Well, Athenacait, I don't know which would have been more fun to watch, the flailing animated figures or the real life flailing dancers.

According to Beth (my other friend who was too scared to do it) Both were pretty funny. She said she almost wet her pants.

Next time, tell Beth to bring a video camera along. We always have room at this site for "Stupid Dancer Tricks"...

Get out your PlayStations:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Video Game Review: Unison</B><P>By Nelson Hernandez, The Washington Post <P>UNISON, Tecmo<P>Disco for thumb twiddlers.<P>The first dance game for the PlayStation 2, Unison pumps hyper-edited, MTV-style visuals out of the console's electronics. While the scenes pan and zoom, colored lasers and floodlights sweep across the club kids, and the deejay's two-foot-high Afro bobs and flows like an ocean of Jell-O.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:COMP33/1:COMP330424101.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A>

I found out we have a dance game at one of the local arcades - I'll be reporting in.

Konami promises more:<P><A HREF="http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010511/laf058.html" TARGET=_blank><B>Konami Showcases Incredible Action Games Lineup At Electronic Entertainment Expo 2001</B></A><BR>Industry Leading Publisher Reveals Hot Action Games for Sony PlayStation(R) and PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameBoy(R) Advance and Xbox(TM) Video Game System

hey, we've got that game in Singapore! i think it came around December and most arcades have it. i've never tried it. it's not really about dancing, i think it's more about the coordination between your eyes and your feet.

So I went to visit this game at the local arcade where it lives - didn't play, but did watch some people play. I think someone said this already, but it is like a big game of Simon kind of. Though experience dancing doesn't translate to high scores I did notice a couple of things. <P>1) Players elaborated on the basics - that is, one guy used his knees to push the buttons by doing a cool little step. He didn't have to and the game doesn't actually recognize that extra effort, but I did. <P>2) Eye-body coordination skills developed in dance training seemed like they might help - once you've used other observation skills to figure out what the heck to do to start with. It took me a couple of minutes to get what was happening.<P>As a side note - there was also a game with "turntables" where it seemed people compete as "d.j.s" and another game with a "guitar" that had four buttons on the neck and a bar which a player would "strum". I have to put these things in quotes because it just wouldn't be right without 'em.<P>I would have played the dancing game but the teenagers were all crowded around the game - so I played Skee-Ball instead, racked up some tickets and bought a piece of candy. We gave our leftover tickets to an appreciative little grom and bailed. I'll have to go back and give it a go.

Priscilla...sounds like you folks in Alaska have a whole lot of time on your hands..LOL

Want a good workout?<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>TAEBO(R) II 'Get Ripped' Explodes Into Retail Stores with its New Video & DVD Release<P>CANTON, Ohio, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- TAEBO® introduces the latest in a series of the hottest workouts yet -- TAEBO II, ``Get Ripped'' series, the toughest workouts on the planet. TAEBO II was released to major retail markets, early September 2001, after a hugely successful run on QVC, the shopping channel.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011001/clm004_1.html target=_blank>More</a>

Oh those are so fun! I played one at Great America in San Jose in May, they can get really hard! Try one if you ever have the chance.<BR> <BR>-Zoe

DDR reaches Washington:<P><B>Dancing Machines</B> <BR>By Mary Jane Solomon in The Washington Post<P><BR>WHAT HAPPENS when you combine a game arcade, rhythmic pop music and aerobic workouts? You get Millennium DDR Techno Dance, an Annandale hangout that's just the ticket for 'tweens in search of some fun at the end of the school week.<P>DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) is the most common name for an interactive game craze that started in Japan a couple of years ago and quickly spread to Korea. A player stands on a small, square platform that's attached to an electronic machine equipped with a video screen. <P><A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34636-2001Nov15.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

The word from Korea is that these things are gaining popularity fast; in some places they are better than Karaoke. (that is a big deal for Korea, just trust me)<P>It seems to me it would be most entertaining to sit back and watch...

Here's a forum with over 25,000 posts on DDR: <A HREF="http://pub42.ezboard.com/bddrjamzglobalbbs" TARGET=_blank>http://pub42.ezboard.com/bddrjamzglobalbbs</A> <P>Looks like I'll have a chance next month to try out a "next generation" dance simulator with a local social group. <BR>Will report back, if I make it there. <P>Put on your dancin' shoes and come experience the latest Asian craze to hit our shores. You've probably seen Japan's "Dance Dance Revolution" (or "DDR" in hip-speak) featured in that USA TODAY cover story, or in a number of other media pieces. Well, now's your chance to see what all the fuss is about, on "Pump It Up!," a next-generation "DDR" successor, which is far superior in ease of use and most other aspects. For those unaware, this is a popular dance game found at arcades, in which one or two players step in time to the music on the appropriate pressure-sensitive floor pads. The large video screen displays both animation and the all-important cues to guide players' feet. Featuring 80+ songs in a variety of styles (even Xmas songs!), and difficulty levels from beginner to "crazy," this machine is remarkably replayable and unabashedly fun. We'll have an introduction first to go over a few basics to get you started, and then it's your turn to "style!" If you can keep time to a beat with your feet, you can do this! Suitable for all ages, but the venue requires that minors be accompanied by a parent. Light, loose clothing recommended (to keep cool). No high heels or bare feet. HINT: The pros mostly wear sneakers, but regular shoes work fine.

Just wanted to report that I actually tryed out this game yesterday! We were at Dave and Buster's in Philladelphia for my birthday and low-and-behold, they had one of these crazy games. My Aunt and I tried it- and I'm sure we looked like such maniacs. It was quite fun, but as soon as I stepped off, my quads were rather sore. You really have to stomp hard on the squares to get it to count. The music is all sort of odd, and extremely loud- but overall it was very fun! <P>~Amanda