Where are all the cool dancers?

January 15, 2008 8:51 AM

Where are all the interesting dancers?

I'm working on a photography project. It's pretty simple. I go to a place where a dance is happening, set up a backdrop and shoot portraits of the dancers in the back of the hall. I did a proof of concept kind of thing at a contra dance here in Maine and it went pretty well.

I'm looking to do this in other locations with other styles of dance. My interest is generally in couples dancing and how dance builds community.

I need to find more cool dances and dance halls to photograph in.

Plus points for
1) Being within reasonable driving distance of Maine (but not necessarilly, I may travel)
2) Locations in NY (I may try to spend some time there getting to as many dances as I can)
3) Other locations where I might catch more than one kind of dancing by travelling there
4) stuff I have never heard/have heard of but don't know anything about...like...I don't know...a migrant laborer dance hall? Or a weird hall in the middle of nowhere that does polkas. Whatever you got (or have heard of)

I'd take any and all suggestions for this. I'm looking to broaden my mind on the subject. If something seems to obvious, please don't hesitate to let me know anyway.

posted by sully75 to media & arts (18 comments total)

Maybe dance troupes that include disabled dancers? See here for a New England example.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 9:00 AM on January 15

If you're ever in the Boston area, I recommend going to a swing dance. I can vouch for the Monday night dances put on by Five Guys Named Mike and It's All Swing as a place where rad dancing goes on paired with a strong and awesome community.
posted by plaingurl at 9:04 AM on January 15

Go to Springstep. I know the Exec Dir and can hook you up there so you can shoot. They have ties to tons of local groups as well.
posted by mykescipark at 9:18 AM on January 15

Have you considered going to rock shows for this? Communities often spring up around punk, metal, hardcore, etc.

Also, if you want to travel down to Manchester NH, there's the Glendi each fall, and the Assumption Church's picnic in the summer -- both of those revolve around tons of Greek food and Greek dancing.

Neither of those two seem to have proper websites, but while trying to find online info about the Assumption picnics, I stumbled upon this website, which may point you to a few more dance-centered events.
posted by Greg Nog at 9:20 AM on January 15

The Empire Dine and Dance here in Portland, Maine hosts a tango night about once a month. They're also booking other types of bands which would bring in dancers. Plus it's a very cool spot!
posted by suki at 9:33 AM on January 15

Definitely swing dance. Mainiacs Swing Dance Society has swing dances at least biweekly. And if you're headed to Boston, the big daddy in town is Swing City, hundreds of people dancing every Friday night.

Why not also check out some nearby colleges. Many have dance clubs or groups that hold regular lessons or dances. And ask on Craigslist - you may find all kinds of things from Latin to tango to Cajun dancing not far away.
posted by Miko at 9:33 AM on January 15

On the "travel" end, Breakbone DanceCo here in Chicago have several video clips on their site you might take a look at.
posted by Su at 10:13 AM on January 15

Earthdance is a retreat center in the Berkshires for contact improvisation dancers. There's an explanation of contact improv on their site, and you can probably google around and find groups even closer to you.
posted by clavicle at 10:51 AM on January 15

If you're interested in nightclubs and raves, send me a message. I have info for rave/warehouse/alternative (legal) all night dance parties including and between Maine and New York.
posted by infinityjinx at 11:02 AM on January 15

Thanks for all these responses...please keep them coming. I'm definitely interested in the travel end of this too. Like, is there juke joint dancing left? Polka? Where is the line dancing capital of the world?
posted by sully75 at 11:34 AM on January 15

I can't answer your questions exactly, but perhaps I can give you some stuff to explore. This flickr set is a bit different from what you're doing, but I find the work inspiring, and hopefully you will too. And although ballet isn't incredibly obscure, you may be able to take a page out of his book and consider pursuing schools of dance.

Additionally, you might consider sending an email to John Wheeler, a professor of corporate law at the University of Virginia. I spent an evening photographing a dance session with him this past summer, and he's a gifted storyteller with an incredible amount of knowledge about the role of dance in community. His wife is a talented violinist, and together they teach traditional and community dance around town. If you have questions about research, he may be a good contact to ping.
posted by Hankins at 12:57 PM on January 15

Polka, yes, in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. There's a big Slovenian-American population there and they've got their own polka style which seems to be a pretty big deal to this day. There are radio stations that play nothing but polka, and I'll bet you could find out about dances by calling them up or checking out their websites.
posted by clavicle at 1:03 PM on January 15

Another vote for swing dances. There's a few weekly events in Rochester, NY; if you want more information on them get in touch with me.
posted by sjl7678 at 1:12 PM on January 15

Try Googling "gender free contra." There's at least an annual dance somewhere in the northeast. This is contra dancing that appeals to the gay community.

I have also heard tales of nude contras.
posted by PatoPata at 1:54 PM on January 15

You might also want to check out clogging; I know there's a group in Maine, as I've seen them perform at the Common Ground Fair. Not sure of their name, though, and googling didn't help too much, although I did find this list of dance studios in Maine (which includes one clogging studio).
posted by dizziest at 2:21 PM on January 15

The Downeast Country Dance Festival is March 28-29, Orion Performing Arts Center, Mount Ararat Middle School, Topsham, Maine. NEFFA, the New England Folk Festival, is April 25-27, 2008, Mansfield, MA. There's some International Folkdance in Maine. Email's in my profile.
posted by theora55 at 3:06 PM on January 15

I know you said you were interested in couples' dancing. However, since you are also interested in how dancing builds community, you might want to look around for a local Indian cultural organization (Indian as in from India). The ones around where I live have big dance nights for holidays and weddings where they do lots of distinctive group dances (like Garba, Raas with Dandiyas). Often, Indian temples will organize such events as well.

Most colleges have Indian organizations, so that might be a good place to start.
posted by bluefly at 4:01 PM on January 15

The competitive latin/ballroom community is quite close-knit. Go to a studio and ask when the next/nearest local dance competition is. Most comps have it all - in addition to the high-level adult dancers, there are events for the kids (with parents on the sidelines), social mixers between events where the non-competitors get on the floor, nervous beginners competiting for the first time, dance games and social competitions with random partner assignment, dinner with a professional dance show, pro couples competing, and so on. Comps can be just a tiny evening event, or an all day event, or a multi-day event, and there are lots of them.
posted by -harlequin- at 9:03 PM on January 15