[Dixielandjazz] Re: Tempos for Dancers

[Stephen Barbone]

> Joe Hopkins acjspres at aol.com wrote
> If you start playing swing gigs for the Lindy Hoppers the tempos are
> critical...these folks are usually college age and can dance forever so don't worry
> about the length of the tune. (tune speed below snipped)
>
> Fast Lindy     220-360 bpm
> Balboa          220-360 bpm
>
> Dixieland works great for these dances...most of the tunes are perfect.On the
> festival circuit the favorite band for these kids is the Titan Hot
> Seven....and the band loves to play for the Lindy Hoppers.

I agree that the kids have lots of energy, however when we play a tune like "That's A
Plenty", very up tempo, for either a Balboa or a Fast Lindy, and the tune runs 8
minutes, they usually sit the next tune out. We do a fair amount of concerts, with
paid dancers aged 21 to 30. When you pass the 5 minute mark on up tempo Balboas, they
are working hard and really start to sweat. So we always have some dancers dancing,
and some dancers sitting. We do not shorten the tunes for them and they like the
challenge. We usually tell the audience that "this next number is going to run 8
minutes which is a a test for the dancers, because anything over 4 minutes is real
work." This involves the audience and gets the dancers a big hand when it is over.

The "energy" of these concerts is terrific and when we hug the girls, they'll pull
back and say, "Oh, I'm all sweaty." We say "So what, so am I". It is a wonderful
moment and a wonderful hug and the audience loves it.

We play a 4/4 swing beat Chicago Style at these events and the kids love it. We mix
the tune speeds so that they can cool off on a tune like "I Want A Little Girl", or a
slow Blues between the up tempos. I don't know what you call the dance they do to a
slower blues, (below 100 beats per minute) but it is very sexy.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone