Dance Characterizations?

[SDsalsaguy]

I was having a private discussion with a few other DF members yesterday and a question came up regarding different dance characterizations. Basically, what type of character do we expect from each dance/dance community… and where do these notions come from, especially as regards dances that we, ourselves, do not do?

 

[pygmalion]

Hmm. I don't know. Maybe the music itself? Things we see in the movies or on TV? People we know who do those dances? Those things might shape our perceptions about the dance. Lots of others, probably. I don't know.

 

[Vince A]

As a prelude to responding to this, I re-read the "Evolution of Swing Dancing and Music" by d nice. Each time that I read this, a vivid picture is "painted" in my head. Pictures of dancers and musicians in each of the eras that he wrote about.

He said "Hot Jazz." Man what a picture! Black neighborhoods. White dancers "trying" to learn to dance??? Jitterbug . . . now this is a picture! I grew up with it.

Rock and Roll dancing . . . I did that! I grew up in the 60's, so characterizations are as many as you can "see."

When I think of ballroom dancers, I picture men in black tuxedos, their hair all slicked back and shiney, head high, chin up, and a very stiff straight back, perfect frame. The women are kind of the same. They wear a long gown, the upper portions of their breast ever so slightly heaving, the hair all pulled back in a bun, and they too stand all pompous and erect, and again a perfect frame.

The Latin dancers, ah, *kiss* . . . so sexy, so seductive. Very revealing clothing, with slits in skirts and the men wear shoes with 1 1/2 inch heels (nothing derogatory meant here - I wear them too!), dance movements like making love on the dance floor. Even the names of the dances carry a certain air or ring to them. And it's the music that makes them do this! Ah yes . . . all that's missing is a rose in the lady's mouth!

Swing people . . . bobby socks and saddle shoes, baggy pants, finger snapping while dancing, and a language all their own. The music can be very slow, or to the point of near running to keep up with a partner. My Mom was a swing dancer, so I guess she is the blame for my need to dance. Most swing dancers will dance whether they are just a beginner and cannot dance well - knowing full well that someday they will dance very well!

I truly cannot picture a ballroom dancer dancing right after a few lessons. Of course, this is my pre-conceived notion and my response to SD's question. I cetainly would not go out on the dance floor after only 2 or 3 Waltz lessons . . . only trying to count 1,2,3 or is that heel, toe, toe?

Salsa??? I may go out on the floor after a few lessons . . . after a few tequilas maybe. But then again, those slits in the skirts can also give me the "bravery" :roll: I need to step out there!

OK. Enough. It's your turn!!!!!!!

 

[will35]

I think there are two things I think of when I think of the different dances. First, the crowd who dances it, and second, the atmosphere in which they dance it. For example, I have a few friends who love Salsa. They are young, energetic, popular, friendly, and in general, happy people. They dance mostly in clubs, changing partners around quite a bit. The music is loud, the ambience is very "late night", but pretty friendly. So I associate the dance with that attitude. They are also mostly Hispanics, and travel in tight groups of all Hispanics. Salsa is that type of dance to me. Very young.

 

[youngsta]

This is a great topic for discussion

My perception of ballroom dancers is very similar to Vince's. Black tie dress, high society, very precise movements, seems more serious than fun.

The Swing Vibe is more laid back. Bobby socks, Poodle skirts, baggy suits, saddle shoes, high energy, community type atmosphere.

Tango is passion. Intense, intricate, precise, it's like peeking in on a couple's most intimate moments.

It's strange I really haven't spent a lot of time in contact with these 3 different groups, but the imagery I have of them is very strong.

I didn't forget MY dances :lol: (salsa, cha cha cha, bachata)! Sexy contemporary clothing. Hot, flashy, energetic. Where Tango is passion Salsa is sex appeal. It's the first few weeks in a brand new relationship. Adrenaline is rushing; you spend almost all your time with your new love (the dance)!

 

[Sagitta]

To add to what others have said -- you all paint very vivid pictures that match what I, with my limited time dancing, have experienced:

Latin very machismo, leaders ask the followers to dance more then followers do.

