Message-ID: <UgZpWLW00gpn9Vd15U@cs.cmu.edu>
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1993 14:01:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Wilfred.Hansen@cs.cmu.edu
To: Bovik@K.GP.CS.CMU.EDU
Subject: Country dancing

|> 
|> Bovik doesn't recommend any place to learn/practice/enjoy country 
|> dancing.  Has anyone any recommendations? 
|> 

Excerpts from mail: 15-Sep-93 country dancing? Keith_Gremban@IUS5.IUS.C (719) 

Our neighbors were telling us about a place called SPURZ up on route 
8 in Allison Park.  They're open 5(?) nights a week for country 
western dancing.  We went there for grins last Saturday.  From 7:30 
to 8:30 or so, they teach country line dancing - something like two 
new dances per week.  Then, the band comes on and the real dancing 
starts. 

My wife and I are complete novices at this, but we learned fairly 
quickly and enjoyed ourselves.  It was a pretty diverse crowd - 
everything from twenty-somethings to sixty-somethings - so we felt 
comfortable.  There were LOTS of beginners like us, which was also 
nice. 

Overall, I'd recommend the place.  

kdg 


Excerpts from mail: 15-Sep-93 > Country dancing Jeffrey Friedl@nff.ncl.o
(4454) 

Here's a rundown of the places I know. 
 Most well-known: Rodeo (north end of Parkway Center Mall) 
     Lessons every day from 6:30-8:00ish. They teach one couple 
     dance and one line dance every day. Be warned: they teach the 
     waltz with the Ballroom hold. 
     Friday and Saturday night is college-bar packed. Skip it then. 
     Monady and Tuesday are probably best... rather uncrowded. 
     Wednesday is probably the most crowded of the Mon-Thu days. 
     Very small dance floor. Free most non-weekend nights. 


 Might have heard of: Cowboys, at the Great Southern Shopping Center. 
     Closed down a few months ago. 

 The Blacklight. Just north of McKeesport on Lincoln Way (I guess that area 
     is called "White Oak"). They have CW on Wednesday/Friday/Sunday, and 
     perhaps now on Saturday as well.  $2 cover. Other days it's called 
     "Dynasty" (which is how it's listed in the phone book).  Somewhat 
     bigger dance floor than Rodeo, but still small by my standards. They 
     teach about three dances a night, from about 6:30.  Their Rum Runner 
     (drink) is *very* tasty when the right bartender makes it. If you're 
     there on some non-Friday night and see this great looking redhead 
     (that knows how to dance pretty damn well, too), say "hi" if her name 
     is Cheryl.  She follows a lead well, so ask her for a two-step if 
     you know how. 

 There a place I went to once up north on Rt. 8 just this side of the 
     turnpike... uh, ya, "Spurz" it was called. Odd-shaped dance floor 
     about the same size as Rodeo's. No one there knew dance-floor etiquette. 
     I'll not go back. 

  There's a bar in (or near, toward the south of) McKeesport called Smitties 
     which tends to have CW on Thursday. No dance floor... just cleared 
     some tables away. They're right on a river, which can be romantic if 
     you go with a date, though. 

The Blacklight is my favorite, as the dance floor is the biggest that I've 
seen in Pittsburgh (but still really small).  If you're not comfortable 
dancing yet, the free daily lessons at Rodeo are quite convenient, and they 
actively try to match people up for when the couple dance is taught, so 
it's a good way to meet people even if you're shy. 

If you want to dance in a much more Country atmosphere, with a big dance 
floor, the place I go often is called Maples, and it's about two hours away 
in Rootstown, Ohio. The only reason I know about this place is 'cause I grew 
up about two miles from it (-: 

They have CW on Friday nights from 7PM-Midnight, usually with a band from 
8PM. Cover is about $5 on nights with a band. Huge dance floor (four to five 
times larger than the Blacklight's). People know dance-floor etiquette. 
Definatley not a college-party crowd..... It's BYOB, and people do, but 
acting drunk will not be looked kindly upon. Women wearing mini-skirts 
would be thought odd... long flowing country skirts (or jeans, of course) 
are the norm. 

To get to Maples, take the PA turnpike to the Ohio turnpike, and use exit 
15 to take Rt 76 west (the OH turnpike is called "Rt 76" until that point, 
then takes on the name "Rt 80" after that, while the cross-highway is 
"Rt. 80" to the east and "Rt 76" to the west... rather confusing). Twenty 
miles west on 76 find Exit 38 which puts you onto Rt 44. Turn left 
(crossing under the highway). About three miles later, out in the middle 
of nowhere, you'll suddenly come upon it on your right. 

Once inside, ask for Debbie (works there) and mention that you're there for 
the first time, coming from Pittsburgh, and that gee, maybe she could 
introduce you to some of the regulars (most people there are regulars). 
Quick enough you'll know just about everyone in the whole place and have 
all the dances you could ever want. (-:  [If Debbie isn't there, just ask 
anyone to "show you around".... it's a very friendly group] 

I should be in The States sometime in October, and will certainly be trekking 
out there. Lemme know if you'd like to go too. 

Wishing I could find a place to dance around here.... 
	*jeff* 

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Jeffrey E.F. Friedl     Omron Corporation, Nagaokakyo (Kyoto), Japan 
jfriedl@omron.co.jp, jfriedl@cs.cmu.edu   [ DoD##4  N8XBK  CBR250R ] 
Visiting researcher to the Mach Project, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh