into an Excel Spreadsheet.

I progressed to the intermediates...although had to give up on the first two lessons half way through due to my incompetence!  As the list of moves built up, I had to add columns with features so I could determine whether the move was already in the database.

In 2001 I started the Jiveoholic site.  It was just a web experiment.  I already had the usual "me and my dog" site and wanted more of a challenge involving "Active Server page" programming and databases.  I was able to just let the site read my Excel spreadsheet, which just needed reviewing and manipulating into a consistent format.

In 2002, animations were added to further increase the web challenge.  Each frame has been drawn by hand using Corel Paint. I decided to reuse common frames between moves.  Surely there can only be 50 or 60 different ways for two human beings to entangle themselves with two arms connected on either side of a neck!?....well - 1200 drawings now....!  After about 200 moves were available I decided to make a small charge of £10 a year for the illustrations, leaving all other aspects of the site free.

In 2003, I added the step-sheets (or gallery) of illustrations so each move could be printed.  At this point I decided to donate all income to charity.  My income went down slightly!  Now explain that!  Currently I collect just less than £2000 per year.

In 2015, I decided to no longer charge, mainly because I used Front Page, which is no longer supported by web servers.  Whilst the site still works, it is only "just", and the process of making changes is much more difficult.

I take great pride in this site being independently owned and run by myself. There is no affiliation with any other jive organisation.  I have no allegiance to any particular jive organisation and have attempted to use names or descriptions that are generic to all forms of jive.

I am an engineer/scientist, who spends his work time modelling and visualising all sorts of interesting things.  This jive site is just a hobby, which takes far too much of my time

I am not a particularly good dancer, although some comment I give a good strong lead and know a good variety of jive moves.  I do love air steps and dips, although I have reached my "level of incompetence".  I just wish I had style like other dancers.

I have tried Lindy Hop three times and failed on each occasion to master it enough for free-style.  I learned Salsa for a year and enjoyed that, but could not listen to Salsa music all night!

I feel quite at a loss when I have to "wiggle-dance".  I have two basic moves.  Shift arse left and shift it right....as for what to do with my hands.....no..... give me something with structure.....like jive anyday.

I keep on telling my partner that I have "finished" the site, but the following week I find something to add or tweak!

It is not my intention that anyone learns new jive moves from this database.   You HAVE to go and learn from a jive venue.  This is where you get the real jive experience and is great fun. The whole point of this database is to remind you of moves you already have learned, perhaps bring out some forgotten learning points and to bring back some vitality into your dancing.

Please, please, please remember that dancing can be dangerous, especially when trying out new moves.  Whilst even the simplest can lead to a slip or fall, the more complicated should be first learned in a proper environment by a trained teacher.  Safety levels are given with each move.  Further safety advice is available under help.

Let me know what other features you would like and I will try to support them.  If you know of any resource or are willing to offer any article of advice, please let me know as its my vision to offer such or link to it from this site.  My email address can be obtained from the contact page.

Richard.