Photo credit: John Jay Li. http://johnjayli.com/

The Indiana State University Swing Dance Club is hosting Sycamore Swing next month! Come to this event to enjoy an evening of swing dance – a high energy, vintage-style dance popular from the late 1920s to the ’50s.

When: April 13, 2013 – 8:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Beginner lesson at 8 p.m.
Open dance at 9 p.m.
Where: Dede II of the Hulman Memorial Student Union

Admission is FREE. No prior dance experience is required. Light refreshments will be provided.

Visit the event’s Facebook page for more information and to R.S.V.P.

About the ISU Swing Club

The idea of creating a swing dance club at Indiana State arose at a rather unlikely place. At a summer leadership program for a campus ministry, an ISU student unexpectedly got a taste of swing dance – and she was hooked.  Shannon Winklepleck, a senior speech pathology major, wanted to learn more of swing dance but found that her university offered no avenue to do so.  Winklepleck took matters into her own hands and created a place where she and other individuals could learn this retro dance. In the fall of 2011, Winklepleck teamed up with Caitlin Teague, a swing dance instructor, and founded the Indiana State University Swing Dance Club.

The ISU Swing Dance Club teaches several of the variations of swing dance including East Coast, Lindy Hop, and Charleston. Club membership is free and open to ISU students, faculty, and members of the Terre Haute community. Lessons are on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. in room B-92 of the ISU Arena during the school year.

1930′s teddy = full slip with built-in bloomers

One of my complaints, and one that I hear come up over and over, is that there are no really good slips being made, at least not ones that compare to vintage slips in terms of materials, function, and beauty. I always keep my eyes open at vintage stores for good slips – full, half, camisole, tap pants, whatever, just because the quality of these items is just far superior to anything I’ve purchased that was produced in my lifetime. But what if you didn’t have time to go to all the vintage stores?

If you need a gorgeous slip RIGHT NOW, The Slipperie on Etsy could be the answer. While the undergarments of yesteryear tend to be fairly plentiful, finding them all in one place can be difficult, and finding truly special ones (as with anything vintage) is even harder. I love that these beautiful undergarments are really meant to be worn, not just saved for special occasions. Add them to your dance wardrobe for a pop of color or lace with your twirl or swish (or other functions discussed in a prior post)…here’s what I love from the shop:

1960′s hot pink slip – 60′s slips are hella durable and generally have a good shape, details, and lace. I may or may not have confiscated a 60′s slip from my mother’s chest of drawers and never given it back…

Powder blue 1950′s pleated tap pants

If only more things were cut on the bias – so flattering and comfy, as this 30′s/40′s rayon slip probably is…

Tap pants with little bows – OMG

Another great 1960′s slip

Wednesday/Thursday

It started out a little rough. As excited as I was for the actual event, I was not looking forward to the twelve hour drive. I ended up getting sick and we had to stop for me to heave out whatever junk food I had eaten at the beginning.

We spent the night at another hotel Wednesday night and Thursday headed over bright and early so the Stricklands (who were working the event) could help set up. David and I were left to our own devices.

They were decorating!

Dah’ling, it’s a pleasure to be here.

Oh baby, the event hasn’t even started yet.

We weren’t allowed to check into the hotel until after three, so we found some couches and [I] worked on homework.

After we settled in and Sera (our third roommate) arrived, we ended up getting Five Guys for dinner (yum!) and returned to the hotel to ready for the first dance! (We ended up passing Skye Humphries, Frida Segerdahl and her baby on the way. I pretty much smiled at them like a creep and tugged on David’s sweatshirt the entire time. I’m so smooth.)

After discovering and getting over the fact that my mouth wash soaked half my clothes in my duffle bag, we got ready and headed down to the main dance hall.

It. Was. Amazing.

Just the caliber of the dancers was something to drool over! And then the instructors came out and I pretty much lost it! Steven Mitchell. Chazz Young. Sylvia Sykes. Peter Strom. Naomi Uyama. Skye and Frida (of course). Nick Williams. Laura Glaess. (I won’t bore you with more names, but it was seriously like that who’s who of the swing dance world.) I was pretty much in Lindy Hop Heaven!

The dance was interrupted once for some team performances. And there was one that completely stole my heart:

I saw one or two old faces, but mostly danced with new people. I had to force myself to go to bed at a reasonable time for tryouts on Friday.

Friday

These tryouts were challenging but not nearly as nerve wrecking as Lindy Focus.* The major difference was the tryouts started with solo charleston (following Mike and Laura). It was fun, but I was sweating before we even did one swing out!

Another thing that made it less stressful is that we were only trying out for Masters/Advanced levels. All the other levels were “place yourself”. Which I think added to the more easy atmosphere of Lindyfest. (Also, I wasn’t too worried about making it. I had danced with so many people that I had concluded I could be put in Beginner and still have fantastic lessons.)

And you weren’t just restricted to one level! You could attend any class below your level. And that really put less stress on the levels. In fact, the first day I barely took advanced classes. Instead I found myself following Skye and Frida’s classes.

