Nominations for quotes of the month -- 2003 June

Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2003 16:58:05 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.arts.dance
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Nominations for quotes of the month -- 2003 June
[Larry Gantman] (re what makes a good DJ)
. The DJ understands that the character of the dance audience changes each
hour at a typical WCS venue and accordingly modifies musical styles as the
evening progresses
. The DJ plays songs that are known to make people want to dance WCS
(Kenny Wetzel used to do this by dancing to music 50 times at home
before ever playing it for others to dance)
[Victor Eijkhout]
Since dancers are often desperate to dance, no matter what the music,
some DJs (and bandleaders) never find out they play crappy music.
[Terry Rippa] (re what makes a good DJ)
"play the cycle", from slower tempos to faster before starting over
[fictional character] (re what makes a good DJ)
"...play something that doesn't suck..."
[Enio Cordoba]
Once sat around with the inimitable Kenny Wetzel discussing deejaying. Playing
at the old disco club on Robertson Kenny had built the crowd to a fever pitch
and the flor was jammed. His next song was terrible and absolutely cleared the
floor. The manager charged up to him and started giving him hell and told him
to get that crap off right away. Kenny's response? Kenny jerked a thumb over
his shoulder towards the bar and said "take a look at the bar" They were like
10 deep at the bar. The manager never complained again. I always remember him
telling the dancers to take care of the waitresses and bar staff. One reason he
had such a long run at many of his clubs.
My favorite was at our own Swing Jam. Some lady came up and told him not too
nicely to play some request that would have killed the mood. His priceless
response: "Do I look like a F#@king jukebox?" She was so pissed she marched
over to me and demanded he be fired. I told her if it came to her or Kenny, she
could pick up a refund at the door on her way out.
One of the things that made Kenny so great was that he took chances. It wasn't
the safe songs he played , it was the unique one that was on some obscure
label. Three minutes, everybody should like it, not too slow not too fast-
sounds like we're trying to make the music PC for everyone. Sounds a little
vanilla to me.
[Jon Leech] [...] if you go someplace where people are there
mostly to drink booze and hit on other people, dance etiquette is going
to be poorer than if you go someplace where people are there to dance.
[Michael Young]
There's a lot of "Dances-good, Barroom, bad" stuff here. It isn't
that simple, IMO.
I've seen swing dancers try to take up a full 6' X 4' space for a
Lindy Hop swingout in a bar where couples on the floor usually took
up cozy 30" circles. I've had swing dancers refuse to do less
than 8" rock backs when one inch would be fine.
I've seen ballroom dancers try to move around a barroom with
the mans right ahnd and woman's left at eye level, elbows in
"prepare to ram" position, and a RiGhTeOuS how-dare-they-block-
line-of-direction look in the leader's eye.
I mean, even at a dance event, to stay rigidly to only what
you learned in class is not good dancing. In a bar room,
it's rude.
In close couple dancing in a bar, collisions are usually limited to
"bum brushes," not the upper bodies and elbows when dance community
people take to the floor.
[mikkalai]
IMO Merengue is unique in that you love it if you DANCE it, rather than
execute tricky steps to impress yourself, your partner, or spectators.
Of course, you can do *very* tricky things in Merengue, and spectacular, and
sensual, and sexy, and goofy, and silly, and athletic, and theatrical.
If you like DANCING, you can do anything what you want in Merengue.
[johnpower] (re Merengue)
I think it should be reserved for drunks on cruise ships....
[Benj]
Next to Tango, Merengue is probably the most sexy of dances.
It's sexy and flirty and yet at the same time has a kind of silly
playfulness to it. I think it's all those seniors learning merengue
on the cruise ships that have given people the wrong impression of
the dance.
[Benj]
The key to merengue is the basic dancing motion. Everyone learns to
limp along, but REAL merengue dancers have this kind of rotary
swing to the motion. It's a tad tricky to get, but once you do, you
are DANCING, then it's like anything you do works!
[Tegan] (re West Coast Swing and Young Dancers)
> I heard complaints this evening about some of the new music being
> played. I explained that it's necessary to attract the youths. I also
> commented that I like some of it.
This seems like a common perception among older dancers. I disagree.
