Regarding the lack of Young Hustle dancers - to solve any problem, I
believe we must first correctly identifying the problem space. As I
see it, our problem space is really these seven things below:
Our Events - All our big dance events have many different hustle
teachers, but only one style choice available at workshops. That is
New York styled hustle. Clever practitioners say "It's just Hustle",
like there IS no other truly different style choice. For our purposes,
NY hustle is any dance counted &123, has a figure called the NY walk,
and is best executed under 115 BPM. There are other faster hustle
styles that could solve our problem, but teachers of those styles are
"locked out" so people never have a choice to learn any other version
than that which kids have already rejected.
Competitions - I brought 3 of my younger 20 something girls to a major
comp here in March after considerable time training to current music
at real club speeds. They would gladly have carried our dance forward
with even a little encouragement. Our NY styled organizers and
judges shunned them however, favoring older, slower dancers who
correctly executed their NY styled figures - or young west coast swing
dancers who have no devotion to hustle to start with. Discouraged
after their loss, the girls have since scattered - seeking other
pursuits with a greater likelihood of reward. Our champions therefore
all become exponents of the "Dead" NY style, deepening our demise.
After all, everyone starting up in lessons or hiring a pro wants the
"current champion" and organizers see to it that that is NY style
ONLY.
Social dancing - no one can control this leaderless group, but people
who resist change find social dancers useful as a suggested future
target for change. This is a distraction intended to stall progress
and change. Unless you're a movie producer who's working a dance movie
due out this summer (and it's a blockbuster), these suggestions only
waste resources better used for change elsewhere.
The current crop of teachers - many benefit from this NY styled hustle
creation, offering $80/hour lessons to teach this NY styled dance with
no future. They are regular invitees to the big dance events, and
maintain celebrity status at those events. They have no incentive to
change anything.
The dance itself - we are 95 percent NY styled hustle at this point
nationally. So the resources necessary to re-tool back to the dance
we had would be very tough - and many who benefit from the current
system will fight on resisting change even as we slide into the
abyss. To those folks - then at age 60, they'll be done dancing
anyway.
The Club and Music Space - our NY styled version of Hustle today is
near useless in the clubs, useless at dancing to the music that
defined the disco era, useless and attracting the young, and useless
in the current pop/dance music space outside the clubs. There is no
chance that our NY styled hustle we promote today will be the dance
kids resurrect 30 years from now. In fact, they will more likely use
the same music we created the dance to, and do what the Lindy kids do
today. Every time we try to market our futureless NY styled version
of the dance - we lose credibility with young people who again see the
same thing they have been rejecting ever since Hustle USA.
Hustle merging with West Coast Swing - Our hustle events have been
piggy backed with west coast swing so long that over time, our fast
club dance has slowed to a point even slower than west coast (used for
the blues) and has added enough west coast influenced "styling" that
you could never lead a stranger to do it in a club, or dance it at
club speeds. At this point, top west coast competitors can cross
right over with almost NO investment in hustle and win top honors even
over experienced hustle dancers. If you believe this is just good
dancing on their part - lets see them do that with tango. The reason
they can't is Tango and West coast swing are different dances. Hustle
used to be able to claim that, but has instead become a slower, lesser
dance created on the same model as west coast swing is done today.
And given a choice, kids prefer the real McCoy (west coast) to the now
way slower close cousin (NY styled hustle).
David Flynn
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