I returned from my first senior dance this afternoon and I'm happy (maybe even elated) to say that everything met my expectations 100%... and my expectations were high, very high. About 100 dancers showed both their talents on the dance floor and their enjoyment of the music.

I took along extra business cards and ran out, was rehired, but what really made my day, was when one of the better dancers came up and told me not only how much he enjoyed the music, but that everything was played 'at the right tempo'... the Latins, the waltzes, etc. That was something I had really done my homework on... 'with a little help from my friends'.

Today was a rush for me, a sky high, and how wonderful it is that music still can do that 'after all these years'. I hope all of you are still experiencing that musical rush, one way or another.

Preparation, doing your homework, makes all the difference in the world, and again, much of that was from help I received here. So thanks so much... Donny, Fran, Eddie, Joe A, Tony, Flatfoot, Gary, Scott L, Jerry T, and Taike... and many others indirectly.

Think I'll take a 18 hour break from music for now. Hmmmmm, can't remember ever doing that before.

Glenn

Way to go Glenn!!!
I knew you could do it

Good job Glenn!

Happy for you Glenn!
Ciao,
Jerry

Right on Glenn!
Ron

Yeah, Glenn ... good for you ... and the clients !!!
t.
PS ... care to share your song list ???

Congrats Glenn. I know you have been working hard on your prep. Glad to hear it is paying off. During your 18 hour hiatus, you might want to take a look at your 3K.
Eddie

[This message has been edited by btweengigs (edited 01-16-2006).]

Awesome! That's how we all like a job to go. Keep up the good work!

Joe

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Songman55
Joe Ayala

Glenn - nothing better than a high from a musical performance. Can you give us an idea of your song list?
Thanks,
zuki

Well done!

The tempo is the crucial factor.

Whilst I had a "time out" from live playing some years back the band that I had been in had a summer season at a hotel which attracted a lot of dancers. Some nights they'd get a good response with lots of dancers, other nights dead. One evening a gentlemen came up to the drummer (whom I now work with again) and said "I like the tunes but do you realise you are playing them at the wrong speed, and also your tempos sometime drift within songs?". As the answer was "No" the gentlemen brought in a list of British Ballroom dance tempo's and my mate the drummer went off a bought a metronome which he then attached to his cymbal stand. After a few weeks hard practice at truly accurate fixed tempo playing the dance floor was consistently full and dancers from other venues were coming in as well, thanks to word of mouth that here was a band who played the right tunes at the right speed.

Generally speaking, I would not recommend a program/song list schedule for a dance, but these senior dances are somewhat "regimented", in that they always include a latin set, polkas, and waltz set, with at least one Viennese waltz. Therefore, I opted to utilize a "song list" with flexibility... for requests, dancer response, etc. Here it is:

Moonlight Serenade
Anytime
Hey Good Lookin'

Waltz Set:
Vaya Condios
Maria Elena/Always
Vienna Life

Once In A While
Winter Wonderland

Latin Set:
Green Eyes - Rumba
Cherry Pink - Cha-Cha
Adios Muchachos - Tango

Who's Sorry Now/Blackbird
Just Because Polka
Lichtenstein Polka

(Short Break)

Blue Hawaii
Cab Driver
It Had To Be You
Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Waltz Set:
Moon River/You Always Hurt
Charmaine/Fascination
Skaters Waltz

To Each His Own/My Happiness
You're Nobody/I Can't Give You

Latin Set:
Spanish Eyes/You Belong To My Heart - Rumba
Patricia/Never On Sunday - Cha-Cha
Brazil - Samba

Oh-La-La-La-La Polka
Margarittaville
In The Mood

I heard some compliments on song selection so I guess it was OK.

An advantage of having a 'flexible' song list, I was able to keep dead time (between songs) well under 10 seconds and keep the dancers on the floor. I played it conservative with song selection, knowing that probably 90% of the dancers, plus the person who hires the entertainment (kinda important), had preference for the 40s stuff.

I had the advantage of a female vocalist who performed on ~ 7 ballads plus the L Polka (she knocks 'em out with that one). Starting and ending with a Glenn Miller song allowed for a play on my name, "I'm not GM, I'm GT, but I play GM songs, etc". Besides, they just love big band music, so next time I'll probably add another 1 or 2 GM songs... and maybe a few more "modern" songs - ya know, post 40s.

Glenn

Congratulations Glenn. I knew you could do it, the song list was just fine, and you managed to keep that dead time down, which I consider a very important aspect of performing a successful job.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy