Sorry that I'm late chiming in on dance floor question... life has been a bit crazy the past month!
There's actually a bunch of great posts about flooring ideas in the archive for this list. https://lists.sharedweight.net/hyperkitty/search?mlist=organizers%40lists.sharedweight.net&q=floor&page=2 Simply search for 'floor' and you'll see a whole whack of great info. One of my favourite floors is the plywood floor in the West Mabou Hall (Mabou, Cape Breton). It's got quite the patina and is smooth enough that folks can dance in the bare feet! Video here: https://fb.watch/lkdLExNkbN/ :) Emily in Ottawa On Tue, May 30, 2023 at 10:00 PM Heitzso via Organizers < organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Coming in late ... was helping out at the Meet Me in St. Louis Memorial > Day weekend dance ... > I was a modern dancer once upon a time and encountered a lot of marley. > All of the marley I ran into targeted ballet and toe shoes which requires > a high level of horizontal friction. > Not the end of the world for contra dance, but not ideal for buzz step et > al as has been mentioned. > > I had the privilege of rehearsing a few times at an Atlanta Ballet > rehearsal space. > That floor was literally sprung ... with springs ... which made running on > it almost > like running on a diving board! So fully ballet level sprung floors are > not optimum either. > > Atlanta contra dance has put down a plywood/strips semi-"sprung" floor > that was a fine floor > (many many years ago). Plywood had a poly finish for protection. > > Recently a friend laid a floor for dancing (she contra dances) in an out > building > that had a mix of concrete and joists. In that space ... > strips of wood w/ pool noodle slices for extra cushion > noodle slices stapled onto wood strip > just laid on floor > plywood screwed into wood strips (stabilizing everything) > modern engineered snap in floor laid in on top of plywood et al > > I'm tossing out as FYI. Your community center multi-use space won't want > to > mess with plywood. > > Heitzso > > Hi, > > From my experience working for New York ballet and modern dance companies > and from doing the folk dancing we talk about here, I'd offer that the key > word is "sprung" and I'd suggest researching portable and temporary sprung > dance floors. > > See: > https://www.stagestep.com/subfloor-systems/springstep-v/ > > Unacceptable: wood or wood-like flooring installed directly on concrete, > without springing. This is as hard, unforgiving, unpleasant and injurious > as concrete. > > Sometimes a search for "dance floors" turns up "marley," which is floor > covering, only. It is non-slip vinyl that makes an underlying sprung floor > safe for stage dance. > https://danceequipmentintl.com/marley-dance-floor-guide/ > > There are soft and hard versions of marley designed for styles of dance > and footware. Again, marley alone doesn't make a concrete or a non-sprung > floor ok, but it can be quickly rolled out onto an "okay" residential wood > beam constructed floor for dancing. An advantage to this route is that, > for low cost, it will protect the surface of, say, a basketball court > enabling a multi-purpose floor. > > One might also research the floors for basketball courts which have the > same requirements of being wood, but soft. > > As an aside, your challenge reminds me of the floors of large event > arenas, which might have to be changed from a basketball court to an ice > rink to a stadium floor, etc. > > Sometimes, also, a hard floor problem can be solved with footwear. Yours > might become a sneaker dance on a concrete floor, just as sneakers are used > for street dance (e.g., hip hop). > > Sounds like an exciting project. > > Best wishes, > Rob > > - - - - - - - - - - - - > > Robert Matson > President > Innovation Media Corp. > The Innovation Works, Inc. > Tel: (646) 233-1219 > Cell: (917) 626-2675 > > > On Fri, May 26, 2023 at 9:28 AM Jim Thaxter via Organizers < > organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > >> Hey Organizers, >> >> My home town, Columbia, MO, is building a welcome/community center for >> multiple uses. Our contra group has asked them to consider something other >> than smooth concrete for the floor. >> >> The City parks and rec people were initially resistant, but since a lot >> of the funding for the building will be coming directly from the community, >> they seem to be softening their stance, but not to the point of approving a >> hardwood floor. So the architect has done some research on alternative >> flooring options that might be comfortable and safe to dance on, but also >> have many of the conveniences of concrete floor for multiple uses and >> maintenance. >> >> Two products are listed in the attachments below. Unfortunately, the only >> known installations are 300-450 miles from us in Indiana and Kansas. >> >> Have any of you out there in dance land run across either of these kinds >> of floorings, or maybe know of other alternatives to hardwood that would >> meet low maintenance requirements of the City? >> >> Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. >> >> Jim Thaxter >> Columbia, MO >> >> ---------- Forwarded message --------- >> From: Robbie Price >> Date: Tue, May 9, 2023 at 9:12 AM >> Subject: RE: Community building floor >> To: Jim Thaxter <jathaxte...@gmail.com> >> >> >> Dear Jim: >> >> With a pure dance floor out of the question (too much friction for your >> purposes and too expensive), I am looking for floor which gives you the >> cushion you need and the durability to resist table and chair scratches, >> dropped equipment, and food spills. My rep from Tarkett, one of the largest >> flooring companies in the U.S. have a sports/recreation flooring division, >> Zoche, which may work. He recommends their Omnisports system “Multi-use” or >> the Lumaflex without the wood subfloor. Please find the spec sheets on >> these two products attached. >> >> I am also interested in an industrial wood flooring product which may >> prove to be a possible solution – end grain wood blocks. It traditionally >> is used in industrial applications with 3” – 5” thick,creosote impregnated >> wood blocks which take all manner of abuse. Today they do away with the >> harmful chemicals and hazardous materials and use oils and some >> polyurethanes to finish them. It could be a beautiful floor and stand up to >> any abuse if only it is acceptable to the dance community. Here are >> websites for your review: Old Wood LLC. - End Grain Flooring >> <https://www.oldwood.us/endgrain> , END GRAIN | Kaswell Flooring Systems >> <https://www.kaswell.com/end-grain/> >> >> I need to do so more research on this. Please let me know what you think. >> Thank you for any input you can provide. >> >> Cordially, >> >> Robbie >> >> >> >> *Robbie Price AIA, LEED AP +* >> >> *573.443.1407* >> >> Architect / Associate >> >> *soa* >> >> *Architecture Interior Design Planning Sustainability* >> >> >> >> *P* Please consider the environment before printing this email. >> >> >> >> *From:* Jim Thaxter <jathaxte...@gmail.com> >> *Sent:* Saturday, May 6, 2023 4:02 PM >> *To:* Robbie Price <pr...@soa-inc.com> >> *Subject:* Community building floor >> >> >> >> Hi Robbie, >> >> Thanks for being willing to consider a floor of something other than >> smooth concrete. Keep us up to date on what you’re looking at. >> >> Jim Thaxter >> _______________________________________________ >> Organizers mailing list -- organizers@lists.sharedweight.net >> To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >> > > _______________________________________________ > Organizers mailing list -- organizers@lists.sharedweight.net > To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net > > > _______________________________________________ > Organizers mailing list -- organizers@lists.sharedweight.net > To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >
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