Where You (Might) Learn to Dance
Alex Ramirez
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Posts by Alex Ramirez
Rave Time!
Aug 27th
It’s been a while since we’ve had a “The Good, The bad & The Utterly Random” post here. It’s long overdue. So here’s a special Rave edition to make up for lost time.
OK, so this guy might not be raving technically, but it’s hard to find good individual ravers, and many videos of raves are too dark, too blurry or just plain bad. Besides, this is just too epic to keep to myself and the guy deserves exposure.
This next video shows just why you need girls to throw a good party.
I’d say more about this all-male rave, but after typing “all-male rave” I feel a little uncomfortable with this topic.
Now you might say I copped out again for this post’s bad video selection, since those guys were clearly doing it for laughs. Fortunately, I came prepared with another video, one that shows just how they get down in the World of Warcraft.
Normally, I wouldn’t recommend learning to rave from a dwarf, even if he is level 80, but look at these nerds go!
And now for the Utterly Random.
What just happened?
Dear Summer: 33 Minutes of Sunshine – DJ Mehdi
Aug 27th
It’s been a while since anything new was posted here on How To Dance Techno. My bad. Well, I’m back from my mysterious absence and I’d like to share an awesome mix with all of you.
Dear Summer: 33 Minutes of Sunshine, is the most recent mix from the talented DJ Mehdi. This an immersive mix, taking you into its atmosphere and keeping you there until it’s ready to let go.
This mix actually has a pretty dark tone considering it’s named after summer and sunshine. That said, there is something warm about it, and once it hits the “You Know It” portion of the mix, it definitely establishes a summertime feel by gaining energy and becoming a little lighter in tone.
Dear Summer is pulsing, lively, and fills you with energy. It’s hard to resist dancing to this mix, and just makes you want to have fun, which is what summer is all about.
I can’t find any real flaws with this mix. It’s well done, runs smoothly, and contains both Queen and Drake. End of discussion.
Here’s the mix and track list, by way of Asian Dan.
JAY-Z ‘Dear Summer’ Quick Intro
FLYING LOTUS ‘A Cosmic Drama’
NINA SIMONE ‘Summertime’ INTERLUDE
DJ SDUNKERO ‘Choosing Love’
L-VIS 1990 ‘Forever You’
CHROMEO ‘Don’t Turn The Lights On’ CARTE BLANCHE REMIX
LARRY HEARD ‘The Sun Can’t Compare’
JESSE ROSE ‘You Know It’
SCISSOR SISTERS ‘Any Which Way’ CARTE BLANCHE REMIX
GONZALES ‘I Am Europe’ DJEDJOTRONIC REMIX
HOT CITY ‘If That’s How I Feel’
CASSIUS ‘I <3 U So’
QUEEN ‘In The Lap Of The Gods’
DRAKE ‘Made’
Source: http://www.asianmandan.com/blog/2010/08/dj-mehdi-dear-summer-33-minutes-of-sunshine/
Deadmau5 – At Play 3
Aug 2nd
The third compilation from Canadian house produce Deadmau5 is a fairly atmospheric listen, comprised mostly of songs from his album Vexillology. I had never heard of Deadmau5 before this review until my boss recommended him.
Honestly, At Play Vol. 3 doesn’t do much for me. The first two tracks, “Cyclic Redundancy” and “Apply Overnight” were plain boring. They were simply too low key, simple and repetitive. I found myself disappointed with this musician.
Then the third track, “Plus” started playing. It’s a pretty lively track, and it held my attention. While not much more complex than the first two, it is a more fleshed out song, and the beat really hit me.
The fourth track, “Lai,” is even better. Ambient, complex, and surprisingly epic at only five minutes length, it’s easily a track I can listen to over and over again.
The fifth track, “TL7,” is a step back to the boring style of the first two tracks, but fortunately it is followed by the hypnotic “Bounce,” a fairly simple but energetic track that simply makes you want to dance. I especially love how the beat changes, keeping it fresh and increasingly frantic. The following track, “Full Bloom,” keeps the energy up with a hectic, ambient and mesmerizing beat.
