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Cool Stuff: 'NC2S' |
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Nite Club 2-Step (usually abbreviated 'NC2S') is an all-purpose dance for most kinds of slower music -- anything in the range of 75-110 Beats Per Minute (BPM). To try and give this some context without being too generation-specific, some of the songs it works well with are: "On a Slow Boat to China" by Ronnie Dove, "Lady in Red" by Chris DeBurgh, and "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys. In other words, it's wonderfully versatile!
Its creation is generally attributed to a California teacher-competitor, Buddy Scwimmer, back in 1965. However, its popular national appeal is much more recent, however, as swing, hustle and other dancers sought out a more interesting, fun way to work with slower pop music.
Part of the appeal of NC2S is its use of foot and arm actions which can be applied to, or borrowed from, a number of other 'faster' dances. In a sense, it's a laid-back, California-style blending of foxtrot, rumba, salsa and swing... with a whole lot of "attitude" usually thrown in for fun and effect. Indeed, in any given song within this slower BPM range, it's fun occasionally to switch back and forth between NC2S and another dance style, and/or borrow moves from one to add to the other.
But it's the attitude that really makes this dance!! NC2S gives dancers all kinds of opportunity for funky and cool. Moreover, with its relaxed frame (can you say 'cuddle'?), this dance does not look like a ballroom dance!! Indeed, NC2S should not look like ballroom ... unless you want it to.
If a particular song (or your mood of the moment) doesn't lend itself to dancing 'funky' or 'cool', then the versatility of NC2S easily lets you dance in an elegant, romantic fashion... actually much more like Fred and Ginger than foxtrot allows. Plus, after NC2S, foxtrot and the others all seem a bit boring in their restrictions, and a little "up-tight" ("anal"?) in their stiff, upright posturing... rather like dances for people who can't (or don't want to) dance!
Specifically created for confined nightclub settings, NC2S lets you move around those rare times when there's room, but then lets you dance 'on a dime' whenever the traffic dictates. Unfortunately, those whose skills stop at foxtrot or rumba are continually complaining... about the need for space and/or a lack of dance floor 'etiquette' to let them move around freely. Too bad... they miss out on a lot of dancing! (They remind us of the addage: When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail!)
Once you've had the opportunity to learn Nite Club 2-Step, you'll never go back to dancing the way you did in high school... or, for that matter, most likely even foxtrot.
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