The Paramount Theatre, Anderson IN

A long time ago – back when fellows put on a fedora and tie to go out on a Friday night and gals wouldn’t think of leaving the house without gloves even in August – every town had at least one big snazzy theatre. They usually sat on a piece of prime real estate in the middle of downtown, probably somewhere in the single-digit district, down where the light of their marquee could bring in the crowds. What was the main attraction? No, it wasn’t a million dollar-budget Hollywood blockbuster with the latest special effects – it was more like Basie, Goodman, or Calloway heating up some syncopation. To the tune of a hot horn section you could get to know your date out on the dance floor – just you, some sweet thing, and a few dozen strangers working the hardwood on a rainy night.

We got the chance to experience a place like this on March 30th. Anderson, Indiana isn’t what I’d call the center of the universe – in fact I’m not so sure that you can get there from the center of the universe – but they do have a really nice, restored theatre from the grand old era. The Paramount opened in August of 1929, designed in the ‘atmospheric’ style by John Eberson and during its 75 years of operation it hosted such notables as Nat ‘King’ Cole, The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, The Artie Shaw Orchestra, Louis Armstrong, and Gene Autry. It’s hard to believe that in 1989 the building was scheduled for destruction – fated to become a parking lot. It’s a good thing that some visionaries stepped in to preserve the Paramount.

Sunday was a little session in the Paramount Ballroom. Nothing to mention when you think in terms of the musical masters that have played the ballroom (this time it was a two man band – horns and a synthesizer). The attraction isn’t the music, though – it’s a chance to step out on a 79 year old dance floor to mingle with the ghosts of all the dancers who were there before you. If you put your hand on that dance floor you can almost feel the rhythm of all those feet and in the lobby you can almost hear all those young lovers pulling on their hats and gloves before strolling out onto Anderson’s streets after a night of dancing.

Sick and Not in the Good Way

So everything was going along just great – we’d been picking up new steps and planning on going to Chicago for a dance to try out some of our new stuff. Everything was really wonderful – and then I went to Utah.

Okay, nothing bad about Utah. Salt Lake City is a little big for my taste but it’s in a beautiful setting and seems very clean…unfortunately I didn’t get to experience much of it because during the time I was there I caught pneumonia and conjunctivitis! There’s nothing that’ll take the fun out of a trip quicker than being sick on an airplane…especially during a three hour hop! I spent the entire time coughing up pea-soup-like stuff and sleeping, trying to fight off the infection. This past Thursday I finally made it to the doctor and with the assistance of a Z-Pack I’m almost feeling normal again (aside from coughing fits and weakness).

To stay on the dance theme of this blog, though, I thought I’d finally publish a few of the pictures I took when last I was healthy enough to get out on the floor. This Friday we’re planning on hitting the Starlight for a practice session and we’ve got our usual lesson (had to miss one due to illness).

Called on the Count of Snow...

Ah, the conspiracy of weather and work. They are the two biggest factors that interfere with spending as much time as I’d like on the dance floor. This weekend we’d scheduled a big dance-o-ramma, a trip to Willow Springs, IL to visit the Willowbrook Ballroom. Saturday was to be a 50’s dance and a good chance to take our swing out and Sunday we were scheduled to re-visit the scene of the previous night’s crime for a bout of ballroom dance. Unfortunately, Thursday night the weather closed in and we wound up with snow – not a problem if not combined with the fact that I’m slated to leave on a business trip Sunday evening and the flight schedule made it important that we make haste on the way home.

So, Willowbrook will have to wait. There will be other weekends.
In the interim, though, we’re planning on attending an open practice at the Starlight Ballroom here in Indy and then another dance at the same venue Saturday night. Hey, you gotta Jump Jive and Wail, ya know?

Butt Bows, Our Teacher, and Jeanie's Bottle

I grew up with magical sitcoms. Samantha, Lily, Morticia, and Jeanie were all very good friends. Sam was my favorite, but I have to say Jeanie's bottle would be my lounge area of choice. Can you imagine? Shrinking yourself into a pillow filled, swaged and bejeweled nest where only you could go? OK, so imagine that large enough for hundreds of dancers and you have the Indiana Roof Ballroom. It truly does look like the inside of Jeanie's bottle, only grander. It appears like an ottoman's palace, complete with golden turrets lining the upstairs balcony and a night sky strewn with stars...and a full moon. Heavenly.

