Is it so wrong to be an antisocial social dancer? I mean, last night Kelly and I headed out for a Friday at Riolo with the Brickyard Boogie Dancers and when we got there the parking lot was noticeably empty. I counted heads two thirds of the way through the evening and got about 44 members in attendance. A small crowd, to be sure, but I have to say I liked it that way. The Riolo (I'm sure I've mentioned before) isn't a big place and when the whole club is in attendance the dance floor can be kind of tight. Toss in a few people with marginal floor manners and you're dodging elbows and knees all night long. Friday, even with me feeling tired after a tough week of work, I never really felt overwrought.
So I guess what I'm saying is that, every once in awhile it's not such a bad thing to have an empty house!
Showing posts with label The Riolo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Riolo. Show all posts
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Sunday, September 14, 2008
It Ain't All Spice...
I've been sitting here in my half-dark office listening to the remnants of Ike roar through Indiana and considering our dance habits of late. It seems to me that a certain routine has settled in on us. We go to the Starlight Ballroom most weekends - at least once, depending on if one of our clubs is having a dance. During the week we have our dance lesson and - again, depending on the clubs we belong to - we go to the 8 Seconds Saloon for a quiet couple of hours spent honing what we've learned. On occasion we go to the Indiana Roof Ballroom and some weekends we go t the Riolo - but that's catch as catch can. That's our usual - our comfortable routine.
I started off thinking maybe the whole routine was preparation for the long, Midwestern winter ahead - kind of ant-like buckling down and getting things in order. Then again, I thought it could just be what happens in your second year of dancing - with experience comes and understanding of the things you do and don't like. In the end I wasn't able to come up with any definitive answers - all I can say is it's comfortable routine and I'm okay with that.
Somebody once said that variety is the spice of life implying we all should get out and have new experiences - and there's some truth in the assertion. The thing is you can't live on spice alone. Think of it in food terms - how about a big dish of tarragon? Maybe toss in a bit of black pepper and some cloves for texture? Doesn't that sound yummy? How about indigestible? Every spice in the world is meant to accomplish one thing - to be an accent.
I love checking out a new venue and trying a new step. One of the reasons I wanted to learn to dance was because I wanted to see the great dancehalls and ballrooms of years gone by. The thing is to dance and dance well - you have to embrace the routine as much as the 'spicy bits' or you'll wind up witnessing all those great dance floors as a wallflower.
Routine is practice. It's getting out there and doing the basic rumba step over and over until you can incorporate Cuban hips and make it smooth. I'm in to swing - and I mean really in to it. Every time we go anywhere we hit every swing tune we've got the stamina to dance and we throw all the moves we know at those dances. But it's the routine that makes it look good. I can't say how many 'ballroom swingers' I've run into on the dance floor - you know the type? They're stiff as a starched shirt and look like they're more worried about only touching their dates with two fingers and keeping a fake smirk plastered on their inexpressive faces than actually FEELING the music. The thing is, swing isn't routine for them so it looks stilted and frankly, pretty silly - it's all spice.
So that's what I'm thinking on this less than routine day and I figured I'd murder a few syllables to express it. Now, back to daydreaming…
I started off thinking maybe the whole routine was preparation for the long, Midwestern winter ahead - kind of ant-like buckling down and getting things in order. Then again, I thought it could just be what happens in your second year of dancing - with experience comes and understanding of the things you do and don't like. In the end I wasn't able to come up with any definitive answers - all I can say is it's comfortable routine and I'm okay with that.
Somebody once said that variety is the spice of life implying we all should get out and have new experiences - and there's some truth in the assertion. The thing is you can't live on spice alone. Think of it in food terms - how about a big dish of tarragon? Maybe toss in a bit of black pepper and some cloves for texture? Doesn't that sound yummy? How about indigestible? Every spice in the world is meant to accomplish one thing - to be an accent.
I love checking out a new venue and trying a new step. One of the reasons I wanted to learn to dance was because I wanted to see the great dancehalls and ballrooms of years gone by. The thing is to dance and dance well - you have to embrace the routine as much as the 'spicy bits' or you'll wind up witnessing all those great dance floors as a wallflower.
Routine is practice. It's getting out there and doing the basic rumba step over and over until you can incorporate Cuban hips and make it smooth. I'm in to swing - and I mean really in to it. Every time we go anywhere we hit every swing tune we've got the stamina to dance and we throw all the moves we know at those dances. But it's the routine that makes it look good. I can't say how many 'ballroom swingers' I've run into on the dance floor - you know the type? They're stiff as a starched shirt and look like they're more worried about only touching their dates with two fingers and keeping a fake smirk plastered on their inexpressive faces than actually FEELING the music. The thing is, swing isn't routine for them so it looks stilted and frankly, pretty silly - it's all spice.
