Social Dance: The Music

[j_alexandra]

People got talking about music at socials, and Larinda suggested a new thread. Voila.

Could use some advice from DFers. A social I sometimes attend, sometimes host, got feedback from someone who commented about the music, saying, "If a beginner dancer can't dance to the music then it's no longer a social dance. Most of the music was geared towards performance dancing."

What music do beginners want to hear at a social?

FWIW, I thought there was a decent mix, all the selections were appropriate as to style and tempo. Perhaps not heavy on the street dances -- a few WCS and Hustle, bachata, merengue, etc for instance, rather than a lot of them.

Will be happy to hear any/all input. TIA.

 

[Steve Pastor]

The song should very clearly have the rhythm of the dance it is being played for.
As I was leaving tha "dance party" the other night, the dj announced that the next song was a waltz. Well, it didn't sound such like a waltz to me.
They played a song for cha cha, and that rhythm was not clearly marked in the song.
Salsa has a well defined basic step, that I would like hear in a song.
Songs for West Coast Swing should have swing content, or more simply, feature a steady shuffle beat.
I might look at songs on the Arthur Murray dance albums from the 50s, and see if they are on YouTube.

 

[Steve Pastor]

14. swing is an ineresting medley.

Last Cheater's Waltz, which is still played at CW places, is not the best choice, I'd say, for beginners.

 

[j_alexandra]

Thanks for the input, Steve. Much appreciated.

 

[opendoor]

....someone commented about the music, saying,"If a beginner dancer can't dance to the music then it's no longer a social dance"

Sounds as if not a beginner argued that way, but an organizer. Organizers always are in fear, their students could be scared off at their socials. I find it should be right the other way round. Students need the informal presence of good dancers and their examples on the dance floor. And good dancers will of course expect sophisticated music. And finally, an appropriate playlist will not compensate what was missing in the lessons, I mean floorcraft, etiquette, and of course musicality training.
-Perhaps students as well as experienced dancers should be asked to make contributions to the playlist or to dj themself. It could be announced beforehand: DJ XY from.. to, DJ YZ from..to.
-A lot of DJs (including me) use a beamer and visualizing app when dj-ing. So they can announce the next style, rhythm, year, title and so forth.

 

[ajiboyet]

"If a beginner dancer can't dance to the music then it's no longer a social dance. Most of the music was geared towards performance dancing."

STRONGLY DISAGREE.

Socially, I'm mostly a salsa dancer. And while I love a slow calm salsa (mostly because it lets me style very slowly and fully and I don't have to clip my movements), I also love a crazy song from time to time. I've seen people struggle with Marc Anthony's Aguanile (for example) because of its speed and all those breaks. But if you know what to do with those breaks, they create some of the most glorious moments when you and your partner and the music are just in perfect sync even though you're in a foreign country and you've never met this person and you don't even speak their language.

Ah, the bliss.

A social dance floor is not a beginner dance class.

That being said, I do believe it's important to be considerate to beginners, for the continuity of the community. Not even just in music selection, but encouraging more advanced dancers to ask them to dance as they're usually struggling with confidence in social dance settings (apart from dance ability/intimidation).

 

[opendoor]

A social dance floor is not a beginner dance class..

That!!

 

[FancyFeet]

There's a social around here that starts all of its dance tracks by announcing what dance it is, like "let's cha-cha!". I hear that most social dancers actually really enjoy it. It takes the pressure off beginning and intermediate dancers as they don't need to identify the what dance goes with what they're hearing.

(Note, I hate it, because I feel like learning that skill is an important part of social dancing, but I do understand that learning is stressful. Plus, sometimes I want to dance a hustle to a cha-cha, and that's okay!)

 

[raindance]

I think it varies a lot. Some people are really turned off by current (pop / top 40 / stuff you'd hear on the radio) music used for ballroom socials because it isn't truly proper for the ballroom and latin dances. Others are turned off by a lack of current music and don't want to dance to songs they've never heard before or that they think their parents or grandparents would have liked decades ago. So it depends a quite a bit on your crowd. I think a mixture of time periods and music styles is good, so everyone gets at least some of what they want.

I do agree it's important for social dancing that it be relatively easy to pick out the beat and which dance(s) work for a given song. Having a playlist on paper, or projected from the DJ booth, or announced can definitely help beginners figure out what to try and what to sit out. Even as a more experienced dancer I appreciate knowing when the next dance I'm waiting for or wanting to avoid is coming up so I'm not in the restroom at the wrong time!

If a lot of the beginners are showing up from group classes at the studio, you could see what music is played for the beginner group classes and try to include at least some of those songs. That would give them some familiarity.

In the long run, it's best for dancers to get used to a wide variety of music, as that's what they'll encounter if they attend a wide variety of events (social or competitive or both). But for a general social, you do want to give the beginners a good chance of success. Around here, part of that includes having quite a few hustles, cha chas, foxtrots, waltzes, salsas, and swings on the list. What dances are most beginner friendly may vary locally based on group lessons and whatnot.

And from what I have heard from at least a couple of studio owners - no matter what they do with the playlist for a party, they always get complaints, usually from the regulars, who want a bit more of this or that or the other. But if they adjust for one person, then someone else complains, etc. It's hard to please all of the people all of the time!

 

[Mengu]

It's hard to please all of the people all of the time!

When everybody is complaining about the same thing, you fix it. When everybody is complaining about different things, you're probably doing something right. When nobody is complaining about anything, you file for bankruptcy.

 

[tangotime]

Some people are really turned off by current (pop / top 40 / stuff you'd hear on the radio) music used for ballroom socials because it isn't truly proper for the ballroom and latin dances.

My sentiment exactly !!.


I would concede however, that the swing genres are in some cases , compatible with modern day music .

 

[tangotime]

. When nobody is complaining about anything, you file for bankruptcy.

LOL !!!

 

[davedove]

You can't please everybody all of the time. That being said, the majority of your songs should be appropriate for the majority of the group. If you're playing a song with a really subtle beat and only the most advanced dancers can follow it, it's probably not the most appropriate song for your social.

While most people eventually get to where they can find the rhythm in songs, at times I think this might be something studios could teach more. Most dances I have been to either announce the style or have a song listing which shows it, but occasionally I've been to places where the beginning dancers have to rely on others to find out what to do.

 

[tangotime]

You can't please everybody all of the time. That being said, the majority of your songs should be appropriate for the majority of the group.


.

DJing is NOT just about playing music. It takes a lot of skill and experience to "read" ones audience, no matter the musical genre . In addition a very comprehensive "library " .

 

[Purr]

Music should have a recognizable beat, so most dancers can readily identify what dance(s) is appropriate, instead of standing around discussing it amongst themselves when a song starts, until one or two brave couples start dancing something on the dance floor.

It's also not good when a song is announced it's one dance, when in reality another dance might be more appropriate, or there's multiple choices. This happened at a recent social when a few songs announced as "swing" should have been announced as "foxtrot" or maybe "swing dancers move to the inside of the dance floor, foxtrot dancers move to the outer lap".

I prefer music to be rotated frequently among socials, so that I'm not hearing the same selection of songs every couple of parties. And I prefer some current/former pop hits to be included in the rotation, to keep it fresh for younger dancers who may be attending (and also not perpetuate the sometime impression that partner dancing is for older people).