Now, I’ve always been a fan ever since I saw their ILHC 2011 Classic Lindy routine (which won them first place). But to actually attend their classes! There have been times when I have attended classes by dancers I’ve admired via youtube and have been slightly disappointed. With Skye and Frida, if anything, I admire them even more.

They are FANTASTIC teachers. Honestly, if it’s an intro to beginners lesson, you should take their class and just notice how they’re able to teach rhythm, musicality AND vocabulary at once. Plus, Frida’s pretty much the cutest thing on two legs. She makes all these sound effects and then her Swedish accent makes it even more adorable!

I could probably gush and gush over them, but I won’t (this time). Instead I’ll just show you this picture:

Two Cute Blondes. ;)

and move on. :)

Friday night is probably going to go down as one of my favorite nights of dancing. I had so many amazing dances. Got in some awesome Solo Charleston jam circle. AND pretty much had one of the best compliments of my life!

After a totally awesome dance, my lead turns to his friend (who just happened to be near by) and said, “You HAVE to dance with her. She’s amazing!”

Almost a week and I’m STILL reeling from that!

*– A point in Lindyfest’s favor.

Saturday/Sunday

Saturday began with a Steven Mitchell Jazz Class. I just… I can’t. If you ever get to take a class by Steven Mitchell. Do it. He’ll make you work your ass off. But it will be good. He fixed my Susie Qs. Ah-maz-ing. (Not to mention I got to see Rebecca in a class setting. That was an experience.)

Between classes there was an Inside the Dancer’s Studio with Chazz Young, Steven Mitchell and Silvia Sykes. It was really amazing just to be in the same room as these greats and hear their stories. Steven’s made me cry. Sylvia’s made me laugh. Then at the end they did those quick fire questions at the end. It was clear none of them had really seen Inside the Actor’s Studio. But I have to say the best part was Sylvia saying “Fuck” multiple times.

(Right to Left) David, me, Rebecca, Michael

(Right to Left) Chazz Young, Steven Mitchell, Sylvia Sykes

I competed in my third Jack and Jill and made finals! I couldn’t believe it. (My number was 731, which for those of you not cool enough, is Harry Potter’s birthday. Coincidence? I think not!) At first I was crushed. We were scheduled to leave on Sunday around 3 p.m. and the finals weren’t until 5:30. But my wonderful friends agreed that we could stay for me to compete.

But until then I had some time to kill. And due to the mouthwash spill I was short one shirt. Peter Strom was selling shirts. I wore it on the last day and pretty much the best thing happened:

Uptown Swing in the House!

(There’s also a picture on Peter’s phone. Seriously, we’re like BFFs now.) You can order these shirts here.

I was nervous as hell for the J&J finals. I was glad we didn’t have to do spotlights. I still can’t watch the video of myself dancing, but feel free to enjoy!

(I’m the one in the yellow top around 3:20.)

The ride home was long and we did not return back home until 7:30 in the morning. Luckily I was still so hyped up over the weekend I was the one able to stay up with the driver. We talked about the weekend, about teaching, about performing, about Jack and Jills, about the qualities of a “best friend”*.

The next day was interesting as I had never pulled an all nighter before.

But those are thoughts for another post. All I have to say was that my last spring break as an undergrad was truly magical. I hope go back to Lindyfest (and more importantly, dance with all the amazing leads again)!

* — I came up with four: sharing, trust, and I can’t remember the other two.

XOXO,

N

I love west coast swing dance and often attend social dances in the Tampa Bay area. One of the great social dances is Floorplay, and this night, the amazing dancers, Kris Swearingen and Rebecca Ludwick, did a spotlight dance performance.

All you need to know is in the title – looking for an inexpensive pair of dance shoes? This is it! Grab these white Aris Allen wingtips, worn once, at this great price!

YG VIDEO from Ardent Zephyr on Vimeo.

This was a video my group and I made for Color Theory class.  The assignment was to prepare a pitch to the  Fifty Shades of Grey Corporation who are looking to adopt a color of their own.  My group’s color was yellow-green (Chartreuse being a variation of yellow-green).  Our idea was to portray yellow-green as fun, youthful and a color that inspires growth in an individual.

This is how I want my dancing to be.

Found and promptly stolen from dogpossum. Thank you!

We have come across many dance forms which inspired you to focus on the dancer inside you. Swing dancing is a form of dance which requires a dance partner. This is a step further to finding the dancer inside yourself as now you also have to acknowledge and work with another dancer.

Johanna Mossling goes on a mission to observe the action and movement put into a dance form called Swing dance where she discovers the passion of many dancers.

Guest Post-

Feeling gloomy and tired? Swing dance may be the cure for your winter despair. Dance teacher Luke Hatfield talks about the benefits of social dancing. Johanna Mossling reports

Wednesday night in Dalston. In recent years known as the playground for the young, hip and trendy migrating from Shoreditch to dance their weekends away in dark basements around the junction. Most bars on Kingsland Road are still recovering from last weekend’s escapades but behind an inconspicuous grey door just off the main road, people are dancing like it was Saturday night.