“Templar” is a track I should have liked, since it has the same energy I liked in “Bounce” and “Full Bloom,” but the drums grew slightly boring and even irritating after about a minute into the song. the ninth song, “Stereo Fidelity,” is a fun, hectic track. There’s a lot going on, but it creates a fun mood, rather than coming off sloppy or too busy.
This compilation could have ended stronger. The tenth and final track, “Whispers (Remix)” sounds like the stereotypical house track. It’s not bad, it’s just not particularly engaging and a little repetitive.
If you’re a fan of Deadmau5 but don’t have much of his music, At Play 3 is definitely something you’ll want to pick up. If you’re not a fan of Deadmau5 or of house music, you can pass on this. I’ll probably get some heat for this (including from my boss), but I’m not too impressed with Deadmau5. I still think Danger Mouse is the best mouse around.
Have an album you reviewed? Be sure to
.
How to Fight Techno!
Jul 31st
Some music gets you riled up. It gets your blood pumping, you start feeling tough, invincible even, and eventually you’re ready to kick some ass. Music and fighting go together very well, so it’s not surprising that in movies and shows, the right music can enhance a fight scene.
Some good people on the internet noticed that Techno was missing from many action movie scores, and decided to fix that and share it with the world.
Jet Li’s fight scenes are always well choreographed displays of martial arts and stunts. However, this fan noticed this fight scene was missing something: The “Mortal Kombat” theme.
The connection between fighting and music makes sense. Many cultures have used war drums and pre-war rituals involving music to prepare for battle. And dancing is often closely related to fighting. Take Capoiera, for example, often seen as a hybrid of dancing and martial arts.
In fact, in some cultures dancing was a requirement for a warrior’s training.
Glowsticks: The ultimate weapon.
While music and fighting have a long history that predates any form of modern media, advances in technology have really left the two nearly inseparable. Fighters have music for ring walks, movies have songs and scores for fight scenes, and even martial arts exhibitions and demonstrations are set to modern music. Music can effect our loving side, our calm side, but also our aggressive side, which is why the combination is so appealing.No matter how perfectly executed a fight scene is, the right music can make it even better. Film score composers and directors need to realize that sometimes that music isn’t hard rock or bass-booming hip-hop, but some intense Techno.
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Mario gets it.
Tecktonik vs. Melbourne Shuffle
Jul 30th
Two specific types of dances have been featured here on How to Dance Techno: Tecktonik and the Melbourne Shuffle. It’s only natural for the two to be compared and judged, and who better to decide which is better than myself?
In the blue corner is Tecktonik. The French dance brings elaborate arm movements to the table and is more fluid style of dance than the Shuffle.
Standing in the red corner is the Melbourne Shuffle. Essentially the opposite of Tecktonik, the Shuffle is performed with footwork and glides. It is stiffer than Tecktonik but has an edge that gives it a stronger and more serious presence.
So which is better? There are a few videos out there that compare the two styles, but first I’d like to get my thoughts out there.
These styles are essentially polar opposites, but personally, I prefer the Melbourne Shuffle. It has a bit more edge, the footwork impresses me more than the arm movements, and sometimes Tecktonik just looks silly. Take this video for example.
The Tecktonik dancers, while talented, look odd when they put their game faces on, staring down competition and dissing them. When footwork is incorporated into the routine, Tecktonik can have an edge. It looks like a more complete style, and the whole body moving usually looks better than only half the body moving. All that movement and gyration looks odd when the feet are static, and while the Shuffler’s arms don’t move it doesn’t look quite so strange or silly.
Shuffling also looks a little more technical and difficult, but I do think many Tecktonik dancers seem more talented and athletic. Many of them seem like they could Shuffle pretty well themselves and perform well in other styles, too. I don’t feel like I can say the same for many Shufflers.
Despite these factors, I still prefer Shuffling. Of course, it’s not really the style that matters, it’s the dancer, the individual that matters most. So enjoy the last video and decide for yourself what’s best for you.
Why You Should Be Watching LXD
Jul 23rd
If you haven’t seen LXD yet, get off this site right now and start watching the episodes on Hulu. Or actually, no, wait a bit. There’s still more article to read.
