I Feel Like Dancing!!

Bella said:
From the film "Too Many Girls" (1940). A wild dance scene with a young Desi Arnaz playing the conga! That's the fabulous Ann Miller dancing in the striped skirt. Watch in full screen.

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Wow, I had not seen that movie or communal dance scene. Incredible energy that would put Gloria Estefan to shame.
 
Bella said:
From the film "Too Many Girls" (1940). A wild dance scene with a young Desi Arnaz playing the conga! That's the fabulous Ann Miller dancing in the striped skirt. Watch in full screen...
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Don't recall ever seeing that before, thanks @Bella . But if I did growing up, probably would not have remembered anyway. Suspect I just absorbed things like that earth creature wise visually by inner imaging feeling how I might feel to make those same dynamic body movements. Recall I have admitted as a 5'6" short thin male Caucasian that I never bothered trying to learn to partner dance growing up or through my twenties despite visiting many alcohol bars A to Z and various residence partying because women were generally too embarrassed to dance with unknown short guys.

Imagine how someone that began dancing dynamically for the purpose of visceral enjoyment somewhat similar to those in Bella's link but to rock music at live rock concerts with powerful music of the era might turn out after doing so at least occasionally for decades while attending much live rock music, especially in large crowds. Attended months and months of world touring Classic rock 2 to 4 bands a night, 3 or 4 times a week for months 1970 into 1971. Hollywood dance choreographers including tap dancers in a vague sense have had that same jazz bilateral dancing style that goes back to the 1920s.

Those dancing in the link to the bongo rhythm are doing so on a six count beat. Rock is more often a 4 and 8 count. But note the way they in that video as bilateral 3-dimensional space creatures with a front and rear end as in 2 to the third power or 8 rebound left and right, carry a lot of dynamic motion. Learning how to carry balanced dynamic motion in repetitive dance movement is critical to being able to dance smoothly and balanced with most happy enjoyment for lengthy periods.

Notice how the dancers have discovered that they can actually step in a repeating pattern almost walking with a regular step distance, back and forth, left and right, and left and right, using that stored rebounding muscle energy within their own bodies just as skiers do skiing as a body/ski system. Ann Miller delivers what is possible at another level in what is possible at the highest level of fast human ankle movement but the rest of her repetitive movement is just like the bongo dancers.
 
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David777 said:
Don't recall ever seeing that before, thanks @Bella . But if I did growing up, probably would not have remembered anyway. Suspect I just absorbed things like that earth creature wise visually by inner imaging feeling how I might feel to make those same dynamic body movements. Recall I have admitted as a 5'6" short thin male Caucasian that I never bothered trying to learn to partner dance growing up or through my twenties despite visiting many alcohol bars A to Z and various residence partying because women were generally too embarrassed to dance with unknown short guys.
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You're welcome @David777. 🙂 I'm glad you enjoyed it.

It might bother tall girls to dance with a man who isn't also tall. I've never had a problem dancing with gentlemen of moderate stature. Maybe it's because I'm 5'2”. You just need to find a little gal to dance with.
 
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I certainly had that opportunity once into my 20s but was already so dominantly into freestyle at a level as a model for others, not for social reasons but rather visceral enjoyment just like many others, that I used that as an excuses to not go there. For instance I could have joined swing dance groups since several have always existed hereabouts but already was content and not really ever interested in going in that social direction. Between Tahoe skiing, Sierra Nevada backpacking, landscape photography, and rock music, and dealing with medical limitations much less an 8-5 m-f tech career, I was already up to my neck in finding ways to fit in more leisure time.
 
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"Strictly Ballroom" (1992) Directed by Baz Lurhmann. Starring Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, and Bill Hunter.
Needless to say, hence the title, this film is filled with great dancing.

 
When I used to dance at Fillmore West in SF in 1970 there was mostly just standing in front of stages thus little sit down seating. A large area stage right was people just dancing including this person. For younger generations which I follow little culture of, Electronic Dance Music, aka EDM and house music tends to dominate and is what is occurring at some current large festivals. Generally concert goers have always tended to be rather inhibited dancing in public unless they can do so within the anonymity of large dense crowds where others are dancing.

During every dance genre era, there are usually specific drugs involved with dancers. Most people at those EDM events dance with rather simple body movement ways without doing much with their feet beyond jumping up and down in place while swinging arms swaying head. Many at those events since the 1990s use MDA, aka Ecstasy, a psychedelic and stimulant. What most dancers in any genre from any decade tend to get right is drinking alcohol may loosen one's inhibitions while not surprisingly as a depressant, reduces more dynamic dancing performance.

With live rock music after about 1975, the explosion of concert goers switched from weed and psychedelics where dancing was more complex to coke or speed and alcohol where dancing mostly stopped. The fact profit oriented concert promoters began putting in seating in front of stages and selling much beer made that much worse. Well except at Grateful Dead concerts where again there is more anonymity with many other like others. In the 1990s RAP and Hip Hop artists that used mostly weed carried over decades from the 1920s jazz era, began a long current period of talented dancing that still exists.

In the below EDM dance video, dancers use much taken from Hip Hop with many quite talented. The key difference from these dancers versus 95% of others, is that they discovered how to do whatever with much dynamic movement of their full body. More body mass in movement provides a larger tool. Thus they've learned what to do with their feet. At 10:40 is what they term ELECTRO SWING with ankle foot twisting and is what I saw some doing in 1970 and is related to Tap dancing movements, neither of which I tend to use.

At 13:10 is what they term VOGUE DANCE and at 15:30 TECKTONIC that are more common, easier with EDM because it is mostly just upper body, arms, hands.

 
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Had to watch the whole fun 16:25 minute EDM video again. Video does an excellent job showing several variations of each style. Much EDM uses heavy bass beats at 120 beats per minute.

If you can dance like some of those dancing with the ELECTRO SWING style at 10:40 thru 12:30, you can dance freestyle with this person.

Non dancers might note how with most of these dynamic EDM dance styles, there is much upper body arm and hand movement that is countering lower body leg movements.

Skiers use the similar upper versus lower body separation, countering and control. Key for engaging more dynamic motion as a bigger tool.
 
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