Hardly a day passes that I'm not grateful for the giant plate of awesome (with extra awesome sauce) that is my job.  Sure, I've talked (sometimes at length) about the downsides, but man- my job is sweet.  Why?  First, my boss is generally me.  And I suck less than many of the people my friends work for.  True, I never leave myself alone, but typically, I'm pretty understanding.  Second, and more relevant to this post, I work (for all practical purposes) in the world of non-profit.  I work in a community-driven, big-picture-oriented, camaraderie-over-competition setting.  My co-workers want me to do well, and I support them in return.  This is not always the case, and has not always been the trend, but I think generally, The Scene has gotten wise to the value of cooperation.  Allow me to illustrate.

Myopic example:  Back in The Day, us old-timey Knoxville dancers used to go down to new-fangled Atlanta for just about anything.  Big workshop?  Great!  Small workshop?  Cool!  Bigger-than-usual monthly dance?  We're there!  We thought of hotlanta as our sister scene in a way- the cooler older sister we'd never had.  We were fortunate enough to have an exchange (not that common in the early 2000's), and it was our pride and joy.   Yet not just once, but twice (as my addled brain recalls), Atlanta, a mere 4 hours away, hosted workshops on top of our exchange... knowingly.  What makes the story so sad is not just that they thought it was ok (which is lame), but that we continued supporting these organizers (hey, events were scarce in The Dark Times).  Have a conversation, past-self!  Tell them that's not cool!  Le sigh.

Super-Awesome example:  This year, when preparing for Enter the Blues, Meghan and I discovered that unwittingly, we were for the same weekend as an event just a few hours from Atlanta, in Columbia, SC.  We didn't have them on our calendars, and they hadn't announced their event, so we thought our weekend was safe, and confirmed some very important details.  When we got an email from the Swing Into Spring team, we were a little heartbroken to know.  But, being the awesome peeps that they are, they said, "well, since you're stuck, we can move our weekend."  Now, back in The Day, the excuse would be made that lindy and blues are different dances, so there's no real competition.  But if you haven't been to the dark side lately (whichever dance you do less, that is), you're likely to see some pretty familiar faces.  The swing world is not a big one, and whether you dig on Bal, Charleston, Lindy, or Blues, you have a good chance of seeing familiar faces at any other swing-umbrella event.  We're all just lovers of vintage american partnered folk dances, here.  So they moved, and we've offered to help cross-promote (when they're ready) and maybe even offer some good-old-fashioned incentives for people who want to get down with their lindy AND blues selves.  Bam- everyone spreads the love of dance, and the Southeast gets more than its share of cool events to attend.

But this post isn't about how cool the Columbia people are (although, of course, they are), or how glad I am that we've moved forward from an age of "may the biggest event win" to an age of "let's make the best dance scene possible."  This post is about some ways that we can continue to move forward towards an even friendlier, healthier scene with fewer chances for conflict, and better dancers all around.  So, with much ado, I present to you:

Tools for the Scene

1. A regional, non-public calendar.  In the past, I've used a google calendar, and given access to anyone who is an organizer.  This is important because it lets organizers put "maybes" on a calendar, so that they can give each other a heads-up before going public with an event.  This way, organizers can talk before deposits are made or tickets are booked.  Let's not repeat the nastiness of the Dark Ages.

2. The recognition that Lindy and Blues or Balboa and Blues events will, in fact, be in direct competition.  Honestly, I even dislike Bal-Blues competition, but there are fewer of us who do both, so I'll settle for this: if it's a lindy event, it competes with any other swing-umbrella event (excluding Westie).  Regardless of dance style, I'd like to see 2 months between events in the same city, and ideally several weeks between events in the same region.  

3. This one doesn't exist, but I like the idea- a staff/volunteer database.  I have people who have worked for me who are worth their weight in gold.  Likewise, I have some positions at my events that need someone super reliable.  Beyond personal knowledge, how I do I find super-awesome people to work for me?  What about someone who fails to show up for 3 of their shifts with no explanation?  I'd like for them to explain why they put Bob's Exchange in such a bad position before I hire them for mine.  (If anyone makes this, let me know!)

4. Google Docs.  No, really.  Do you have any idea how powerful google docs are?  No, really.  Check it- this is how registration for Enter the Blues works this year: 
     1. You pay on our website.
     2. Paypal emails us.
     3. (Glitchy right now, but in hypothetical land, this happens) a gmail filter reads the email, and sends you the form to fill out.
     4. You fill out the form, which populates a spreadsheet.
     5. The spreadsheet sees that you're done, and emails confirmation.
     6. The spreadsheet autopopulates other spreadsheets with only the relevant data- so Karen, our lovely housing person, doesn't have to see what track you're taking, and our financial sheet doesn't tell us if you're allergic to cats.
 For real- Google does registration for us!  It takes a fair amount of work on the front end, but still- it's cool.  Of course, if you want to really go pro, and have a great team of support, I also recommend Open Dance.  Very smart, very professional, and good peeps to top it off.  Want other uses of Docs?  How about storing bios for your local instructor pool so they can update them at any time, and you never have to pester them to resend again?  Or, having your instructors for a weekend create cohesive curriculum using a doc that includes internal notes like pre-requisite moves or nice material to follow up with?

