Hot Chocolate

I try to remember that history (dance or otherwise) didn't actually stop sometime before I was born, so today I'm flashing back to 1978 and the era of disco line dances and, happily, a flood of disco dance manuals.  I still find disco music very danceable, so ever so often I play around with reconstructing a few line dances to use as warmups or cool-downs at my own dance practices. 

Here's a simple one: Hot Chocolate.  It's only sixteen beats long, which is a very short repeat for a line dance.  This may not be the easiest line dance ever, but it's got to be high on the list!  The dance might have been inspired by the group of the same name, probably best known for the mid-'70s hit song "You Sexy Thing."  The source is Let's Disco, no author given, published in 1978 by K-tel International, Inc. 

During the dance the arms swing gently back and forth, front arm's elbow bent, forward and slightly in front of the torso.  While the instructions are illustrated with photos, the rhythm of the arm movements is not consistent - sometimes it's the same arm in front as the moving foot, sometimes the opposite.  Sometimes they change on every beat, sometimes they hold for several.  It's hard to tell if this is intentional or not, but I'm giving the arm positions as illustrated in case anyone wants to be extra-obsessive about this dance.

Hot Chocolate (16 beats)
1-2-3-4
Grapevine right and point (step side R, cross L front, side R, point L forward)
Arms: swing forward L, R, L, R

5-6-7-8
Grapevine left and point (step side L, cross R front, side L, point R forward)
Arms: swing forward L, R and then hold the R arm forward for two more counts

9-10-11-12
Back up and point (back R, back L, back R, point L fwd)
Arms: hold R forward from previous step for one beat then swing forward L, R, L

13-14-15-16
Rock and turn (shift weight forward L, back R, forward L; raise R leg, keeping foot next to calf, and pivot on L foot one quarter counter-clockwise)
Arms: hold L forward from previous step for three beats then raise R arm to match leg on the turn

Repeat as many times as needed for the music, making a quarter turn at the end of each repetition.

(Update, 2/4/09: This dance is the same as the dance "Bonaparte's Retreat," described in my post here.)

Comments

[Cathy]

Great, now I'm going to have You Sexy Thing in my head ALL weekend. I hope you're happy.

[TexAnne]

Except for the last 4 beats, that's identical to a country line dance that was popular here a couple of years ago. The version I saw ended with a quarter turn on 1, then hold 2-3-4.

Parallel evolution, oral transmission, or the fact that there is only so much one can do with drunken nondancers?

[Susan de Guardiola]

TexAnne: I suspect a combination of two and three. Line dances tend to be much of a sameness.

[Debbie]

Hi! I'm here via Making Light, and am enjoying both your blogs.

I've been doing ballroom dancing for the last several years, so it's interesting to read about some of the roots. Here (in Germany) disco dancing -- i.e., Disco Fox -- is alive and well. Haven't seen line dancing, though.

[Susan de Guardiola]

Welcome, Debbie. You'll see lots more here about ballroom roots as I have time to write! I don't do much modern-style dancing at all, just "dead" stuff from the 15th century to the early 20th, but I'm always fascinated by the current forms of older dances. I had to look up Disco Fox (YouTube is handy that way); how interesting! It looks like living tradition hustle.

[Debbie]

Hmm, yes, terminologies, sorry. I didn't learn to dance in the US, and had/have no idea of current trends or names of some dances. OTOH, ballroom dance competitions (pairs and teams) are shown relatively often on the sports channel, which amuses me. The apparent rather than actual contradiction, that is!

[Fragano Ledgister]

I, personally, would like to see the disco era scrubbed from history...

[richenza]

Oh disco. We love to hate you and your silly 70's light effects. And yet... I will always be brought back to my fond childhood memories of the roller skating rink.

Hmm. Now I am craving actual hot chocolate. Pity the office just has the powdered stuff - and only the sugar-free kind. Bleah.

[Mike Taylor]

Interestingly there have been comparisons with the HULLY GULLY - this being an adaptation. And of course, there is Ric Silver who doesnt know anything about THIS dance... but is the same as 'his' Electric Slide which he claims he choreographed in 1976.