Dance Floor Etiquette, Part 1

Oh, yes, one other thing I observed at February's dance was that perhaps it's time for a refresher on dance floor etiquette!

Proper etiquette on a dance floor is basically an extension of the Golden Rule - treat others as you want to be treated. What does this mean, practically speaking?

• Try not to run into others. Leaders, be sure that you keep an eye on your surroundings as you lead your partner, and try not to toss her into other couples.
  
  
• If you do run into someone else, just apologize. You can make eye contact and mouth "sorry," you can kind of holler it over your shoulder, or you can even find the person you ran into after the song is over and just say "hey, sorry about running into you there!" Most people are super nice about the occasional dance-floor collision.
  
  
• If you are enjoying a dance that progresses around the floor at Jive Junction, where the vast majority of dancers are swing dancing (in one spot), please be aware that you will need to maneuver around numerous couples who won't be looking out for you. If you do happen to collide with another couple, be sure to apologize (see above).
  
  
• And, if you happen to be enjoying a swing dance among a mostly ballroom crowd (such as at Lake Robbins), please stay in the center of the floor and be aware that you will need to avoid getting in the way of the couples progressing around the perimeter of the floor. Again, apologize if you do collide.

See? Easy.

The next installment will be about respectfully dealing with your dance partner - do you need to apologize? what if you don't want to dance with someone who asks you? and help! my partner just broke my arm!

I would like to conclude by saying that if anyone at a Swing Des Moines event acts inappropriately or makes you uncomfortable with their actions or words, please seek out a board member and let us know. Not sure who the board members are? Ask the DJ.

Simpson College Social Dance Classes

The fifth annual (can you believe it?) No Sweetheart Required Valentine's Dance was awesome! Great attendance, lots of energy. It looked like everyone got in a lot of good dancing, with one notable exception - we had one attendee with her arm in a cast!

A big thank you to the Simpson students who attended. The aforementioned cast-wearing woman was an instructor at Simpson College (my alma mater) who works in the costume shop at the theater (where I used to work!) and who also teaches social dancing classes - for credit - through the PE program. How awesome is that?!?

Why we do what we do (part 2) - music at dances

"The DJ at Jive Junction never plays my favorite song!"

There is a strong possibility that the DJ at Jive Junction would play your favorite song if asked!

Our DJs try their very best to play music that will get the largest number of people dancing, interspersed with more specialized songs that appeal to a smaller group. They try to read the group and respond to the group's actions - when do people dance, when do people sit down, etc.

But if there's something you particularly enjoy dancing to, please ask! If we have it, we'll try to accommodate your request if at all possible!

Jive Junction was AWESOME tonight!

We just got home from Jive Junction, and I have to say - it was awesome tonight!

We had about 15 people present about midway through our beginning lesson (about 8:15), and I was not going to be at all surprised of that's all we had. After all, it was about 20 below with wind chill, and who really wants to get out in that kind of cold??

But, all told, we had over 4 times that number just an hour later. It was great! We had four or five birthdays this month, so it was one super busy birthday jam, as well!

Many of those in attendance tonight had never been to Jive Junction before, and several had never been to a dance before. It was great to see all these new faces! And, as always, we love seeing the "old" faces, as well.

Thanks to all who came out tonight. I hope you had as great of a time as I did!

PS, more pictures here.

Lighten Up, Iowa!

Capitol City Swing, our performance troupe, is participating in Lighten Up, Iowa! The program starts tomorrow, so if you're interested, there's still time to form your own team, or to join as an individual.

The goal is to increase our level of activity, so we'll be logging our activity each week, and keeping an eye on our total minutes of activity. Perhaps this will mean we'll each be rehearsing more and getting just that much better!

Janet is kindly leading the group, and I'll admit that my level of awareness of what we're supposed to be doing is really low, but I do know that I'm planning to start Yoga tomorrow, and to actually reach my goal of 10,000 steps on a regular basis. (Right now, I only hit it on Mondays when we have rehearsal and Wednesdays when we have class!)

We all will be logging quite a bit of activity this weekend - Jive Junction is Friday and we have a performance at Living History Farms on Saturday. Want to log some activity of your own? Join us for three awesome hours of activity on Friday, 8-11, at the Community Center.

Why Aren't I Getting Asked to Dance?

