Dane Dances celebrates its 10th anniversary
Getting down with diversity
Getting down with diversity
Chris and Doug Crawford(left) have been attending Dane Dances for years and Brenda
Gonzalez (right) is the new volunteer coordinator..
Gonzalez (right) is the new volunteer coordinator..
By Jonathan Gramling
August is just around the corner and with it comes warm
summer nights … and Dane Dances. On any given Friday night
in August, the Monona Terrace rooftop is transformed into a
town square filled with top notch musical performances, ethnic
food vendors and a multicultural crowd in the mood for a lot of
dancing, laughter and good times.
“The ambience is superb,” said Doug Crawford who has
been taking in Dane Dances for years. “I don’t know how they
arrange it, but you have the downtown skyline and the Lake
Monona view. This is just superb. They have a variety of
caterers who come out. The food is excellent. The environment
and atmosphere is super. It’s a great place to just hang out.”
Dane Dances grew out of a recommendation by Peter
Anderson to the Madison Task Force on Race Relations and
has proven to be its most enduring and visible
recommendation. It truly is a blend of Madison’s diverse
August is just around the corner and with it comes warm
summer nights … and Dane Dances. On any given Friday night
in August, the Monona Terrace rooftop is transformed into a
town square filled with top notch musical performances, ethnic
food vendors and a multicultural crowd in the mood for a lot of
dancing, laughter and good times.
“The ambience is superb,” said Doug Crawford who has
been taking in Dane Dances for years. “I don’t know how they
arrange it, but you have the downtown skyline and the Lake
Monona view. This is just superb. They have a variety of
caterers who come out. The food is excellent. The environment
and atmosphere is super. It’s a great place to just hang out.”
Dane Dances grew out of a recommendation by Peter
Anderson to the Madison Task Force on Race Relations and
has proven to be its most enduring and visible
recommendation. It truly is a blend of Madison’s diverse
communities. “Although each of the groups enjoys celebrating their own culture and traditions, this is an event that truly brings together people from
diverse backgrounds,” said Brenda Gonzalez, Dane Dances’ volunteer coordinator. “We always want to make sure that all of the music, vendors and
volunteers demonstrate the diversity that we want to promote and that is part of our mission to make sure that all of the different communities, people
of different ages and ethnic backgrounds, come together to celebrate a day where who you are doesn’t matter. We are celebrating life and family here
where you call home.”
Dane Dances has proven to be enduring even during these difficult economic times. Due to a shortfall in funding, original plans were to scale
back Dane Dances to three Friday nights this year. But then, seemingly at the last minute, the John and Carolyn Peterson Charitable Foundation came
through with a donation that made the fourth night possible.
The 2009 line-up for Dane Dances is worthy of a ten-year anniversary that begins each night with tunes spun by DJ Laurie. “We have a very
strong first day on August 7 with Grupo Candela, a group that everyone knows in Madison preceded by Christopher’s Project, a rhythm and blues and
contemporary jazz band,” Gonzalez said. “On August 14, we start out with Altered Five, a ‘rocking rhythm and blues’ band out of Milwaukee. They are
followed by Dane Dances regulars In Black and White, also out of Milwaukee. On August 21, we start it out with Madison’s own Primitive Culture,
which does funk, blues and tropical rhythms that warm the soul and move the feet. BBI, the second group, is a six-member band that plays anything
from the 1950s to today. They do danceable Motown, R&B, classic rock and dance hits. On August 28, we have Que Flavor, which is a mix of
traditional Afro-Cuban dance grooves and other Latin music styles. And we close out with the Eddie Butts that performs a blend of jazz, pop and R&B.”
Dane Dances has proven to be irresistible to many Madisonians. Chris Crawford used to sneak out from her restaurant to take in a little of Dane
Dances. Now that she is a realtor, she often runs into customers and other realtors enjoying the summertime fun. And you never know who you will
see there.
“One time I even called a friend to say ‘Hey, you’ve got to come down here,’” Crawford said. “’It’s a great crowd and you would love it.’ I was on
the phone with her telling her ‘I can’t hear. I can’t hear.’ It turned out that she was sitting about 10 feet away from me. That’s the truth.”
