Last weekend, a group of Cleveland elementary school kids brought home the top prizes in the junior division at the International Lindy Hop Competition held in Washington DC ideastream’s Mhari Saito reports.
The Lindy Hop has its roots in the 1930’s when African Americans at iconic Harlem clubs like the Savoy made dance history with their upbeat and acrobatic moves. The Lindy Hop is also a dance students at Denison Elementary in Cleveland’s Brooklyn Centre have been studying at a free afterschool program for the past seven years.
Valerie Salstrom: Five, six, five, six, here we go..
Thanks to a patchwork of grants, Valerie Salstrom of Get Hep Swing helps students like these through the intricate yet loose steps.
Valerie Salstrom: I want to spread the love of this dance form that I love to make sure people can speak that language so it doesn’t die. But I also hope they will develop self-confidence and they’ll learn how to be self-disciplined.
Over the years, Salstrom has taken some students to contests around the country. This year, the kids asked to go again this time to the International Lindy Hop Competition in late August. The project money was gone. So this summer, Salstrom coached the kids for free. They met nearly every day and managed to get everything – from entry fees to gas money – donated. The work paid off.
(CHEERS)
A youtube video shows 13-year-old Hannah Abel and 11-year-old Kevin Tucker dancing the routine that won them the junior championship. Their Cleveland teammates also won, bringing home second and third places. Many of the kids had never been out of state before. Twelve-year-old Alexandria Gross said the experience was unforgettable.
Alexandria Gross: It was fun because we got to dance with a lot of people that we didn’t know and try new things.
Basking in their victories, the kids get a few weeks off before dance classes start up again.
1) Watching the Junior Division!! They were amazing. Videos coming soon!!
2) Showcase Division:
I am kicking myself for not seeing this live (I missed it by 25 seconds). This must have been unreal!! Sitting in the kitchen watching this was still an emotional experience, so I can only imagine what it must have been like being in the ballroom during this momentous occasion. While watching the video, I was screaming and hooting and hollering for them!! I actually shed some tears in honor of their awesomeness. Fuck, this totally touches my heart.
SOOOOO many people have talked about doing something like this, yet they actually put it together and threw down! Uh, the blue balls experience of them doing Balboa instead of swinging out left me wanting more. Thank goodness they finally provided the much needed release by teaming up and swinging out!!
3) Cabaret:
Dargoff showing us the importance of good hygiene. And lemme tell ya, sex sells!
Tips & Tops and their newest routine:
Nothing quite like Man-on-Man + hat-on-hat dancing if you ask me! Well done Gentlemen, you were wonderful.
Everyone!
The ending is my favorite part. I LOVE Footloose!
4) Classic Division:
In my eyes, Tommy & Alice won this competition. Their choreography is stunning, easy to understand yet still complex, exceptionally well danced, beautifully performed, and they both make the other person shine. To me, this is one an example of one of the best partnerships out there today. You two are such an inspiration!
This one knocked it out of the park for me! I’m always super impressed with how Peter is able to dance with the ladies of any size and still retain the integrity of his movement. Uh! Check out his kick ups at 0:37, his spin at 1:09, and how they play off each other at 1:25! And Alice is just amazing! Favorite moments by her: swing out variation at 0:22, her swivels forward at 0:57, and her shapes on her Rocks at 1:43!
Otherwise, the dance between Andy Reid and Mia Goldsmith just flowed. It was magical. Honestly, I couldn’t remember anything they did after the dance was over other than being swept away by how well they connected to each other and the song. Oh yeah, and the dance with Todd and Frida was ok (I’m being sarcastic)…….it was fabulously hilarious!!!
7) Pro-Am
This cat has been dancing lindy hop for a year and a half (or something close to that). How ridiculous is he?!!! Uh yeah……wow is right!
Isn’t she fabulous?! Sasha Gross was in the Junior’s Program and she killed it!
8) On a personal level:
Getting 2nd place in the fiercest Classic Division I’ve seen in the Lindy Hop world. I was told the difference in score between Kevin & me and Skye & Frida was only one judge which means there was someone who thought that was a first place routine! Looking forward to seeing the score sheets!
Taking 2nd place in the Solo Charleston contest! Normally I try to prepare by creating routinelettes so I have something to fall back on in case I go blank in a contest, but this year I just didn’t have time to get any together. I spent some time working on my lines using the Big Apple choreography, but otherwise, that was just me dancing (*chin up…..very proud of myself). Would love to see the scores on this one as well!
