Dancing in the service of thought

Guybrush

Dittohead
1) i think it's always been the case with ny, compounded by the draconian cabaret laws that were enacted at some point in semi-recent history

2) because it is considered supremely uncool to listen to anything "ravey" on the eastern seaboard (Edit: except maybe in DC, but even there it's a dying breed)

Are you sure? I read Diplo saying something to the effect of ‘We are all on the French’s dick now’ [meaning sebastiAn, Justice et al]. I guess I find that hard to believe.
 
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nomadologist

Guest
so what does that have to do with dancing in clubs? yeah, there are some artfags on the LES who listen to justice, but they don't (god forbid) dance to it in public. they have house parties to do those things.

like i said, bars here have to pay to have a cabaret license. otherwise they get fined BIG TIME if people are caught dancing. i'm dead serious.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
That's a shame, I always had the impression that New York was somewhere (like London) where due to its size and variety you could find a scene for whatever you wanted (and dance to it).
 
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nomadologist

Guest
Nothing much seems to, except for the new ways of counting crimes they came up with to make it seem like crime has gone down ;)
 
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nomadologist

Guest
That's a shame, I always had the impression that New York was somewhere (like London) where due to its size and variety you could find a scene for whatever you wanted (and dance to it).

Nope, you're much more likely to find that in the Midwest than on either of the coasts. Nobody here has time to care about scenes. We're all working 60 hour work weeks. (caveat: there are some scenesters here, but very few that have "dancing" involved in their central practices)
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
2) because it is considered supremely uncool to listen to anything "ravey" on the eastern seaboard (Edit: except maybe in DC, but even there it's a dying breed)

Ah well, that's the thing, you see. I'm more into having fun than being 'cool'.

*takes your brain to another dimension*
*pays close attention*
 

aleksy

Active member
I do think people in UK and Europe have insanely low standards for dancing, but of course not everybody, not everywhere blah blah.

The worst UK attitude, I would say, is mainly influenced by drug culture and equates getting lost in the music with trashing around, and good dancing with restraint and holding back. I've never got on with the idea that at the best parties no-one cares what anyone looks like - but for some people that's associated with elitist, anti-rave or cocaine-based clubbing.
 
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Transpontine

history is made at night
Well from the unscientific sample of replies so far, while people are dancing they may be thinking about:

- music and the memories/associations triggered by particular pieces;
- sex - s/he's cute. does s/he fancy me? Is it significant that they're dancing next to me/looking at me.
- personal anxieties - do I look like an idiot? I wish I could dance better.
- their place in the perceived hierarchy of cool - I'm a way better dancer than they are!What are they wearing?
- dancing - what kind of moves should I make to this tune (do many people think about this consciously?)

We might add a new one, unknown to previous generations of dancers.

- must remember to write a clever post about this tomorrow on my blog/Dissensus

Still all this is pretty obvious, I'm interested in exploring the kind of pre-trance state that John hints at here:

I think what's interesting is the space between the obvious thoughts "tits and samples" and being lost in music - I think there is a period where you are starting to think all kinds of abstract meditative stuff which is very hard to recall afterwards - a bit like dreaming
 
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nomadologist

Guest
is it really fun to roll and like let go and flail around arhythmically? maybe. would i rather die than take e and watch people do that at this point in my life? yes.
 

borderpolice

Well-known member
Re: Dancing in EU vs US vs JP: It is totally my experience that dancing in the US is of a higher standard on average than in the US. Japan has crazily good dancers too. Lots of the clubs in Nagoya and Tokyo that I went to when i worked there had dancing competitions. and you can see crews dancing on the streets in front of slightly reflective shop fronts at night. Great!

I don't know any clubs in london that I would go tto for seeing high calibre street dancing. That's is a shame because i love to watch and be inspired by ...

Re: what one thinks while dancing Apart from the obvious (checking out the talent), i often count! (1) to keep my dancing in time (and make interesting moves).(2) more importantly, because i'm generally trying to figure out the music i'm listening to, the more so, the better i like the song: what's the drum pattern, how is the bass line syncopated, how would i program this pad and so on ... probably not very cool to admit this, but in the dark nobody knows ...
 
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nomadologist

Guest
if you have natural rhythm, your brain is always counting musical time! not dorky, just natural
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
is it really fun to roll and like let go and flail around arhythmically?

That doesn't really sound like fun either to watch or parttake in, and it's certainly not what I'd characterise as a 'natural' way to dance. If I saw someone doing that I'd probably either think "what a twat" or "s/he needs medical help", depending on the spasticity level.

I'm not saying you shouldn't care at all what you look like to other people, just that (for me, anyway) how much fun I'm having just dancing because it feels good is more important. And of course, everyone dances better (from a spectator's POV) when they're enjoying themselves.
 

sufi

lala
eden said:
... there is a period where you are starting to think all kinds of abstract meditative stuff which is very hard to recall afterwards - a bit like dreaming

yeah totally on this one myself;
especially when i used to get out to the sound systems more often i would very consciously aim for a state of reasoning thru heavy bass & irie meditation - the intense music squashes opportunities for conversation & produces a very insular experience - i would save up issues for deep consideration and often reach tough decisions thru regular dub therapy coupled with relentlessly positive & spiritualist mc & lyric
often also the vibe would ignore earthly/fleshy pleasures for the sake of jah love which also focusses attention on righteous outcomes

however, it has to be said ... actual dancing at such occasions was most often limited to a stoned nodding sub-skank apart from maybe 1 or 2 serious leaping jumpers amongst the crowd - in this case less the motion than the sonic extremes is key,
these days, as a less faithful follower i tend to get good meditation thru a peaceful stroll, maybe by the river - is that similar or different?
 

Jezmi

Olli Oliver Steichelsmein
Still all this is pretty obvious, I'm interested in exploring the kind of pre-trance state that John hints at

I usd to be well into housedancing (examples of really good dancers: & ).

The effect it had on me was bringing me into the present (here & now). Not thinking about what happened earlier or what happens next, but being very aware of the present. It's a similiar state meditation achieves and the earlier house dancers considered the dancing as a spiritual act. That probably came from all the gospel in the house at the time, but the gravity it has is what you give to it.
 

sufi

lala
yeah top thread by the way, thanks a lot transpontine
whirl0184.jpg

woebot & my old mate from way back has trained up as a spinner - proper devotional dance
 

Lichen

Well-known member
is it really fun to roll and like let go and flail around arhythmically? .

And the big-fish-small-fish-cardboard box thing never looked like fun either. E dancing can produce good results when the user can dance a bit in the first place and takes control of the drug, bending it to their own funky ends; control rather than complete submission, I suppose.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
E dancing can produce good results when the user can dance a bit in the first place and takes control of the drug, bending it to their own funky ends; control rather than complete submission, I suppose.

That's a pretty good way of putting it.
 
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