The Scene. Detroit. Channel 62. One of the hottest TV shows in Detroit between 1975 and 1987. "Here for us with The Scene, you got to see people you knew from school or there was a chance you'd run into them at the mall." "It had a lot of impact on me as far as being a deejay and being exposed to music that I wouldn't ordinarily be exposed to." "I got two left feet; I'd just make a fool out of myself. And you'd have some people down there that would do that, but the energy was - you didn't care." [Previously on MeFi.]
posted on May 9, 2008 - View this thread

The full length of Tom Davenport's "Born for Hard Luck" featuring Peg Leg Sam, the last of the great medicine show singers/dancers/musicians.
posted on May 8, 2008 - View this thread

Ricky Flores photographs of B-Boys in the 80s.
posted on Apr 21, 2008 - View this thread

slappity-slappity-BOOM!-slappity-slap-slap-slap-BOOM!... Slap dancing from opposite ends of the earth! In Samoa, it’s called the Fa'ataupati; it’s said to have originated out of the need to swat insects away. And in the Tyrolean Alps, it’s called the Schuhplattler, supposedly the oldest surviving dance in Europe. And on MetaTalk, it goes like this, amirite?
posted on Apr 20, 2008 - View this thread

Apa Tani bleeding tubes filmed by Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf and Paro, Bhutan in 1936 from Frederick Williamson, are just two of the extraordinary offerings from the Digital Himalaya Project.
posted on Apr 3, 2008 - View this thread

Texan judge rules $5 "pole tax" violates First Amendment rights. Further, Judge Scott Jenkins found no evidence to justify the purpose of HB 1751 (PDF), finding the anecdotal link of the patronage of strip clubs with a lack of health insurance and increased sexual assault rates for dancers insufficient, and ordered the state to pay the plaintiffs' legal fees. Activists are already looking to appeal Jenkins' ruling and reenact the tax. (Previously on Metafilter.)
posted on Apr 3, 2008 - View this thread

The hippest of today's French youth can't get enough of Tecktonik--a dance (YT), cultural movement and apparent marketing ploy (in French), Tecktonic is a style of dance characterized by its lack of footwork and embrace of various ridiculous arm gestures. Coupled with a strong fashion sense (in French) involving copious amounts of neon, pseudo (or full-on) mullet haircuts and jeans that could be painted on, Tecktonik is a dance craze that, since its birth in 2000 at a Parisian nightclub, has only increased in popularity.
posted on Apr 1, 2008 - View this thread

Chinese MC Hammer. Move for move nearly perfect redo of the original Hammer video. In someone's living room. While mom knits on the couch. It's a thousand kinds of awesome. via blort
posted on Mar 29, 2008 - View this thread

The International Dance Party is a complete plug 'n' play party in a box (video). "The machine comes as a large, non-suspicious looking flightcase. Internally, it is equipped with cutting edge radar sensing technology, an ear blasting state of the art 600W sound system, tons of psychedelic light and laser effects, and even a professional grade fog machine." [via, via]
posted on Mar 25, 2008 - View this thread

Aboriginal dance (also known as a corroboree) helps indigenous Australians to interact with the Dreamtime through dance, music and costume. Many ceremonies act out events from the Dreamtime. Many of the ceremonies are sacred and people from outside a community are not permitted to participate or watch. However, there are many ceremonies we've been allowed to witness (here's one of my favourites). And there's plenty of related pictures available at the National Museum's website. Naturally, any indigenous Australians reading should note that these links may include images or names of people who may now be deceased.
posted on Mar 13, 2008 - View this thread

Gus Giordano, founder of the renowned dance company and school, died on Sunday.
posted on Mar 12, 2008 - View this thread

I'm not the world's biggest ballet fan, but there's just something about seeing Chinese ladies doing their plié and their relevé and their pirouettes while pointing rifles that speaks to something deep and primal within me. It's The Red Detachment of Women, of course. And comrades, you are urged to view it in its entirety. [note: see hoverovers for link descriptions]
posted on Mar 12, 2008 - View this thread

