1 all selected team members
2 all dance trainers/coaches in South Africa and neighbouring countries
3 all interested dancers  -  must be 12 years or older  (no juveniles)
4 open to professional as well as amateur dancers

1 IDO information seminar pertaining to competitions :  rules, etc.,
2 disco/freestyle dance - international style
3 open forum for general discussion regarding IDO competitions

1 dance
2 study international videos
3 adopt and sign the IDO code of conduct and ethics
4 gym/tumbling/acrobatics/highlights coaching

1 dance wear and dance shoes
2 note book and pencil
3 couples/duos : your music for your own choreographed items
4 N.B.!! all team members to please provide good quality photographs in full costume

1 1 day...........10:00am - 5:00pm

1 R 200-00 per person
2 SA Dance Team! 2001 members : R 100-00 per person
3 lunch and teas included

1 only CONFIRMED and PRE-PAID applications will be accepted
2 LIMITED SPACE - 1ST COME, 1ST SERVED  -  PLEAASE BOOK EARLY
3 closing date for applications :  Wednesday 28 February
4 bookings confirmed only on receipt of fees paid and application form submitted
5 deposit fees and fax proof of deposit with application form to:
Pam Smith fax :  (011) 664 7204 e-mail : pamsmith@mweb.co.za
6 Bank  :  Standard
Bank code :  5841
Name of Account :  P C Smith
Account number :  02 140 1144

TEL NO :________________________________  STUDIO/CLUB :___________________________________________

Regards, Elsa

Ed
Elsa, thanks for notifying

Subject:  My Babypic

Body: Its my animated baby picture!!!

Attachment: MY BABYPIC.EXE

PLEASE DO NOT OPEN THIS MESSAGE!!!!!!!!  DELETE IT IMMEDIATELY FROM YOUR INBOX AND YOUR DELETED ITEMS EVEN IF IT IS FROM SOMEONE YOU KNOW, AS IT IS A VIRUS AND WILL DAMAGE CERTAIN FILES ON YOUR PC!!!!

IF YOU RECEIVE AN E-MAIL THAT READS "UPGRADE INTERNET2" DO NOT OPEN IT, AS IT CONTAINS AN EXECUTABLE NAMED  "PERRIN.EXE." AND IS A VIRUS MAIL.

OTHER TITLES ARE:

1)  buddylst.exe
2)  calcu18r.exe
3)  deathpr.exe
4)  einstein.exe
5)  happ.exe
6)  girls.exe
7)  happy99.exe
8)  japanese.exe
9)  keypress.exe
10)  kitty.exe
11)  monday.exe
12)  teletubb.exe
13)  The Phantom Menace
14)  prettypark.exe
15)  UP-GRADE INTERNET2
16)  perrin.exe
17)  I love You
18)  CELCOM Screen Saver or CELSAVER.EXE
19)  Win a Holiday (e-mail)
20)  JOIN THE CREW O PENPALS
21)  HA HA HA   SNOW WHITE
22)  Annakournikova.jpg.vbs ( as the attachment ) and "here you have ,;O)" as the subject.

If you need any further info or have a suspicious e-mail please contact the Helpdesk at pax 0660 or 0478 and we will be happy to assist you!

Regards, Lydia

Ed
Lydia, at the same time your warning arrived, I received the "HA HA HA SNOW WHITE" one. It has now been sent to me three times. But the one that fools everyone every time is, "I Love You". These guys had a field Valentine's day. Luckily for Jay no-one loves him so he knew it was a wrong address. But for those who don't take the above emails seriously, it can be a major problem - ask me, I've been there BIG TIME.

