Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

what is "blues dancing"?

2 views
Skip to first unread message

Asya Kamsky

unread,
Aug 1, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/1/00
to
Can someone tell me what "Blues Dancing" is? I'm hearing it
in the context of Lindy (As in "Blues dancing is dances to
music that's too slow to Lindy to") and it's being taught
around Lindy crowds.

From the descriptions I've heard it sounds kind of like
prom dancing (ugh), so I'm sure I'm missing something here...

Anyone? (and since I dance WCS, comparison and contrast may help me)
--
Asya Kamsky
webmaster, The Next Generation Swing Dance Club, http://www.tngsdc.org
never speaking in official capacity.

Bob Ford

unread,
Aug 1, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/1/00
to
Asya:

Paulette Brockington from Detroit taught a workshop at Norma Miller's
recent Swing by the Sea in Monterey and it is on our video notebook
tape. She also just produced some tapes of her own and my guess is one
of those is likely on "Blues Dancing". You can reach her at
313.869.9385 if you would like more info.

On 1 Aug 2000 21:21:06 GMT, as...@baygate.bayarea.net (Asya Kamsky)
wrote:

Bob Ford
Images In Motion

Jon Leech

unread,
Aug 2, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/2/00
to
In article <8m7f02$ati$1...@news.bayarea.net>,

Asya Kamsky <as...@baygate.bayarea.net> wrote:
>Can someone tell me what "Blues Dancing" is? I'm hearing it
>in the context of Lindy (As in "Blues dancing is dances to
>music that's too slow to Lindy to") and it's being taught
>around Lindy crowds.
>
>From the descriptions I've heard it sounds kind of like
>prom dancing (ugh), so I'm sure I'm missing something here...

Prom dancing done by people who know how to dance :-) If you have a
floor full of couples balancing on each other and swaying, and one or
two couples actually dancing something interesting and interpretive to
the same music, the latter couples may be blues dancing.

Think slow dancing with variable amounts of sensuality, sleaze,
and/or schmooze depending on the participants' comfort levels. Great fun
with the right partner, and terribly uncomfortable otherwise.

>Anyone? (and since I dance WCS, comparison and contrast may help me)

If the local WCS venues were to play non-NC2S down at ~80 BPM, blues
dancing would probably emerge spontaneously. Um, musicwise some examples
might be "Every Minute, Every Hour, Every Day" (on the "Tin Cup"
Soundtrack), and the perhaps eponymously named "Blues In The Night" by
Joe Turner.

Jon
__@/

Lavolta Press

unread,
Aug 2, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/2/00
to
In the 1920s, blues dancing, as described in dance manuals, was yet
another variant of the fox trot. There were lots of fox trot variants
that differed from "fox trot" mostly in terms of their marketing labels.
By 1920s definitions, blues music could be either slow or fast; but to me
only the slow music seems like "blues." Basically any fox trot variation
that works to the music will do. According to some manuals a little more
shoulder and/or hip movement was used than in the fox trot.

I have not seen "blues" as such described in 1910s dance mauals. But I
suspect that in the early 1910s the steps would have been a slow one-step
and after the mid 1910s (when the fox trot developed) a fox trot or
one-step.

Fran Grimble

---------------------------------------------
Visit our web pages!
Books on historic costume and vintage clothes
http://www.lavoltapress.com
Historic and vintage dance
http://www.best.com/~lavolta/dance/index.htm

Laurie Z.

unread,
Aug 3, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/3/00
to
In article <8m7r06$br8qo$1...@fido.engr.sgi.com>, nos...@oddhack.engr.sgi.com
(Jon Leech) wrote:


> Think slow dancing with variable amounts of sensuality, sleaze,
> and/or schmooze depending on the participants' comfort levels. Great fun
> with the right partner, and terribly uncomfortable otherwise.

Gosh we need more Lindy Hoppers on this group.

This is how I'd describe it. Except that I'd say really sleazy, and
hopefully with someone you know well enough - or with someone who knows
it's just dancing.

Laurie Z. MST #65818
You do it, I'm bitter. -Crow

Lusty Wench

unread,
Aug 3, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/3/00
to
In article <zimm-03080...@fjerntal.humgen.upenn.edu>,

Laurie Z. <zi...@hhmi.upenn.edu> wrote:
>
>In article <8m7r06$br8qo$1...@fido.engr.sgi.com>, nos...@oddhack.engr.sgi.com
>(Jon Leech) wrote:
>
>> Think slow dancing with variable amounts of sensuality, sleaze,
>> and/or schmooze depending on the participants' comfort levels. Great fun
>> with the right partner, and terribly uncomfortable otherwise.
>
>Gosh we need more Lindy Hoppers on this group.

