Contra-versial 17th Century DJ

Sometimes it's just plain hard to smash through the wall.
I heard sir Bob Geldof on the radio pushing Band Aid #4
It seemed like nothing changed since Band Aid #1  thirty years ago.

Yesterday I made calls...
Edinburgh Dance Base - hopefully to host my w/s - Answerphone
Time Out - to get department to invite journalist - Reception then email
Bashed off a couple of press releases to magazines.

In short nothing to show .... except maybe few cracks in that wall!

This morning I had a mad idea! (another)
What happens if you Mambalsa a 17th Century Contra Dance to urban R'n'B????

OOOOOh
1) choose your Contra Dance style.
First there's lot and lots of Contra Dances, from English folk to Peruvian. Then there's the ones with road cones or is that contra flow? Nothing contra-versial in that joke!
I went for a 17th Century French form "I say, is that Mr Darcy?" .
2) rip out that footwork and replace with Mambalsa FWS
3) Choose awesome track (tba)

Why Contra Dance?
There's a direct link from English Country Dancing to French Contra Dance to Cuban Contradanza to Danzon to Son to Salsa to Mambalsa.

There's a second reason. Group dances including country dances are a successful and enduring form of entertainment. They have always reflected the style and music of their time and place, so taking the music of today and making them fresh again is a valid idea.
The beauty of Mambalsa is that the FWS (foot work sequence) is fixed. Once got the group dance becomes a matter of remembering the shape. Maybe not easy but easier than learning different footwork for each dance.
I recently went to a Ceilidh (barn dance) The dances were simple enough with no real footwork. The crowd was assisted by a cheep bar and live band and we did our very best not to fall over.
It was fun and social and mixed everyone up, but I wouldn't sign up for a course.
If we (the crowd) already had the Mambalsa FWS we would have been far more advanced from the outset with a corresponding sense of achievement. If we could dance those old social dances to modern music, they would take on a new life and connect with a new generation. Another niche for Mambalsa!

Back to hitting that wall :-)