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‘Dancers’ Category

  1. The Ball & Chain – Tearing Up The Dancefloor

    May 1, 2012 by Jo

    Another reason to love Lithuania and the people from it.

    Love the sound, the clothes, the hair, and the dancing! Hopefully I can get the full scoop when I’m visiting Lithuania in a few weeks. :D

    Category Dancers, Musings | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  2. Camp Swing It 2012 – looking into the lights

    April 11, 2012 by Jo

    Last weekend Kevin and I were in Seoul, South Korea and had one of those weekends that I’ll never forget. As per usual we were treated exceptionally well, over fed, translated, inspired, and supplied with Soju. What put this weekend on the top of my list were the performances. I was on a “performance high” during the weekend, and now having watched the videos, I’m getting to relive it.

    The teachers performed both Friday and Saturday night. Due to the large number of choreography competition on Saturday, the teachers felt it was best to show their lindy hop numbers on Friday and cabaret numbers on Saturday.

    Friday Line Up:

    Juan & Sharon, Tommy & Alice, Kevin & Jo, William & Maeva, and the Fantastic Four (that’s not really the name, but I don’t have a better one. Suggestions?)

    Friday Night

    HAhahha!! Did you make it to the end and see BB bounce around while cheering?! Perhaps that is my favorite part!

    So why was this performance so special? The audience! Good heavens, when Kevin and I were introduced, it sounded like the crowd went bananas. It was …… touching, and surprising, and heartwarming. Even now, trying to put words to the swells of happiness that rushed over me….. nothing I can write will do it justice. It was ineffable. (Regardless, I will continue. *smile) As we hit our “ready position”, I couldn’t see anything because of the spotlights.

    As I looked into the blinding darkness, the crowd continued to cheer. It was an awesome experience not being able to see anything, but hear everything. After hushing them so we could start, Kevin and I danced, and we danced well. As we finished the routine, the crowd erupted again! Gaaaah!!! THIS is what a performer lives for – the roar of the crowd, the cheers, the applause, the noise, and the joy of doing what you love! If I hadn’t felt like I had “made it” before, the experience of performing for the crowd at CSI 2012 put me over the moon.

    I watched the video of the performance and it doesn’t do it justice. The crowd was so much more than what was captured on film. Even though we were performing in an enormous space, the audience still managed to fill the room with their energy and appreciation. I am not sure if the other performers felt the same way I did, but I certainly hope so. So CSI 2012…..thank you for being apart of a performance I will always remember.

    Saturday Night Line Up:

    Tap, Jo & Alice, Three Boys, Sharon, and the Ninjammerz.

    GAAAAHHHH!!!! I’m thrilled! Alice worked her booty off to learn this routine and I think she was freaking amazing! We. Were. Fabulous.

    Originally, Alice started learning this routine off of the video of me performing this solo at Lindy Focus. I then sent her a video breakdown of the first half of the routine, and then again with more detail a week before the event. I don’t know how much time she was able to put in to learning it prior to seeing me – I know it was fewer hours than I put into it originally – but when we first checked in with each other, she solidly had the outline of the routine. We rehearsed for 3 hours on Thursday at a dance studio, an hour on Friday to check the floor, and on Saturday we got an additional hour to rehearse with mirrors. Holy cow, our lines were really together!! I was thrilled.

    Costuming: Alice had gone shopping on Thursday and bought a LBD for the performance. On Friday, I went to the same shop and bought the same dress. Not only that, but Alice had black gloves on her, and as fate would have it, Maeva had a matching pair on her. Luckily I remember to bring garters, stocking, and fascinators for us (this might seem like a given, however, I somehow managed to forget a quarter of the things I should have brought with me). Goodness! Everything fell into place…more than I could have hoped for.

    Back to the performance. As I described above, the crowd was marvelous. While performing, I rarely hear the crowd because I am so focused on the music, so I didn’t hear them until the end; however, as I watched the video, I was delighted with how the crowd “oooh-ed” and “aaaah-ed”. Oh Korea, how I love thee.