In the crowded downstairs studio couples are vividly moving over the dance floor under the supervision of dance teacher Luke Hatfield, 25. The style being taught tonight is 30s Charleston belonging to the broader definition of dances known as swing. ”Swing dancing is a collection of dances that evolved from the jazz era of the 1920s where Charleston was predominantly danced. It is commonly known as Lindy Hop, which is an umbrella term for swing, 1920s & 1930s Charleston dances as well as others. Lindy Hop was danced in the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem during the 1930s & 1940s where live bands would play daily for the hundreds of dancers,” explains Hatfield.

Far away from 1930s Harlem, swing dance has come alive in London with the help of Swing Patrol. Hatfield and his colleagues are teaching 40 classes spread over 17 venues in the city each week.

Hatfield who is celebrating his second year of dancing this month got into Lindy Hop through his interest in vintage clothing. ”I had always liked the clothing and music from the 1940s and 1950s. The smart suits of the 40s and the relaxed look of the 50s and the quiffs really appealed to me so I started to vintage sales and boutiques for the clobber. At these stores there were flyers for retro club nights in London so I started going to these clubs.”

As a lanky teenager, Hatfield never felt comfortable moving his body to music. Even after a few drinks at nightclubs, dancing was hell. ”This being the case I never even thought I would take lessons as I knew I couldn’t dance. It was only after a flyer for Swing Patrol came through my door at work that a colleague said I should do it.”

”I remember seeing couples dancing Lindy and I couldn’t take my eyes of them. I felt excited just watching them but also incredibly envious that I wouldn’t know what to do if I were to jump in there with them,” says Hatfield.

His first reaction the enchanting dance is fully understandable. Seeing the dynamic choreography, watching lively couples executing wild moves on the dance floor truly is a sensation. But I can’t help but to feel intimidated. And honestly, having two left feet won’t help me in this situation.

As soon as I get on to the dance floor my nervousness magically disappears. There is simply no time for it. After half an hour I am actually able to follow the choreography. Spins included. And most importantly, it is a lot of fun!

After a sweaty hour in the studio, anyone interested in testing their new moves are welcome to come upstairs and swing to live jazz in the bar. The band consisting of five men in their twenties dressed up in vintage attire are making the floor tremble as swing dancers are moving to the rhythm of the music. Although I am not ready to enter the dance floor just yet, it is bliss to watch the dancers.

The demographics on the dance floor are striking. A man in his late seventies wearing a full zoot suit and fedora is showing of his footwork with a woman half his age. He looks as if he has been her since it was cool the first time around. Around them, the floor is crowded with middle-aged men in chinos and buttoned down shirts, women with tied back hair and 30s style dresses all mixed up with the usual Dalston crowd in quirky vintage outfits and bleached ends of hair.

By the bar, a group of friends in their early twenties are having beers and chatting away. ”I’ve been to three classes so far and I love it! Even if I’m having a shit day the classes makes me happy again. It is wonderful,” says barista Liv Bossuyt, 20.

She hasn’t dared to try her moves on the upstairs dance floor yet but can’t wait to do so. ”Hopefully after a few more classes I will be able to go up there and just go for it. Being able to accomplish that would be an enormous confident boost as I’m not that much of a dancer.”

”I would say that within six months you can be dancing confidently and going out social dancing. Having said that after just a one-hour lesson it’s possible to have the basic steps and three moves. Depending on how much you enjoy it, depends how quickly you get better,” says Hatfield. For him it took just one year to be confident enough to go out social dancing.

Wednesdays at Passing Clouds is an evening of reinvention. ”Normal people are transformed. It is so sexy to dance swing. You feel good about yourself,” proclaims Bossuyt casting a glance over the room. The dancers are oozing with confidence and charisma once they get up on the dance floor. Indifferent of age, occupation and life situation you are encouraged to get into the swing and no one will judge you. 

For Hatfield, starting to dance swing has been life changing. He has developed from a gangling teen to a confident swing dancer able to sweep his partners away on the dance floor. ”I have been dancing for exactly two years this month. Its been an amazing two years and it has honestly changed my life for the better.” 

However once in awhile when I am DJing at a swing dance and people say to me or do things that make me just question things such as “Why are you at this dance?” or “Have you been drinking?”.  Without further ado…

1. Asking For Free Music

Once in awhile someone will come up to me and asked me what song I played, which I don’t mind at all. If I have the time I might go into detail what different musicians are in that band and a good place to find the song to purchase. However occasionally as a followup I will have people ask me for the song, or even worse a bunch of music. Manu Smith on Yehoodi’s Swing Nation actually mentioned almost the exact same reasons why this really irks me as a DJ.

