Music & Dancing

Swingersball #17-The Red Carpet Event -Saturday March 29, 2014

asmooveone — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 08:47:56 -0500

The event takes place at The Willowbrook Ballroom and goes from 7:00 PM until 1 AM

www.swingersballinfo.com

Midwest Lindy Fest 2014

Azeroth — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 10:25:13 -0500

DANCE WITH US at the 2014 Midwest Lindy Festival, in Minneapolis, MN, May 8-11!

Whether you dance down the Mississippi River on the Paddleford Riverboat kick-off dance, take in the amazing performances at The Show, or expand your dancing skills with the workshops, we invite you to join us in Minneapolis for an amazing Lindy Hop weekend!

INSTRUCTORS:
Thomas Blacharz and Alice Mei join us from New York City and Montpelier, France;
Sylvia Sykes and Nick Williams, from Los Angeles and Santa Barbara; and
Peter Strom and Naomi Uyama from right here in Minneapolis!

LIVE MUSIC:
Gordon Webster and his orchestra - featuring Naomi Uyama - play on Friday and Saturday night!
Our local favorites Patty and the Buttons and the Twin Cities Hot Club bookend the weekend.

Four nights of live music, two days of classes, an amazing showcase event, and one riverboat cruise down the Mississippi River. This is Lindy in the Midwest!

Join the event: www.facebook.com/events/546118068815285/
Like our page: www.facebook.com/MidwestLindyFest
Visit the website: www.midwestslindyfest.com

Or just REGISTER NOW:
http://midwestlindyfest2014.dancecamps.org/

With love!
Midwest Lindy Fest
Shawn Lavelle
Kendra Strode
Stacia Martin

(In case you're not going to BluesSHOUT!)

Rhythm Rockets @ Reggie's Music Joint Nov 30

rocketcommander — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 20:39:24 -0500

The Rhythm Rockets are performing at Reggie's Music joint this Saturday Nov 30. Third Coast Kings from Detroit are opening the show up at 9PM

You might want to read this if you plan on coming out to Reggie's this weekend to see the Rhythm Rockets…

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=1db7c4d9-254e-43a3-8359-9ab0e761647a&c=&ch=

San Francisco Lindy Exchange 2013!

Swinginsugar — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 15:43:14 -0400

The world’s oldest and biggest Lindy Exchange is back!! The San Francisco Lindy Exchange!

Join us Sept 12-15 for the 2013 edition of SFLX!!

Come dance with us to awesome djed and live music! We’ll be presenting the best lineup of live music we’ve ever heard at a lindy exchange! Gordon Webster, Careless Lovers, and Fli Lorenz’s Little Big Band!

We have some fun daytime events planned and we’re excited to bring back a separate room for Blues at the late night on Saturday and possibly on Sunday as well!

Join us for this exciting, high energy, groovy, Lindy Hop event!!
Register for SFLX today at www.sflindyexchange.com/2013/Registration/

See you on the dance floor and save me a swingout!

May 9-12, 2013: Midwest Lindy Fest 2013

Azeroth — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 01:21:20 -0400

Hello Chicago!

MWLF is coming up very soon. Hosted in Minneapolis (re: St Paul) every year, we're looking forward to seeing you join us once again for great music, awesome classes, and fantastic dancing.

This year our musical feature is none other than Gordon Webster and his orchestra. A rare treat in the upper Midwest and playing his first dancer gig in Minnesota, we are very excited to have him continue our musical excellence. Robert Bell and the Twin Cities Hot Club will play Sunday's dance and the ever popular Invitational Jack and Jill.

Want to try your hand at competing? We offer an open Jack and Jill and Strictly Lindy Hop competitions with cash prizes and event passes for the victors.

Our featured instructors are Nikki Marvin and Nick Williams. Do they need introduction? Teaching with them are Laura Glaess and Mike Roberts and Todd Yannacone and Lithuanian phenom Pamela Gaizutyte. We're rounding out our instructional offerings with Jon Tigert, Heather Ballew, Alain Wong, and Gen St. Lo.

We have four tracks to offer. For the new traveler/dancer, Level 1 Crash Course will focus on the basics to get you dancing as fast as possible. Following that Level 2 is not auditioned while levels 3 and 4 are the most competitive. There are a selection of electives to attend as well.