There are dances there every other month or so. We sit with my sister (Quinn) and her husband (Ralph), who are also crazy about dancing. The other lovely woman (in the leopard top) is our dance instructor, Melissa. To say she is fabulous is a huge understatement (she teaches at and co-owns Dance Masters Studio in Indianapolis). Melissa is technically very, very good, and, she is an encouraging and patient instructor. She has also allowed us to tailor our learning in the way Gary and I want. We call ourselves destination dancers". That means the most important thing to us is using our skills at wonderful venues. As much as possible. Destinations are often historic places. We are also interested in the unique culture of every dancing style . Ladies, this means different clothing for every venue. You don't HAVE to, but if you're like me collecting outfits for different kinds of dancing is half the fun.

Speaking of dresses, you may have noticed my choice for this dance. The material is beautiful...a rich, burgundy velvet, edged with satin, spinny full skirt. It is very different than how it started its life. Let me first explain that I am not a sewing expert. What I enjoy is taking apart and/or embellishing an existing garment. Usually something acquired cheaply. So the dress you see started out as a typical 80s dress. Paid five bucks for it. Yes, big puffy shoulder padded bodice. Yes, a huge butt bow. Why would anyone think a giant bow on a woman's butt is a good thing?? Anyway. The bow came off first. Unfortunately that left two holes. So I sewed two butterflies over the small tears. Then I took the sleeves off and hemmed the arm holes. Lots of 80's dresses were made for dancing, and with a few edits can look modern. 70's disco dresses work well too. And 50's era night gowns. But that's for another post.

Sunday's Visit to the Indiana Roof

On September 7, 1927 the Indiana Roof Ballroom was opened to the public. That night Marion McKay’s Kings of Tempo played to the crowd – I’m not sure how they were received, but if they lived up to their surroundings they must have killed that night. The venue was billed as having the most ‘dancable floor in the world’ at the time and its architects (E. O. Hunter and Preston Rubish) modeled the ballroom after the courtyard of a Spanish coastal town complete with twinkling stars and crescent moon.

Since we started dancing we’ve been attending events at the Indiana Roof though we’ve had to pay more than the $1 fee ($0.75 for women) admission that was charged back in ’27. It’s a great place to dance – the floor is spacious enough to accommodate both pro’s and armatures at the same time with a minimum of frustration and the setting is exquisite right down to the Art Deco bar that keeps the crowd lubricated.

So, enough about the setting – what about the action? Well, see the two feet on the reproduction, deco carpeting? You might not be able to tell but they’re both left feet! In spite of the fair band, great floor, and all the motivation in the world it wasn’t my best outing. Still, learning isn’t about being perfect – it’s about making mistakes, learning from them, and then hopefully not making the same ones again. The usual selection of music at the Roof is a bit more stayed than our usual choices – fewer swing tunes, more Rumbas, Foxtrots, Waltzes, and Samba’s. Still it was a fun evening and a reminder that I need to keep my dance reparation broad as well as deep!

Oh, one great feature of the Indiana Roof that I failed to mention earlier. Sometime during the 1934-35 season one of the Roof’s stage hands took it upon himself to rate the performances of the various bands that came through Indianapolis area. Apparently, Benny Goodman only rated 3 out of 4 stars. Sorry for the quality of the picture – the door is (appropriately) behind glass and my camera’s flash didn’t want to cooperate. I’ll do my best to get a better picture when we visit the Roof again in April.

Credit where it's Due

I thought I’d give credit to some poeple who really deserve it today – namely to the folks who have put up with me through the process of teaching me how to dance. Mark and Melissa run Dance Master’s Studio in old Southport, IN. If you live in the Indianapolis area and the south side is convenient for you, I highly recommend their studio as a place to learn the steps.

Practice, Practice, Practice

I wish that dancing wasn’t about practice. In the vision I had of myself dancing it was an easy thing – a natural thing that didn’t require practice. In that vision I’d get out there on the floor and the steps would just come like mana from heaven. It was all natural, just get out there and do it. Unfortunately, reality is a little different.