Dane Dances is driven by the 30-40 volunteers who meet during the year to plan the dances and their numbers swell to about 150 to host and
facilitate the dances in August. “We certainly have an interest in bringing new members in from different communities that maybe have not had the
opportunity to be a part of a project like Dane Dances,” Gonzalez said. “We are always inviting new, diverse people that want to come. It’s a fun
project and non-profit organization to be a part of. You meet people and get to work on different areas that match your interests and skills.”
Dane Dances is truly something you don’t want to miss. “If you want to see Madison at its finest, this is the place to come,” Doug Crawford said.
“It gives you the opportunity to see what Madison can be if everyone will be at that same energy level as the music. If people haven’t been here, they
should come down, look at the capitol skyline and take in the music and the ambience of a wonderful Friday in August.”
To find out about volunteer opportunities, e-mail Brenda Gonzalez at bsamari@hotmail.com.
diverse backgrounds,” said Brenda Gonzalez, Dane Dances’ volunteer coordinator. “We always want to make sure that all of the music, vendors and
volunteers demonstrate the diversity that we want to promote and that is part of our mission to make sure that all of the different communities, people
of different ages and ethnic backgrounds, come together to celebrate a day where who you are doesn’t matter. We are celebrating life and family here
where you call home.”
Dane Dances has proven to be enduring even during these difficult economic times. Due to a shortfall in funding, original plans were to scale
back Dane Dances to three Friday nights this year. But then, seemingly at the last minute, the John and Carolyn Peterson Charitable Foundation came
through with a donation that made the fourth night possible.
The 2009 line-up for Dane Dances is worthy of a ten-year anniversary that begins each night with tunes spun by DJ Laurie. “We have a very
strong first day on August 7 with Grupo Candela, a group that everyone knows in Madison preceded by Christopher’s Project, a rhythm and blues and
contemporary jazz band,” Gonzalez said. “On August 14, we start out with Altered Five, a ‘rocking rhythm and blues’ band out of Milwaukee. They are
followed by Dane Dances regulars In Black and White, also out of Milwaukee. On August 21, we start it out with Madison’s own Primitive Culture,
which does funk, blues and tropical rhythms that warm the soul and move the feet. BBI, the second group, is a six-member band that plays anything
from the 1950s to today. They do danceable Motown, R&B, classic rock and dance hits. On August 28, we have Que Flavor, which is a mix of
traditional Afro-Cuban dance grooves and other Latin music styles. And we close out with the Eddie Butts that performs a blend of jazz, pop and R&B.”
Dane Dances has proven to be irresistible to many Madisonians. Chris Crawford used to sneak out from her restaurant to take in a little of Dane
Dances. Now that she is a realtor, she often runs into customers and other realtors enjoying the summertime fun. And you never know who you will
see there.
“One time I even called a friend to say ‘Hey, you’ve got to come down here,’” Crawford said. “’It’s a great crowd and you would love it.’ I was on
the phone with her telling her ‘I can’t hear. I can’t hear.’ It turned out that she was sitting about 10 feet away from me. That’s the truth.”
Dane Dances is driven by the 30-40 volunteers who meet during the year to plan the dances and their numbers swell to about 150 to host and
facilitate the dances in August. “We certainly have an interest in bringing new members in from different communities that maybe have not had the
opportunity to be a part of a project like Dane Dances,” Gonzalez said. “We are always inviting new, diverse people that want to come. It’s a fun
project and non-profit organization to be a part of. You meet people and get to work on different areas that match your interests and skills.”
Dane Dances is truly something you don’t want to miss. “If you want to see Madison at its finest, this is the place to come,” Doug Crawford said.
“It gives you the opportunity to see what Madison can be if everyone will be at that same energy level as the music. If people haven’t been here, they
should come down, look at the capitol skyline and take in the music and the ambience of a wonderful Friday in August.”
To find out about volunteer opportunities, e-mail Brenda Gonzalez at bsamari@hotmail.com.