So that's what I'm thinking on this less than routine day and I figured I'd murder a few syllables to express it. Now, back to daydreaming…
Sunday, August 10, 2008
July in a Nutshell
Sorry to say I've been slacking off on my writing. I'll give the standard excuses: work's been crazy, time's been short, and I've been busy with a lot of stuff. To tell the truth there probably were several chances to sit down to write an entry but I just didn't do it. Confession is good for the soul, right?
Anyway, July was great - slower in terms of dancing than most months but I think that's because (in the modern era) people view summer as a time to 'go do things outside' which precludes dancing. For Kelly and I, not so much. We'd happily spend our summer on the dance floor…if there were more dances to attend. I sweat whenever I dance, it doesn't matter if its summer, fall, or the middle of the winter I'll be dabbing my forehead with a handkerchief between tunes.
July in retrospect? We attended a dance at the Riolo on the Fourth - it's a great venue for an Independence Day dance. The Riolo is surrounded by great windows that offer views of the city and, in this case, the annual downtown fireworks display. The evening was well arranged - dancing up to just before the fireworks and then easy, air-conditioned viewing from the studio without having to fight the crowds. My only complaint was the fact that the Riolo's usual (free) parking lot was closed and we were forced to pay for parking.
During July we also started to pick up two new dances and we dropped one that we just didn't like so much. The newcomers to our ever-growing dance card are the West Coast Swing and the Cha-Cha. These are two dances I'd recommend to anyone who's decided that they want to learn to dance and they plan on attending ballroom or swing dances such as those held at the Starlight Ballroom or Indiana Roof Ballroom. In the past we always sat out cha-chas and WCS - but when you're at a ballroom dance that (especially the cha-cha) means you're sitting quite a bit. Picking up these two dances means that we'll be able to enjoy more of the music from the dance floor and less from the sidelines.
The victim of downsizing? That'd be the Hustle. I have to say I never did really like the hustle. There was all that 1970-something baggage and too many visions of John Travolta in a polyester leisure suit with a half-unbuttoned fly-away collar shirt and a gold medallion. Not exactly the kind of image I wanted to portray in clothing or in dance styling. There also was the realization that about 90% of the tunes we danced the hustle to we could also dance either WCS or cha-cha. The math was easy.
So, that was July. Now, to write about August without falling behind!
Anyway, July was great - slower in terms of dancing than most months but I think that's because (in the modern era) people view summer as a time to 'go do things outside' which precludes dancing. For Kelly and I, not so much. We'd happily spend our summer on the dance floor…if there were more dances to attend. I sweat whenever I dance, it doesn't matter if its summer, fall, or the middle of the winter I'll be dabbing my forehead with a handkerchief between tunes.
July in retrospect? We attended a dance at the Riolo on the Fourth - it's a great venue for an Independence Day dance. The Riolo is surrounded by great windows that offer views of the city and, in this case, the annual downtown fireworks display. The evening was well arranged - dancing up to just before the fireworks and then easy, air-conditioned viewing from the studio without having to fight the crowds. My only complaint was the fact that the Riolo's usual (free) parking lot was closed and we were forced to pay for parking.During July we also started to pick up two new dances and we dropped one that we just didn't like so much. The newcomers to our ever-growing dance card are the West Coast Swing and the Cha-Cha. These are two dances I'd recommend to anyone who's decided that they want to learn to dance and they plan on attending ballroom or swing dances such as those held at the Starlight Ballroom or Indiana Roof Ballroom. In the past we always sat out cha-chas and WCS - but when you're at a ballroom dance that (especially the cha-cha) means you're sitting quite a bit. Picking up these two dances means that we'll be able to enjoy more of the music from the dance floor and less from the sidelines.
The victim of downsizing? That'd be the Hustle. I have to say I never did really like the hustle. There was all that 1970-something baggage and too many visions of John Travolta in a polyester leisure suit with a half-unbuttoned fly-away collar shirt and a gold medallion. Not exactly the kind of image I wanted to portray in clothing or in dance styling. There also was the realization that about 90% of the tunes we danced the hustle to we could also dance either WCS or cha-cha. The math was easy.