One cold winter's morning of the year 1997, yours truly woke up bright and chirpy, ready and very steady to print out the master copy of DanceInfo SA (54 pages) to be neatly and immediately sent to the printers. I switched on my PC and the screen didn't only stay black, it stayed dark black, and the more I looked at it the darker the black became. But being the cucumber cool character I am, I slow waltzed my way back to the tub and drank my bath water (or was it someone else's), took a deep breath and bellowed from the bottom up into the heavens above. Now why am I telling you this story? it's boring, and no-one's listening anyway. Oh yes, I remember, apart from the fact that we had to retype the 54 pages, it wiped all the previous copies of DISA, all the hundreds of graphics (or was it thousands), my 300-page dictionary which took yeeeeaars to compile, all my other mega, mega bytes of info, all my system applications programmes in one quick click. And you know Lydia, just when I thought I was perfect, I realised I didn't backup.

Thanx again for a wonderful dance website.

Regards

MARILIZE

Ed
Marilize, you typed your name in CAPITALS. Many dancers don't know this, CAPS on the net (an unwritten rule), are an expression of aggression, like the many letters Jay receives. Even Proper Nouns are small. Take when they list the placings of the top 6 couples of these International Dance Championships we see on TV - ALL SMALLS, even the full stops. So you're not showing your fangs, are you?

Here are a few Dance Magazines on the net for you to check out. Marilize, whenever you are not sure of where to find something about dancing, just pop into my Dance Shop page. It has everything for the SA dancer, and if there's an item missing, give me a shout and I'll put it in pronto. DISA is for the absolute convenience of the SA dancer... anything less is NOT good enough, C!.

GPDA have not got anything major planned as yet but we are having a fun family social on 3rd March - mainly to give the public a chance to come and dance, have fun and forget all the current woes. Have an Easter Fair scheduled for 31 March. In August our next Variety Show "More Sugar and Spice". Would be nice to have some South African performers - maybe this is wishful thinking at this point in time.

Please let me know when our next payment is due for our Web Page.

Trust you are keeping fit and active in the dance world. Hope to meet you one day.

Kind regards

Ken Scott

Ed
I sure miss Cherie's outspokenness. Their are so few dancers who have the courage of their convictions. They allow officials to trample them at will, and Ken, ask me I know, since my site focuses on talk and they talk freely to me, but unlike Cherie used to do, don't write a squeak for fear of being pooffed.

According to my crystal ball, your payment is due in July somewhere, will email.

I too hope we will some day meet in Bushman land, that will be a great adventure.

Never having seen this South African legend perform before, I was stunned.  José is truly incredible. The passion and feeling he expresses in his dancing seems like a natural extension of the man.  Although his troupe (including his daughter) dance beautifully, they have far to go before understanding how to dance from within like he and Helena do.  As my partner said of Helena , ‘she really has it’. This from somebody who is not such a dance enthusiast - you see, it shows!  Viva Montoya!<

regards,

Tanja

Ed
José is simply amazing, and the Viva España Restaurant, where he performs weekly, is a great, cosy place to go dining and dancing. Particularly for social dancers who like lively entertainment thrown in. Here's the link to José's page and Viva España's page - check it out for details. Tanja, thanks for expressing your enjoyment, José will love you for ever more.

Many thanks
Tony

Ed
Tony, so far, and we haven't started yet, we have your Square dance group, a Spanish group, a Line Dance group, 9 latin demos, 15 ballrooms, 12 modern beat demos, 2 for the Gay section and one Senior couple. We expect about 200 exhibition entries for this National Social contest. It's going to be a total gas with entertainment galore, and the emphasis is on ENTERTAINMENT & FUN. Social dancing is very serious fun.

I had an inquiry for Square Dance recently and I recommended you highly. See you at the Social dancers' Mecca in August.

Dancers who would like to see Tony's Square Dance page, here's the link

Elsie

Ed
Elsie, FUN is the ACTION word... ABSOLUTELY. See you at the Social dancers' Mecca in August.

Your latest DanceInfo update 'How many visits does your webpage get compared with other DISA pages?'

