Evening star., 1955-06-05

Les BTOWnS OdIlQ WAS fOOcS
the most dance-able in the
U. S. this year. With his band
Les Brown travels to every part
of the country. He knows a
lot about you teen-agers, es-
pecially the way you dance,
So he was interviewed. during
q short stop between plane
hops, after spring prons. be-
fore summer tour. You could
tell Les Brown likes to watch
dancers, and talk about dane
ing, when he answered these
questions:
Are teen-agers good dancers?
well, the majority of them
show they want to be-which
is all it takes, if they keep on
learning to be really smooth
dancers. But less know how
to dance well, now, than in
the early '30s, when most were
good dancers! At start, the
girls are better dancers.
Dancing takes practice! I
used to do the Charleston in
front of the mirror for hours.
Also, I danced often with my
sister. Poor Sis! That was
hard to take. for her and me,
but 1t helped!
"You should dance with all
the different partners you can.
Partner changing d develops
skill, for both the follower and
leader. Too many now dance
with the same partner all eve
ming. "Cut-ins," are obsolete
at colleges. But the trend now
is to exchange a few dances
within your own crowd-and
, dance With not more tnan
three or four partners.
"Dance-snobs who decline to
dance with anyone except the
best also make it harder for
beginners to become good
dancers. That cuts down on
fun, too, because best" dane
erS are rare!
with any partner. you can
become better dancer, if you
try different tempos. If you're
on the floor, and the music
schanges, don't sit down and
sgive up. Try it, stay with it.
That's the only way to learn.
IF it's a struggle. don't be self
conscious; it's something every
lone who wants to be a smooth
dancer must go through!
! To know what to expect. as
the music shifts. helps. The
smodern dance-set. durin g
which you stay with the same
partner, lasts about 20 minutes.
"Dance-set" may include six
different tampos. Most will be
medium. Band-men know that
If the music is too slow, it's easy
for dancers to lose balance,
rhythm. Towards the end of
the set, there's usually a novel;
ty number for which you stand
by to watch. Fast dance is last
in set.~> For most crowds. two
or three really fast numbers
are enough-during a four or
four and a half hour p r o.
gram"
What's new in dance-styles?
There's no new fad, at the
moment. But band-men will
welcome the next one tn a
comes along, to keep 'em dane
ing. There's nothing like a new
dance to pack the bathrooms.
Nationwide, jitter-bugging
Is still more prevalent. from
Maine to California, than any
other dance. More young peo-
pie can do the jitter-bug than
the rhumba or mambo. Utter
bug has been called risque, SEN
sual. That can't see. because
in jitter-bug you dance apart
with less romantic close-ups
than in the waltz"
What type of dance-music Is
now popular with teen-agers?
pretty ballads-and swing
are in demand. as ever. Latin
rhythms are not quite as pop
ular as a year ago. Rhythm
and blues are a fad, but !
don't think RIB will become
a part of our music-literature
as has swing, jazz. However,
I'm for any fad that makes
young people dance music
conscious. AS you get inter-
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