mlieberman
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 11:08 am Post subject: What happened to those GREAT line dances of the '90s?
I danced twice, in '94 and '97, and I must say that in the years I've been back to visit THON since then, it seems like the line dance just isn't the same. It used to be that the song selected was a catchy, humable tune, often with a lyrics that could be applied to THON in one way or another, and a chorus (and associated set of dance moves) that was repeated at least two or three times.
Around '97, it seemed that there was less importance put on the lyrics of the song and more importance put on the phrases that were interjected, to the point where the line dance now has its own lyrics chanted from start to finish. In more recent years the trend has become to insert sound effects, movie clips, or even splice two songs together. By doing this, I feel like the THON line dances have lost their "hook". The line dances have also become significantly harder because as songs have been edited to remove the choruses, there is less opportunity for repetition of dance moves. One of the things I always remembered about the '94 line dance (although my memory is fading now) was that no matter how crazy it got in parts, we always returned to the "core moves" during the chorus.
One of my favorite line dances was not even from a year I danced. I believe it was '96... my wife and I still occasionally break into "Captain Caveman... unga bunga... Captain Caveman... break it down, and bring it together". Signal from the Heart -- what a great chorus for THON! (Am I right on the year here?)
So, does anyone else out there agree with me? And if so, what can be done to encourage the "powers that be" to get away from the technology of inserting sound effects and movie clips and get back to the "old school" line dances that people in the stands could learn after a few times -- the kind you'd find yourself humming for weeks after THON and maybe even catch on the radio now and then and spontaneously break into the line dance in your dorm room?
Marc Lieberman
Class of '95
THON dancer, '94 (Circle K) and '97 (independent)