Is this Jay at his controversial best again??  Is the playing field tilted yet again??
Different sites have existed for different periods of time.  So if you are looking for popularity ratings then you should not look at the absolute hit count but should rather look at the rate of change.  That is say how many hits per day or per week.  This gives a better measure of current popularity.

Since your vitriolic exchanges with your favourite competition SADanceSport I have kept an eye on such figures.  Sorry to report but their daily hit rate is superior to yours, except for the last couple of days when your site received a massive +3000 hits over one evening, a staggering achievement.  I hope you didn't manipulate your counters . . . . . .

But hey, competition is good.  Don't stand still or you die.  Maybe it's time to dust off the old DISA, update the site add some new fizz and really show the other team that you truly have the better site.

I don't know whether you have found it yet but take a look at www.sadancesport.co.za

I assume that you will not publish this letter as I have never seen any negative comments on your site.  Hey it's your site and you can publish what you like.

Jim

Ed
Jim, I'm not sure what your hang-up is, because 'How many visits does your webpage get compared with other DISA pages?' was pointed to my many subscribers who have a free page on my site. These stats have nothing to do with other sites or their visits, e.g. Brian Schmidt & Meryl Williams Studio's page has todate attracted 210 visits, Johan & Sandra Hayes Studio 211 visits, Jon & Cheryl Studio 201, Fred Astaire Randburg 198, Pro Dance Studio 100, Nail Beauty 62, DanceWell Social Studios 414, etc.

Nothing strange about a site hauling in 3000 hits in a few days. They tell me the porn sites grab a million a day. When I sent my updates to my thousands of subscribers after announcing Matthew & Nicole Cutler's interview with me, my counter jumped by 1300 within hours. Your "I have kept an eye on such figures" tells me that 2999 of the 3000 hits were from Jim Warren - thanks Jim, I really appreciate your support, and don't stop now.

I must remind you, my site is not for show, it's for ACTION. The appearance hasn't worried my visitors or the dancer which are increasing at an astonishing rate. What they like is that it's always immediately updated, it's easy to navigate & understand and quick to download, but more importantly it's serves to help the dancer, and it is totally HONEST. Quite a few have said, "your site just keeps getting better and better" and they mean the content.

On the one hand you say, "Jay at his controversial best again" and the other, you say, "I have never seen any negative comments on your site". Jim, what do you really mean? One thing I do know is that you don't read what the dancers have to say, because you are too busy watching my counter. Here follows a few negative letters which smeared the sport, not only in South Africa but also abroad, So Jim, what your letter has now forced me to do is dig up all the dirty bones of SA DanceSport for all to read again;

• Total Trash This is a gem, My favourite. It hauled in +- 500 visits
• Reply to "Total Trash" - from Cherie Scott (Zim)
• World War lll in KZN - the corruption in DanceSport
• The War Goes on in KZN - irate official
• Only Moffies like you wear earrings!! - the politics
• I Applaud Felix - Felix takes DanceSport to court

Maybe your site and other sites wouldn't dare publish a letter like yours, but mine hasn't missed a stinker yet, it's an HONEST site which humbly serves the dancer. Your letter is a love story compared with many I've received.

I know you are still learning the ropes of webbing, but always add http://before the www when announcing your web address, because many browsers won't open it without the http://. "vitriolic" is a big word, I hope you know how to pronounce it. Big words don't impress me, because big words are for little people.

By the way, I was the one you thanked for sending Gloria Fish's funeral details to all the dancers - it was my pleasure.

Cccccc Yaaaaaa
Roy !!!!!

Ed
Roy, don't you think saying "Jim Warren (the idiot)" is a little strong? but I'm glad you didn't call him Jim the Jerk, which is what one dancer named him. Jim really tries hard for DanceSport in Gauteng, but he is still a greenhorn rookie. Give him a few years and he will be excellent, because he is copying the functionality of this site to the letter.

