by Loui Tucker and Mark Tischler
This article appeared originally in the October1991 issue of The Grapevine.
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The
question often heard at dance camps: "Which dances do you like?" Dancers
go to camps wanting to learn and wanting to like what is presented. They are
highly receptive and not particularly critical. When the camp dances are taken
back to local dance clubs and classes, the drop-out rate is often high. The
folks back home, whose eyesight is not blurred by "camp madness" are
less impressed.
You'll hear experienced dancers
make comments like, "That one will never stick," or "Don't bother
learning that one. It's just a camp dance and it will never last." What
makes one dance popular while another drops by the wayside after a few weeks?
Are there some signs of a successful dance?
Presented here are observations
from our many combined years of dancing, teaching, and going to dance camps.
We've found some elements that seem to be typical of dances that fare better
or fare worse.
1. Keep it simple. Not
the dance, the dance title. Many popular dances have easy-to-remember, easy-to-spell
names. Taba, Rona, and Shir have become standards not only because they are
fun dances, but also because the names are short and simple and readily remembers
at the request board. Hacholmim Achar Hashemesh is not a bad dance, but the
name is a tongue-twister. If the name of a dance is difficult to remember, spell
and/or pronounce, it faces an uphill climb. [Note how Shikor Ve Lo Mi Yayin
quickly became Shikor.]
2. Face In/Face Out.
How do you feel when a circle dance turns and everyone faces out? Don't you
feel better when you're turned around and are again facing in? Whether they
hold hands in the circle or not, dancers prefer to look at faces, not the walls
of the room. Beginners and other trying to learn the dance on the fly on the
outside of the circle also find it difficult with no one to watch. The less
time spent facing out, the better.
3. Hassidic is a Long Shot.
No prejudice intended, but Hassidic-style dances just don't seem to fare very
well back at the local dance clubs. We may like to hear Klezmer music and dance
to it at weddings, but we don't seem to accept the Hassidic style these days
as part of the modern Israeli repertoire. We often express admiration for the
clever way a choreographer uses Hassidic dance movements, but we've seen many
dances fade away except for an occasional party or [if it's especially easy]
as a warm-up dance. For every Hassidic-style dance that your class/club is doing
regularly, there are a half-dozen that have disappeared quickly and quietly
at dance camps.
4. Reverse Direction. Ever
had this happen when you are trying to pick up a new dance: you join the line
on the left end and it takes off to the right, counter-clockwise. Situation
normal. After a few bars of music, perhaps at the end of Part I, the dancers
suddenly reverse direction and move clockwise. You do not know the dance, and
have suddenly become the leader! Panic! This is not critical if a dance is slow
or if you are just repeating earlier steps in the opposite direction. However,
a fast dance with a sudden change of direction and a new step pattern is not
a good bet not to mention hazardous in a crowded room.
5. Inundated with Innovation.
A few inventive steps in a dnace are intriguing and challenging, but a dance
that is overloaded, without a friendly grapevine or a 3-step turn to cuddle
up to can have acceptance problems. These dances frequently become "cult
dances" appreciated by a few fanatics or dance experts while the masses
prefer old favorites with familiar steps.
An interesting extension of
this principle is the "Musika Musika" Maxim. After learning the first
two parts of a three-part dance, the restless dancers will start muttering,
"Musika!" (very roughly translated, this means "Enough already!
Put on the music!"). Part Three had better be quick to teach and easy to
learn.
6. Cut and Paste Dances.
Ever heard a experienced dancer mutter, "This is just like.....,"
after learning a new dance? This means the dance has nothing new to offer. Dancers
are generally unenthusiastic about dances that are re-arrangements of existing
popular steps. What is quick to learn can often be quick to bore. But add one
interesting and creative movement and the dance is saved. Dancers will tolerate
an average beginning and middle if the chorus is creative and fun, especially
if it is accompanied by good music.
7. Look at Me, Touch Me,
Hold Me. The most popular couple dances involve a lot of eye contact, touching
of hands, holding in wrap, ballroom, or varsouvienne position relating
to the other person. If dancers are separated by more than a few feet, but are
facing each other and relating to each other, the contact is still present.
But ask dancers to dance back-to-back for more than four beats, or move away
from each other more than an arm-length for more than four beats, and a couple
dance starts to feel more like a solo. Lose eye contact and other reasons for
dancing a couple dance and you lose the dancers.
8. Sing to Me! Whether
they can carry a tune or not, dancers love to sing along. Even if they don't
speak Hebrew, you'll see dancers mouthing familiar syllables and parts of a
repeating chorus. If all other factors are equal, dancers seem to prefer a dance
where they can sing along, over a dance that is done to music without lyrics.
This is particularly true of couple dances, and less true of very fast line
dances, since it is difficult to breathe rapidly and sing at the same time.
9. Speaking of Music.... Music is critical. All bets are off if the music and/or lyrics are wonderful.
People will love an average dance with terrific music more easily than they
will dance a terrific dance to mediocre music. Dances not accepted the first
time out have often experienced re-birth when they are introduced to new music
or a better arrangement of the old music.
Taking all of these points together,
it seems that what we are saying is that we all want an evening of dancing in
which we dance together. We seem to to want dances that are simple enough to
invite newcomers, but are interesting enough to attract the experienced dancers.
We are happiest facing each other, maintaining human contact, singing together
even if we don't know all the words. We come to Israeli dancing to be together
and dance together in a common experience.
The next time you say to yourself,
after doing a dance, "Now that was a great dance!" see how
many of these elements are at work.