Returning are two of the most unique events in the Midwest Lindy Hop scene: The Riverboat Jazz Cruise and the Midwest Lindy Fest Show. The Cruise is available for $30 and sets sail at 7pm on the Anson Northrup, a recreated Mississippi River Steamer. Playing for your happy feet will be Patty and the Buttons! The MWLF Show is a 60 minute Lindy Hop Revue with performances our instructors and invited guests. Just $15 for some of the best dancers in the land.

You can find all this and more under 7 hours north on I94. Sign up today for just $159 for a workshop pass. Not interested in classes, but love the music? There's a Dance Pass available for just $89. Want in on that Crash Course? It's just $119!

See you soon! Let us know if you have any questions. (Housing is closing soon, but still open! Appointments first come, first served, sign up soon!)

Shawn M Lavelle and the MWLF Team
(Stacia Martin, Biz Mills, and Justin Dux)

PS Congratulations on maintaining a forum in this day and age of Facebook!

PPS Yes, we will have tickets available at the door - our dance hall is 5400 square feet with dual industrial-strength air conditioners.

PPS Relevant Links:
http://www.midwestlindyfest.com

Straight to buying tickets:
http://midwestlindyfest.com/buy-tickets/

Crash Course Tickets:
http://midwestlindyfest.com/buy-tickets/mwlf-level-1/

Electro-Swing Bands

Nathan — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:32:27 -0500

So we started talking about bands like Caravan Palace this weekend, and I thought I'd pull together a quick list and let you guys add on.

* Belleruche is actually one of my favorites - http://open.spotify.com/track/0ReFFw8QINJJKhuoJmCGam
* Caravan Palace - http://open.spotify.com/track/1oHJwg8i39oarJlVfeCsvB
* All of the Verve Remixed compilation - http://open.spotify.com/track/4o4jcecSR0VyLhGeLZAFyE

That's all off the top of my head, I'll try to remember more.

Savoy Ballroom To Blues Dance Theater's, "A Look into Social Dancing - Slow Drag Pt.1 "

FrontlineMediaGroup — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 22:21:19 -0400

Hope you all like this video, and subscribe... more video soon on other topics soon!!
From your friends at XtremeLink Productions

http://youtu.be/xOj729yToZE?hd=1

Reason #4 to Swing Out in Catalina CA

2plyswing — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 00:44:33 -0400

http://www.catalinaswingdancefestival.com/

Reason 4. Swing Era History
Why do we do this dance? There is a rich history for all the Swing Era dances. The more you know, the better you can embrace the full spirit of the dance. We are proud to have one of the nation's premier dance historians sharing his vast knowledge at CSDF:
RICHARD POWERS

Last year his early morning lectures were surprisingly packed. He provided us with vintage dance clips, incredible historical facts about the dances we love and left us wanting more! We know you'll all be dancing at Late Night into the wee hours of the morning so we have Richard's lectures scheduled at lunch time on both Saturday and Sunday.

Read below to learn more about Richard Powers...

Richard Powers is an expert in American social dance, noted for his choreographies for dozens of stage productions and films, and his workshops in Paris, Rome, Prague, London, Venice, Geneva, St. Petersburg and Tokyo as well as across the U.S. and Canada. He has been researching and reconstructing historic social dances for twenty-five years and is currently a full-time instructor at Stanford University Dance Division. He teaches a variety of social dance history and practicum classes for the dance division of the Stanford University Drama Department. He joined the Dance Faculty in 1992 and serves as a faculty liaison to the Friends of Dance at Stanford organization.

Richard founded the Flying Cloud Academy of Vintage Dance (1981) to produce large-scale monthly recreations of Victorian and Ragtime Balls. Formed the Flying Cloud Troupe, a 30-member performing company (1982) and co-founded the supporting Fleeting Moments Waltz & Quickstep Orchestra.
Richard started and directed the Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble (1992) and serves as an advisor and choreographer for the Swingtime Dance Troupe.

Richard was selected by the Centennial Issue of Stanford Magazine as one of Stanford University's most notable graduates of its first century and was awarded the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for distinctive and exceptional contributions to education at Stanford University (1999). Recipient of the Post-Corbett Award, Cincinnati's foremost arts recognition (1992).

The Boilermakers (Getting Around Chicago) Are Back For A Classic Night minus The White

asmooveone — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 21:34:37 -0400

event website www.aclassicnight.com

When: Sunday October 7, 2012 A Classic Night For Dance

Where: Fort Knox Studios 4255 N. Knox Sreet, Chicago, Illinois

What Time: 6:30-11:00 PM

Beginning Dance Lesson 6:30 PM

Band hits at 7:15 PM

Price: $16 at the door -

Big City Blues is Live!

snagglepuddlian — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:35:11 -0400

Hi all!