The A to your Q, "Honestly, who looks at the number of visitors a dance website receives" is... Jim Warren, and his eyes are glued to the 5 digits of DanceInfo SA's counter - the busiest and most popular dance site on the SA web. When DISA had 2000 on the counter, what Jim's site I think should have by now, then the visits were important, but now I hardly check the counter because I'm too busy adding dancers to my email list.

In a very obscure way, visits to a site can indicate its popularity, but many visits can also be out of curiosity, which mean sweet fanny Annie. The visits to my site are mainly for dance talk and dance info, and as you say, "IT'S THE INFORMATION THAT COUNTS JIMBO !!!!".

Roy, you forgot to put the http://in front of Jim's website address, but something tells me you did that accidentally on purpose.

Having read “dancemoans'”  very informative letter on social dance venues, Rienie and I have  been dancing together for 4 years now and in that time we have always been on  the lookout for and trying new dance venues, but alas, without much success, as most places are too small and the music generally caters for the masses, or they don’t last too long.  However, we have adopted the attitude of making the best of what is available at all the various venues i.e. when we go to a small venue, like Fred's dance club in Northcliff  on Friday nights for instance,( regarded as a singles club by most , but nothing wrong with that, as long as the music is acceptable), we get there early and do our various latin or ballroom steps when the floor is empty .If necessary,  we request the appropriate music from the DJ  i.e. we don’t wait for it to happen, we make it happen - for a while at least.

Once the floor fills up and the music is mostly commercial stuff, we accept the fact that others are also there to do there own thing and so we make do with dancing to smaller steps in a more confined space and without  arms protruding too much. Hell, something is better than nothing!  The same goes for the JHB Social Club at the Morningside Country Club every Saturday -we get there early and get in some quality dancing for a while and ask for the right music.

If it’s space we want, we still go to the Dance Palace in Florida on a Saturday night  on a regular basis.
Here, the DJ Noel, who has been there since day one , knows how to read the crowds by now and caters for all tastes. As there is always a mixed age group in attendance, the music has to again cater for the masses  i.e. modern pop and sokkie  and a waltz  thrown in regularly . Here again, if you request a tango or whatever, Noel is always obliging. Again I say, just make requests and you can do your stuff.

One thing we have learnt, is that if a piece of modern music is normally danced to with a boogie step for instance, you can sometimes ,repeat sometimes, do a cha-cha or even a mambo to the same song. Certain modern ballads can also produce a nice rhumba step. - What? mambo to Eiffel 65 or Britney Spears? - magic stuff !

The point I am trying to make here is that just because the music played at most dance venues today is generally top 20 stuff, does not mean that it’s not danceable to latin or ballroom standards. Experiment and you will be surprised .

One sad fact is that a place like the Dance Palace, which was originally marketed as a ballroom and latin venue, has to eventually go with the flow in order to survive and so become more commercial. That is because ballroom/latin dancers in general do not support their particular type of venues for too long - why, I’ll never understand, as soon enough, they complain that there is no where to dance ballroom/latin.

At the Dance Palace on a Friday night , after dance classes are completed (20H30), the music is mostly latin/ballroom, but the problem is that new students who are there, can sometimes be a bit of an obstacle on the floor, but hey, Rienie and I were once at that stage too (some dancers might think we still are!), so you just learn to accept it, or stay at home. Besides, it improves your navigational skills around the floor as well.  So whenever and wherever we can, we make the most of the majority of the various dance venues we have and just enjoy ourselves, despite the odds.  After all, life is too short .

Regards,
Wez

Ed
Wez, are you telling me you are like a cockroach; you put a roach in the fridge, it survives, you put it in the oven, it survives, you plonk it in the rain, it survives.

Nice to hear from you again, and thanks for all the dance talk. After your last letter about how not to get high-jacked at a Jo'burg street corner, I thought you and Rienie had sambaed the country.

I agree with you completely, for quality dancing, social dancers must learn how to make the best of a bad bargain. Most competent social dancers just don't support those who do their damnedest to cater for the discerning dancer. The result, the "wag your ears to techno" brigade, invade supreme, and a bad bargain is handed down to the keen social dancer who has to scavenge for a decent dance.

