Dance or die ... or just think about it
By Laura McMullen, Staff Writer
November 7, 2007 | 11:04 p.m.
At Dance or Die, Athens’ most colorful dance party, the concept is pretty simple: you dance — or you die. Many people go, most people dance and some people question the changing music to which they dance.
It’s 2 a.m. on a blustery Saturday morning, and the streets are humming. The deafening drunkards of Halloween weekend now buzz deep within the bars and the house parties of the hive, perhaps clutching wooden pints of beer like medieval lords in warm, candlelit taverns.
Now, Athens takes a deep breath, and the doors of The Union Bar and Grill open. Dance or Die has ended for the night. Dozens of sweaty people of all shapes and sizes flood out of the bar and light their cigarettes. Some re-pop their collars, and some adjust their black-rimmed glasses. Some talk about the dance party that just happened to them upstairs.
“Dance or Die is very fun and open — the people there just want to dance and have a good time," said Tim Ashe, a fourth-year history major and Dance or Die veteran. "You don’t have to worry about what you look like or anything."
That’s what Dance or Die is all about. Dance or Die creator Dan Haug described what he intended the well-known Athens affair as “an amazing place to dance that was all-inclusive … something for everyone.”
In a rock ‘n’ roll-flavored nutshell, before Dance or Die, there was "Danceable Solution." Dan Haug, aka DJ Ruckus Roboticus, branched off from Danceable Solution to create something with a larger variety of music: Dance or Die. Now, once or twice a month, artsy flyers bloom uptown, and a new Dance or Die is born. In the upstairs of the Union, DJ Barticus and DJ Self Help host a dance party where energy oozes from the filthy walls, sweat drips from filthy pores and beats punch through the filthy speakers.
But filthy isn’t always a bad thing. According to senior music production major Danny Johnson, aka DJ Self Help, “people like the fact that the Union is sort of dark and dingy.”
Johnson believes that the anonymity factor allows people to feel more comfortable dancing and just being themselves, and many of the people who lingered after Dance or Die on Friday agreed that dancers don't have to worry about their appearances.
Not everyone gushes about Dance or Die on Friday night, though. Even perfectly sober people talk about how the party has changed for the worse in the past year. “There used to be lines outside the door for Dance or Die," said Jason Elewski, a fourth-year video production major. "Now no one shows up until midnight."
2005 Ohio University alumna Rachael Perry agreed that Dance or Die is no longer the party it once was. “Maybe it’s because I’m older, or maybe Dance or Die just sucks,” Perry said.
There is even a Facebook group titled “Dance or Die Sucks.” Perry went on to explain why so many people are dissatisfied with the current Dance or Die.
“When Dance or Die started, people would freak out when Le Tigre came on," she said. "Now, people freak out when Gwen Stefani comes on.”
Le Tigre represents underground music, while Gwen Stefani represents mainstream music.
Dance or Die has been playing a less indie and a more mainstream mix. This begs a couple of questions: Why is this transition happening, and is it a problem? Dan Haug helped answer the first question. “I think the crowd affects the music," he said. "You need to please yourself as an artist and still keep the people there dancing and happy.”
Although DJ Barticus stated that “all the DJs have stayed true to what music they are feeling at the time,” disc jockeys must also keep people dancing. If the DJ is playing a song, it’s most likely because he’s both “feeling it” at the time and because the crowd enjoys dancing to it. So is that Gwen Stefani song a downgrade from Le Tigre? Whether it is or not, people still dance to it.
DJs play music they like that also gets people dancing. Maybe the question should be why people now want to dance to mainstream music like Gwen Stefani.
"I think Athens, as a whole, is changing a little bit," Haug said. "There seem to be less indie and art kids and more frat kids and mainstream kids."
If there are fewer indie kids and more mainstream kids, then less people will dance to Le Tigre, and more people will dance to Gwen Stefani.
“Dance or Die is a reflection of that bigger change in Athens,” Haug said. "It’s science — evolution, actually."
Barticus sees this change in people to be more cyclical in nature.
"This town goes in four-year cycles, and we're on our fifth year," he said. "[A change] is bound to happen when the majority of people leave town and are replaced by a new generation. One of the reasons the music changes is because we don't want to hear the same things all the time, so our tastes are evolving at the same time the crowd changes."
On an even larger scale, perhaps music listeners are evolving, too. Haug relates that these days, “It’s all about people wanting control.”
Audiophiles used to listen to the radio and accept what the wacky morning DJ gave them, which evolved into choosing their own tapes and CDs. Now, with MP3s and iPods, they can pick and choose party shuffles from their own personal libraries. Have music listeners evolved into a generation of music snobs? Is that why some people are so dissatisfied with another person’s playlist?
With so many variables — changing time, people and tastes — a couple of things still stay the same. Whether it’s an obscure Le Tigre song or a Gwen Stefani tune, the music at Dance or Die will always be loud. Whether the people living in Athens are scene kids or frat boys, the people at Dance or Die will always be dancing. And whether they’re angry that the party’s changed or thrilled to be part of the experience, they will always be welcome to drink it off at the Union.
A special ‘80s Dance or Die will be held from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8 at The Union Bar and Grill. DJ Barticus and DJ Self Help will play nothing but music from the '80s, and they expect the sweaty people of all shapes and sizes to dance hard and dress accordingly.
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