As most of you know, Big City Blues was recently born as its own entity from the blues program at Big City Swing. Check out our gorgeous new website at bigcityblues.net!

We've got a Ladies Solo Workshop coming up on July 7th, and Blues 1 starting July 9th!

See you soon!

Sara

Lucky's Savoy Stomp

stockdancer — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 09:26:11 -0400

Don't miss Lucky's this month! We're having the Barehand Dixieland band playing for us and it is sure to bring the house down!!!

Hope we'll see you!
Beginner lesson at 9
Band starts playing at 10
the Bar is at the corner of Milwaukee and Western (right by the blue line stop)

ALHC - Swinging into Chicago!

muy_mal — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:17:42 -0500

Hey all - if you haven't already, register for ALHC!

ALHC (American Lindy Hop Championships) is coming to Chicago May 11-13 at the Crowne Plaza O'Hare. Get ready for a weekend of hot music, inspiring classes, amazing competitions and dancing the nights away.

Registration is up over at http://artspectrum.org/alhcregistration.htm, and while you're there, why not get yourself an ALHC t-shirt? Everyone loves t-shirts!

Aerials on the Social Dance Floor.

nuprinz — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:08:15 -0400

I originally posted this on the Swing Dancing at Fizz FB page but I think it applies to most dance floors in the city:

"While I'm still thinking about it and because it was so horrifying to me...

Tonight, we had a few new couples on the dance floor that were attempting some seriously dangerous aerials. Like over the shoulder and upside down dangerous. I quickly sprinted over and had them stop and explained the potential DANGER WILL ROBINSONS to them and the other dancers.
Thankfully, I believe they understood me and will be coming back again too.

I think what might worry me more is the number of Fizz regulars that came up to me to thank me for talking to them. I understand how people may feel uncomfortable telling some kids off for being ignorant about floor etiquette BUT here's the thing, and it's very VERY important: It is YOUR dance floor too. Tell them to cut it out. Keep you and your dance partners safe. It takes a village everyone!

If you're not up to being the asshole telling the kids to stop, come find me. I will gladly be that asshole. I rather yell at someone than be giving CPR to them.

I hope you understand. [this is where you smile, nod, and click on 'like'] good. See you all next week. Meanwhile take care of each other!"

Do you think I was making a blanket statement about aerials? Is there other floor etiquette that should be the responsibility of the dancer or the venue owner to enforce?

Concordia University needs some help from experienced dancers!

Geraly — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:11:21 -0400

just saw this on yehoodi:

My friend has transferred to Concordia University in Chicago (River Forest) and has become involved in their swing scene.

Since the Concordia is a very green club, they are running out of East Coast. I believe they have learned inside turn, outside, and the dreaded pretzel.

Caity McQueen would love to have some more experienced dancers help out. If I were closer I'd totally help out but I'm leaving it up to the good-hearted swing dance lovers that you all are.

I'm the middle man so please direct any interest/helpful tips to her via email or Facebook.

The map to the school is here: http://g.co/maps/w4e2p

Email: caity.mcqueen@gmail.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/caity.mcqueen

Adding content to Windyhop

rocketcommander — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:49:23 -0500

Hey Folks, are we able to add content (shows) to the calendar on our own?
Who do we submit our info to for local band listings?

Swinger's Ball #15-The Details-Saturday March 31 at The Willowbrook Ballroom

asmooveone — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:26:41 -0500

www.swingersballinfo.com

Saturday March 31@The Willowbrook Ballroom

Two Bands-The Fat Babies (Main Ballroom)-Rhythm Rockets (The Bunkeris), Dj Doug spinning Blues and Groove between the breaks.

Doors Open At 7:00 PM

King and Queen of The Ball

Special Presentation to some special people

Dance performances by The Scooter Club from The Galaxie, Big City Swing and The Swing Dings from U of I

and plenty more!

input needed: favorite dance tempos

Helen — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:32:06 -0500

Hey dancers of various swing-genres, what are your preferred (or standard) tempos for Lindy? For Bal? For Charleston? For Blues? Also, are you a beginner, intermediate, or advanced dancer?

Join the Squad!

muy_mal — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:44:11 -0500

Hey Friends - Stockholm Dance's Squad Class starts again on March 8!

The Squad Class is a weekly special topics session dedicated to examining all the nooks and crannies of this thing we call swing, getting your hands dirty, getting to the meat of the matter and above all - getting down.