The main reason this annoys me is the majority of the time the requests are for newer bands like Gordon Webster. These guys work hard and spend a lot of time to create this amazing music. In many cases I personally have met some of these musicians and actually attended the live recordings of the CDs they produce. For them it is a full time job that creates so much value for our community. For a person to not throw a dollar or two to just download the song online somewhere for all the effort they put in? Not cool.

2. Bad Requests

The running joke that I have for myself as a DJ is that my slogan is, “Requests will be met with loathing and disdain”. While I fully admit I sometimes have borderline pretentiousness in relation to music that rivals the record shop employees from the movie High Fidelity, sometimes I get requests that would make even the most open minded swing dancer go “What…?”.

There are definitely tiers of bad requests, with the the worst tier being music that is completely inappropriate for any kind of partnered dancing. I have had requests for electronica music, hip hop, and believe it or not Mambo No. 5 by Lou Bega. Followed by that is music that are for dances that are not swing dancing such as Salsa, Waltz, and et cetera. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against other dances but if you pay to attend an event advertised as a swing dance and I was hired or requested to DJ at a swing dance… it shouldn’t be too surprising that I am only going to play swing dance music. Lastly is your typical neo-swing requests such as “Zoot Suit Riot”, cliche requests such as “Sing Sing Sing”, or the new electro-swing craze that has been going around.

Regardless this is often how I feel in response to some of the particularly bad requests:

3. Telling Me I Haven’t Been Playing X Type Of Music… And Being Completely Wrong

I’ve luckily only had this happen maybe two or three times. Fun fact, when I DJ my laptop keeps track of which songs I played so far. Typically the conversation goes like this:

Random Dancer: “Hey you haven’t played any songs in the medium tempo range.”

Me: “Medium is a subjective term, what do you mean? Like what BPM (Beats Per Minute) or can you give me an example of a song that you’d define as medium tempo?”

Random Dancer: “You know like that one song about cake.”

Me: “I actually DJed ‘I Like Pie I Like Cake’ by the Four Clefs about an hour ago, you can see it right here.”

Random Dance: “Yeah… can you play more stuff like that.”

Me: ”Sure…”

The lesson here is if you haven’t been listening to the music in a DJs set… giving them advice on it is probably not the best idea.

Summary

I’d like to reiterate that DJing is awesome fun and 99% of the time I am having a blast and feeding off the energy of a crowd. Just once in awhile I have those moments of, “Seriously?”. Other DJs or event attendees, I would love to hear your horror stories as well.

Then S. turned into a teenager, and before long, she was no longer content with our own stylistic gyrations.  She wanted to learn how to swing dance and shimmy to the salsa.  At age 16, she was old enough to take adult dance classes at the local recreation center.  There, the swing classes required partners, and I agreed to be hers.  The idea of the two of us taking lessons made us giggle — but not for long.

When I turned in our registration, I learned that we could not sign up together.  When I asked why, the clerk said, “Because you’re the same sex.” She also suggested others might be offended by my niece and I dancing hand-in-hand.

I was stunned but only momentarily because civil rights issues fire my blood more quickly than any Latin dance.  As my FB friends know, I’m quick to jump on a soapbox.  I pointed out that our country was nearing the dawn of a new millennium: that the center was a public facility funded by tax dollars: and that laws prevented such discrimination!

Still, the woman insisted it was the policy.  Understanding she was the messenger, I asked her to pass on my comments, which she did.

A week later I heard my concern had been sent to the city attorney’s office.  I was thrilled, sure that soon my niece and I would learn how to dance to the sounds of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy without knocking into each other, and, in doing so, she would benefit from a real life civics lesson.  My heart swelled.  I, her old auntie, would have a hand in creating an activist for equal rights.

Two weeks later, the clerk called to give us the okay.  She didn’t sound too happy, and I wondered if she had no niece or daughter of her own.

Maybe I should have thanked her and hung up, but I REALLY couldn’t.  This was about more than S. and me.  “So,” I said, “what if two guys come in tomorrow to sign up?  Will you let them in the class?”  There was a moment of silence not unlike the kind at a funeral service, the way it lingered before she said, “We don’t have any choice.”

The rest of the day I kept watch on the clock, waiting for S. to arrive home from school.  At 4:40 p.m., I called her.

“Great news!” I said.  “ We’re in.”

“What happened?”  I detected excitement in her voice.  My own little Bella Abzug.

“They had to let us in. They can’t discriminate.”

“Oh,” S. said, now sounding a bit dejected.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well,” she paused, “I thought you were going to say they’d found us some cute guys.”

But this story, like so many of mine, doesn’t end so quickly.

Our teacher, a skinny platinum blonde with hurricane hair, segregated us from the group and sent us to a corner.  When the other dancers changed partners, we were not included.  But at some point they all cut eyes our way, watching S., fired up by her love of dance, push and pull and spin me as I hung on for my life.

Afterwards, an old friend and his wife asked why we were not allowed to participate with the rest of the class, a group that seemed too somber to enjoy dancing.  Before I could answer, S. said, “The teacher thinks we have cooties.”

In the following weeks, others we knew only by sight asked, too.

