the episodes

How this started - the eleven "episodes".

It began in 2008 with an issue I was trying to address: a longstanding frustration with recreational folk dancing. I had trouble learning new material, and often felt awkward. Yet occasionally I also heard people say I was a good dancer. Sure, in the course of life, being hypercritical of oneself is a common pitfall. But I started noticing that beyond the internal conflict, I was also dealing with a contrast of values and esthetics within folk dancing that I had not previously noticed or heard discussed.
At the time, I was using Myspace for miscellaneous blogging. To maintain continuity between posts on this topic, I numbered each one as an "episode". Though I may not be focusing on the original issue, I think I'll keep the name for now. Kef is a good thing. Though you can't necessarily make it happen - when it does, it is always appreciated.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

episode 10 - hopping at the Hopmonk (MySpace 5/11/2009)

Where's the kef? - episode 10 - hopping at the Hopmonk
Subject Where's the kef? - episode 10 - hopping at the Hopmonk
DateCreated 5/11/2009 12:56:00 AM
PostedDate 5/10/2009 2:28:00 AM
Body Herdelezi Festival 2009... After 8 p.m., Brass Menazeri leads a procession of the multitude from the Vets Hall to the Hopmonk tavern two blocks away - some crew remain at the Hall to clean up. At the tavern, the sets indoors in the "Abbey" are jam-packed and jumping - VIA Romen (Russian Romani), and the Balkan All-Stars (other festival headliners doing southern Balkan Romani). Very different than the daytime crowd - looks like mostly Hopmonk regulars. Typical Balkan band in a bar - it's our music, but it's their scene. They are digging it on their own terms - dancing solo in every way imaginable. Perhaps tonight they sense they are getting the real deal.

I'm not eager for solo, but what else can you do in a bar? I'm largely invisible, so I might as well relax, enjoy, and practice my moves. But I also want to interact - I want to line dance - because I'm still too self-conscious to seek out some Balkan-aware dancers and solo in a group with them. However, these kids know how to freely move to music better than I do - why should I impose my line dance trip on their scene?

What the heck - so, who do I dance with? All of the few remaining candidates are either sitting it out ("Hi! It doesn't seem like a dance-friendly night, does it?"). Or they are up-front, blissfully writhing away solo with the rest - though in a more culturally appropriate manner. This includes my dance buddy "J" - who I've heard boast she can start a Balkan line even in the most jam-packed 20s-something bar.

Late in the evening, I finally get her to lead a line with me (she first). The two of us move from the periphery into the crowd. Old enough to be the parents of most of them - at worst, we expect to be tolerated. Several Balkan dancers spot this first opportunity of the night, and the two of us are no longer making a spectacle by ourselves. But soon I feel that the people on my left are a bit out of sync - and I turn to discover that the line is now mainly composed of the young bar regulars. They actually WANT to do our stuff! Don't know what the appeal was - but can guess that it included a desire for group participation, and perhaps our movements were providing insights into how to groove to this new music.

And that's how the remainder of the evening went. We started a line for each tune, using standard Balkan community dancing steps (but with a sharp execution), and they followed along. The only thing missing was hotshot youth leadership - to demonstrate cool moves and the opportunity for showing off and for flirting. If you could add that... Bingo! Modern Balkan dance scene!

Next: - ?
(might be continued)
Previous: episode 9 - the Opa Cupa conundrum
Start: episode 1 - the Peninsula

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