Re: klezmer dancing

[MaxwellSt <MaxwellSt...>]

In a message dated 07/21/1999 11:14:58 PM Central Daylight Time, 
HNetsky (at) aol(dot)com writes:

<< when a respectable  local simkhe band launched into a medly of Hassidic 
wedding favorites (I realize it would be a stretch to expect actual 
freylekhs) the crowd could barely get a hora going.  Wow, do we have work to 
do! >>

Any great suggestions from the list on solving this problem?  

It quickly becomes obvious to k-bands who play simchas that the wonderful 
variety of dance styles and rhythms (e.g.: kolomeikes, zhok/horra, sherele, 
bulgar) are not going to get a party going when no one knows the steps.  We 
go out and teach some dances to the guests (such as the very accessible 
Shiffers Tanz/Sailor's Dance as we learned from M. Alpert), but there is a 
limited amount of patience people have for learning and we usually don't get 
more than four dances taught per simcha (two klezmer, two Israeli).  We also 
get a little weary of teaching the same "entry-level" dances all the time, 
but these easy ones seem to be the surest way to get Aunt Ethyl, the gentile 
business associate and the Bar Mitzvah Boy all dancing together for a little 
while.  

As for Hankus's hora/freilechs: The best hora we ever saw was about twelve 
years ago when a group of Serbs came into the Croatian bar where Maxwell 
Street was playing.  We were already packing up, but the Serbs had come to 
dance, and one of them handed us a $20 bill and demanded: Play Hava Nagila!  
As we began to play, they started twirling in a circle, arm over arm, all 
legs moving together, as synchonized as a clock, a ballet, or a chorus line, 
a dance fully of power and beauty.  It brought tears to my eyes as I 
realized: "THAT'S how it's supposed to look!"  Sigh....

Lori

---------------------- jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+