COUNTRY MUSIC & DANCING
I can talk about Australian and American country music both old and new but no middle of the road stuff, I'm pretty conscientious. I grew up travelling around in my parents Country Variety Show singing on stage since I was very young. I did a run with The Tex Morton Show when I was seventeen and my brother in law is country singer Ron Peters. I've done Fanfare and the Grand Ole Opry staying at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. I have to say that while my roots run deep in the traditional style of country music and I can appreciate a good old fashioned jam session I much prefer the wonderful modern country styles of people like Garth Brooks, Clint Black, John Michael Montgomery, Lee and Tanya Kernaghan, Alan Jackson and Brooks and Dunn to name only a few.
Most of all I love country dancing especially the two step. A guy who can two step could win me. Especially if he looks a bit like Clay Walker here. (TNN studios Nashville.)
When I travel to the United States I frequent the country night clubs over there because unlike Australian clubs and bars the accent is more on dancing and interaction between patrons rather than relying on the affects of alcohol and emptying pockets as entertainment. Americans have perfected the method of meeting people in a way that we have not learned yet and it's actually very simple. All you have to do is build a large dance floor, surround it with some great atmosphere and play some music that has heart and soul.
You know the uninitiated always complain about the sadness of country music and I really don't get that. All other music is about love and leaving too....it's just that when it's sung country, it sounds more sincere.
It doesn't matter how shy you are, you don't have to feel foolish to ask for a dance. In the States people are so polite they would only refuse if they already had a partner. It's a magic thing to walk up to a perfect stranger and say "may I have this dance" because you've just automatically introduced yourself. It's a great way of meeting lots of different people. How long does it take you to meet someone at a venue out here and if you ask for a dance do you get any conversation while you hop around at arms length to noise so loud it hurts?
Of course if you're going to get anywhere at all you really should know how to dance because if you don't you won't be too popular. However, fortunately, that's the least of your worries these days because country dancing is a big underground thing all over Australia and there are lots of places where you can go to learn. You can dance the two step in one easy lesson - then there are endless variations you can learn along the way as you become more expert. The problem is that we just don't have any permanent venues in Australia but hopefully in the future someone will recognise the benefits of getting people together and into each other's arms. I was once told that Americans were "born and raised two steppin'" and it's a small town in the United States that doesn't have a country dance venue. Beats me why everyone says we follow the yanks with everything because this is one area where we really need to.
Dancing in someone's arms is a perfect way of getting to know them because you actually get close enough to make conversation. Unlike discos, country night clubs don't play music so loud you can't hear yourself talk. The management knows that the more people get together the better the social atmosphere. In Australian discos people get jammed into tiny little areas, stand around all night with a drink in their hands watching everyone else getting stunned by the deafening thud of music so distorted you can't even make it out. And for a real buzz you can jump up and down like a kangaroo on a micro dance floor at a distance from your partner that makes romance almost impossible. It's all so frustrating and boring, no wonder our kids are so angry. Real dancing should be taught in schools like it used to be years ago because it is an essential factor of our social interaction.
Country music is exciting because it creates a mood for a dancer's rhythm. From a slow Two Step to a rowdy Cotton-Eyed Joe there is always that contact with other dancers that makes it almost communal. The interesting part of country dancing is the variety. There is a dance for almost any speed and beat. This means that you don't have to keep up a fast pace all night. You can relax with a romantic waltz or try out your skills with a moderate Two Step. You can dance gracefully slow or energetically wild depending on what style of dance is being played. The etiquette rules of the dance floor usually dictate that everyone dance to the disk jockey's call for a particular song. It could be "Neon Moon" for El Paso, "Just Call Me Lonesome" for Wooden Nickle or perhaps "Waltz Across Texas" for a good old fashioned waltz. Most clubs allow line dancers to dance in the center of the floor while partner dancers move anticlockwise around the outside. Large night clubs provide huge racetrack style dance floors and even larger clubs have special dance floors to cater separately for line dancers and swing couples leaving the larger floor for progressive dancing.
What ever the dance the emphasis is on being in someone's arms and gliding around a large floor in step with modern dances to the very latest hot country hits. Compare that with your last Saturday night out and then tell me that we don't need to think seriously about the way we're being influenced to entertain ourselves in this country.
Some people tell me that they have two left feet and try as they may they just have no rhythm but that's nothing to be ashamed of and no excuse to avoid this kind of scene. Many people frequent country clubs just to listen to the great music and watch the talent on the dance floor. Most tables surround the dance floor which becomes the main focal point of a venue. I remember the first club I ever went to was Gilley's in Pasadena Texas and Texans ask you to dance by presenting you with a rose. I finished up with a table full of roses but, unable to dance in those days, I just got to talk to the guys instead. Now isn't buying a lady a rose to introduce yourself more romantic than buying her a beer? Works for me - I don't drink, I'd rather pay a cover charge.
When governments stop trying to milk us of every cent we have under the disguise of "getting lucky", we can concentrate more on quality time together in a social atmosphere that doesn't leave you any choice but to get out of your brain and broke. We could exchange the social problems of gambling and alcohol addiction for the benefits of being happy and enjoying each other's company. Who knows, even good old fashioned family values could emerge again.
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