When did House music start?

  Last week I had a craving for club dancing. So I called my girlfriends, picked a club and we were soon ready to go. It started fun and strange half drunk guys didn't scare me. Why would I? I had my four girls with me. Yes, it was a girls' night out and it was great. It is always fun to go in large groups just because there are people to back you up and get out of an unwanted situation. I do admit, I missed my sister that night. Nobody else can party quit like she does.

  So we went to Trinity, downtown Seattle. It's a night club that has three floors so everybody can enjoy music they like. Since I don't drink alcohol and have a wonderful boyfriend the only two things I could do were chat in the restroom and dance. I did both.

I saw a local Trinity guy Roman who always gets drinks for girls. Just saying, if you ladies are interested he's always there It's fascinating how everything has its own life, own story to tell.

 After a few hours of dancing to house music and a little bit of hiphop we finally decided to go home.
When leaving I thought of those two dance styles. I remember this phrase from one of the dance books, "While you control your body during hip-hop in house dancing the music controls you".
 real disco started with Club 54. Night clubs were masters of night since 19th century I'd say.

  The oldest DJ I remember is Billy Carroll. He was a house DJ four nights a week for the popular club called Down Under back in 1976, where straight black people danced. Friday and Saturday nights, admittance was for members. Whites and Latinos went to the nearby Copacabana except on Sunday night, which was for black people. They shared the same owner and managed to avoid competing for particular patrons. That's when house music started.

 If you want to experience real house music, go to Europe and go to Kazantip. It's a festival of parties that lasts for four weeks on Crimean island. All the best house DJs attend this festival. I'd have to write about Kazantip sometime soon. May House Music live!

Best Dance Studio in Seattle

  As much as I love Seattle I am not sure if dance life is as rich here as in New York, LA or even Salt Lake City. Obviously, New York and Los Angeles are the best places for performers but why include Salt Lake? Well, being interested in modern dance I found that there is a bigger crowd of modern dancers in Utah than in Washington. Perhaps, the reason is that there are more affordable universities and colleges with very good dance programs in Utah. Unfortunately, there are not too many opportunities for dancers in Mormon state. Maybe, I am completely wrong but it's my opinion.

  In Seattle there are a few options for modern, contemporary dancers who are 18 and older and who don't intend to recieve education in dance. Three studios are worth your attention.
 First and my favorite would be Velocity Dance Center http://velocitydancecenter.org/ It's located on Capitol Hill and has a variety of classes (modern, jazz, contemporary, yoga, jazz funk, hiphop, Gaga) from beginner to advanced levels. Most of instructors also teach at UW (University of Washington).

  Second best would be Westlake Dance Center that is located in U District, north of downtown Seattle. http://westlakedance.com/ The classes are great there as well. Beginner levels in both Velocity and Westlake are super easy. Westlake has more classes scheduled than Velocity. Also, both studios don't charge much. Usually they charge about $10-$15/lesson. There is no registration fee because you don't have to register for a semester or a quarter. It's very convenient for our busy schedules.

I would rank Spectrum Dance Theatre third. It actually may be the best studio to go to in Seattle if you are serious about dance. It is way more expencive than the other two and you have to register. It is more of a school, not just a hobby. Even though the instructors are great Byrd himself doesn't teach much. He has enjoyed a long and varied career as a dancer and choreographer, with exposure to many different techniques, training styles, and performance venues. He has danced with Twyla Tharp, Karole Armitage, and Gus Solomons jr. He has choreographed close to 100 works.
 He travels a lot and writes about it in his blog. His name makes brings the studio new students. Most of the students are under 18. http://spectrumdance.org/