[Dancecult-l] liveness (Kariann Goldschmitt)

Sam Carroll dogpossum at dogpossum.org
Wed Jun 27 06:06:14 CEST 2007 

I'm not sure what I can add to this discussion, being a researcher  
and DJ within the swing dancing community, but the notion of DJs as  
'other than' live caught my attention.
With DJing jazz from the 20s, 30s and 40s, I never mix beats, scratch  
or use any of the traditional DJing skills beyond selecting songs,  
playing them in particular combinations, balancing the levels and  
responding to the crowd's energy, dancing ability and interests and  
mood with my song choices.
But I do feel that there's a clear difference between DJing actively  
and just (for example) slapping a few songs into a playlist and  
pressing 'go'. At the end of my most successful and satisfying sets I  
feel as though I've been dancing all night as well - I'm physically  
and emotionally wrung out. I feel that the best sets are those where  
I'm right there with the dancers, moving through the tempos and  
energy levels of each song with them. I  might be standing up on the  
podium behind the equipment, but I'm really plugged into the energy  
in the room and actively manipulating it, gradually raising tempos  
over a number of songs, changing the energy to give dancers a break,  
manipulating the space between songs to allow dancers to find new  
partners, take a break, etc etc.
In addition, I also make an effort to regularly 'walk the room',  
checking the sound in different parts of the room, having a quick  
word with dancers and generally 'copping a feel' for the energy in  
the room from the dance floor. In addition, there's a general  
consensus in the swing DJing world that dancing before your set is an  
important way of plugging into the mood of the room before you begin  
playing. Kind of a mainline to the crowd's vibe.

The fact that it's essential to be a dancer in order to DJ well  
_for_  swing dancers is also important. The best DJs I've seen in  
international swing dance culture are also very good dancers - they  
understand not only the historical connection between specific styles  
of jazz and particular jazz dances, but also the ways in which  
different songs work or don't work as 'good dancing music'. Not to  
mention being astute observers of crowd dynamics and metalingual  
communication.

There is a very great emphasis on 'live bands' in swing dance culture  
as well - local scenes develop good working relationships with local  
bands and musicians, producing sets which really suit lindy hop or  
balboa or blues or charleston or any combination of swing dances.  
While the connection between jazz dancers and jazz musicians is quite  
obvious at a band gig - a clear relationship between the musicians  
and the music made flesh - there is also a clear relationship between  
the DJ and dancers at a DJed gig, which complicates a clearly  
demarcated 'live' and 'unlive' definition.

This relationship between DJ and dancer is only brought home by the  
radio DJ, who is playing songs without reference to a living,  
breathing, dancing audience in the same room.

For a dance culture with such a strong emphasis on history and  
historicised media practice, DJs are essential figures, seeking out  
'authentic' recorded music and then presenting it to dancers in the  
most effective, appropriate combinations. There is no passive,  
'automated' DJ role.

To me, then, it seems that DJs in electronic dance music culture  
would be even more engaged and living in the moment with dancers,  
blending beats, sampling, scratching and so on.


But does that mean that dancing to an automated computerised 'juke  
box' is any less live, when it is the dancers that do embody the music?

Sam.



On 27/06/2007, at 12:31 PM, Adam Walker wrote:

> I agree to a point Denise.  As a DJ - yes - there are times when I  
> feel like
> a glorified jukebox, but other times when I use my tracks,  
> equipment, voice
> and visuals (eg. lighting) in a spontaneous "live" fashion.   
> However, in
> context of this discussion, it's important to bring up the blurring of
> boundaries between live and recorded music that has emerged through
> technology (and I guess the fundamental aim of DJing), which is  
> what you are
> highlighting.  Therefore in searching for a definition of liveness  
> - where
> does one (recorded) stop and the other (live) start?  Does the  
> merging of
> true liveness, performance and recorded music require new  
> categorisation?
> Perhaps we should posit some term like "recolive" into discourse?
>
> Adam
>
>
>> From: Denise Dalphond <ddalphon at indiana.edu>
>> To: dancecult-l at listcultures.org
>> Subject: Re: [Dancecult-l] liveness (Kariann Goldschmitt)
>> Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:02:53 -0400
>>
>> Hey all,
>>
>> This discussion is bringing up a lot of fascinating ideas in my  
>> little
>> ethno head.  I think it would be great to develop this into a more
>> rigorous discussion of defining "liveness" as it relates to DJ
>> performance and electronic dance music.  I hesitate to create a
>> distinction between DJ performance, involving the typical set-up of
>> electronic and possibly digital equipment and use of pre-recorded  
>> sound
>> in a new performance context, and other "live" performances.  I would
>> call typical DJ performance live as well - there can be various  
>> levels
>> of composition, improvisation, etc. in DJ performance.  An important
>> idea in this train of thought is "emergence" in performance, in terms
>> of folklore, anthro, linguistics.  This is the idea that there can  
>> be a
>> continuum in performance of varying degrees of emergence,  
>> flexibility,
>> spontaneity, as well as preparedness, adherance to script, and so on.
>>
>> Of course, performance can be a label that applies to recorded  
>> cultural
>> expressions as well, but "liveness" in this definition of  
>> emergence in
>> performance could certainly include DJ performance and electronic  
>> dance
>> music in various "live" settings.
>>
>> What do y'all think about defining "live" performance in this way?
>>
>> Denise
>> --
>> Denise MM Dalphond
>> Assistant Instructor, Motown
>> Graduate Assistant, Liberia Collections Project
>> Department of Folklore & Ethnomusicology
>> Indiana University
>> ddalphon at indiana.edu
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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