The LXD (Legion of Extraordinary Dancers) is only five short episodes deep, so explaining the story is a little difficult. So far all I can tell is that there are two competing dance groups -one good, one evil (yes, evil dancers)- and a number of young dancers yet to be recruited. The show features some very talented dancers and, to me at least, has the feel of Heroes (back when it was still good). We see dance battles between good and evil, and even one dance off to the death. Yeah, someone dies in a dance battle. I don’t think it’s from exhaustion either, but because the other dancer’s moves are just too powerful. Really. It happens in episode four.
While the premise is a bit silly and the acting can be a bit stilted, the quality of the videos, the stunts, and dancing create a very entertaining and captivating experience.
It should be noted, however, that so far the videos are pretty light on actual dancing. Many of the moves are b-boy (breakdancing) power moves, like backspins and hand hops, or appear more stunt-oriented, resembling martial arts kata or gymnastics. The first episode showcases the former type, focusing on a young dancer impressing his classmates at a prom with flips, hand hops and other flashy b-boy moves. The second video is full of the latter type, focusing mainly on two young men jumping around, doing flips, and other gravity-defying moves.
The two videos that show more dancing than flashy power moves are the third video, “Robot Lovestory,” and the fourth, “The Lettermakers.” As you could guess from the name, “Robot Lovestory” really shows off “The Robot” and other forms of popping and locking. It even pays a bit of tribute to Michael Jackson’s smooth criminal.
The fourth episode mixes some actual dancing with some choreographed kata-style moves to set up a sparring session between the two dancers.
The videos range in length from about 4 minutes to 20 minutes and a new one is put up every Wednesday. They haven’t really done anything unique to techno music, wether in terms of music or dancing, but since this is a dance site, it gets a plug here. To see all the videos visit their Hulu channel here.
The Melbourne Shuffle
Jul 22nd
If you’ve looked at previous posts and videos here on How to Dance Techno, you’ve probably noticed the term “Melbourne Shuffle.” Today, we’re going to learn a little more about the Melbourne Shuffle.
The Melbourne Shuffle came out of the Acid House era, outlasting other popular dances of that time. Growing from an older style called “Stomping” and originally known as just shuffling, it is a fairly new style formed in the 1990s. It originated in Australia but didn’t get the name “Melbourne” until the late ’90s.
The Shuffle is influenced by many other forms of dance, including tap, clogging, breakdancing, and older styles of rave dances. As you can see in the video above, the style is comprised of stomping on beat while gliding around freely. The emphasis on Shuffling is freeform dance and expression.
The dance is primarily focused on footwork but it does incorporate more arm movement then its predecessor. Various kicks are incorporated and with some styles even emphasize the importance of the running man (Yeah, that running man.)
The preferred choice of music for Shufflers is Hardstyle, which is why the dance is sometimes mistakenly called “Hardstyle” or “Hardstyle Shuffle.” Other popular music includes house, trance, and drum and bass.
The Melbourne Shuffle has been described as a dance that seems to move”through” and “over” the beat, rather than “inside” it (www.inthemix.com). This may seem like a strange way to describe it, but when you see it in action, it’s understandable. The steps are always on the main beat with few smaller details or intricacies thrown in. The Shuffler never seems as fully part of the music as some other types of dancers do, which isn’t a bad thing. Take a look at this dancer, and try to notice how he never seems as immersed in the music (and try to ignore those ridiculous pants). There’s something about his movement that keeps him a separate entity. Compare it to the B-Boy in the video underneath, who tries to become part of the music and emphasize every part of the song.
The dance has increased in popularity in the past decade and Shufflers can be found all over the world.
If you want to learn how to Shuffle, be sure to check out the “Tutorials” page for videos and links. And if you know of any other dances that deserve some attention on the site, feel free to Contact Us
.