Funny, what Jon was describing sounded to me exactly like one of my
favorite WCS dances.

Lusty


Jon Leech

unread,
Aug 3, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/3/00
to
In article <zimm-03080...@fjerntal.humgen.upenn.edu>,
Laurie Z. <zi...@hhmi.upenn.edu> wrote:
>Gosh we need more Lindy Hoppers on this group.
>
>This is how I'd describe it. Except that I'd say really sleazy, and

Sounds like you've danced with Simon, then? :-)

>hopefully with someone you know well enough - or with someone who knows
>it's just dancing.

Jon
__@/

Vlad Petersen

unread,
Aug 3, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/3/00
to
"Laurie Z." wrote:
>
> In article <8m7r06$br8qo$1...@fido.engr.sgi.com>, nos...@oddhack.engr.sgi.com
> (Jon Leech) wrote:
>
> > Think slow dancing with variable amounts of sensuality, sleaze,
> > and/or schmooze depending on the participants' comfort levels. Great fun
> > with the right partner, and terribly uncomfortable otherwise.
>
> Gosh we need more Lindy Hoppers on this group.

Lindy Hop does not always have to be danced to a slow music. For
example, you can lindy to songs like "Jump Jive and Wail" (Louie
Prima's), "Goody goody" and "Flat Foot Floogie" (several variations),
"Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" and even "Sing Sing Sing" (Benny
Goodman's). I admit, at the speed of "Sing Sing Sing" there is not
much styling and footwork you can do but it's quite enjoyable to do it
once in a while, say twice out of twenty or so dances.

> This is how I'd describe it. Except that I'd say really sleazy, and

> hopefully with someone you know well enough - or with someone who knows
> it's just dancing.
>

> Laurie Z. MST #65818
> You do it, I'm bitter. -Crow

Regards,
- VP

--
Vlad Petersen | <vladimip at uniserve dot com>
Vancouver, BC | *Good pings come in small packets*

Anita Rowland

unread,
Aug 3, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/3/00
to

Vlad Petersen <vla...@unisere.com> wrote in message
news:3989F277...@unisere.com...

> "Laurie Z." wrote:
> >
> > In article <8m7r06$br8qo$1...@fido.engr.sgi.com>,
nos...@oddhack.engr.sgi.com
> > (Jon Leech) wrote:
> >
> > > Think slow dancing with variable amounts of sensuality, sleaze,
> > > and/or schmooze depending on the participants' comfort levels. Great
fun
> > > with the right partner, and terribly uncomfortable otherwise.
> >
> > Gosh we need more Lindy Hoppers on this group.
>
> Lindy Hop does not always have to be danced to a slow music.
<snip some classic lindy hop songs that aren't slow>

I don't think Laurie was saying that lindy *should* be slow. We are
talking blues dancing here, which is a term I've heard used to
describe the slow, close dancing lindy hoppers do when the music
is ballad-style, very slow, like 80 bpm.

but blues dancing isn't the same as lindy hop

here's a description of a workshop session I took on this,
with Steven Mitchell and Louise Thwaite:
http://www.halcyon.com/anitar/journal/122898.html

another entry -- a pre-dance class that I just observed:
http://www.halcyon.com/anitar/journal/1999/080699.html

when I was in Portland OR last summer, for the Portland
Lindy exchange, I danced a close one with a Seattle friend.
it does help the comfort level if you know your partner.
http://www.halcyon.com/anitar/journal/1999/072599.html

regarding lindy hop not *having* to be slow, I like a broad
range of tempos, from very moderate to as fast as I can handle!


--
Anita Rowland
Anita's BOD -> http://www.halcyon.com/anitar/journal/
Anita's LOL -> http://anitar.pitas.com/

Icono Clast

unread,
Aug 4, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/4/00
to
In article <zimm-03080...@fjerntal.humgen.upenn.edu>,

zi...@hhmi.upenn.edu (Laurie Z.) wrote:
> really sleazy, and hopefully with someone you know well enough - or
> with someone who knows it's just dancing.

I do some sleazy stuff often prefaced with "Is your husband watching?" A
not unusual license is "We know it's just dancing". So do I.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Icono Clast -- A San Franciscan posting from San Francisco.


Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Laurie Z.

unread,
Aug 4, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/4/00
to
In article <8mcpfr$ci6l6$1...@fido.engr.sgi.com>, nos...@oddhack.engr.sgi.com
(Jon Leech) wrote:

> >Gosh we need more Lindy Hoppers on this group.
> >

> >This is how I'd describe it. Except that I'd say really sleazy, and
>

> Sounds like you've danced with Simon, then? :-)

Simon Selmon? Yeah!

Laurie Z.

unread,
Aug 4, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/4/00
to
In article <3989F277...@unisere.com>, Vlad Petersen
<vla...@unisere.com> wrote:

> "Laurie Z." wrote:
> >
> > In article <8m7r06$br8qo$1...@fido.engr.sgi.com>, nos...@oddhack.engr.sgi.com


> > (Jon Leech) wrote:
> >
> > > Think slow dancing with variable amounts of sensuality, sleaze,
> > > and/or schmooze depending on the participants' comfort levels. Great fun
> > > with the right partner, and terribly uncomfortable otherwise.
> >

> > Gosh we need more Lindy Hoppers on this group.
>

> Lindy Hop does not always have to be danced to a slow music. For

This is true but we are talking about blues dancing.

Laurie Z.

unread,
Aug 4, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/4/00
to
In article <8mcead$2nr8$1...@idiom.com>, Lusty Wench <lu...@lusty.org> wrote:

> In article <zimm-03080...@fjerntal.humgen.upenn.edu>,


> Laurie Z. <zi...@hhmi.upenn.edu> wrote:
> >
> >In article <8m7r06$br8qo$1...@fido.engr.sgi.com>, nos...@oddhack.engr.sgi.com
> >(Jon Leech) wrote:
> >
> >> Think slow dancing with variable amounts of sensuality, sleaze,
> >> and/or schmooze depending on the participants' comfort levels. Great fun
> >> with the right partner, and terribly uncomfortable otherwise.
> >
> >Gosh we need more Lindy Hoppers on this group.
>

> Funny, what Jon was describing sounded to me exactly like one of my
> favorite WCS dances.


Blues= hardly any patterns though, just a lot of body leads and improv.

Jon Leech

unread,
Aug 4, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/4/00
to
In article <zimm-04080...@fjerntal.humgen.upenn.edu>,

Laurie Z. <zi...@hhmi.upenn.edu> wrote:
>> Funny, what Jon was describing sounded to me exactly like one of my
>> favorite WCS dances.
>
>Blues= hardly any patterns though, just a lot of body leads and improv.

Extremely close contact improv :-)
Jon
__@/

Laurie Z.

unread,
Aug 8, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/8/00
to
In article <8mf409$cu7o2$1...@fido.engr.sgi.com>, nos...@oddhack.engr.sgi.com
(Jon Leech) wrote:


> Extremely close contact improv :-)

Now you're talkin'!!!!!

L. Perez

unread,
Aug 8, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/8/00
to
>>> Think slow dancing with variable amounts of sensuality, sleaze,
>>> and/or schmooze depending on the participants' comfort levels. Great fun
>>> with the right partner, and terribly uncomfortable otherwise.
>>
>>Gosh we need more Lindy Hoppers on this group.
>
>Funny, what Jon was describing sounded to me exactly like one of my
>favorite WCS dances.
>

exactly... sounds to me like sumpin Spider an I have been doin fer years. Kinda
melting pot of WCS and Foxtrot and Niteclub done to Blues below 60 BPM...

L. Perez

"Let a rotten saying not proceed from your mouth, but whatever saying is good
for building up as the need may be..."-YHWH

Icono Clast

unread,
Aug 9, 2000, 3:00:00 AM8/9/00
to
In article <20000808181421...@ng-xa1.aol.com>,

lpere...@aol.comnospammy (L. Perez) wrote:
> >>> Think slow dancing with variable amounts of sensuality,
sleaze,
> >>> and/or schmooze depending on the participants' comfort levels.
Great fun
> >>> with the right partner, and terribly uncomfortable otherwise.

> >what Jon was describing sounded to me exactly like one of my
> >favorite WCS dances.

> exactly... sounds to me like sumpin Spider an I have been doin fer
years. Kinda
> melting pot of WCS and Foxtrot and Niteclub done to Blues below 60
BPM...

Some years ago I was "dancing" with a non-dancer perhaps 20 years my
junior. We were as close as it's possible to be and a good fit, too.
Cheek to cheek: "This is wonderful," she wistfully sighed into my ear
and went on to lament ". . . what my generation missed!" Yes, she, and
her generation, will never know what it's like t'do that when you're
sixteen. I remember it well.

0 new messages