We are looking for a few good dancers to join our band of intrepid explorers, as well as teachers to guide us.

Interested? Knew you were. Contact mal@stockholmdances.com for details.

sooo, whatcha reading (lindyhop related)?

Geraly — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:31:18 -0500

ever feel like the universe is trying to tell you something? :) in the last few weeks, i've been hearing about books or reading books (fiction/nonfiction) that have a relation to lindyhop and so i thought i'd start a thread...

currently reading:

"An Autobiography of Black Jazz" By Dempsey Travis - really great and often hilarious memories of popular musicians, dancers & event promoters from chicago clubs & ballrooms like the chicago savoy, regal and club delisa. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1312906.An_Autobiography_Of_Black_Jazz

want to read:

11.22.63 by Stephen King - features a time traveling character who ends up staying in the past and teaching lindyhop. so curious, i think the timing is off by a bit... :) http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10644930-11-22-63

Swing Dancing by Tamara & Erin stevens - most of my favorite memories have to do with catalina swing camp hosted by the stevens sisters. i'm really looking fwd to reading this history told thru their eyes... http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11061495-swing-dancing

The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines - i kinda want to read this for me, but i may want to read it with my 8yo daughter who loves mystery... and lindyhop. :) here's the book trailer:

ennyhoo... please share what you're reading with me! :)

Blues comps at Lindy events and Lindy comps at Blues events...

Geraly — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:13:44 -0500

not being a blues dancer (or even a competitive sort of person) i don't really have an opinion on this... but i thought a forum discussion should be opened... and this particular post stars two or our own chicago blues dancers - john joven & ruby red (ok, john is now a *former* chicago dancer....)

i found the clip at the wandering & pondering blog... where jerry asks " Would Evita & Jeramie’s performance be that out of place at a Blues event? "

http://jsalmonte.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/hot-blues-on-blues-action/

NOLA dancers in new MV "Baby Can Dance"

Geraly — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:26:53 -0500

just saw this on rik panganiban's blog - http://www.rikomatic.com/blog/2012/01/nola-dancers-in-fun-music-video-baby-can-dance-.html

"This music video "Baby Can Dance" has been making its way around the internet lindy circles, and for good reason. It features several New Orleans lindy hoppers (including my friend Lisa Casper) dancing to a very cute tune by Carsie Blanton.

Featured dancers:

Chance Bushman and Giselle Anguizola
Peter Loggins and Amy Johnson
Reuel Reis and Laura Manning
and Lisa Casper"

love it! :)

Swingn at the SAVOY - A JAZZ & Dance History Workshop!

fruittingle — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:42:44 -0500

Hope our Shytown family are well!

The silicon valley Lindy Hoppers are SUPER excited to announce a weekend workshop called Swingin' At The Savoy on the weekend of Feb. 24th-26th featuring Norma Miller, Chazz Young, Chester Whitmore, Kevin & Jo, Dargoff & Brittany, Live Music, Richard Powers, Alisa Clancy from jazz Historian from radio station, 91.1 KCSM!

We just opened up full registration options on our website:
http://swinginatthesavoy.com/

We also have some great housing options at hotels and homestays that people can explore on the website as well!

If Shytown ever wanted to come up to visit the SF Bay Area, now is the time to do it! There is a special Masters' Track for seasoned dancers and we welcome Beginners and Intermediates too, because we consider events of this kind, focusing on our Lindy Heritage, are a sort of rite of passage for new swing dancers.

A little birdy told me that; * The weather is fine in San Francisco! * The Coffee and food is AMAZING in the bay area! * They have some BAD AZZ lindy hoppers to dance and learn with in the bay area!

The little birdie also said WHAT YOU WAITING FOR??? We want you in on the FUN!!

I hope you can come visit us!

Kylie

Blues Series begins Thursday, Jan 19th at Big City Swing!

snagglepuddlian — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:36:21 -0500

Hi All!

Just a heads up that we're starting at the beginning again with Blues 1 at Big City Swing with me, Sara Cherny, and the always awesome Bob Bednardz!

Blues 1 starts on Thursday, January 19th, 8-10pm. Classes are in a two-by-tw0 format, with two hours for two weeks in a row. You can read more and sign up here:
http://www.bigcityswing.com/chicago-swing-dancing-lindy-hop-instruction/chicago-blues-dance

See you on the floor!

Sara

Lindyhoppers: Science needs YOU!