    So there you have it. Enjoy!!

    Category Dancers, Events | Tags: ,,,,, | 3 Comments

  3. 920 Open House – Performances

    April 9, 2012 by Jo

    Throughout February and March, Kevin and I created two separate routines for students at Wednesday Night Hop and the 920 Special. The goal of the classes was to perform the routine at 920′s annual Open House, battle for Lindy Hop World Domination, to the cheers and adoration of hundreds of friends, family, visitors, and to inspire our dancing community. For most of the students, this was there first-ever performance. Not only that, but many of them have been dancing less than three years!!

    What a fabulous job everyone did on Thursday night! To all the students: Thank you for hanging in there. Thank you for believing in yourself and sticking with you. Thank you for rehearsing and coming prepared. Thank you for your dedication, kind words, for serving as an inspiration to Kevin and me, and for adding to the lindy hop legacy.

    Performances (in order of appearance)

    The Careless Lindy Hoppers

    The song is Viper Mad, by Rhythm Junkies, an amazing jazz band from Seattle!
    http://thecarelesslovers.com/

    Kevin & Jo

    920 Vipers

    Can you believe that these performers are ALL STUDENTS! About half of them have been Lindy Hopping for less than one year, and for most of them this is their FIRST-EVER PERFORMANCE!

    The song is Viper Mad, by Rhythm Junkies, an amazing jazz band from Lithuania! http://ohsoswing.com/studio-by-the-rhythm-junkies

    Teachers

    Instructors and staff at The 9:20 Special perform a routine choreographed by Stefan Durham and Bethany Powell!

    The song is “Swing is the Thing” by The Mills Brothers.

     

     

     

    Category Dancers, Events | Tags: ,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  4. “I love Liny Hop”

    April 3, 2012 by Jo

    Wow, take a look at this!!

    Thank you for choosing to make one of us!!!

    These are fabulous! If you want to see some of 임덕란 other work, check out the album on facebook!!

    Category Dancers | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment

  5. Inspiration Weekend 2012

    March 12, 2012 by Jo

    Some favorite moments from this truly inspiring weekend.

    Performances

    Kevin and I kicked off our weekend with a little bit of “Shake that Thang!”

    The Atomic Cherry Bombs were sexy as hell! I think it’s a great video of the performance, which means it must have been that much more incredible in person.

    Hat Trick Initiation

    James Bianco & Irina Amzashvilli were initiated into the Hat Trick Club this weekend. They are now members of the League of Extraordinary Hat-trickers.

    This is one of the best versions of this routine I’ve seen them do. Sure, there were a few little flubs, but honestly, they freaking hit it. The crowd was awesome and Tips & Tops were men of legend. Well done men!!!

    Saturday Competitions

    1st Place – Augie Freeman & Irina Amzashvilli
    2nd Place – Conrad Friesen & Sarah Stembridge
    3rd Place – Andrew Jose & Alice Pye

    Yeah!!! Lindy Hop has a future!! I was so impressed by how good everyone was in Orange County. Good heavens, those cats swing! The quality of their movement and swing outs assures me that lindy hop will continue to grow and thrive. Thank you to all the competitors; all of you won over my heart.

    1st Place – Peter Kertzner & Irina Amzashvilli
    2nd Place – Stephen Sayer & Chandrae Roettig
    3rd Place – Jack Chen & Brittany Calavatti

    I freaking LOVE the concept of 30-Second Showcase! And seriously, check out what people came up with. Love it.

    Sunday Pro-Am

    1st Place – Conrad Friesen
    2nd Place – Matt Richey
    3rd Place – Sam Chan

    Hahah, this one looks a little bit like a Jo Hoffberg show reel, but really, I just got lucky that the top three leads in the competition picked me as their follower. Fabulous job everyone!!