What convinces me that you are a seasoned social dancer is your ability to extract Latin rhythm from modern tunes. I find it difficult to get many dancers to understand that when music is played in 2/4 or 4/4 time you can dance almost any dance to it bar the Waltz, and some can even do that - I can Cha-Cha to Waltz timing by splitting the 3rd beat i.e. 1, 2, 3&4; 1, 2, 3&4, try it, it's groovy, and when you have mastered the art, apply for your very advanced diploma in social dancing.

When dancing a Foxtrot to Tango music, the character might not ring true, but the timing is usually fine. Most Rap beats have a very distinct Rumba and Cha-Cha rhythm. Most heavy, heart-beat Rave tunes are terrific social Sambas and Sakkies, and of course, Rave is THE genuine Sokkie beat. Let me tell you Wez, when I hear the music they play at these International Championships, I'd much rather Cha-Cha to a lively Waltz tune any day, njaniskopela, any day Wez.

You mentioned Sylvia's Social DanceClub in Pretoria in your previous letter on social dancing. When last were you there, because they say her Club has really become popular with the discerning dancer - there's ample space, the DJ plays Latin, Ballroom, Mod and many requests. Dancers who would like to find out more about Sylvia's DanceClub, Click here.

Ccccc Yaaaa !!!

Ed
Is that how the magnificent 6 Junior Cape couples disappear in to oblivion? I remember giving them a rave review in the Western Province 2000 Championship - it seems a shame. Thanks for letting us know.

Jack

Ed
Yes, and I'm hoping to get details soon. Details received, thanks to Felix Moroder

Hey J
I heard that Martin Moroder is dancing with Ziona. She used to dance in the Amatuer Latin section with Khoutso's brother.

Ccccc Yaaa
Roy !!!!

In April 2000 Martin & Hayley represented South Africa at the World Youth Latin Championships in Latvia, were they took an excellent 29th place.

Winning all the competitions in Gauteng last year including the Provincial Championships, they excelled in winning recently the SA Youth Latin Championships in Carnival City.

Having had the support from their parents and trainers Martin & Hayley just had to focus on their dancing. But when children grow bigger, things become a little more complicated.

Three weeks ago Martin decided to split.

Breaking up a partnership is sad, but I think there is always a positive side to it.

Convincing Martin to continue with his Latin Dancing was a difficult task, but with the help of teachers and friends he decided to take the dance floor soon, with his new partner Ziona van der Merwe.

After having had a few lessons with their new trainer Tebogo, everybody is convinced that this couple will be a force to be reckoned with… perhaps the 2001 SA Youth Latin Champs??????

Regards
Felix Moroder
Bedfordview 12th February 2001
Tel/Fax: 011-4554789

Ed
Felix, thanks for helping us out of the dark

Many Thanks
Kandi Wilkinson

Ed
Kandi, the only one I think who could help you is Lilian Dooley. Lilian is connected with SunCity, and Carnival City. Here's her email address: ott@yebo.co.za

ENJOY A SPECTACULAR EVENING OF ENTERTAINMENT WITH CABARETS BY SOME OF SOUTH AFRICA'S BEST SHOW COUPLES.

Date: SUNDAY, 11 MARCH 2001
Time: 17:00 FOR 17:30

Venue: DIANA MOORE DANCE WORLD
 7TH AVENUE (OFF WEBBER)
 LAMBTON, GERMISTON
 TEL: 011 827 9702/3

DRESS: SMART - CASUAL
Cost: R35-00 per person
(INCLUDES DINNER)
CASH BAR AVAILABLE

Diana Moore dance world  011 827 9702/3
Jason Kisogloo   082 888 1331
Paula Prioste    011 873 1541
At the door on the day

Your support will be greatly appreciated !
Thank you

Ed
Thanks for the invite. I believe Grant Simpson & Hayley Hammond's recent farewell was a gaint send-off with all the who's who, in-the-know of DanceSport there, and they raised mega ping-ping.