Having a blast in the Champion Strictly!! We had to battle our way out of prelims and since Kevin and I haven’t gotten to train the way we’d like (he’s been injured), we decided to fall back on the ol’ personality thing. Thank goodness we had Baltimore’s support!! I don’t remember much about the prelims other than doing swing outs across the entire crowd (crowd pumping anyone?) AND having our seamless room take-over thwarted by the ever-so-gorgeous Pontus and Isa. Luckily we didn’t completely run into them…..our awesomeness was just slowed down.
Fortunately, Kevin and I made it to finals which gave us the opportunity to crowd surf the Baltimore contingency!!!! The second half our our second solo starts with The Move of the Weekend, The Chase, and ended with us hurling ourselves on top of the crowd!!! Glory in it’s finest red & blue outfit if I do say so myself!!
9) MOVE OF THE WEEKEND: The Chase
You know the old adage “pink is the new black”? Well, “the chase is the new swing out” according to this weekend. SERIOUSLY, it was a college kids drinking game dream!! I need to watch through 2 more divisions, but I’m confident in saying that there was at least one chase break in EVERY division. I’m even guilty of it myself. I’ll compile a list of people who are guilty of such things and hopefully someone will put a video together of all the Chases from the weekend. *wink wink, nudge nudge lindy scene
10) Last but not least, just being there was a highlight. Getting to see so many friends, having someone buy me cupcakes (thanks Michelle), having some incredible dances, teaching with two of my favorite people, being asked to work with the future of our Lindy Hop community and having a blast doing so, competing against the best lindy hoppers in the world, being cheered on by the community I love, dancing to extraordinary live music, and seeing the fruits of everyone’s labor were a few of the many reasons this weekend was sensational.
Thank you to Tena, Nina, and Sylvia for running this event AND to all of their staff; without you the event wouldn’t happen. I’d also like to give a shout out to all the competitors that came to compete this weekend; you are helping lindy hop continually grow and your contribution is duly noted. A huge thank you to all of the people that filmed the event and put video online for the world to see! Finally, an enormous thank you to everyone in the audience; thank you for coming to support and cheering for everyone as they put their heart and soul on the floor. Baltimore especially, I love you. xxoo
Pro-Am 1. Jamin Jackson & Annie Trudeau
2. Emilie Lesage and Davis Thurber
3. Mallory Briggs and Davis Thurber
Juniors
1. Kevin Tucker and Hannah Abel
2. Anjelo Bowen-Pomales and Alexis Davita
3. Cyle Dixon and Alexis Cuevas
Open Jack & Jill
1. Gustav Jakobeson and Calico Goodrich
2. David Lee and Hyun Jung Choi
3. Augie Freeman and Mimi Terris
Advance Jack & Jill
1. Jonathan Tigert and Marie Ndiaye (Sweden)
2. Mindaugas Bikauskas (LIT) and Gabby Cook (USA)
3. Kieran Yee (AUS) and Noni Clarke (AUS)
Balboa Jack & Jill
1. Adam Speen (USA) and Natasha Devyatkina(FRA)
2. Patrick Szmidt (CAN) and Moe Sakan (ENG)
3. Davis Lee and Kelly Aresnault (USA)
ALL-Star Lindy Hop Jack & Jill
1. Nicolas Deniau (FRA) and Natasha Ouimet (CAN)
2 Nalla Kim (KOR) and Teni Lopez-Cardenas (USA)
3. Andreas Olsson (SWE) and Heather Ballew (USA)
Strictly Balboa
1. Adam Speen (USA) and Nelle Cherry
2. Zack Richards (CAN) and Maryse Lebeau (CAN)
3. Andrea Olsson (SWE) and Teni Lopez-Cardenas (USA)
Strictly Lindy Open
1. John Helveston and Annabel Truesdell
2. Johan Kolberg and Eleonor Kolberg (SWE)
3. Augie Freeman (USA) and Alice Pye (USA)
Advance Strictly Lindy
1. Alaine Wong (CAN) and Lunou Aamson-Poirot (CAN)
2. Jonathan Tigert (USA) and Heather Ballew (USA)
3. Andreas Olsson (SWE) and Marie Ndiaye(SWE)
Cabaret
1. The Crazyers (FRA)
2. Tips & Tops (USA)
3. Sharon Davis
Solo Charleston
1. Olivier Chort
2. Jo Hoffberg
3. Sharon Davis
Lindy Hop Classic
1. Skye Humphries and Frida Segerdahl (SWE)
2. Kevin St Laurent and Jo Hoffberg (USA)
3. Thomas Blacharz and Alice Mei (FRA)
Showcase
1. MaxPitruzzella and Annie Trudeau (CAN)
2. Patrick Szmidt and Natasha Ouimet (CAN)
3. Dan Newsom and Gabby Cook (USA)
Champions Strictly Lindy
1. Skye Humphries and FridaSegerdahl (SWE)
2. Max Pitruzzella and Annie Trudeau (CAN)
3. Pontus Persson and Isabella Gregorio (SWE)
Invitational J&J
1. Todd Yannacone (USA) and FridaSegerdahl (SWE)
2. Andy Reid and Mia Goldsmith (USA)
3. Kevin St. Laurent (USA) and Mikaela (SWE)
Oh my goodness, that was such an unbelievable competition! There were 16 competitors last and as I recall, every routine was really well performed and dance. Seriously, everyone brought their A game. Here are my seven favorite performances from last night (plus mine and Kevin’s)!
