Has anyone here had any first-hand experience with dancing to music
played by a band organ?   Glen Echo Park, the home of the Wurlitzer 165
organ I take care of, offers splendid programs of social ballroom
dancing.  I am working with the GEP Partnership to put more of a
spotlight on the carousel and organ next season, and one of the events
I'm thinking about pushing for is an evening of dancing to the organ.
I think such an event is the kind of thing that could be done only at a
place like Glen Echo park and would go perfectly with the GEP
Partnership's mission.

I have some experience in ballroom dance, and I have always thought
that the Wurlitzer arrangements, as well as some other arrangements,
would be very easy to dance to, especially for beginners, as the
percussion tends to reinforce the beat strongly.  My coworker who goes
dancing almost every night agrees with that assessment.  Wurlitzer
organs were, of course, often found in skating rinks.  So I think I can
successfully argue that, metrically at least, the idea of dancing to a
band organ works.

I plan to suggest an evening of waltzes and foxtrots.  Some
arrangements are more suited to quickstep, but I feel that the faster
tempo necessary for that dance doesn't show off the organ to its full
potential.  I don't think that many of the park's regular dancing
clientele will know how to one-step or two-step, and I can't think of
any other dance style that would work well with band organ music,
except perhaps for swing.

The amusement park's former Bumper Cars Pavilion has been gutted and is
now used as a dance pavilion, an alternative to our ballroom.  That
structure is located across from the carousel building, almost directly
across from where the organ is located.  With the carousel building's
doors open and a bit of amplification, I think the organ could be
clearly heard and enjoyed.

I'd really like to hear from anyone who has had experience with
anything like this before, or who has ideas as to which rolls might
work well.  I will certainly be taking a look at 6644 ("Skate! Dance!
N'Everything"), 6649 ("Snappy Skating And Dance Tunes"), and 6656
("Skating Hits Supreme"), and I have a few other ideas as well.  I will
certainly keep MMD posted about my other efforts to attract a bit more
attention for our beautiful band organ.

TJ Fisher
Washington, DC