Yale Center for British Art, October 31, 2001
Performance
British Jazz Dance: The Latest Craze
Jazz dance is a high-energy blend of hip-hop, jitterbug, and tap.
Perry Louis and Christianne Hencke, two leading jazz dancers from Jazzcotech, gave a lecture, demonstration, workshop and standing-room-only performance with local student dancers.
Interview with Perry Louis
after seeing the jazzcotech dancers take the jazz cafe by storm a few weeks ago, and having heard their leading dancer perry dj a super heavy funk set a couple of times recently i thought it was about time we found out a bit more about the man they call perry.
trouble: how much time do you have to put into your dance routines?
perry: it depends on what show i am doing. what i do is break the music down and then i come up with moves to put to the music. i get the dancers together and show them and teach them steps that i think it works for, you know the club or dancer floor where we are performing. er and then for stuff like the jazz cafe, during the afternoon we come up with concepts and ideas, and then we'll get there during the night and we'll put them together that night. all on the same day.
trouble: what about on a more physical side. do you work out?
perry: yeah, training i go running, when i can do. i used to do a lot more than i do now but thats it really.
trouble: are you formally trained?
perry: no i did not do any dance training or stuff like that. i just love the music.
trouble: i've seen you play out quite a bit of late, mostly funk, is that what you are into?
perry: yeah, thats the stuff i'm really into. funk, i love jazz funk. i play jazz early, when i'm in a jazz mood but later on i'll go onto the funk. i tend not to play jazz so much, because i always end up wanting to dance to it. i limit myself to how much jazz i play. but yeah, i am fortunate enough to be able to play out.
trouble: where are you playing out at the moment?
perry: point 101, and i do the messing around sessions at the jazz cafe, i do the warm up on that, with andy, erm. i play with andy on support dates, i recently played with adrian gibson and snowboy.
trouble: was that at the big daddy thing?
perry: yeah, the big daddy thing, and then i was playing at the scala, so i play around. but i don't really push myself on that side because i l am really trying to focus on the dance, but i'm going to start in the winter, you know, putting myself about, getting the work. but i just enjoy it you know.
trouble: as an experienced dj and dancer what is it that makes a good dance record for yourself?
perry: er, i think it depends what kind of mood i'm in. i love the rhythms and i love the bass, and parts when keyboards come in, hearing the break beat, you know hip hop patterns. but you know it really does depend, some times i can be in a real fusion mood, and sometimes if you play a really relaxing funk number i really, you know, just go off! but anything that inspires me really.
trouble: what's at the top of your play list at the moment?
perry: cryky! let me think......at the moment there is a wicked version of i want you back by harold mabern, it's just a really good track. not for dance reasons, it's just a brilliant track, you know enjoying that. also a friend of mine, phillipe has just released a new track by the calypso kings, on soulfire, i like both sides. there's a soul, disco , funk track that i really, really enjoy, by the killowatts, and it's called tango hustle. it's got some wicked breaks in it. brilliant. it really goes off. the backing track, you know it's disco but it's got some funky breaks in it. i love dancing to it, i love listening to it.
trouble: what about on the jazz side?
perry: well you know, if i'm not playing it here i just love playing out here, you know. but, yeah, just pushing the sound. it's good to be apart of it.
trouble: how long have you been into the dancing?
perry: years now! i've been into dancing ever since i went clubbing. seven years, and more probably. ten years?
trouble: how does the funk scene compare now to back then? you know that rare groove thing?
perry: the vibes coming back. in the rare groove period, there were a lot more people. but now you know that they are finding some really, really funky tracks that never came about years ago. the music is better now, you know. people now are searching to find the rarest funk or the best funk sound. but at the same time there are a group of guys trying to push a particular sound, not because they are the rarest records but because they just kind of fall into that category. the sounds out there, the deepfunk sound, the messing around sound, we are just getting it out there. it's interesting to see what both sides are doing, if you look at them you get two different sounds. you get the full mix of the old sounding music.
trouble: terry jones has said similar things to me.
perry: yeah, terry jones is superb! but whats happening now is great really because it's pure. there are lots of things going on as in (the particular sounds) you know, the afro, the latin, disco, bepop, it's all there and because people are pushing it so hard , all these sounds are coming out. musically it has not been better!
you can catch perry dancing and djing at the jazz cafe's messing around on saturdays (full revue on it's way) and point 101 alternate wednesdays. keep an eye out for this top chap in the events listings!
To Contact Jazzcotech for bookings or information,
please write c/o: Jazzcotech Dancers
4 Trinity Road
Luton Beds
LU3 1TP
UK
or E-mail: perrylouis@jazzcotech.com