5. Public dancing.  Quite the opposite of public shaming, dancing in public gets you in the public eye.  We as a dance scene owe our existence to a Gap commercial, neo-swing bands, and a couple of movies.  The more people know that lindy/blues/balboa exist, the more likely they are to give it a shot.  So have outdoor dances at exchanges, dance in the park on Sunday, dance at music festivals.  And if you have a media connection, use it!  Get the word out- dance is a way cooler way to meet folks than  this is:  

I'm a believer that more events mean better dancers, and that's a good thing- but we need to place them with wisdom.  So, I'm curious- what else can we do?  How else can we grow the pool of dancers (and maintain our sanity), so that events can flourish?  

With much love and lots of organizing on the brain,
-m.

Recently, I've had been fortunate to spend a lot of time dancing to several live bands.  Dan and I did a one-week tour with Solomon Douglas, and were able to teach the beginner lessons before the dances.  Normally, I think we tend to have people dance about 110-125bpm for most of the lesson, pushing them to 130-135 on the high end.  Teaching right before a live band, though, we felt compelled to push the tempos a bit faster; we started them closer to 125 and tried to spend the bulk of the class dancing above 130, to give them a fighting chance at feeling comfortable during the dance.

Swing musicians (and blues musicians) spend a lot of time (most of their time) playing well above that 125bpm beginner mark... often, their mode is much, much faster.  In fact, it's fairly common knowledge (at least according to the internet) that if you hire a band, you need to coach them on a few things- namely, keep the songs short, and the tempos lower.  Most bands are pretty darned accommodating.  I noticed that Solomon even changed his tempo profile from scene to scene throughout the week.  As a dance community, we value bands that are "used to playing for dancers."  That's a pretty intriguing thought... the idea is that bands need to change what they do to be fun for us dancers.  So here's the question- how do we meet them in the middle?  How do we push our scene to be fun for bands?

I think there are several things we can do to make musicians want to have us around, as much as we (hopefully) want them around:

1. Teach your dancers to clap for the bands.  I know- you want to dip your partner, tell them how awesome they are, and maybe even talk about how great the song/band was.  Guess what?  The band can't hear you!  Their language is applause, and they need some love back from you to have a good time playing.  I've been at events where the dancers were having a great time, and failing to applaud (young scene)... let me tell you that the backstage chatter did not reflect the audience's feeling.  The band felt unloved.  So hug your partner- right after you've given a rowdy round of applause.  

2. If/when a jam breaks out, let the musicians see!  Clear a space so the band can have a clear look at the performers.  Why?  Because not only can you dance to the music... they band can play to you.  That's the advantage for you (the dancers).  The advantage for the band is that they're included, instead of shut out.  Ever been at a huge event, and walked in to see a ring of butts watching something awesome?  Not awesome for you, right?  Let's make it common knowledge that the band is a crucial part of the jam.

3. Let's tailor our scenes to the bands.  Let's teach our dancers to dance well at super fast, super slow, and super medium (?) speeds.  Most scenes have a pretty strong comfort zone.  Sometimes, it's unofficial (certain scenes are classically fast and charleston oriented, some really dig the slower, more chilled out feeling).  Sometimes, it's even imposed by organizers (a whole other topic of debate, I'm sure).  But let's make it a point to have a wide range of tempos where we can play.  Sure, you might not have the resources to be a master from 60-320bpm, but try to encourage your dancers to step outside the 120-160 range (or the 180-220, or the 110-140, etc).  Let's be able to dance well(ish) at any tempo.

This is a challenge to dancers, organizers, teachers, djs, and me.  My dream is that at some hypothetical future date, I can say to a band, "I'm hiring you because you're rad.  Do what you do best, and what you feel good about- my dancers can hang."

Much love,
-Mike

Bonus!  - if you're looking for an incredible opportunity to get into the heads of musicians (and practice hearing/making/dancing to live music for a week), I can't say enough good things about the Augusta Heritage Festival, in Elkins, WV. 
Why you should go:
1. This year, swing week is offering a whole class on playing for dancers and dancing for players (you could have skipped reading that blog!).  
2. There are classes on how to make music- whether you already play an instrument or not.
3. There are jams happening all over campus all day and night, concerts, hangouts, and more merrymaking than I can fit in one paragraph.  
4. The advantage of this over a music festival is the direct dialogue with the musicians- as in, everyone there is either a musician or a dancer, so we talk at lunch, in class, at dinner, walking around the mountain...   
5. Constant exposure/conversation/practice of music will make you a dramatically better dancer.  Dan and I have taught there for several years, and every year we come away much better dancers.  
6. Ice cream with lunch.  
7. Vacation in the mountains.
8. A week!  Did I mention it's a week long?
9. Solomon Douglas will be there (as will Dan and I). 
10.  Learn to speak musician!  This makes hiring a band much easier.  Also, music structure (macromusicality) will make more sense.
11. This will make more sense: 
http://gallery.me.com/edmalloy#100328 12. I will teach you why you need a spoon to properly eat a chocolate chip cookie.13.  Did I mention that the music is kick-ass and constant?

There is a week for blues (which unfortunately has no partner-dance classes this year) and a week for swing (that's where Solomon, Dan and I will be!).  

Details:
Augusta Heritage Center
Elkins, WV
Swing Week: July 29th-August 3rd
Website: https://augustaheritagecenter.org/swing/

I am struck, at moments, by the peculiar relationship between dancers and musicians.  Personally, I'd rather dance to canned good music than live bad music.  That being said, having a live band or musician who brings a good sound can move me in a way that surprises me every time.  Likewise,  there are some musicians who would prefer not to share a stage with dancers; an understandable hesitation, since dancers can be a distraction, and a musician's livelihood comes from being the center of attention at their shows.  There are some musicians who are downright hostile to dancers even being in the crowd (including one band who gets djed very regularly).  Then there are musicians who appreciate what dancers bring in the way of energy.  And, finally, there are musicians who use dancers as another layer of art, and make something together with dancers.  


I recently had the honor to perform with some truly talented musicians recently, at the August Heritage Festival (link at bottom).  Daryl Davis, Saffire (the Uppity Blues Women), and Fiona Boyes were kind enough to share their stage with us at the Blues Week concerts, and gave us more energy and fun than we knew what to do with.  Who's "we"?  Dan Rosenthal (formerly of Pittsburgh, now of Tampa Bay) was kind enough to take a week out of his life to be my "lovely and talented".  In addition to helping me teach the classes, he also made performances possible, for which I am completely grateful.  In addition to the rockin' tunes by the aforementioned super-talented musicians, we also requested a slow tune, and Joe Filisko (links at bottom) stepped up to the plate.  We ran into Joe the day before the show, and he asked how slow we wanted: 60ish bpm would be great.  He told us that, after seeing us over the course of the week, he had just the perfect song.  


The evening of the performance, Joe's first song was a fox-chase/train song combo.  I couldn't see how the audience took it, but the pros backstage were leaning out of their seats, shaking their heads: impressed.  Then Joe said something like, "for this next song, I'm stretching way out of my comfort zone; I've never done anything quite like this.  That last song was easy," leaving the audience to chuckle, bewildered.  From backstage, we heard Joe start a snap, or perhaps it was his foot on the stage.  Then Joe played the most ghostly, hauntingly sweet and eerie tune I have ever had the honor of dancing to.  Ranking right up there with Nina Simone's "Tell Me More and More and Then Some" (link at bottom), Joe's quiet, husky voice and the sweet, strange lyrics told a story of love, while the harmonica painted dark harmonies and juxtoposed intimacy with longing and loneliness.  The name of the song, I have found, is "Need by Baby," by Big Walter Horton, and it normally sounds nothing like the way Joe did it that night.  Making our way onstage, knowing that Joe was pushing himself artistically to create something with us, wrapping ourselves in character and dancing as the song itself... that will forever be one of my favorite memories of all time.  Was our performance flawless?  I don't remember, nor do I care.  Dan's dancing was the best I've ever felt it.  We had already decided to put in some things that were purely for the audience- some blues flash, and some a few bits of tango flash (if they fit, which they did).  My feelings on that?  Simple- we wanted to use any tools we had to move the audience: to create a visual for whatever it was that Joe was going to play.  We wanted to show a room full of musicians what we as dancers feel and hear.  It dawned on me, at some point during the song, that the audience was deathly quiet, in contrast to the rowdy cheers and hoots with previous performances.  There wasn't any time to question it, but if I had, my answer would have been provided when the song ended.  Joe finished his last note, and I get chillbumps remembering the instant transition from pin-drop silence to deafening explosion.  I don't think I've ever been as proud and honored as I was that night.  I cannot explain how absolutely grateful I am to Dan and Joe for giving me a chance to do what I love, and a shot at making art.


Much Love,
-Mike

Ps:  Links!

Joe Filisko's Homepage
Joe Performing at the National Harmonica League
Nina Simone's "Tell Me More and More and Then Some"
A typical performance of "Need My Baby"
Augusta Heritage Festival
Saffire: The Uppity Blues Women
Daryl Davis
Fiona Boyes

Pps: If I get access to the video, and permission to post it, I'll do that.  If I only get the video, I won't post it, but will have it, if you'd like to see it sometime.  As of right now, I don't have either.  Wish me luck!