Then, on the last night my friend told the instructor that everyone wanted to dance with S. and me.

“Is that true?” she asked, her mood soured by the request.  They all nodded.

She started the music, and when she turned to us, no one stood with his or her partner.  The Spanish couple had broken apart. So had the African American one.  Two women had paired up and didn’t seem the least bit put off by holding hands.  S. danced with most of the group, including a man whose age totaled that of three 16-year-old boys, and I danced with my friend, his wife and others.

And, that night, we all laughed and danced, no longer minding if our moves were smooth or steps in time. All inhibitions were surrendered as we became grown-up teenagers who just wanted to share the joys of dance with a 16-year-old girl.

Now I’m forced to enviously watch the folks in the movies who can glide around the floor doing the waltz or the foxtrot. And I find myself really green with envy over the people who can throw each other in the air and get down with their bad selves as they swing dance. Here I am doing the grapevine, and they’re having fun with the big bands.

If you’ve ever been jealous of people who can dance, now is your chance to learn. Believe me, I have searched through various dance studios in Los Angeles – let me rephrase that – cheap dance studios in Los Angeles – but I haven’t had a lot of luck. Either the LA dance lessons that I find are for things I’m not interested in (tap, ballet, jazz, hip-hop) or they are too expensive. 

Plus, I already know that I’m a total putz and I will probably never have the grace and flair that I need to win any ballroom dancing contests. I just kept going back to this time when I was going to the University of Northern Iowa and my friends and I found a local coffee shop that had an evening where they gave an hour-long swing dance “crash course” and then had a dance for the rest of the night. Were we very good? Eh. We got the basic moves down. Did we have fun? Heck yes!

So you can imagine how excited I was when I found out that a dance studio city of Pasadena actually hosts something similar! Every Saturday night, you can visit the Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association and get free dance instruction (from 7:30pm to 8pm) followed by 3.5 hours of getting your dance on! Live music is featured every week (this Saturday the 9th features Mark Tortorici’s Hollywood Combo with guest, Rockin’ Raffi – an 11 year-old piano prodigy from France). The PBDA also provides refreshments and door prizes. Admission is $15.

If swing isn’t your thing, this Friday night (the 8th), the PBDA is hosting an “Evening of Ballroom Dancing” which will feature a freestyle-foxtrot lesson from 7:30pm to 8pm followed by 2 hours of dancing to an assortment of ballroom music. Cost is only $10.

But just remember…it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing! Happy dancing!

763 views.

855 views.

939 views and three comments! Five if you include my comments.

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114 views and two comments!

I’m not going to try to become famous on youtube until next year. This year…I should just focus on my education. And my blog. Yeah.

I heard splendid music from Carl Sonny Leyland in a solo set full of his originals; I encountered Ivory and Gold for the first time, although I have known Jeff and Anne Barnhart — wonderful variety of sounds; their characteristic wit; a great presentation.  The Allan Vache – John Cocuzzi – John Sheridan – Paul Keller – Ed Metz group rocked (a highlight was an extended IN A MELLOTONE); the splendid singer Dawn Lambeth appeared with a number of bands and made us feel better and better as she sang; Marc Caparone appeared as a guest star with High Sierra — his teamwork with Bryan Shaw is astonishing; Jim Fryer had a rare and delightful solo set; the Reynolds Brothers with Clint Baker caused seismic shifts of the most rewarding kind.  Howard Miyata was crowned Musician of the Year 2013 in a ceremony both goofy and touching, and his nephews Gordon, Justin, and Brandon swung out with the noble help of Katie Cavera and Danny Coots.

And I know other attendees had their own version of an exquisite weekend while listening to all the other bands and soloists on the program.

Did you miss it?  Were you being wisely frugal?  Did it pass you by?  Don’t despair: a 2014 Jazz Bash by the Bay is solidly in the works, with these artists and more — Becky Kilgore, Dan Barrett, Paolo Alderighi, the Reynolds Brothers, Eddie Erickson, Bob Draga, the Au Brothers, High Sierra, Bob Schulz’ Frisco Jazz Band, Danny Coots, Phil Flanigan, Stephanie Trick, Sue Kroninger, Carl Sonny Leyland, High Sierra, Crown Syncopators, and more.  (And without being too didactic, I will point out that these enterprises rely on your tangible support — financial / physical — or they evaporate.  Look around for the sad evidence.)

It will be held March 7-8-9, 2014.  You may call 831.675.0298 or visit here for more information.  I will provide updates as I know them.

On to a related subject.  You are encountering JAZZ LIVES through a computer, an iPad, a phone or some other electronic gizmo.  And probably you think nothing of it.  But for other members of the jazz community, this is a terrifying kind of esoterica.

I met several charming ladies of a certain age (one doesn’t ask) at the Bash who told me that they were pining away for want of gallant male swains with whom to dance.  In each case, the ladies had been happily married for a long time; their husbands had died.  And unattached men seem not only fragile but in short supply.  So — if you are a single fellow out there, with or without two-tone shoes, and you can dance, there are willing partners a-plenty at these festivals.

