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.
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.
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