Can scientists dance? "No one quite knew what to expect as the lights came up on a pair of astrophysicists dressed as binary galaxies. The rowdy audience of scientists exploded with applause. The world's first Dance Your Ph.D. Contest was off to a good start."
posted on Mar 8, 2008 - View this thread

Soukous Radio is an online radio station that plays/streams this energizing, joyous, African fusion music, known for its bright guitar sound and rumba/salsa beat. The name, Soukous, is derived from the French word secouer, to shake. A popular, recent Soukous video by two Ivory Coast singers, DJ Eloh and DJ Mix, The Bobaraba (which means “big bottom” in the local Djoula language), celebrates booty shaking.
posted on Feb 21, 2008 - View this thread

Ron Murphy cut records, but not just any records. Responsible for cutting the actual vinyl master plates of much of the now revered Detroit Techno including Jeff Mills, Carl Craig, Underground Resistance's seminal Knights of the Jaguar, and much more - he demonstrated impeccable craftsmanship and skill in both mastering records for sound and aesthetics at company known as Sound Enterprises source link AKA National Sound Corporation. Schooled in Motown, dubplates and jukeboxes, he is the bespoke-crafted, analog link between the digital future and analog past that is the roots of Techno music and modern techno DJ culture.
posted on Feb 13, 2008 - View this thread

Le Cochon Danseur. [Via]
posted on Feb 5, 2008 - View this thread

The Wonder Girls a Korean pop girl-group, got people in Korea wanting to learn themoves for their hit song "Tell Me." Everyone's doing it, girls (in the snow and in classrooms), boys (at a wedding, and, er...abandoned auditorium?)...
posted on Jan 31, 2008 - View this thread

The bastard offspring of New Age, Techno, Industrial and Acid House, trance is one of the most popular and most maligned musical genres of the 21st century. Trance can be bombastic or delicate, psychedelic or rock and roll, spacey or deep, euphoric or dark, commercial or underground, lush or funky, melodic or monotone, hard or laid back. You can try making some yourself with this toy, or go in depth with this tutorial. You can find it online, but if you want to really experience it, you need to hear it at a club.
posted on Jan 16, 2008 - View this thread

Jack Mulqueen presents Kiddie a-Go-Go. Check out the intro brought to you by Mickelberry's Plump & Juicy Franks and their fine variety of cold cuts. Hostess Pandora (played by Jack Mulqueen's wife Elaine) introduces the Stop and Go-Go dance, followed by a live performance from the New Colony Six in full Revolutionary War costumes. Unlike the Buddy Deane Show (which inspired the movie Hairspray), this later clip indicates that Kiddie A-Go-Go had racially integrated without incident. Other happenings inspired by the Kiddie A-Go-Go include a children's album, the public access TV show Chic-A-Go-Go, and San Francisco's Pip Squeak A-Go-Go (featuring go-go dance lessons from the Devil-Ettes).
posted on Jan 15, 2008 - View this thread

Dance music toys. Get your cheese on. Via Music Thing.
posted on Jan 15, 2008 - View this thread

Solid Gold was a television show that ran from 1980 to 1988, on Saturdays, in the early evening, hosted by (among others) Dionne Warwick, Rick Dees, and Marilyn McCoo. It showcased snippets of the Top Ten popular songs of the week, accompanied and sometimes interpreted by the Solid Gold Dancers. This post is about them.
posted on Jan 11, 2008 - View this thread

Great Training Montages throughout history And a few of my own choosing to inspire you all to keep to your New Year's resolution-mandated training regimens: Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Footloose, Team America: World Police, Karate Kid, the Breakfast Club, Flashdance, and arguably the best of all time, Turkish Star Wars
posted on Jan 2, 2008 - View this thread

Simply amazing dance duo. Hand in Hand - Performed by Ma Li (馬麗) and Zhai Xiaowei (翟孝偉). via MonkeyFilter
posted on Dec 3, 2007 - View this thread

       Pretty Big Dig
A dance film by Anne Troake that gently illustrates the assimilation of technology. QT video
posted on Dec 2, 2007 - View this thread

