One of the cited sources was made into a popular movie in 1969, "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"[0], nominated for many awards at the time. I remember watching it when released and being mildly horrified by the way the marathons were operated (assuming it was somewhat historically accurate, which TFA seems to confirm).
the American Los Angeles scene shown in that movie was for the purpose of getting money from public audiences; the dancers are an act, like a circus. In contrast, the dance marathon events that are popular today, are a source of energy and inspiration for the dancers, who pay money to be part of it.
Somehow I am reminded of current media options in America by the former.. featuring shock and awe, like a drug for the viewer, while the people making the content are disposable.
There are still some kind of dance marathons today but the word 'marathon' is applied differently.
I dance tango (not 'the tango' btw.). The kind from the Río de la Plata area (Argentina & Uruguay).
We have 'tango marathons' that usually last a weekend.
The idea is to dance as much as possible with every attendee that has the matching role (leader/follower) during this weekend.
Marathons are strictly role-balanced. I.e. for every follower there is a leader. In tango you change partners every block of 3–4 songs (called 'a tanda'). So with an song lasting between 2.5–3.5mins and an average marathon having 100 attendees there are ample tandas, over a weekend, to dance once with every of the 50 people that match your role (unless you dance both roles, that is).
Meals/nibbles/fruits/water during the dance time are usually included, sometimes even wine, especially in the Mediterranean.
A typical schedule looks like this:
Friday
6pm–8pm dinner
9pm–6am dance
Saturday
10am–12pm breakfast
12pm–6pm dance
6pm–8pm dinner
9pm–6am dance
Sunday
10am–12pm breakfast
12pm–6pm dance
6pm–8pm dinner
9pm–6am after party dance (open for non-attendees. Often local dancers that didn't make it into or couldn't afford the marathon)
Prices usually range between 80–120EUR for the above. Accommodation packages are frequently just double that (e.g. if the event is inside a hotel). With flights a weekend of bliss is commonly less than 400 EUR.
Often there are pre- and after dance events on Thursdays & Mondays for people that come for a long weekend. These don't include food and have to be paid separately (around 10EUR, in average).
This sounds 1) very cool, but 2) also a monster risk for spreading COVID and other diseases (literally pairing people up for close contact in as many combinations as possible).
That’s very cool but I don’t think I like dancing all that much to do it for so many hours. I used to love raves but I think I only liked dancing for 6 hours+ in those because I was rolling.
The 45 minutes on, 15 minutes off aspect reminded me of the increasingly popular modern "backyard ultra marathon", (run the same 4.1667 mile course every hour until one person is left). Obviously those aren't rigged or exploitative, and winning doesn't get you anything much except bragging rights amongst a particular set of people.
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[ 1.8 ms ] story [ 41.3 ms ] threadhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065088
edit: fixed URL
Somehow I am reminded of current media options in America by the former.. featuring shock and awe, like a drug for the viewer, while the people making the content are disposable.
Seems it's on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6ckHFgCD76o
We have 'tango marathons' that usually last a weekend.
The idea is to dance as much as possible with every attendee that has the matching role (leader/follower) during this weekend.
Marathons are strictly role-balanced. I.e. for every follower there is a leader. In tango you change partners every block of 3–4 songs (called 'a tanda'). So with an song lasting between 2.5–3.5mins and an average marathon having 100 attendees there are ample tandas, over a weekend, to dance once with every of the 50 people that match your role (unless you dance both roles, that is).
Meals/nibbles/fruits/water during the dance time are usually included, sometimes even wine, especially in the Mediterranean.
A typical schedule looks like this:
Friday
6pm–8pm dinner
9pm–6am dance
Saturday
10am–12pm breakfast
12pm–6pm dance
6pm–8pm dinner
9pm–6am dance
Sunday
10am–12pm breakfast
12pm–6pm dance
6pm–8pm dinner
9pm–6am after party dance (open for non-attendees. Often local dancers that didn't make it into or couldn't afford the marathon)
Prices usually range between 80–120EUR for the above. Accommodation packages are frequently just double that (e.g. if the event is inside a hotel). With flights a weekend of bliss is commonly less than 400 EUR.
Often there are pre- and after dance events on Thursdays & Mondays for people that come for a long weekend. These don't include food and have to be paid separately (around 10EUR, in average).
A tango marathon to a rave is like going to a Shakespeare play vs. watching a Fast & Furious franchise flick.