It seems like just the other day when you advertised in DISA for a dedicated, dedicated Latin partner willing to cope with a Latin junky of a partner... remember? and now you're off to win the Worlds. See readers, dreams do come true to those who persevere, sweat blood, and spend all their money on dancing.

Have a peep at Jason's site

For Advanced Dancers who have an interest in performance, Milena Plebs , the "most impressive woman tango performer" & her new partner, Ezequiel Farfaro, will be presenting a 6 day, 36 hour workshop in Montreal, Canada for all those who want to polish the components of their performance work.

For more info. check out the Performers site - http://www.graffiti-tango.com or click here to see the full program on Gardels site:-
http://www.gardels.freeservers.com/tango_performer_program.htm

Jay, this was sent to me.  I feel it should be advertised in case someone wants to and can afford to go!

News Flash #2
TANGO WORKSHOP
For those of you who prefer to dance closer to home, The Argentinean Association of South Africa invites you to their Tango Workshop 2001.

"This year we offer a 6 weeks course during March and part of April, where we will meet at our premises of Marks Park, on Saturday afternoons.

We will teach you the Basic Argentinean Step and its variations, as well as the “ocho atrás”, these are the basic steps that will allow anybody to dance “Argentinean Tango”.

We will also work on the posture, how to follow the “compás” (rhythm) and will give important historic background and tips of the different types of Tango (Tango to listen and Tango to dance)."

Those interested must contact any of the numbers below before the 20th of February.

Cost for this first block:
Members: R90 per couple
Non-members: R120 per couple.

Please note the course is for couples only.

011 673 7890  Norma y Enrique
011 882 0092 Ana y Omar
011 486 0185  Patricia y Eduardo

Gardels Next Party
Friday 16 February @ 8.00 p.m. at Ralph's Dance Studio in Sunninghill.
Cover Charge - R50 per person inclusive Dinner - R25 pper person without dinner
Phone 082 481 9400 to find out more or to book

A Great Night of the Salon Style Argentinean Tango with some hot Latin numbers in-between!

Many Thanks,

Sonia Burdett

Ed
Sonia, thanks for the A. Tango info, and dance news is never too long, DISA is dance talk.

Best wishes Phyllis

Ed
Phyllis, thanks for the Belly dance info. For those who would like a look at Phyllis's page, here's the link

Thanks so much for your help, Jay
Shelly

Ed
Good luck

I have been wanting, for some time, to moan about the quality of dance venues, so here it is.

I know of the following which may be of help to others who find themselves in the same predicament. Edelweiss Dance Club, Bedfordview, usually have a dance on the second and last Saturday of every month. The music is good with strict tempo ballroom Latin and jive music. A few line dances nicely inter-spaced with normal dancing. - Phone Ilse 673-3550. Cell: 082 256-30822.

Hennies has a dance on the first Saturday of every month at the 7th Army Division, Bedfordview, near to Eastgate. Dancers are expected (if they like) to bring a plate of food and this placed on a large table for a “bring and share” finger licking meal. It's very nice. The music is good, strict tempo ballroom, Latin, etc.

The problem with this club is that they stop the music for about 45 minutes, and switch on all the lights, while everyone gets into the food. Those who didn't bring anything have to sit around waiting for the music to start again. And when it does this is followed by about an hour of line dances and Old English style sequence dancing - with the majority of people sitting on the sidelines - again waiting for the music to start.

Many dance places and studios have line dances and from my experience everyone has their own choreography - and unless you know their specific stepps you are out of sync. One does not want to take away line dancing but it would be better for everyone if they inter-spaced them with normal dancing. For example, if one cannot Tango or Jive, you sit out, and one can probably dance the next one. If you like to talk a lot, instead of dancing a lot, then this is the place for you. - Phone Hennie 648-3127.