Regardless of the placement, in my opinion Tommy and Alice won. I think the choreography was a work of art. Their weight changes, rhythms, shapes, partner connection and quality of movement were on pointe and the just killed it. Literally, this is the best piece of choreography I’ve seen all year.
A last minute entry:
As per usual, their quality of movement and brilliant twist on simple movement is what makes these two powerhouses undeniably inspiring. Even though Skye has a moment of confusion at the end, this is still a stunning routine. I’m betting we’ll hear a lot more of this song on the social dance floor this next year!
Here’s Kevin and my latest routine:
If you remember, we performed this at ESDC and I wasn’t able to get the lighter to light. Thank goodness we bought a better lighter and the thing worked a treat! In general, I’d say I’m really happy with this run-through. There are still a few things that I’d like to clean up, but overall, I’m extremely happy with the piece and feel like we nailed it. Woohoo! And I have to give a big shout out to Mindaugas Bikauskas for helping Kevin put out his cigarette.
And to return the favor…
This is Mindaugas & Gierdre first US performance. I am sooooooo proud of them! Ok, now on to the “favor” (I put that in quotes because it’s questionable). Kevin walks out soooooooo confidently and then drops the comb. GAAAAHHHH, I almost died when this happened! Thank god he redeemed himself by still hitting his mark. …..still though.
I’ve seen this routine a few times and it just gets better and better for me
What a lovely couple these two are!
To be honest, with where I am in my dancing, this is not a routine song that I would choose, but if you listen to the lyrics, it’s clear why they chose they song; they are those friends that became lovers! Their movement is crisps and the choreography is beautiful. Uh, these two freaking swing!!
Nathan and Giselle have such an amazing connection and so many innovative ideas. If you haven’t seen them dance together before, youtube them right now, otherwise enjoy their creativity and authenticity.
I love these two!!
The choreography is super playful, Mary is cute as a button, and Andrew is his fabulous self. I love their ideas, shapes, and how they use the floor. Best of all, they dance like them instead of imitating others!! You two are wonderful!!
Congratulations to all the competitors; you were all fabulous!!! Realistically, ALL of the routines were great. PLEASE please please watch them and let the competitors know what you though.
Yes, ESDC happened long enough ago that this might seem like odd timing for this post, but I don’t care. *smile Here are my favorites from Cabaret Division at the European Swing Dance Championships back in June 2011.
Pure, and utter ridiculousness. I so badly want to be in this routine. Oh, the energy!
Seriously, I think I’d be the tallest one in this routine. I don’t think I can say that I’ve ever been the tallest in anything I’ve done before.
The boys doing their Jazz thing:
I think I prefer the three boy version to the duo. Firstly, there are more boys to adore, but mainly I like the balance of the movement and shapes. Uh….all of them are so classy *grin
Kevin doing an awesome job with his hat trick routine:
Argentina put themselves on the map this past weekend at the European Swing Dance Championships. Six superb dancing came this weekend to compete and they threw down. Many of you already know Juan Villafane who has been teaching and traveling since Fall 2007 with his stunning partner Sharon Davis, but for many, this might be the first time you’ve seen many of the other talent from the other side of the world!
So take a look and see how well Argentina did to represent themselves on the world stage. I am so proud of all them and I’m so appreciate that they came to show the community how fantastic they all are.
Team – 2nd place Manuel Ignacio Bicain Goral, Juan Ignacio Villafane, Agustina Zero-Setién, Mariel Gastiarena and Tina Rizza
I don’t remember if Juan helped with the choreography or did all of it, but regardless, it’s a fantastic piece of choreo and they freaking danced it well. Did you see the Flying Lotus?!!! Tina & Gaston have some AMAZING photos of them doing the lotus….so jealous!!
Showcase – 3rd place Gastón Fernández & Tina Rizza
I am so happy that they decided to do their routine. I heard many people this past weekend backed out of competing because they didn’t feel ready enough, but luckily Tina and Gaston didn’t get caught up in that. Tina’s backflip near the end is a little exciting, but because she held her body strong, she landed it and kept moving. I love the choreography, how the use the floor, and their partner connection. I am so proud of you two.