    Category Dancers | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  6. Solo Blues – Julie Brown

    March 6, 2012 by Jo

    As you can see, I’m slightly behind on my posting……but have no fear, I’ll be back on the lindywagon shortly.

    Until then, enjoy this gorgeous performance from the stunning Julie Brown:

    What solo blues clips inspire you?

    Category Dancers | Tags: ,,,, | 1 Comment

  7. Hat Trick Shim Sham at Lindy Focus X

    January 1, 2012 by Jo

    Unfortunately, I was in rehearsal during this amazing feat of Hat Tricking, but it was sooooooooo freaking awesome I had to post it. About a year ago, Tips and Tops had a dream were planning on performing the Hat Trick Shim Sham while at Lindy Focus this year, but when they realized that all their buddies were there, they knew it was time to take the performance to the next level. Here the eight of them are in all their hat tricking glory!!


    From left to right the performers: Tin Tin, Taps, Tips, Toodles, Tops, Toes, Targoff, and Tubs.

    How awesome was that?!!! This tip-top team tricked their way into the hearts of many this past weekend. What I enjoyed most about this performance was seeing the individuality of each performer and how well they all worked together. On top of that, I really liked how the choreography was modified to best use the number of performers. Neato Gang!!

    In case you want to learn how to hat trick shim sham, you are in luck!! Here are the first two (of twelve) videos to get you started:

    Word on the street is if you want to be initiated into the group and get your own terrific nickname, you need to learn the routine and perform it at an event (make sure to have video to prove it). I can’t confirm this, but that’s what a little birdy told me!!

    Category Dancers, Events | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  8. Lindy Hop Stop-Motion Animation

    December 10, 2011 by Jo

    Oh this is so awesome!!! Max & Annie even look amazing when they are  robots!

    If you haven’t seen the original clip, check this out. What can you tell me about this?

    Category Dancers | Tags: ,, | No Comments

  9. The Ninjammerz Show – Rome 2011

    December 5, 2011 by Jo

    ninja ladies

    Here’s a little teaser until the full videos are posted. Enjoy!!!

    Category Dancers, Events | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,, | 2 Comments

  10. Flash Mob in Denver

    November 24, 2011 by Jo

    This is by far my favorite Lindy Hop flash mob I’ve seen to date:

    Holiday travelers at Denver International Airport (DIA) were surprised with an entertaining treat when a flash mob broke out in Jeppesen Terminal on November 22nd, 2011. Approximately 100 dancers from Community-Minded Dance (cmDance) performed a Lindy Hop to a medley of Swing classics in the airport’s Great Hall in Denver, Colorado.

    Coordinated by cmDance
    Choreography by Ceth Stifel, Heather Ballew, Joseph DeMers, & Lark Mervine
    cmDance creates world-class educational dance and music experiences. The non-profit organization’s programs bring the music and dance of the Americas to Colorado schools and audiences, including Lindy Hop, Argentine Tango, Jazz, and other American Vintage and folkloric dances. For more information, visit www.cmdance.com

    Organized by DIA’s Art and Culture Program
    Today’s dance performance was presented by the airport’s Art and Culture Program. DIA is home to a world-class collection of public art, funded by the City and County of Denver’s “one percent for art” requirement for public facilities. In addition to its renowned permanent art collection, DIA curates temporary exhibitions, collaborating with museums, cultural institutions and arts organizations to present the highest quality two- and three-dimensional work. For more information on DIA’s public art program and its temporary exhibitions, visit www.flydenver.com/art.

    Produced by Rich Clarkson & Associates
    RCA is a multi-disciplinary creative agency, based around the core of fine visual storytelling. Beyond our strengths in original photography and video production, our activities range from publishing high quality photographic books to major exhibition design to digital asset managment and project management in the latest rich media applications. For more information, visit www.richclarkson.com

    Category Dancers, Musings | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

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