Hollywood club hosts series of dance contests
e during the height of the Depression has developed into a money-making attraction that has sashayed its way to Ukraine.
Yes, it’s the dance marathon, that sweaty, steamy exercise in endurance that at one time represented a way for America’s unemployed to both win a small fortune and dance their blues away. Well, it’s shown up at Hollywood nightclub in economically hurting Kyiv in a new party series called “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”
Hollywood general manager Olesya Savenko said she came up with the idea for the series after seeing the film “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” Based on the novel by Horace McCoy, the 1969 classic stars Jane Fonda and Bruce Dern as a young Depression-era couple hoping to escape the drudgery of their lives through dance.
Savenko said the nightclub party series is designed to draw customers and competitors lured by some of the same incentives found in the original marathons – the chance to earn prizes and a few moments of fame – motivation that once prompted an entire nation to dance till it dropped.
“Our strategy is to lure people here,” Savenko said. “We have discovered that our clients, most of whom are young, will stay all night and then come back again,” Savenko said.
Indeed, Hollywood has successfully tapped into the minds of young Ukrainians, a segment of the population that lives for non-stop, dusk-till-dawn entertainment.
Since its July 14 launch, the party has existed in the form of a weekly series of Saturday night dance competitions with 15 individual winners. Those winners will go on to compete in a final marathon set for July 28.
But, take note, the stress is on individuals rather than couples – as Hollywood’s version of the dance marathon differs somewhat from the original.
First of all, this marathon is set within a strict timeframe, starting at midnight and finishing at around 3 a.m. And instead of tired lovers propped up against one another and stumbling exhaustedly around the dance floor, the Hollywood hop sees mainly stylish, individual dancers competing to be noticed by the three red-vested judges and to be selected to move up to one of two raised dance stages designated for the finalists. Lastly, instead of classic American crooners, the play list at Hollywood is fresh and diverse and ranges from slow rock and pop to techno.
“Like with every program we have, we offer diversity,” Savenko said.
Of course, the Hollywood of the 21st century also offers some sights that would have likely shocked marathon dancers of the 1930s. Also featured at the Saturday night party was a lip-synching drag queen, a sultry lap dancer as well as a strip-tease competition featuring topless women and Speedo-sporting men.
But one of the more appealing features of the program is what it doesn’t have: chatty in-your-face emcees. Since the dance competition is continuous, the party spares customers from the all-too-common obnoxious emcees who ramble on for what seems like an eternity.
That means that the participants, most of who are in their 20s and early 30s, don’t have to interrupt their high-energy swaying, bouncing and bopping. In fact, most don’t even take time to bother with a beer.
“People have become a lot more involved in our competitions,” Savenko said. “They don’t necessarily come here to drink.”
But they do come to get rewarded. In the two previous marathons, the dancers left on the stages at the end of the evening received a “VIP Red Card.” It offers between 10 percent and 15 percent off the price of food and drinks at Hollywood as well as free admission to the club for the cardholder and two guests.
So far, Savenko appears to have hit upon a good idea. The marathons have drawn as many as 400 people to the nightclub, and Savenko said she’ll continue to stage them as long as they continue to be popular and profitable.
“So far, it has been a dynamic, commercial success,” she said. “The more clients we have, the more money we get.”
It’s that simple.
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The “They Shoot Horse, Don’t They?” dance marathon will take place at Hollywood on Saturday, July 28 at midnight. Admission is Hr 10 for women and Hr 20 for men.
