Over Summer, despite my delicate condition these last couple of months I got down to it and started choreographing my own soul line dances:
- Payback (James Brown) --which also doubled as some Azonto.
- If I had no Loot (Tony, Tone, Toni)
- Into my life (Elements of Life:Lisa Fischer and Cindy Mizelle)
- Teardrops (Womack and Womack)
And my folk love em when I share the steps. They work.
How about that?
Who woulda thought that a gentleman brutalised by chronic illness would
- take up soul line dancing (18 months ago)
- begin to teach it(6 months ago) to weekly classes of 15-20
- create his own choreography (2 months ago)
Every time I think about it I am amazed.
Hopefully this month I'll finally shoot some video of my routines. Then I'll lay claim to the choro enough to share it within the urban soul line dance network.
And if my choro gets taken up stateside (given that I'm a white guy in far off Australia) ... maybe I'm souling up by groovin into it?
But hey I love and respect the music even though I know that soul line dance has to embace local urban culture and chasing an echo of Afro American heritage isn't sustainable. It has to be your music, your preference, your scene -- rather than something thoroughly exotic.
Since the BeeGees grew up across the bay from me here I have a open agenda. And they aint black....
My wife is working on a dance set to a little something from Chrissie Hinde and Pretenders . Thats' what I love: this stuff is open season to all comers.
Anyone can dance it. Anyone can make dance. Even me.