Wife thief - the Wodaabe of Nigeria are one of the world's few remaining Nomadic peoples, retaining age-old customs and ways. Physical beauty and charm are highly prized, qualities much in evidence at the annual Gerewol ceremonies. After donning elaborate makeup and clothing, men engage in stylized dance and preening to win the favor of a desired woman - often one who is already married.
posted on Nov 26, 2007 - View this thread

Terminus. "After inadvertently offending a strange entity that accosts him on his way to work, a 1970s businessman quickly finds himself in the midst of a bizarre predicament." 205.2 MB Quicktime available here. [Via Neatorama.]
posted on Nov 21, 2007 - View this thread

How to dance at a rave. People dancing to house music. The Detroit Jit vs. Chicago Juke. The history of the Detroit Jit on popular dance show The Scene from the 80's. 80's legends the Funkateers doing their thing to Wordy Rappinghood. Compare them to the New York City Breakers.
posted on Nov 19, 2007 - View this thread

Learn about the powerful, complex Batá drumming and dance tradition of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. Check these 6-to-8 year old Batá drummers laying down the groove. Then theres the Egungun action going on over in Ibadan, to the accompaniment of Batá drums, of course.
posted on Nov 8, 2007 - View this thread

Groovy Dancing Girl #2. via
posted on Oct 31, 2007 - View this thread

Go Truckin' with Ina Ray Hutton & her Melodears. The dance craze's name was used as double entendre in the song "Trucking My Blues Away" by Blind Boy Fuller. That song's refrain of "Keep On Trucking" has echoed in comics and music.
posted on Oct 28, 2007 - View this thread

Rave Culture In North Carolina
See also Digital music and subculture: Sharing files, sharing styles
posted on Oct 24, 2007 - View this thread

Do you know how to Dandiya?
posted on Oct 21, 2007 - View this thread

Star Wars trumpet performance and interpretive dance by Stacy Hedger. [YouTube]
posted on Oct 11, 2007 - View this thread

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.
posted on Oct 2, 2007 - View this thread

Awesome disabled dancers: Clayton ‘Peg Leg’ Bates, the one legged tap dancer, via, playing a pirate l Reynaldo Ojeda does a fabulous one legged salsa l Chinese Disabled Performing Arts Troupe (they are deaf) doing the Thousand Armed Buddha of Compassion Dance l armless ballet dancer, Simona Atzori, (who paints as well) l Mahesh, "I can dance...without legs."
posted on Oct 1, 2007 - View this thread

I got a gal in Kalamazoo, and a lucky number. Jumpin Jive! Is that the Chatanooga Choo-choo? No, even better! It's the Nicholas Brothers!
posted on Oct 1, 2007 - View this thread

"While we live, let us LIVE." A History of Social Dance in America, complete with vintage cheat sheets, a look at the perils of crinoline and lots of other period detail. Naturally, there were those who objected to this scandalous practice. See also the Library of Congress' An American Ballroom Companion: Dance Instruction Manuals 1490-1920, especially here and here. [via BibliOdyssey]
posted on Sep 25, 2007 - View this thread

Like free music? Like Blogs? Try putting them together: To start, search Hype Machine and Elbo.ws to find music you like. Then start following the links and blog-rolls, and before you know it, you'll have dozens of blogs just begging to give you songs to download. If you like indy dance music like I do, here are some blogs to get you started: Digital Eargasm, Missing Toof, Palms Out Sounds, These Rocks Pop, Kiss Atlanta, Resonator Magazine, Fluo Kids, Discobelle, Disconap
posted on Sep 21, 2007 - View this thread

Thoth has been the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary. He's appeared on "America's Got Talent. And he's one of the most mesmerizing street performers out there. [Previously]
posted on Aug 2, 2007 - View this thread

Carlos Gardel was a singer who became a national icon of Argentina. He sang the tango among other styles, but would now be most famous for this, which was originally this. (Lyrics here.) For those of you who think this is all too romantic, listen to another side of tango...(Translation here.)
posted on Aug 1, 2007 - View this thread