The second part of my thinking goes back to our easy reliance on technology.  Since I have had a life-changing experience on Craigslist (of the best sort), I said to each of the damsels, “Do you have a computer?”  No.  One had a computer but her son used it and she had no idea how to on her own.  In each case, it was as if I had asked, “Do you know how to speak Sanskrit?”  I was all ready to say, “I know there are music-loving men of your generation who would be happy to dance with you — you could go to STRICTLY PLATONIC or ACTIVITY PARTNERS (whatever it is now called) on Craigslist — and gratifying things would happen.” But no.

So, I propose this as a generous act for a segment of the JAZZ LIVES readership. If you know someone, Auntie or Grandma or the Lady Two Houses Down, and she loves to dance . . . either help her out on your computer OR show her how to operate one.  I think this would be an act of deep swinging charity.  I know that people say, “Oh, no!  I don’t go on the computer!  I could get killed!  I could get my identity stolen!”  These fears have some basis in reality, I admit . . . but going to your grave without a partner is, to me, a sorrowful idea.

May your happiness increase.

Dr. Lodge McCammon and soon-to-be-Dr. Brandy Parker joined my classes at The Lindy Lab about 3 months ago. Lodge is an educational expert who helps teachers flip their classroom and introduce the idea of Reflective Practice to student’s learning skills. The essential idea is to tape yourself performing the skill or talking about the material you are studying and then review the tape of yourself to connect with your own progress.

3 Weeks

Lodge and Brandy started with one Lindy class on their first week and were pretty much hooked from the get-go. Lodge has described it to me as finding something he feels like he should have been doing all his life. After the first week, they upgraded to an unlimited class package and were practicing, like most beginning dance students, based on feel alone and occasionally going dance.  After 3 weeks of that and a total of 13.5 classroom hours, they decided to tape themselves for the first time and posted this video:

It was after this first taping that they realized that Lodge’s work with flipped classrooms and reflective practice could be applied to their dancing as well.  Following the taping of this first video, they began spending more of their practice time taping and reviewing their dancing.  Lodge has said that this taping was actually a great tool for building confidence as he found his taped dancing looked a lot better than he would have expected it to.

6 Weeks

A few more weeks passed and we were into the Christmas break.  Lodge and Brandy were stoked to keep learning so we switched to doing a couple of private lessons to bridge the gap until January classes.  At their request, we taped the entirety of each private lesson and Lodge and Brandy would review the lesson later, practice a bit, then send me a video talking about what they were working on before the next private lesson (Click here for an example recap video).  They have both commented that these videos were extremely helpful, noting that they often picked up some major concepts from rewatching the videos that had not landed for them during the lessons.

After a few more weeks of dancing and about 5 hours of private lessons, Lodge and Brandy recorded and posted the following video, dancing to a tune they wrote and recorded by themselves.

For a difference of 3 weeks, the shifts in fluidity and energy are pretty impressive.  They also changed where they were dancing because we figured out that Lodge was originally ducking his head a lot to avoid hitting the ceiling fan in the middle of the room.  My favorite thing about this video is that at 6 weeks, Lodge and Brandy’s own creativity and personality are already coming out in their dancing.  The choreographed break away parts are things I hadn’t taught them, so it’s awesome to see them already starting to show off their own ideas.

At this point, Lodge and Brandy asked me to add that teaching style has had a lot to do with their ability to integrate reflective practice into the growth of their dancing.  In the past year or so, I have focused classes on first principles of motion with an emphasis on encouraging creativity, musicality, and general experimentation with one’s own motion.  Lodge and Brandy both feel that emphasis on creativity and personal experimentation have helped a great deal in inspiring them to move forward in their dancing and to try mixing in their own educational models.

10 Weeks

January group classes were a bit more Charleston heavy and Lodge and Brandy took everything again.  They also had one extra private lesson with me and one from Nelle Cherry while she was in town.  At this point, they’d taken on a lot of information and were spending more time on integrating, so towards the end of 10 weeks they were starting to slow down on classes and ease up on practicing a bit.  At about the 10 week mark, they recorded another original song and posted this video:

I think it’s best to let the last video speak for itself.  Especially in comparison from Week 3 to Week 10, the difference is really impressive.  Working with Lodge and Brandy has inspired me to start taping myself again and to get a camcorder setup for the dance studio to make this kind of practicing available to other students.  If you are interested in learning more about Lodge’s work on education and practice, check him out on facebook at FIZZ Education.

Now, anyone who knows me knows I hate dirty hippies. But this is pretty frickin’ rad and super inspiring.

Lindy hop needs more inspirational and share-able videos like this one, who’s on it?

Atomic Ballroom

Located in Southern California, Atomic Ballroom clearly defines it’s market segment in it’s mission statement on their website,

ATOMIC Ballroom’s mission is to create a dance community of all ages in Orange County by providing affordable, high-quality social dance instruction and events, where people will feel welcome and safe to learn the skill of dancing and to socialize with others who also value that skill.