Sources:
http://www.answerbag.com/video/video_history-melbourne-shuffle/3577833d-c739-cbeb-03c0-7240582a9f9d
http://melbourneshuffleoldskool.blogspot.com/2006/04/melbourne-shuffle-brief-history.html
http://www.inthemix.com.au/features/6189/
Caution: Melbourne Shuffling
Jul 21st
For this week’s edition of “The Good, the Bad, and the Utterly Random,” we’ll look at videos focusing on the Melbourne Shuffle. What’s the Melbourne Shuffle you ask? Well, I’ll have an article about it up later, but for now you should know that when it’s done right, it looks like this:
This dancer’s name is Slim and she has a few more videos of her dancing up on YouTube. Take a look here to see more of her.
As you can see, when properly executed, the Shuffle results in a lot of fluid glides that send you in various directions. Just make sure you’re in a clear space when you shuffle.
Originally, that was going to be the “Bad,” but as you saw, his dancing wasn’t really that bad. That said, there’s plenty of similar videos of people shuffling and falling. Some dance (much) better than others, but they all end up flat on their butts.
Finally, the utterly random.
Cartoons Shuffling.
And no, these aren’t the only two out there in the world.
Techno Remixes (of Everything)
Jul 15th
Think of a song right now. Go ahead. Did you think of one? Good. Guess what?
It has a techno remix.
Go ahead, look it up. You’ll see it’s true. Every song ever made has a techno remix. It’s just how the world works. Depending on how you feel about techno, this either fills you with joy or strikes fear into your heart. Maybe you find it funny. I know I do.
Remixes are an important part of techno. It gives DJs and producers the chance to take classics or modern hits and turn them into something new. It’s not at all uncommon for a song to have multiple remixes either. Because of the prevalence of remixes in techno music, it seemed fitting to review them occasional in a special kind of article. So to introduce How to Dance Techno’s newest segment, the Remix Roundup, we’ll take a look at some of the more surprising and random techno remixes out there.
First up is a remix to a song we all heard growing up.
I’m not sure who the mad genius responsible for this is, but if I ever met him, I would first ask him “Why?”, and then probably congratulate his good work. That’s the effect some remixes can have on me. Many seem unnecessary, but you have to admire the talent and hard work that goes into them.
Some songs definitely appear harder to remix than others, or at least it seems difficult for a potential remix to match up to the original. Of course, many remixes aren’t made in an attempt to overshadow the original. Many are made out of love for the original. After all, I’m certain no one would remix John Williams’ “Duel of the Fates” actively trying to top it.
Whether you think the remix is better or not, the fact was that the original inspired the remix, and that the remix was done more as a tribute and not as a challenge to the original. If there’s any challenge, it’s a personal one for the producer to make a good remix.
That said, many remixes, as random as they can be, are quite impressive. Who knew that anyone could do this with the Duck Tales theme song?
The fact is, remixes show us all the potential songs have. Of course there are many that don’t stack up to the original, but they still show us the versatility of these songs. They keep old songs alive and put them in a new, more electronic and digitally produced light.
On future editions of Remix Roundup, we will look at various remixes of a song, what they succeed in doing, and what they fail at doing. So make sure to visit regularly or follow How to Dance Techno on Twitter to catch the next one. For now, I leave you with probably the best remix on this post.
How to Dance to Techno (Like an Animal)
Jul 15th
There’s something about techno music that just brings out your primitive inner being whenever you’re out there on the dance floor. Maybe it’s the pulsing beat, or maybe it’s the rhythm. Either way, techno appeals to the animal within.
It also appeals to the animal sitting by feet right now.
This turtle knows its important to shake the hips. Hip movement is very important to dancing, but a lot of people either seem to forget that or are simply too shy or reserved to shake their hips. This turtle seems to like to practice his hip movement by having a toothbrush rub his backside. I can’t say I recommend the same, but if you attempt this, please record it. It would be hilarious. Or greatly disturbing…
Of course, before you start shaking your hips, you might want to catch the rhythm by moving your legs and shoulders, much like the dog below. It’ll help you loosen up and find the beat. Keep in mind, you don’t need to be on all fours to do this.
Now that you found your rhythm, you can begin some of the more energetic and advanced moves, as demonstrated by this parrot.
Once you’ve mastered these basics, you’ll be a master of the dance floor, capable of feats such as this:
Yes, that chicken has its own dance video. And don’t be upset with me for using a commercial for the last one instead of a home video. You should really be upset that a bunch of animals dance better than you.