Geraly — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:31:50 -0500

just saw this on the "merci pour le venin" and "quantum pie" blog and thought i should fwd on:

http://lotusmika.tumblr.com/post/15789421537/lindy-hoppers-science-needs-you

This coming March I am going to be explaining some the intricacies of Quantum Mechanics using Lindy Hop. To pull this off, I need your help.

The goal is to get as many scenes as possible to film themselves performing the routine. The footage will then be spliced together and be incorporated into a larger performance. For more information check out the Project Q webpage - http://www.quantumpie.com/project-q/

RIP Hal Takier 1917-2011

Geraly — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:11:00 -0500

Just read on Yehoodi that Balboa dancer Hal Takier passed away.... :( http://www.yehoodi.com/comment/174224/r-i-p-hal-takier-1917-2012/

"An original member of the LA dance group Ray Rand Swingers, Hal and his partners originated many steps including the "Merry-Go-Round", the "Flyin' Hal" and "Hal's Roll". One of the few people to be filmed dancing Balboa in "The Beach Clip" his dancing will forever be remembered from what is perhaps his most explosive performance, the Bal-Swing tour de force that is "The Maharaja" - via theRiz on Yehoodi

out of town and traveling?

stockdancer — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:07:53 -0400

I wonder if this group should include chicago folks traveling to other places as well?

Groupon for Jan 15th lePercolateur show and CD - $10

jamais716 — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:43:19 -0500

No idea what the venue is like and if there's space for dancing, but thought folks might be interested

$10 for a Concert Outing to See lePercolateur with CD at Jazz Showcase on January 15 at 8 p.m. (Up to $25 Value)
http://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-lepercolateur?utm_campaign=UserReferral&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uu54479

introducing some non-traditional swing dance music to our same-old same-old

Helen — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:28:48 -0500

This train of thought is a spin-off from the thread on electro-swing music. I recently had some conversations with non-swing dancing friends of mine about "what kind of music we dance to", and it made me realize that, for the most part, we get into certain grooves with regards to what music is played at socials. 20s/30s swing, some big band, ella/louis/benny, etc. It's all kind of the same after a while. Rarely, someone tosses in some rockabilly or something a bit newer.

I understand that everyone loves dancing to music they recognize, but I wonder if we'd expand our creativity as well as draw in a wider audience if we started exploring some...different music to dance to. For example, I'm a big fan of blues dancing to groovy stuff from Daft Punk (http://grooveshark.com/s/Something+About+Us/2gRkp2?src=5) or Maroon 5 (http://grooveshark.com/s/Secret/3hZAQ0?src=5). I love dancing to Billy Joel's Only the Good Die Young (http://grooveshark.com/s/Only+The+Good+Die+Young/4jSZWS?src=5). I wish somebody would play They Might Be Giants (http://grooveshark.com/s/Istanbul+Not+Constantinople+/1mN3NS?src=5). Oh and of course there's all that awesome electro-swing stuff.

I guess my point is, there's a lot of very danceable stuff out there that doesn't fall into the traditional swing dance music genre. I (and I know some of you others as well...*cough cough* Andy) think it's a lot of fun to dance to some new stuff every once in a while. It challenges me to move in different ways AND I think that non-swing dancers who maybe don't quite get into the 20s/30s/traditional stuff would be interested in swing if they saw that they could dance to Daft Punk or whatnot.

So, discuss (and don't hate)! And post playlists of your favorite non-traditional music to dance to!

Performance Classes at Big City Swing

Bob_DJThor_Bednarz — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:46:33 -0500

There are still some spots left in the performance classes at Big City Swing. Classes start soon! There are multiple levels available from Swing III/IV, Lindy III, and Lindy IV. There also may be some spots left in the group Women's or Men's Charleston classes.

If you want to improve your dancing, learn some cool tricks, perform in front of your peers at the annual Swinger's Ball, and have a blast...well and be cool...

Check out www.bigcityswing.com and sign up before it's too late!

Dancing Resolutions?

Geraly — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:19:41 -0500

i just read this list of dancing resolutions on the "lindy hop variations for followers" blog:

http://followervariations.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/dancing-highlight-of-2011-and-dancing-aims-for-2012/

and i wondered if anyone else had any dance resolutions... personally, i will try to get over being so shy and do my best to ask leads to dance. (oh crud, i wrote it down and everything.... eek. i can't take it back - it's out there!) and like the blog author, i think i would like to take beginner lessons again as a lead. :)

care to share your dancing resolutions?