So, I came to Jive Junction, and nobody asked me to dance. What gives?

This is a question we sometimes hear, and a fear we've probably all had!

The Numbers
Many people assume that most people come to dances with a partner, and they dance only with that partner the whole night. That may be true at some dances, but it has not historically been true at Jive Junction.

One particular evening, I kept a tally. About 60% of people who came to Jive Junction that night came with one other person of the opposite gender (so, as a couple). The remaining 40% came either alone (about 20%) or part of a group of either mixed-genders or the same gender (20%).

About 75% of those who came as a couple danced with another person (other than their "partner") at least once during the night. (This is kind of a rough figure, as I cannot follow everyone around all night, I just tried to keep a tally in my head of who I saw dancing with whom.)

Generally speaking, those who dance only with the person they came with tended to be beginners, who probably lack the confidence that is generally needed to ask a stranger to dance. And that is completely understandable! (And, uh, also those who have small children and rarely have an opportunity to dance together just for fun these days...)

(For the record - S3 tends to be heavily weighted towards singles. Only four people ever came as part of a couple - Randy and Sarah, Mike and Janet - and those four rarely danced with their spouse. Nobody who came to S3 sat out any dances unless they wanted to.)


The Experience
Alright, so we know statistics are on our side. But that doesn't guarantee that everyone will be asked to dance, or that everyone will get to dance every dance, or even that everyone will be able to dance as many dances as they want.

I've also spent several Jive Junctions observing those who are seated during any particular song, and particularly those seated two songs in a row. Here's what I've observed:

- Many of those seated seem to be engrossed in conversation. Available dance partners seem to avoid interrupting a deep conversation to ask someone to dance. Light conversation seems to be interruptable.

- Many of those seated for multiple songs in a row looked cross or inaccessible. Their facial expressions were closed, eyes looked down, they avoided eye contact, their arms were crossed. They looked like they'd rather be grocery shopping than dancing. This does not generally say "please ask me to dance!"

- Seating also plays somewhat of a role. Single people who choose to sit along the back of the room seem to be asked to dance less frequently than those seated (or, better yet, standing) closer to the door. That's just the traffic pattern at JJ.

- Those are remain seated a lot tend to also seem to not know many people at Jive Junction. Becoming friendly with fellow attenders also increases the number of times you are likely to be asked to dance. It is less intimidating for EVERYONE to dance with someone they know than to dance with a total stranger.

- Remaining seated tends to play a role, too. Think about it. First, if you're sitting down and look like you're comfortably settled, you look less accessible. Second, when you're sitting down, you're much much shorter than potential dance partners, who will typically be standing. It makes conversation awkward.

So - if you're coming to Jive Junction and are not satisfied with the frequency with which you are asked to dance - consider whether you look approachable. Sit or stand along the side wall, make eye contact with others, be open and friendly, and you will greatly increase your chances of being asked to dance.

And - please don't forget - if you want to dance with someone...it's usually as simple as asking them. Folks rarely turn down an invitation to dance at Jive Junction!


My own experience at dances (outside of Jive Junction) has been very similar to my findings above. When I'm engaged in deep conversation with someone, I am rarely asked to dance. When I sit in the corner or off to the side, I am asked less frequently. When I am focused inward, looking down, sitting defensively with my arms crossed, and avoiding eye contact with others, I am not asked to dance. (This worked great when I was in my last trimester with Wally and didn't feel comfortable dancing with strangers!)

When I am seated near the dance floor, easily accessible, making eye contact, looking happy, and focused on the activity around me - I am asked to dance much, much more frequently.

Did you know?

a monthly tidbit about the history of Swing Des Moines

November is a time that many people set aside a few minutes (or days) to consider the reasons they have to be thankful. Most of us have been so very blessed with nice homes, family and friends, jobs, enough food to eat, and of course a completely awesome pastime - swing dancing - and an equally awesome organization devoted to bringing you the very best in instruction and opportunities to dance. (pardon the shameless plug.)

As you may know, Swing Des Moines is a charitable, nonprofit organization. From the beginning, we've wanted to not only promote dancing and support the swing dance community here in central Iowa, but we also wanted to do more - to be a part of the larger central Iowa community, and to give back to that community.

