“What really makes Dane Dances magical is that the people really embrace the feeling of what’s happening there,” longtime Dane Dances Board of Directors President Al Cooper tells Madison365. “Everything we do is around improving race relations and increasing diversity. The music is wonderful. There really isn’t an event like it in Madison.”
Dane Dances, one of Madison’s most diverse, family-friendly summertime events, kicks off this Friday at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center Rooftop and will take place every Friday night through the month of August.
“We’re in season number 24 and we are already looking ahead to next year when we celebrate our 25th anniversary of Dane Dances,” Cooper says. “Our thinking is to try to really put on a show so that people will want to come back and be a part of the 25th [anniversary] and we want to be able to reach out to different segments and sectors of the community that we may have not gotten to as well in the past. So we try to make sure we incorporate every aspect of the community to get engaged in what we are doing.”
Dane Dances will feature a different lineup of musical guests each week on the Monona Terrace Convention Center rooftop. There really aren’t many musical events in Madison that are as diverse as Dane Dances.
“And that diversity is not just by happenstance, we work on trying to make sure everybody in the community is going to feel welcome at our event,” Cooper says. “We market it to the communities in the neighborhood. We try to get information out. We do all the diversity newspapers, as well as the community centers, senior centers and things like that, to make sure we are out into the community.”
Dane Dances features a variety of great ethnic food vendors every year, Cooper adds, “so you have an opportunity to try foods from all around the world.”
“We have a Venezuelan restaurant [La Tagura], as well as TLC Catering, Melly Mel’s Soul Food, and the [Lake Vista] Café at Monona Terrace. We cover many bases with the food as well with bands,” Cooper says. “The great thing is that we have diverse bands playing diverse genres of music. That’s what sets us apart. We try to give the community something that they can’t get at other neighborhood festivals.”
This Friday night will feature two diverse dance bands from the Chicago area — The Associates Band and Mike Dangeroux Orchestra. The Associates Band play high-energy, smooth dance jams with a taste of funk, according to a press release from Dane Dances, and the Mike Dangeroux Orchestra performs a variety of genres and top hits with original work.
On every Friday night in August, the first band will perform from 6-7:30 p.m. while the second band will play from 8-9:30 p.m. Family Dance Music will take place from 5:30-6 p.m. and 7:30-8 p.m.
The Aug. 4 opening night will have a theme of “Show Your Colors Night,” and Dane Dancers are encouraged to dress to represent their company, club, church, country, Greek organization, non-profit, school, and/or profession.
(Photo by David Dahmer)
“Show Your Colors’ is an opportunity for anybody to represent any organization that they want like the Divine 9 Greek organizations or Big Brothers Big Sisters or the Boys and Girls Club or any of the nonprofits as well as corporate America and professional levels,” Cooper says. “We want people to represent their schools and their church and we don’t want to leave anybody out. We want everybody to feel like they can come out and show their colors, show what they bring to the community and the benefits of volunteer work as well as some of the paid professional work in the community.
“In the village, every little bit helps to make it better, no matter what you are doing. It’s all important,” Cooper adds. “We need everyone to contribute and to feel like they are part of the community.”
Cooper has been the board president of Dane Dances for about 12 years and involved with Dane Dances, he says, from just about the beginning. “I got on the board and started opening my mouth and I ended up being president,” Cooper laughs.
Cooper adds that through the years he has had “so much fun” at Dane Dances and that it takes quite a bit of people power to keep it going. Dane Dances, he says, is “always looking for volunteers” and depends on them, along with great sponsors, to help keep this free, live summer music series going. Click here for more information on volunteering at Dane Dances.
“We’ve got a volunteer signup page on the website,” Cooper says. “And we can always use volunteers as well as sponsors. It’s never too late to sponsor.”
One more new wrinkle for Dane Dances this August: DJ Francis Medrano will engage the audience at 5:30 p.m. each week.
“That’s an added bonus; we’re going to have dance lessons with a DJ … which is new,” Cooper says. “We’re looking forward to a lot of international performances this Dane Dane season, as well, and we think some of the things that we are going to bring to Dane Dances this summer will help people get more involved in the event itself.”
The following Friday, Aug. 11, will feature bands Orquesta SalSoul Del Mad and Luisito Rosario. BBI and Madison favorite VO5 will highlight the Aug. 18 Dane Dances before wrapping up the season on Aug. 25 with Aurra & Slave, followed by Angel Melendez & the 911 Mambo Orchestra.
“The bands all bring a unique flavor as well. The All-Latin night (Aug. 11), for example, is a really diverse performance with musicians from all around the world … a very international flavor to the music,” Cooper says.
“All of the groups bring a different flavor to the Dane Dances … that’s what makes it so special, along with the view – the Capitol on one side and the lake on the other. It’s a beautiful, comfortable environment. We’re looking for good weather.”