The Dance Palace on a Saturday night is a disaster for the serious ballroom/Latin dancer. The majority of dancers sokkie for every dance - rumbas, cha-chas, waltzes the whole lot. At about 10 pm they start playing heavy beat music and all the young folk stand in a big circle shaking and gyrating like a bunch of spastics. I believe they hold a social dance on Friday nights for their students and that this is strictly tempo music. We will try this out and let you know.

A group of us went to the Tanz Cafe. The vibe was good. The food was NOT good value for money ... we had a paella consisting of one small, small, piece of chicken which was half cooked, four slices of some type of sausage (1.5 cms in diameter and about half a centimetre thick), one small prawn and the rest was a small portion of watery pink rice and a few peas. Not even a side plate of a bread roll or a slice of bread. All this for R35,00 - you be the judge. We weren't told that there was going to be a cabaret that night and we were charged another R25,00 each for something none of us enjoyed.  The music, as expected, was very Latin which was enjoyed by our party. The floor is too small for any progressive dances. Tanz Cafe has a very nice cosy vibe about it. It’s worth a visit once every six months.

Brian and Meryl Schmidt - Dancealot Studios, Athlone Girls High, Observatory. The music is the best around  - strict tempo. Big sprung dance floor. Good standard of dancing. The only crit I can make here is that they don’t hold enough dances and that the studio’s international standard dancers don’t attend - do they think they are above mixing with social dancers. We would love to see them perform. I would suggest that they get on the floor with the plebs and maybe they can learn a few things - like floor craft.

Cha Cha Club, Harley Street, Randburg, Phone 787-0740. They hold a social dance every Friday night. Price is only R15,00 per person. The floor (vinyl tiles) was of medium size - not too bad - but very sticky. The music here leaves a lot to be desired. They played one waltz, one foxtrot, a few cha-chas and rumbas. The majority of dances were boogies. Most of the Latin music was not strict tempo. The people are very friendly. As with most social dance studios they too don’t teach floor craft and dance manners. My partner and I were doing the boogie and another couple came onto the floor right next to us. I got a heel in my ankle. Why can’t the studios teach their pupils how much space they need for their dance routine. Nevertheless, we had a good time.

One of the biggest problems, I find, is the music. It is not strict tempo music and also that DJ’s play one fast dance after another - not allowing the dancers to catch their breath - a good way to wear out the dancers.

Well, Jay, that's enough moaning for now. I am now making it my mission to moan, groan and praise whenever I get a chance.
Yours Truly

DanceMoan

Ed
DM, thanks for sharing your social dance experiences with us. To know how the customer feels is an important part of keeping the industry healthy. What I don't understand is, "The problem with this club is that they stop the music for about 45 minutes, and switch on all the lights, while everyone gets into the food." That sounds like it's time to feed the animals so the tourists can capture it on film, and it's definitely not a good idea if bringing food is voluntary.

Obviously, the organisers of these social dances can't keep 100% of their guests happy, but what confuses me, is how many don't seem to have much savvy on the basics. Like good oomphy music, the length of the tune, the size of their breaks, etc. A cool DJ will feel the mood of the majority and latch on, and if you don't fit into that sect you're out, unfortunately.

When I ran the hard copy of DanceInfo SA, Patric Kalous reviewed all the hot spots and the not spots of dancing in the Pretoria and the Jo'burg areas - my readers enjoyed that. What my site needs is a special page for reviews like yours for the social dancer. In July 2000 Wez Meyo wrote this letter in which I requested regular reviews on "clubbing". The idea is for the dancer to say what's good and what's bad. This I'm sure will keep the organisers of these social events on their toes.

Here's a link to the Gauteng restaurant guide. Maybe that could help you find the ideal spot, and when you do find something, give us a shout. Many dancers don't realise that my SA Quick Link page has loads of good connections to important dance things in South Africa.