Music key to dancing
WE now have a clear choice at the state election for North Queensland’s energy future.
Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls has forged what marketeers fondly call a “point of difference’’ from the Palaszczuk Government by backing a coal- fired power future for our region.
His logic on this issue, whatever you may think about fossil fuels, is sound.
In order to run our city, we need baseload power.
That’s a fact that no renewable energy advocate can deny.
Without it, our city would simply shut down.
And the cheapest and most efficient way to produce baseload power is with fossil fuels.
The only way to make renewables cheaper than fossil fuels is to place a high price on carbon emissions.
Even then, cities still need baseload power to deliver energy security.
The Liberal- National Party is proposing to build a coal- fired power station in the North because currently our baseload supply comes from south of Rockhampton.
The leakage from that transmission drives up the cost of power to business here.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has taken a different approach, embracing the numerous renewable projects sprouting up in North Queensland and proposing to connect them to the power grid to meet our energy needs.
Under this plan, we would still need to supplement the renewable supply with baseload from 800km down the coast.
The stage is set for election battle over our power — its supply and its cost.
In that context, consider this: over the past five years our energy prices have more than doubled while in the US they have halved.
That is a dire trend for our energy- hungry manufacturers such as Glencore and Sun Metals.
And the consequences of either of them departing Townsville would be economically catastrophic.
The bottom line is that we urgently need to cut power bills for businesses here.
Failure to do so will doom us to a long era of high unemployment.
And that is a scenario for which none of us should settle. IN reply to Avid Dancer ( text 14/ 6) who found the music played at a popular debutante ball was not appropriate dance music, this is a never- ending problem not just in Townsville.
We are talking about ballroom style dancing, not nightclub disco.
In Townsville I know of maybe two or three bands that understand the simple maths needed to play music in the correct style and tempo.
This is the very reason dance clubs use prerecorded music because they know it is correct for their purpose. Bad music may help explain why good old- fashioned dancing is in decline.
Avid dancers prefer familiar tunes played at their correct rhythm and tempo, preferably without vocals.
Every dance style has its own correct rhythm and tempo. A competent band will take the trouble to learn these from those dancers who do know that dance music ranges from foxtrot, through both fast and slow waltzes to the Latin dances such as jive, rumba, chacha and salsa, all with their own specific rhythm and tempo.
Equally as important is that most popular dances are done to music that is “in sequence”, meaning the music must be played in phrases of four bars with four phrases ( ie, 16 bars) making up a sequence. No extra bars and no tags are allowed.
Every time a ball is staged in Townsville we hear the same complaints about unsuitable music. The exception is when the event is organised by a proper dance club.
Such a weekend will be staged by the Townsville Variety Dancing Circle on the nights of Thursday, July 13 to Saturday, July 15 with one of Queensland’s best live dance music by Moorhead Dance Band from Rockhampton.
I suggest Avid Dancer and others who may wish to dance to good music or just watch the dancers consider the upcoming weekend.
Proceeds go to the Castle Hill Lioness Club for distribution to Whitsunday victims of Cyclone Debbie. For more information and to obtain tickets, phone Kevin on 0413 613 544. GEOFF DILLON, Condon.