Solo Blues – Agustina Zero-Setién
She freaking KILLED it. Plain and simple, she danced. She went out there, listened to the music, and just freaking moooooved. She was sexy, dirty, rhythmical, elegant, and sassy. Agustina, you were spectacular. Thank you for showing us how it’s done!
Strictly Blues Finals – 1st Place Gaston Fernandez & Mariel Gastiarena
What can you say except “Wow.”
Congratulations to all of you! Argentina, you should be proud; you’re crew threw down this weekend.
-Story used with kind permission of Miss Indigo Blue. From Burlesque Seattle Press.
Seattle-based international burlesque sensation Miss Indigo Blue, “The Twirly Girl,” has been crowned the Reigning Queen of Burlesque at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Reunion and Pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada. The newly named Queen, officially “Miss Exotic World 2011″ took home a tiara and a 3-foot tall trophy for her win, and a second trophy for the “Most Classic” award.
“It is a tremendous honor to serve the Burlesque Community as the Reigning Queen of Burlesque. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to raise funds for the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum and to share the history of Burlesque with the world,” said the new Burlesque royalty.
The Annual Burlesque Hall of Fame (BHoF) Reunion, now in its 54th year, gathers dozens of burlesque legends to reminisce with other icons of the art, and share their experience with younger performers. The BHoF Pageant is the preeminent burlesque event of the year in the United States. Approximately 1600 burlesque performers, fans, and aficionados from around the world attend the weekend event, spending four days performing, networking, partying and promoting burlesque at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas.
Miss Indigo Blue is best known as the Headmistress of the Seattle-based Academy of Burlesque, and as the star of the independent film “A Wink And A Smile” by local female filmmaker Dierdre Timmons. She is the Executive Director of BurlyCon burlesque convention, held annually in Seattle. Miss Indigo Blue is also a member of the Atomic Bombshells troupe, and performs regularly at the Triple Door in Lily Verlaine Productions such as “Through The Looking Glass: The Burlesque Alice In Wonderland” and “Land Of The Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker”.
The stunning Lily Verlaine, known as “A Living, Breathing Work of Art”, also took home honors as Second Runner-Up in the Miss Exotic World competition. Both local beauties wore custom couture gowns created by local designer Danial Webster.
This is the second national title brought home to Seattle this year by local Burlesque performers. Inga Ingénue, “The Little Blonde Bomb,” recently won the Miss Viva Las Vegas title and also performed at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend in a Danial Webster creation.
Burlesque has seen a major resurgence over the past 15 years, with artists like Dita Von Teese regularly making headlines, and a new major motion film “Burlesque” starring Christina Aguilera and Cher drawing crowds nationwide. The underground Burlesque scene has produced its own stars such as Miss Exotic World 2004 Dirty Martini and Miss Exotic World 2006 Julie Atlas Muz, both of whom star in the current independent film “Tournee” which won a Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Burlesque is a uniquely American art and entertainment form characterized by short strip-tease dances performed in lavish tear-away costumes, often with a clever gimmick or humorous twist. The revival of Burlesque is, for the primarily female performers and audiences, an opportunity to revel in the glory and power of sexuality in an empowered and fun way.
Miss Indigo won her crown at the largest attended Burlesque Hall of Fame Pageant and Reunion ever, held in Las Vegas, Nevada June 2-5. Her win was the culmination of an intense competition that started with over 300 entries from around the world. The final field of 15 contestants was judged by panel of celebrity and expert judges who deemed Miss Indigo Blue triumphant due to herExper-Tease.
Miss Indigo Blue is currently planning her year-long agenda of duties, as well as continuing to run the Academy of Burlesque and plan the annual BurlyCon Burlesque convention in Seattle this fall. “I hope to travel widely this year to perform, teach, and meet with community members about building a larger home for our museum collection of Burlesque memorabilia…and thank goodness this isn’t the Miss America Pageant, because I’m definitely posing naked this year!”
The Burlesque Hall of Fame is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire, educate and entertain the public, fostering an appreciation for and understanding of the unique history and heritage of vintage American Burlesque. In 2006, the Burlesque Hall of Fame relocated from Helendale, California to Las Vegas, Nevada in hopes of establishing a permanent, first-rate tourist attraction and research/exhibition space for our one-of-a-kind collection. More information is available at: www.burlesquehall.com.
Miss Indigo Blue is the Headmistress of the Academy of Burlesque, Executive Director of BurlyCon Burlesque Convention, and co-Director of Education at the Burlesque Hall of Fame. Miss Indigo Blue is the star of the film “A Wink And A Smile”, available on Netflix and iTunes. Miss Indigo Blue is a Burlesque performer and teacher based in Seattle, Wash. Visit her atwww.missindigoblue.com.
