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Idea: “Giant Dance Party”

by Jeremy Lent | Jun 28, 2010 5:57 am

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Posted to: Arts

Jeremy Lent The International Festival of Arts and Ideas ended on an egalitarian note Saturday evening as the children’s rock group Dan Zanes and Friends took to the Elm Street Stage on the Green.  After an opening song, Zanes asked audience members if they’d like to have a concert or a “giant dance party.”  Hearing approval for the latter, Zanes invited anyone who wanted to dance to infiltrate the fenced-off area right in front of the stage, typically restricted to those who’ve donated to the Festival.

“Come on in and dance!” Zanes bellowed into the microphone.  “Sorry about the gate—it wasn’t my idea—but don’t let that stop you.”

Later, he appealed to some of the front-section ticket-holders who had remained in their lawn chairs: “Come on, donors, stand up and dance!  You’ve been sitting too long!”

Zanes performed several songs in Spanish, explaining before one of them, “When the border between the U.S. and Mexico opens within the next ten years—which I think it will—it’ll be good for us to have plenty of Mexican party song up our sleeves.” 

Jeremy Lent Zanes (in photo, holding guitar) at several points invited onto the stage an African drumming group and the chorus from Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School.  The grand finale, “76 Trombones,” turned into a parade through the audience, led by Zanes and about a dozen local brass instrument players, young and old, who had responded to the band’s call for musicians.  The giant dance party went forward, as promised.

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