Closing Time

A very sad event is approaching...As of this month, I've been a weekly dancer at the MAC (Murray Arts Centre) for 6 whole years.  There's maybe 6 weekends a year that I don't go to the MAC.  I have so many memories, I've had such great times, & I've met so many wonderful people there...  It holds a special place in my heart like few other places do.

For those uninformed, the MAC consists of 2 buildings, with dances going on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, & Saturday nights.  The dancing is a spread between Swing, Latin, & Ballroom (depending on the night), with all kinds of lessons each week.  It has the greatest variety of dancing I've ever seen.  I've been an avid dancer there Saturday nights, where in the South Building they have a great mix of Swing, Latin, & Ballroom, with a wonderful DJ, & great people.

But the economy has really been hitting the owners of the MAC hard...  Attendance has been down severely, & apparently for the last 6 months or so, they haven't even been breaking even---they've been losing money every week.  So last night, they announced that after this coming Saturday, they'll be suspending Saturday Night dances in the South Building.  They hope to start up again once the economy improves, but who knows when that will happen...

It's really heartbreaking...  So many of us look forward to it every week, or at least as often as we're able to go.  There's plenty of other Dance Venues to do Lindy-Hop, West Coast Swing, & Latin, but Saturday Nights at the MAC is really the only place around to do East Coast Swing or Ballroom.  I don't know what we're going to do...

I can hear half the Lindy-Hoppers in Utah now:  "No big loss---more time to do Lindy.  East Coast sucks, Latin sucks, Ballroom sucks, the MAC sucks..."   Let me ask you Lindy-Hoppers a few questions:

"Have you ever actually been to the MAC on Saturday Nights?"  90% of you---NO.  Most of you have just heard about it from others, most of whom I ask these next few questions:

"Do you know much East Coast, Latin, or Ballroom?"  90% of you---NO.  Most of you just know Lindy-Hop, some Charleston, & maybe a little Balboa or Shag.

"When you've gone to the MAC, did you make any attempt to actually learn any East Coast, Latin, or Ballroom?"  90% of you---NO.  You just want to Lindy to the Swing songs, & end up disappointed when there aren't as many Swing songs as you're used to, & when there aren't many (if any) people there who know how to Lindy.

"When you've gone to the MAC, did you ask people to dance that you didn't know, & try to meet new people?"  90% of you---NO.  Most of you just end up being anti-social with the other Lindy-Hoppers you come with. 

The vast, vast majority of people who talk trash about the MAC have never really...participated in the "MAC experience".  And far too many Lindy-Hoppers in Utah seem to take pleasure in talking trash about the MAC.  But in the end, it comes down to 1 of 2 issues.  The first is simply a lack of interest in Non-Lindy.  If you really, really, really like one particular form of Dance or Music, & just don't care for many/any others, that's fine.  But it's just about your individual taste---not any kind of inherent inferiority of other forms of Dancing or Music.

But the biggest issue is with certain people that, for around 5 years, I've thought of, quite frankly, as "The Lindy Snobs".  There are certain people in the Lindy Community who think that Lindy-Hop is just inherently superior to any other form of Dance, Swing or otherwise.  Sure, it is the most complex---I've seen more intricate technique in Lindy-Hop than in any Latin or Ballroom Dance.  But complexity doesn't equal superiority, & far too many Lindy-Hoppers look down on less-complex forms of Dance, especially less-complex Swing Dances, with absolute disdain.

I like Lindy-Hop---I love Lindy-Hop.  Heck, I've been doing more Lindy than anything else for a while.  But you know what?  Sometimes simpler can be better.  I can't count the number of newbies that I've seen scared off by the complexity of Lindy-Hop, but I've danced with countless newbies with no dance experience who picked up East Coast easily.  It's perfectly fine to prefer one type of Dance, but I'm fed-up with the complete arrogance of some Lindy-Hoppers in thinking that they're superior people simply because they're good at a more complex Dance.

Sorry about the rant...I've put up with far too much crap from the Lindy Snobs over the years...  And it's not like they're directly responsible for Saturday Nights at the MAC's South Building closing down---they could've supported the MAC more, but it's mainly the economy...all of the Dance Venues have been suffering, & the MAC has the most.  But what really angers me is how many Lindy-Hoppers are going to be happy about this closure at the MAC, no matter who or how many people they know & like that are unhappy about it.

