Gary 0 Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 (edited) With a few dinner dances and the wedding season approaching, Waltz's, Foxtrots, Quicksteps, Tango's and the (very) odd Veleta are quite likely going to get the occasional request. And of course, when you DO get a request of "I dont suppose you'll have a Waltz or a Foxtrot will you?", its so good to be able to say "Yes, of course" My current selection of 7 or 8 Ballroom Dancing LP's on vinyl (hissss!) is getting a bit played out, so I decided to shop around for a couple of compilation Ballroom CD's. Heres two that I found. In HMV, theres their own branded ("HMV Easy" range) called "The Ballroom Dancing collection".... barcode: 07243536638270005995, or stock code: HMV5366382. For a measely £5.99 you get: 2 foxtrots, 3 slow foxtrots, 2 waltzs, 2 tango's (no not the fizzy drinks), 2 Sambas, a Rumba, The Charleston, 2 Cha cha's, 2 quicksteps, A two-step, a jive, a pasa doble, a valeta, and a viennese whirl http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/pizza.gif ...sorry, I meant viennese waltz... Thats 22 tracks, all listed with the dance type after the song name, eg: "How Deep is your Love: Cha Cha". Quite a selection for £5.99, however, I also wandered into MVC and bought "Favourite Ballroom", also £5.99 from EMI Gold, boasting tunes from Victor Sylvester, Joe Loss, Geoff Love, and Bryan Smith (and their respective orchestras). (no decernable stock code though - sorry). On this CD, you get 3 Waltzes, 2 Foxtrots, 1 Rumba, a quickstep and a quickstep medley of 5 tunes, 2 sambas, 2 two steps, 2 cha chas, 2 tango's, 2 slow foxtrots, a Veleta, and "The Charleston" which can be played (apparently) as a Charleston (never? http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/scared.gif ) or as a Quickstep ( http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/wacko.gif ). OK, theres a few tracks which appear on both CD's...but well worth having for when Great Auntie Henrietta, and Great Uncle George stagger up, asking for a bit of "strict tempo" or "Ballroom dancing". Couple of quick tips when playing Ballroom. 1) Give everyone a few minutes notice... 2) Give the first tune of any type of dance set (EG: the first of 2 waltzes) a long introduction...people like to get into position BEFORE the first note is played. 3) Dont try to mix any tunes, even a Foxtrot with a Foxtrot, or a Waltz to a Waltz, people want the ballroom tune from the first note, to the last. So, you might intro a typical 70's song as normal, but tell people "And dont forget, directly after THIS tune, we're going to be playing a few Ballroom dances for Mavis, Charlie and a few other here theis evening...thats just 2 mins away..." (People will start to hover near the dancefloor waiting for the 70's song to end. Switch on the Mirrorball, slow fading lights...switch off the mega-moons, strob-o-scans, etc.. Next, something like, "Well its a Waltz next ladies and gentlemen, so take your partners please for -Victor Sylvester and the boys- with -Cant help falling in Love-" once you've finished (totally) talking, Hit PLAY... after the LAST note of the tune has ended, wait for the people to stop applauding each other( http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/rolleyes.gif ) and announce the next song, in a similar slooow delivery. One extra handy tip...I've started writing down what ballroom dance tunes I play, when I play them. I get a little dizzy over which Waltz, or which foxtrot I've played. Edited February 9, 2004 by Gary Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Forsyth 0 Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/thumbup.gif Top post Gary! I'll be reviewing my cd's today to see if I need to add to them. Great tips on delivery too! This'll be of great value for the wedding season. Cheers http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html/emoticons/beer.gif Vinnie Paul Forsyth The DJ formally known as Vinnie Link to post Share on other sites
adenondj 0 Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 may i add a recomendation of music factorys 4 disk compilation - danceperience very good as it says what each song is (foxtrot waltz etc) Paul ''king'' Denon D.J. for life Link to post Share on other sites
Gary 0 Posted February 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 Is that Music Factory "Dance experience" set 4 discs of ballroom dances? Link to post Share on other sites
andrew dowding 0 Posted February 9, 2004 Report Share Posted February 9, 2004 i do have a few waltzs in my collection dont play them very often Link to post Share on other sites
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