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Folk Dance Federation of California, South, Inc.
DANCING WITH TWO LEFT FEET |
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It always amazes me how closely music is connected to the dancing. Of course it is a bit hard not to dance without the music. How else would we dance? But many dancers are so tuned to the actual melody by which they learned the steps, that when you play a different melody they find it difficult to dance.
I have befriended some Bulgarian musicians and invited them to our picnics where they played some terrific Pravo, Râčenica, and Daičovo tunes. But while the beat was correct for each dance, the melodies and improvisations, while very beautiful, we're different from our usual recordings. Guess what? Many of the dancers did not recognize the dances and thought they didn't know the steps to the dance. They ended up sitting out, while only a few of us continued dancing. I requested that we put on the tapes of the old recorded dances.
I have also gone to several Macedonian picnics and events and dance to a multitude of new-to-me beautiful melodies while doing the old Lesnoto. Not only were the melody's new, but each line's leader did a slight variation of the steps to the same music, probably as done in their village. Most of the people seemed to enjoy the spontaneity, variety, and melodies of the dances.
I fully understand that when learning a dance there has to be some set pattern of steps and music. After all, how can you teach a room full of dancers if you don't follow a set routine? But, once we learn a dance and do it over the years, do we always have to religiously follow the same routine night after night? We can even use some popular American melodies to do some of the dances. Some groups I have belonged to occasionally dance Pravo horo to the tune of "Elvira" and a slow Hasapiko to the popular Cat Stevens' "Ruby My Love."
Debby Bowinski in the December/January 1999/2000 issue of Folk Dance Scene provided a whole page of alternative music to our popular folk dances. Pull out your old issue and you will be quite surprised by the number of folk dances you can do to well-known popular tunes. How about a Râčenica to "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" or a Lesnoto to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow?"
Yves Moreau, quite a while ago, published a cassette (remember those?) of a collection titled "Bulgaria & Sons!" of unusual Bulgarian music with titles such as "Kosher Dilmano," "Táncház in Pirin," "President Ford in Pirin," "Keltic Bulge," and "Helsinki Daichovo," just to name a few.
Wouldn't it be fun to have an evening of dancing to different tunes and melodies that have the proper beat for the dances we do? It would be fun to guess what the dance is and try to dance to it. Maybe some groups could put together such a program at their next Hallowe'en party.
And on second thought, maybe this is not such a good idea, since many of the dancers would refuse to dance to a different tune!
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Printed in Folk Dance Scene, "DANCING WITH TWO LEFT FEET (18), October 2006.