It’s easy to infer from that statement that they have created a segment of individuals who prefer a family friendly and welcoming atmosphere in the Orange County area. This is important because they have zeroed in on a reasonable geographic location to draw their customer base for a local venue. In addition they have appealed to the type of customer that wants a safe place that they can bring their entire family along whether that be their children or mother/father.

Mobtown Ballroom

Located in the lovely town known as Charm City a.k.a. Baltimore, Mobtown Ballroom takes a decidedly different approach in defining it’s market segment. Here is a snippet of their manifesto from their website,

WE LIKE OUR FUN TO BE ADULT.

This isn’t as dirty as it sounds. People spend most of their time in censorious environments (like work or school), trying to appear well-mannered and bland. That’s what the day is for. Come to our evening programming and you can hoot and hollar at sexy performances, dance dirtier than Patrick Swayze, have an incredibly strong drink at the Calypso Cafe down the road, or contemplate our stained-glass windows and pray. It’s grown up time, and a dash of benign anarchy helps take the edge off the work week.

In contrast to the previous business takes the contrasting approach of segmenting their market to target individuals who want to let loose and have fun in a non-judgmental environment. A dash of excitement from the monotony of normal life is what they are trying to provide. In addition they write,

We don’t care about your politics, your race, your sexual orientation, your religion, or anything else, and we don’t tolerate any kind of harassment. Whoever you are or wherever you’re from, if you want to dance, you’re in the right place.

Mobtown also segments their market by promoting they are a safe and welcome environment for all walks of life and will not tolerate any individuals who attempt to endanger that. As an aside, kudos for doing this Baltimore and I wish more venues would make this information public and crystal clear.

Stompology

Located in Rochester, New York the event known as Stompology segments their market by providing a service that addresses a niche part of the swing dancing community. As their website has listed,

Stompology, approaching its eighth year, is the first dance weekend devoted entirely to authentic jazz, Charleston, and solo movement.

Back in 2006, Groove Juice Swing saw that many workshops and camps were beginning to add solo-style material to their curriculum, and figured a weekend dedicated to just that type of thing would be right up the alleys of Lindy Hoppers and any students of historical jazz dance.

And we were right… eight years later, Stompology is still going strong! We’re more excited than ever about this year’s event and we’re looking forward to having you join us.

They saw a need that was not addressed in the swing dance community and created an event to provide a service to address it. If this isn’t an example of segmenting within the swing dance community, I don’t know what is.

In addition while they may not officially promote this but Stompology has a reputation for being a fun event. This allows the event to attract customers in the swing dance community who are looking for a fun time. As this video by Alain Wong shows, they do indeed deliver on that.

NOLA Girl Jam

Based out of New Orleans, Louisiana the event NOLA Girl Jam in a similar vein to Stompology segments their market by targeting a certain portion of the swing dancing community. As written on the event website,

Girl Jam celebrates women’s artistic achievements in traditional jazz music and dance with the intention of inspiring today’s jazz-loving female artists in a supportive, collective learning environment.

The focus on communication between jazz musicians and jazz dancers is a fundamental aspect of the jazz tradition, and this is what Girl Jam aims to foster in a welcoming, communal atmosphere for women of all ages and ability levels.

The 3 day festival is packed full of community activities for both men and women to explore the the history of the female voice in American jazz culture and to interact with and be entertained by those continuing the traditions today.

While I personally believe in the last four years the way teachers approach classes have been getting more toward giving follows better guidance besides “simply follow”, I would argue that many classes are taught with a lead-centric view. This event like other Girl Jam events provides the service of offering follow-centric classes which are a rarity in the swing dance community.

Summary

In short good market segmentation is finding a need within the community (in this case swing dancing) is not being addressed and figure out a feasible way to be the business that provides it. All the scenes and events above I believe do an excellent job at this. If you know any scenes or events who fit this bill, I encourage you to post about it in the comments below!

“relax”

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“Relax”

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“RELAX”

I cringed a little watching this exchange between a massage therapist and a client. The massage therapist was trying to get her client to release tension in her arm. The woman on the table was having trouble relaxing and the massage therapist was becoming frustrated by the client’s lack of response. The client, not too surprisingly, seemed less and less relaxed as the therapist became louder and more insistent.

I have seen similar situations play out in dance classes where well-meaning instructors have created traumatic situations for students by pushing them to relax. I have talked to students who were reduced to tears after a private lesson where they were just told over and over to relax. And I recently had a student who really needed to relax thank me for finding more active release-oriented ways to cue her because a previous ballroom teacher had essentially beaten her over the head with the word “relax” to the point where she hated/feared hearing it.

“Relax” can be an extremely difficult instruction to execute. It seems a great many instructors, students, and people in general don’t have alternative strategies to try when “relax” isn’t effective. So when “relax” doesn’t work, they don’t have a backup wording and just keep saying the same thing that didn’t work the first time. Then they go on repeating “relax” like a mantra until they give up or manage or contort themselves into something that looks close enough that they can move on.