At any rate...

This is really a sad time for us who love the MAC...  There's no other place for us to do East Coast or Ballroom, let alone both of those mixed in with Latin.  This closure is going to leave a big hole in our Dancing lives...  And there's so many people that I only see at the MAC---I don't want to drift away from them.

I know nothing lasts in this life, including Dance.  Popularity of Dances Venues comes & goes, as well as Dances themselves.  But it's just hard...  I first started dancing up at the Weber State Swing Club, & I got to watch that Venue die...it was heartbreaking, & so depressing...  And I've been watching the same thing happen to the MAC this year...

Maybe things will pick up when the economy improves.  I have a friend who was a regular at the MAC 10-12 years ago, until things died down.  And when I started going 6 years ago, it was in its prime again.  Things come & go, including little highs & lows within bigger highs & lows.  And this is one of the bigger lows...

It's not like I planned to go to the MAC every week for the rest of my life---or any of the other Dance Venues, or anything else I do every week.  All of them are things I expect to leave behind at some point when I need to move on in life.  But we all want to move on because we're ready, not because something we love dies...

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Copyright vs. Free Exchange

A friend of mine recently posted a link on Facebook to a rather lengthy article describing the history of Copyright, & its implications today.  The subject is very important today, with people sharing music, software, & other ideas freely (often in defiance of Copyright laws).  I apologize for the length of the article, but it's a very interesting read:

http://questioncopyright.org/promise

There's a whole lot of truth in there, & Copyright law has gone way overboard on so many levels...  For example, if someone wants to copy/pirate a song, they can find a way to do it---there are programs that can bypass DRM (Digital Rights Management) coding in a song-file by re-recording the song straight from the sound-card.  So if someone really wants a song without paying for it, they can find a way to get it, & they really can't be stopped.  DRM coding did/does more harm to people trying to use their own music legally & honestly than it did to those trying to use it illegally & dishonestly.

But there still is precedent, both legal and moral, for Copyright.  The "Free Exchange Movement" has many, many benefits, as that article clearly illustrates.  It helps encourage the spread of ideas & creativity like never before.  Many people are perfectly willing to give their creations away for free, for as simple & selfless reasons as others' enjoyment or the betterment of the world.

And there are quite often ways to make a living off of creativity without a "pay-per-copy" system---as the article gives as an example, many musicians give their music away for free, and the resulting word-of-mouth publicity brings them more money (via concerts/performances, other appearances, endorsements, etc.) than the "pay-per-copy" system would.

But there are those who still directly depend on their creations for their livelihood.  Some don't have any other job or form of income.  Some don't have the money, opportunity, time, popularity, or other means (like the example in the previous paragraph) to make money while giving their creation away for free.  If they can figure out a way to do it, that's great!  So many artists/creators are figuring out how / gaining the ability to do it, which is ultimately better (they still get to make a living, & we get what we want for free!).  But for those who can't do that yet, they deserve to be paid for their creation.

The article makes the point that digital media---things like images, sound/music, video, coding/programming/software, etc.---aren't the same as physical objects.  It takes money to make each individual object, so for each object obtained for free, money is lost by the creator. But with digital media, countless copies can be made for free.

All that is true, but as I said, some people still directly depend on their creations for their livelihood---some people still depend on their efforts for their livelihood.  Whether physical objects or digital media, effort has been put forth.  In this way, digital media is more like a service.  When you give service, you don't run out of it, but you still deserve compensation for others to benefit from it.

Many people choose to give their creations away for free, opting not to personally profit from their efforts, which is great.  But those people choose to do so.  And others who still directly depend on their efforts & creations for their livelihood have the right to receive compensation, if they choose to do so.  In the end, it could be simply put this way:  "If I put forth effort, I have the right to demand compensation for you to benefit from that effort."

The "Free Exchange Movement" has almost unimaginable potential & benefit, & should be supported.  I encourage all artists/creators to figure out ways to make a living while allowing their creations to be copied & transferred freely.  But many people still directly depend on their efforts & creations for their livelihood, & have the right to receive compensation.  That's why I support the principle of Copyright (if not the manners in which publishers & distributors have upheld it).

“Justice is the firm and continuous desire to render to everyone that which is his due.”