The Algorithm March: with Ninja and Everyone Together
posted on Jul 30, 2007 - View this thread

In the year 1982, Michael Jackson releases Thriller, which according to the Guinness Book of World Records[wikipedia], is the greatest selling album of all time. The 14 minute music video [youtube] was the longest/most expensive at the time, and was directed by filmmaker John Landis.[imdb] Details of the video here[wikipedia] Now onto the show. [all youtube links] Thriller with Legos. At a wedding. The tv show Good Morning America on the wedding version. At walmart. At another wedding. In Final Fantasy. More animatics. Professional dancers. More dancers. And More. Yup, more here. Even more dancers. Sigh. Even more dancers. And it's not just for 2 year olds. College students too. Penn State's Blue Band. The Bollywood Version. They even do it in Prison.
posted on Jul 20, 2007 - View this thread

The History Of Dance -- World of Warcraft style.
posted on Jul 16, 2007 - View this thread

Ambiguity of Disability: experience some disability-based utilitarianism courtesy of the hippest of the Cream of Cripples: virtual provocateur Bill Shannon a.k.a. "Crutch".
posted on Jul 16, 2007 - View this thread

Can't sleep? Let Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse treat you to a little Mexican Breakfast. Not spicy enough for you? Gwen'd be happy to Walk It Out instead. (YouTube)
posted on Jul 9, 2007 - View this thread

Harlem Variety Revue. Pre-rock & roll TV show featuring swing from Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway, and Sarah Vaughan. Rhythm & blues from Amos Milburn, Ruth Brown, Joe Turner, Martha Davis and Larry Darnell. Jazz & calypso from Nat Cole. Ballad by Dinah Washington. Doo wop from The Clovers. Harmony from the Larks and the Delta Rhythm Boys (complete with exciting choreography). Comedy provided by Nipsey Russell & Mantan Moreland, tapdancing by Coles & Atkins and Bill Bailey (check out that 1955 Moonwalk at the end!) Hosted by Willie Bryant.
posted on Jun 16, 2007 - View this thread

Dutty Wine - the new dance craze that's sweeping the nation, or "a demon sen' from de pit a hell dat is taking the lives of the youth even before dem have time to repent?"
posted on Jun 11, 2007 - View this thread

The Dance, historic illustrations of dancing from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D. A Project Gutenberg ebook. Brief, illustrated history of dance in India. Vintage belly dance YouTube videos.
posted on Jun 9, 2007 - View this thread

His dance style is the robot variation of popping. He appeared [YT] on the Atlanta auditions of So You Think You Can Dance. He's got scoliosis, and can't lift his arms above his head. But he shows no fear, and now he's got people talking.
posted on Jun 4, 2007 - View this thread

I've heard a lot of bizarre music over the years, but Eurobeat has to take the cake for sheer W-T-F insanity. Virtually all the artists and producers are Italian, and the only place where their recordings sell in any quantity is, oddly enough, Japan. That's right, Eurobeat doesn't sell to Europeans. In most dance-music styles, 135 beats per minute would be considered rather fast; in Eurobeat, 155 BPM is considered slow. The lyrics are nearly always in English, with occasional Japanese--despite the fact that very few English-speaking people buy the stuff. And the artists tend to record under an assortment of pseudonyms, maintaining some degree of anonymity. Eurobeat had a major influence on the parapara dance scene. Which led directly to this. Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music called Eurobeat "sped-up, spastic Euro Disney cheese". And that fits perfectly, because the only places Americans are likely to hear Eurobeat are in a DDR game---or on a Radio Disney station. Eurobeat is (apparently) only available on costly Japanese imports, most released by Avex Trax.

Despite the anonymity of Eurobeat singers, at least one--Alessandra Mirka Gatti, aka Domino--has managed to become famous enough to have a fansite. In English, no less. Go there and examine her discography. That obscure, helium-voiced singer has been putting out records for twenty years. Someone is buying them.
posted on May 28, 2007 - View this thread