What makes “relax” so hard?

For starters, context. People typically get told to relax in situations where they are already tense, meaning they are under some sort of stress or sense of danger. Telling someone to relax in such a situation is essentially asking them to turn off a defense mechanism when they feel threatened. Frequently, people who are tense because of some fear of judgement end up tensing even more when told to relax because they fear being unable to comply and being judged further.

Relax is also a fairly complex concept, when you think about it. Not only does it involve a change in physical state, but also a mental/emotional shift. And for relaxing to make sense to your nervous system, you need to view your current surroundings as non-threatening. If any of these tensions are habitual, it can even be difficult to tell that you are tense in the first place. With all these factors involved, relax becomes more a state of being than a simple action.

Many people seem to conceptualize relax as the absence of doing something. In the US, the tendency to fill our lives with doing things can make the idea of relaxing seem to equal doing nothing or even being viewed as a negative. Rather than viewing relaxation as a lack of doing, it can be far more productive to approach it as an active releasing of tension. The following few ways can help you to physically and mentally achieve relaxation more effectively than just thinking “relax.”

Breathe

One of my first cues anytime I find myself tense is to extend my breathing. Taking a longer breath, and particularly a longer exhale, activates the relaxation response. Under the sort of duress that causes tension, most of us will shorten or even hold our breath, reinforcing the tension. Deep, slow breathing helps to settle the nervous system and bring it back to a state of ease, leading the muscles to relax without direct, conscious effort.

You can also direct breath towards particular areas that need help relaxing. Shoulder tense? Try focusing on the area in your chest near that shoulder and imagine directing your breath to it. The expansion of the lungs is a great way to passively expand muscle groups and give them more space to settle into more comfortable and relaxed positions.

Think Down

The body responds much better to simple directional ideas than it does to complex concepts like “relax.” The end goal of relaxing can often be achieved by thinking about letting the arms (or whatever body part) sink down.

In many dance contexts I’ve seen teachers repeatedly asking students to relax their arms, often with minimal to moderate success. Often, this arm tension is based on the idea that someone needs to hold their own arms up. So a great deal of tension is a result of fighting gravity to keep the arms at some specific height. By thinking about allowing the arms to sink down, the body can surrender to the effects of gravity and work with it, rather than constantly fighting it. I often use the idea of melting like candle wax to enhance this effect in relaxing. Because a relaxed arm will more effectively transfer motion, this sort of release is integral to creating natural connection in dancing.

I see the same effect on my Rolfing^® table where many people’s bodies tense away from the table almost as if they could levitate themselves by sheer force of will. When I prompt them to recognize that the table can support their weight and to let themselves sink into that support, their bodies relax and their mental state follows suit shortly after. In standing, a similar effect is achievable by becoming aware of the bones in your body and allowing weight to carry through bones rather than be held up by muscle.

Tense & Release

One of the more counter-intuitive moves for relaxation is to tense up first. Most of us, when told to relax, will aim to go directly towards some sort of relaxing attempt. However, it can end up more effective to tense muscles first, hold that tension for a few seconds, and then allow them to relax. In essence, taking yourself into greater tension allows for a better release.

Because many of us carry constant tensions, it can be easy for the brain to begin filtering out these sensations. I often hear people remark that they had no idea they were tense in so many places. By creating a conscious tension in the muscle first, the difference between tense and relaxed can become more apparent, which helps you feel yourself relax. This technique is also used by some physical therapists, terming it Progressive Muscle Relaxation, to treat general anxiety issues.

The 3 ideas above are just starter ideas, feel free to modify them or come up with your own. The more tools you have, the more you can help someone else relax or have options to try when someone tells you to relax.

In any case, keep in mind that attempting to produce a relaxed state involves physical, mental, and emotional aspects. Shifting any one aspect can help to shift the whole.  So when you are having trouble relaxing, focus on a simpler version of it, releasing a part of the body, slowing your breathing, calming your thoughts, instead of trying to do everything at once. And just like working out a muscle, the more you work with these ideas, the stronger they become and the more readily they will help you to achieve relaxation.

On Saturday, March 2, 2013, the Mint Julep Jazz Band will be back at the Murphey School for a swing dance, hosted by the Triangle Swing Dance Society. TSDS is also hosting a day of swing dance workshops that Saturday called Localpalooza, which features many of the local swing dance instructors teaching a range of classes for all levels. If you are interested in learning how to dance, this would be a great beginner crash course! If you already know how to dance, there’s a little something for everyone – information on the workshops can be found on the Triangle Swing Dance Society website.

MJJB at the TSDS dance on December 1, 2012

As for the dance, we’ll see you at the Murphey School!

Murphey School
3717 Murphy School Road
Durham, NC 27705

Free beginner lesson at 7:00 p.m.

Band plays from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Admission: Members/students $8.00, non-members $12.00