So, that was July. Now, to write about August without falling behind!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
The Riolo
There’s something about swing music and a city skyline. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with country swing – that whole ho-down thing can be fun but still it isn’t for me. I like walking the pavement – for some reason it’s always just rained whenever I’m having this particular daydream – under a big marquee with the sound of a swing band leaking into the darkness. A few happy couples are making their way out of the hall, maybe pulling their collars up against the night air as they wend their way home.
Last night we visited Riolo Dance. It’s a relatively new (opened almost exactly a year ago) venue located on the second floor of an unassuming building at the corner of Capital and Michigan in downtown Indianapolis, just off the IUPUI campus. The atmosphere around the building certainly fits my nior fantasies, it’s firmly ensconced in an urban setting complete with a weathered brick alley between the studio and (what looks like) an abandoned warehouse. Even the weather cooperated – a blustery wind, low clouds, and occasional rain squalls to keep the gutters filled and the pavement damp.
Unlike my fantasy ballrooms, though, The Riolo’s entry way is unassuming – a nondescript door with a tacked up sign directly off somebody’s printer. Inside there were a series of similar signs and arrows directing us down a hallway, to an elevator, up one story, around a corner, down another hall, and finally to another utilitarian door with the Riolo sign affixed. But that’s where the plainness ended.
The Riolo is owned and operated by Marie Riolo Roach – a woman whose Italian heritage comes out in the warm colors and décor of her studio. I’ve never danced in a place that was painted rich red – the Indiana Roof may emulate a Spanish plaza through its use of elaborate facades and a simulated sky but The Riolo is something totally different. The floor is good sized and in great condition owing to its relative newness – but what makes the place really special is the view.
On two sides The Riolo’s windows look out over downtown Indy, offering a view of the AUL building’s iconic roofline to the southeast and the setting sun to the northwest. I’ve never danced in a venue that offered a view let alone had one worth offering until last night. I hear they’re having a 4th of July dance and with their location it’ll be worth the price of admission!
So, the venue’s great but what about the people, you ask? Well, we all know that a wonderful evening can be spoiled by a bunch of dancing dolts who don’t have dance floor manners. I’m happy to say that The Riolo seems to have a quality crowd, many of them familiar from our visits to the Starlight Ballroom, Indiana Roof, and other venues around the city. The DJ played a wide variety of music – everything from swing to tango – cha-cha to foxtrot. In fact my only complaint would be that they didn’t play a full song – just about half, instead…an interesting decision that allowed for more types of music but didn’t allow us to settle into any one dance very well. Still, I’d recommend The Riolo without hesitation.
Last night we visited Riolo Dance. It’s a relatively new (opened almost exactly a year ago) venue located on the second floor of an unassuming building at the corner of Capital and Michigan in downtown Indianapolis, just off the IUPUI campus. The atmosphere around the building certainly fits my nior fantasies, it’s firmly ensconced in an urban setting complete with a weathered brick alley between the studio and (what looks like) an abandoned warehouse. Even the weather cooperated – a blustery wind, low clouds, and occasional rain squalls to keep the gutters filled and the pavement damp.
Unlike my fantasy ballrooms, though, The Riolo’s entry way is unassuming – a nondescript door with a tacked up sign directly off somebody’s printer. Inside there were a series of similar signs and arrows directing us down a hallway, to an elevator, up one story, around a corner, down another hall, and finally to another utilitarian door with the Riolo sign affixed. But that’s where the plainness ended.
The Riolo is owned and operated by Marie Riolo Roach – a woman whose Italian heritage comes out in the warm colors and décor of her studio. I’ve never danced in a place that was painted rich red – the Indiana Roof may emulate a Spanish plaza through its use of elaborate facades and a simulated sky but The Riolo is something totally different. The floor is good sized and in great condition owing to its relative newness – but what makes the place really special is the view.On two sides The Riolo’s windows look out over downtown Indy, offering a view of the AUL building’s iconic roofline to the southeast and the setting sun to the northwest. I’ve never danced in a venue that offered a view let alone had one worth offering until last night. I hear they’re having a 4th of July dance and with their location it’ll be worth the price of admission!
So, the venue’s great but what about the people, you ask? Well, we all know that a wonderful evening can be spoiled by a bunch of dancing dolts who don’t have dance floor manners. I’m happy to say that The Riolo seems to have a quality crowd, many of them familiar from our visits to the Starlight Ballroom, Indiana Roof, and other venues around the city. The DJ played a wide variety of music – everything from swing to tango – cha-cha to foxtrot. In fact my only complaint would be that they didn’t play a full song – just about half, instead…an interesting decision that allowed for more types of music but didn’t allow us to settle into any one dance very well. Still, I’d recommend The Riolo without hesitation.
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