As per the request of one of the DanceNet readers, here are copies of the past ramblings of the DanceNet Webmaster.
Imagine getting a large padded envelope in the mail...
Imagine finding a 8.5x10" picture of Indigo Swing in the
envelope...
Imagine noticing that the envelope was never sealed before it was
mailed...
This story does have a happy ending, though. On Monday, I received an advance copy of Red Light!, the newest release by my favorite swing dance band, Indigo Swing. I will have a review of it on this website when I update the files on Sunday. The CD should be available on June 1.
I see London, I see France...
I see someone's underpants!
This wasn't my idea, but it seemed important. A female dance teacher commented that, at the IC dance, one particular woman was wearing a short shirt, but was not wearing "dance pants". Without giving any clues, my friend indicated that this woman "should have known better". Yes, she was "street-legal", but she certainly was showing off to the world. The teacher said that dance pants come in a variety of colors and styles so there "was no excuse". I'm not as sure that I would have quite worded it that way; however, while everyone has a right to wear what they want, the lack of dance pants under short skirts tends to be a topic of discussion among dancers, along with the snickering and giggling.
Of course, I must be too involved in the dance because I never noticed it myself. I gotta reset my priorities. :-)
I'm glad I already had my decision made for me this Saturday. There are several dances in the area taking place on Saturday, May 22, and I wanted to go to all of them. The regular swing and ballroom dance at Rugcutters Dance Studio is this Saturday. So is Swinging Saturdays in Winchester with Dom V and the Swing Out Big Band. Maxwell Ho is having a big day of workshops along with his monthly West Coast Swing dance at the Belmont Methodist Church. The interesting thing that I wish I could check out is the swing dance at Dan & Suzanne's Dance Studio in Watertown. Dan Radler is primarily a ballroom person, but I loaned him all of *MY* swing music for his dance so I'm curious to see how his dance turns out.
While I travel alot for business, I don't get out dancing all that much while travelling, even in San Francisco. As a result, I really don't have that much personal experience with dance venues around the country. The items that get listed on my website are mostly those that get sent to me. While I do get to experience them once in a while, I don't know 99% of them.
The DanceNet website exists to provide all the information that I might possibly have for swing dancing around the country. Everything I get is put on the website. I spend more time on the website than I do actually dancing! (as I type this at 7 am in the Pittsburgh airport). As a result, if it isn't on my website, it means I don't know anything about it and writing to me to ask me personally for some dance venue not listed on my site is *NOT* going to be effective and just serves to annoy me.
The sponsorship fees for my website do not go towards paying for my dancing-related phone calls. My phone bill to download my email twice a day to Maui was $131 (out of my own pocket). I do NOT have the time nor the money to call up every vendor listed on my website and find out more information. I have a full-time job and have a life outside of dancing. The website just serves as a guide so you know where to start looking.
Please look on the website for any information you need before writing to me. Don't write to me asking for information that you could look up yourself. It's not on my website? It's a good bet that I have no idea either. If I'm travelling on business (I was in Maui until a few hours ago), I really do not have the time to be looking up information for someone who can find the information faster with a few clicks of the mouse button.
Some of you old-timers might remember that I used to run the Boston Swing Dance Society years ago when we took over the organization from the dance professionals. In the beginning there were three "directors" (with Teri and Kathleen) and one of the first things that we tried to do was to set up benefits for the members; that is, give dancers a reason to join the club. That made more sense than trying to get the members first
While the BSDS is currently "in hibernation", the membership discounts should still be valid, though there are probably only a few membership cards that still carry a valid expiration date. I would like to see these BSDS discounts continue, even if the club isn't currently active. There are enough dancers that we should be a sizeable buying power to encourage some dance-related businesses to give us some discounts or benefits. I personally would like to see dancers support the local dance businesses instead of mail-ordering from outside and I would like to see the dance businesses help the dancers in return.
I proposed this idea to the BSDS earlier, but we didn't do anything about it. We need some dedicated dancers who would be willing to pursue the discounts on behalf of the organization (or some other local club). Beyond the current outstanding offers, I think that we have some influence with vendors who want to attract our dance dollars.
"Idiot!"
Whoa! Dem's strong words!
A friend of mine came into the dance world with rosy glasses and lots of enthusiasm, but it appears that some people are working very hard to dampen his dancing spirit. This friend had his table knocked over (and drink spilled) by someone who went out of control. Is there really any excuse for that? I'm not talking about beginners here. This is someone who enters dance competitions and should know better.
Are the teachers not teaching ettiquette and responsibility on the dance floor? Are some of the newbie dancers just clueless? (How many votes for "clueless"?). Doesn't it bother them when they kick other people? How do their dance partners feel? There's no reason to ram a table and knock over everything on the table.
As for responsibility, back in the old days, if you knocked over/spilled someone's drink, you bought them a new one and offered to pay for laundering their clothes. That's responsibility. Of course, in our society today no one takes responsibility for their own actions; it's always someone else's fault. I suppose it was my friend's fault for thinking that it was okay to be sitting and drinking at a table near the dance floor (and get his feet kicked by a moving dancer under the table!).
Stay tuned for more. I'm trying to get my friend to let me reprint his letter to me.
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