Most of the "contemporary" music that gets played is pop music (i.e.
Britney), which appeals to few teens older than 13. How do you explain
the fact that the Lindy scene is full of people in their teens and 20s
yet here (Seattle) the average age of WCS dancers is at least 40? I
have a hard time getting my Lindy friends to go to WCS dances, mainly
because of their misconceptions about the dance. Two of these involve
music:
1. WCS is all danced to pop music these days.
2. They play too much country music.
A lot of younger people could enjoy the blues stuff, especially swingy
blues. No country blues. Maybe it's different in Texas or something,
but around here most young people really hate Country. Anyway, I don't
think contemporary music is the best way to get young people into WCS.
In terms of all dances, I do think new music for ballroom helps a lot.
Also in my experience it's much easier to get younger people into
Latin first, before Smooth/Standard.
[Robert Emmons]
It has taken me a while to figure this out, but I think I understand
the basic styles danced in the Latino clubs in the NYC area. They
make no distinction between Salsa and Mambo, and everybody *breaks* on
two. We cannot find anyone, anywhere who breaks on one, except by
mistake.
Nevertheless, there are two main styles. The Eddie Torres style, and
the Palladium style. Torres style is more common in the NYC Latino
scene. The Palladium style is taught by Angel and Addie Rodriguez.
The Palladium style has timing similar to that taught in most ballroom
studios around here, but it really looks completely different. Both
Torres and Palladium move more like Hustles, while the ballroomers
stay more stationary.
Here is the major style difference as near as I can figure it out:
Torres:
* Step on one
* Break forward or backward on two
* Step on 3
* Hold 4
Palladium:
* Hold one
* Break forward or backward on two
* Step on 3
* Step on 4
[Robert Emmons]
If you tell a Torres instructor that they are dancing on one, they
tend to become defensive: "No. No. We *step* on one, but we *break* on
two."
You pass your feet on the steps. This is what gives the dance the back
and forth movement that looks Hustle-like to me. Here is the sequence
as I understand it:
1) Your left foot steps back passing your right.
2) Your right steps back passing your left, and you "break" changing
direction from backwards to forwards.
3) Your replace on your left.
4) You stop or hip roll.
5) Your right steps forward passing your left.
6) Your left steps forward passing your right, and you "break"
changing direction from forwards to backwards.
7) You replace on your right
8) You stop or hip roll.
[L.Perez] (re Mambo)
I went to Cuba last year and people
were breaking on the 1, the 2 and the 3 so I dont think ther's a hard
and fast rule in authentic Cuban Mambo.
[Ron Nicholson] (re Hustle)
Since the downbeats and upbeats are less emphasized in the music,
they can be less emphasized in the dance.
[Bob Wheatley] (re Medleys for Swing)
As a dancer, I would absolutely hate it. It's considered rude (to me) to
quit dancing while a song is still playing. A normal end for each song
allows for a definite end to each dance and it also allows for a partner
change. There's absolutely no one on earth I want to dance one continuous
song with for a half an hour.
No one.
[Larry Gantman]
How times have changed! In the '70s we frequented Bogart's, a disco in Long
Beach, California, and danced hustle. The DJ started each 45 - 50 minutes
set with a slow hustle. Each successive song faded in as the preceding song
faded out; each new song was played slightly faster than the preceding song.
By the end of each set couples were flying to Donna Summer, et al.
Typically, if a man wanted to dance he had to ask a woman the moment the
first song of the set started. And if he quit dancing with her before the
end of the set, she'd likely never dance with him again! :^)
[trish_connery]
Medleys are, IMO, chopped up, regurgitated bastardizations, an insult
to the original tunes, unsuitable for dancing or anything else.
<<bleh>>
[Mikkalai] (re Tango, must be ballroom tango)
So what's wrong with a lady leaning back? (I mean right from the waist)
(See p.217 for an answer, printed upside down).
--------------------------
...p.217.
Answer: I can barely move!
[avid_dancer]
If dancers just looked at the head as an 8-pound counterweight,
then dancing gets lot easier.
-- ---------------------------------------------
Richard Maurer To reply, remove half
Sunnyvale, California of a homonym of a synonym for also.
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