Ballroom (waltz, foxtrot, tango...) very few followers ask leaders to dance. But then these are the traditional dances so traditions/ conventions must be followed.

For swing dance -> leaders asking followers: followers asking leaders is more equal.

Contra is a community/family/friendly dance. No question about it. Very often little kids join in, and often there are potlucks / share a dish affairs. Haven't really seen that for the other dances. Everyone asks everyone to dance! At a big dance unless you are determined to stick to that special someone you probably won't see much of the person you came with.

Folk dancing...Very eclectic and interesting people. Wierd?!?

Argentine tango is the only dance that I haven't really seen! (First dance I tried to learn!! Big mistake! I dropped it after the second lesson. But I am going to go back to AT some time in the future.) Well, I did see AT tonight for the first time as there was a demonstration at a latin night dance that I went to. But, that's not the same thing going to an actual dance.

The music often sums up a picture in my mind of what a dance is like. For instance, I listened to paso doble and immediately understood what it was all about. Seeing the dance in video clips on the web later, simply fleshed out the vivid picture in my mind. Same with Argentine tango. American tango music has a set basic that is clear in the music, that seems to describe constrained/tightly controlled drama while Argentine music is nothing like that.

 

[will35]

Argentine Tango is like the thing that causes writers' block for fiction writers and poets. It's something a three year old can do perfectly and naturally. What three year old can't tell you a story when you ask for it? When we get older things get in the way of nature. Some very few people still have their youth with them when they get older. A lot of people mistake that for talent. It's really not talent, just lack of fear.
In some people it turns into poetry, in others, dance. It's about giving yourself up and becoming young again. If you listen carefully to the music, and you love the music, you can do it every time.
Youngsta, you've got a pretty good idea of what Tango is.
I'd say, though, it's more like puppy love than passion. It's something you might dance with your sweetheart from grade school. Then, you'll sit around, have some coffee, and talk about how things have been since the old days when you used to play at being superheroes on your grandmother's back porch. And you'd laugh and have fun.
Why did you quit, Sagitta? There are always some decent milongas there in NYC.
I really tried not to talk about Tango in this thread, but there you go.

 

[bouncybouncyweee]

I agree with all the Salsa and Smooth/Standard versions, except for one thing. When I think Latin, and a few other ballroom dances, I get reminded of arching, pompous eyebrows and these lipsticked postal smiles that seem so forced and scary sometimes. The clothes get so skimpy also that I wonder- Why wear them? Honestly, there can even be a little taste in wearing skimpy clothing becuase the human body is a lovely thing, but I've seen some freaky pictures too.

 

[will35]

Yeah, the skimpy clothes I don't get. Maybe they think it is part of the character of the dance.
The human body is lovely, but it gets less lovely when it looks more like a machine. I think some competitors look more like those bodybuilders who don't drink water for a week before the competition. I don't want to see every muscle in a woman's body shake around. There is a television commercial for one of those spas, and there is a woman running down the beach, and you can see all her ab muscles jump around and twitch. If she only knew how awful it looked, she'd eat a twinkie or two. I like real people, not those things.

 

[bouncybouncyweee]

I know. The sometimes I feel the dancing loses it's aesthetic beauty in the way they their bodies can twitch and bend. It almost seems unnatural. I still love watching though, and not all the bodies look that way. What bothers me the most is the postal smile though.

 

[will35]

Yeah, here's the thing. If the skimpy clothes are part of the character or history of the dance, it must have been invented by streetwalking hookers in 90 degree weather. That's okay, but if that is true, why would they be so happy? The smile and the clothes just don't go together.

 

[Sagitta]

WARNING Off topic -- sorry

Why did you quit, Sagitta? There are always some decent milongas there in NYC.

I actually am in Ithaca, NY. There is a pretty good scene for AT in this area too. I guess I did not have the confidence in myself at that time, and everyone kept on drilling into my head how difficult it was. Now just don't have the time. So AT lost out. But AT is definitely in my future plans...

 

[Pacion]

I have noticed fairly recently that quite a few posters for salsa, show a couple with a woman leaning backwards or the woman on her knees with her bum facing the camera. :roll: I wonder why promoters are feeling that it is necessary to use such images/photos :?