One of the ways we accomplish this is through our annual "Give Thanks For What We've Got" food drive at our November Jive Junction. Take a minute to look through your cupboards for extra canned goods, or toss a few boxes of nonperishable items into your grocery cart next time you shop, and bring them to the next Jive Junction. (We will also accept cash, and you can visit the Food Bank's website for a complete list of items they want/need.)

After the dance, we load all the donated items into our car and drop them off at the Food Bank of Central Iowa. I (Sarah) have made this drop-off myself every year, and the staff are always so grateful for our donation.

Jive Junction

What Kind Of Music Do You Play At Jive Junction?

That's a question we hear quite a bit.

Why Don't You Play More Of The Music I Personally Like To Dance To?

That's another question we hear.

Here are the answers.

At Jive Junction, we play music from the 1910s through the present. Think of it as a bell curve - low on the 1910s, high on the 1940s, low on the present. This is particularly true if you were to categorize the modern-day big band music (George Gee, Bill Elliott) into the 30s and 40s, which is the style that the music is written in.

Recently, some have suggested that Jive Junction is only 1920s and 1930s music, which could not be further from the truth. In reality, most of the music we play comes from the late 30s, the 1940s, and the early 1950s.

Why do we play music mostly from these decades? Because it swings, baby. By the mid-1950s, most rock and roll had lost its "swing," and music written much before 1920s did not "swing" either. "Swing" dancing definitely goes better with "swing" music, that's for sure! (Additionally, there are numerous venues around the area that provide the opportunity to dance to "good time oldies" if that is what you are looking for - we try to provide something different, something special, and something truly "swinging.")

We hope to have a little essay up about early rock and roll and later rock and roll, since we find this era of music to be fascinating - the dances and how they changed, the music and how it changed. But not today!


Now, on to the second question. We play music that most people will dance to, trying to gauge the mood of the crowd, the experience level of the dancers, their comfort with different tempos, etc. We also work from past experience, what has worked at past Jive Junctions.

We offer a "request line" that is always open for requests if there's something in particular you'd like to dance to.

But the long and the short of it is - we can't please everybody all the time and, yes, you'll probably have to listen or dance to something you don't like during the course of the evening. Even the DJ has to do that!

So please head on out to JJ, bring your requests, and expand your musical horizons!

January's Jive Junction & LHF Fundraiser

January's Jive Junction had a 50s Prom Theme and it was a lot of fun! Several of our members brought fun decorations and prizes to give away, and the 1950s theme was a fun diversion from our usual music - not something I'd want to do all the time, certainly, but fun for one month!

On Saturday, the Capitol City Swing troupe performed at a fundraiser for Living History Farms and danced to the Waukee Big Band. The Waukee Big Band is probably one of the finer big bands in the area - very smooth sound, nice for dancing!

And because I know you're dying to know, I ended up deciding to just go casual to Jive Junction and wore jeans and a Tshirt! And like I predicted, everyone who chose to dress up was perfectly happy wearing modern dresses that looked 5oish, or full skirts with blouses, etc. And I'm jealous of that in a way!!

Historical Dress

You know, sometimes I feel almost handicapped by my years of research, reading, and catalog browsing into the popular fashions of the swing era (generally, 20s through early 50s). Take, for example, the January Jive Junction.

Some people decided to make it a 1950s prom theme. Most people will go "oh, fun!" and pull out a poodle skirt or some other 50s looking attire and head out for the evening.

But here I am, agonizing over the decision. I have 50s attire, certianly. A few business suits, some pencil skirts, a blouse or two, about 4 house dresses, and two formal dresses. But the formal dresses are older formal - not age-appropriate for a "prom" theme. The pencil skirts are comfortable, but certainly not dressy enough for a prom type event. The suits, definitely not. I also have a few circle skirts, but I dislike dancing in such full, heavy skirts.

I could dip into my vintage pattern collection and make something appropriate for the theme, but that leaves the biggest mental hurdle. I do not feel as though vintage attire is a "costume." They are just clothes that I wear. I used to dress vintage all the time - to work, for errands, etc. - before I became a mother. The vintage wardrobe is just that - my wardrobe. And so I have a difficult time wearing something "prom-like" when I am, well, out of the prom season of my life. It's not age-appropriate, and so it becomes a costume.

oh, what to do?

See - knowledge is not always good thing!