This Saturday is a practice day – in fact a special day where we set up a double lesson as a sort of Lindy Hop intensive. We’re beginners with the hop and it’s been slow (mainly because I’m slow). I’ll be honest – it took a long time for me to get the basic step for the Lindy Hop. It’s a great dance, all about energy and exuberance and forgetting all the things that bum you out about life.

To quote from The Lindy Circle:

“Looking back on where the Lindy Hop came from is an amazing study of American history and of the global cultural shift facilitated by the American GI's that traveled in World War II.

The influences of the Charleston and Tap dance are evident still in the Lindy we do today and the dance is also sited to have come from an early version of the Foxtrot. Remnants of older dancers such as the Cakewalk, Texas Tommy, Black bottom and popular "animal" dances such as the Turkey Trot and the Buzzard Lope are also expressed. What is interesting is that these came from African social dance culture, and some, like the Cakewalk was created when blacks imitated and mocked the formal dance structure of the whites, which they would then use in their entertainment routines. Ironically, the white spectators would then copy the entertainers, and a social dance that bridged the divide emerged.

Luckily, the two cultures found a common ground, called the Savoy Ballroom in New York. It was here that Lindy was fine tuned and grounded, and where the "Savoy style" that was to influence the world grew up.”

I’m not ready to influence the world with my Lindy – maybe I’m ready to influence a few dancers to leave the floor just for their own safety, but that’s about it. Still the history of the dance and what it means in American history impresses me and I’ve got a ‘thing’ for the 20’s and 30’s so I’m taking a wild swing at learning the steps.

Today we added a few steps to our repertoire (forgive me Melissa; I’m going to butcher the names):

• Side Steps – Finally we’re not going around and around and around and around! This step extends the basic Lindy step to the left or right with a cross-over step and it actually (for a change) seemed to come pretty easy.
• Transitions from Triple Swing to the Lindy – We’ve got the EC Triple Swing down pretty well (it’s the dance we do most often) and now we can transition from a closed EC Triple position to a Lindy Hop basic. Nice to throw in here and there on off-tempo EC Swings.
• Transitions from Lindy to EC Triple Swing – Going the other direction we can change from the Lindy to the EC Triple. Nice since all we can do is a few steps in the Lindy!

I don’t think we’re ready to take the Lindy out on the road yet – but soon, very soon!

Introduction - Kelly

"Dance isn't a form, it's a way of life." ~anonymous

I've never written a blog. Never wanted to. I don't have anything against them, but I'm a private person and I have other things that seemed pressing. I'm a writer. An artist. And oh yeah, I do a little consulting. I like to take walks. Attend exercise classes. Garden. Be a fun Aunt. And of course, dance, which includes lessons, practicing, and going out to dance. A lot. And then all the other things that go along with a dancing lifestyle. Like researching where to go. What to wear. Eating out before or after. And so on.

When I analyzed why I wanted to write a blog (as is my wont, my MBTI type is INTJ, part of that consulting thing) I decided there were two reasons. One is selfish, one is for others. Pretty balanced, right? The selfish reason is to record my husband (Gary) and my progress and to keep a running journal together. Awwww, aren't we sweet? The second, philanthropic reason for the blog is I want others to try dancing and maybe get a few tips from our site. We did a bunch of work and spend much in figuring out what worked best on a number of things, so maybe we can save you time and cash.

All this coming from someone who never thought she'd like it. A woman who was called "Grace" Kelly in her youth, and not because she was. A woman who thought her husband would try it and not like it (my husband was the one who started this adventure – or, rather, my sister did, and then my husband, but that's for another entry).

But...I did enjoy it, I do enjoy it, and I know my husband and I will continue to enjoy it. And, as the quote above illustrates, it has changed our lives.

So. That why. Now the what. Since I've just said dancing is all encompassing, that is what I intend this blog to be from my end. Where we go. How we liked the venue. How nice (or not) were the people and the funny names we sometimes give them. Where we take lessons and our wonderful teacher, Melissa. The clothes. Oh the clothes. Jewelry. What kinds will fly off and what kinds will injure your partner. Why you should not wear hand lotion before a dance (bad, very bad). Shoes. How many, what kind, how make your own dance
shoes...OK, stop already. You get the idea.

My hope is to inspire others to try dancing. And for us to finally start using our cameras.

Until next time.