I’m so grateful that I wasn’t sick this year! Man, the social dancing at this event was easily some of the best dancing I’ve had this year. To the Leaders in Texas: I love you. All of you. You’re amazing. Thank you for my weight changes!
Some personal highlights from the weekend:
Teaching 3 aerial classes on the best gym floor. While little gymnast girls run by, my class was throwing aerials. We worked our way up to the Idlewild. Awesome.
Performing “Communication” in heels. That’s a first!! (if the video gets posted, I’ll post it here).
Biscuits at the buffet.
Teacher’s room with food, especially the peanut butter pretzels.
Social dancing on Sunday night with all the A-mazing leads
Social dancing on Sunday night with Naomi Uyama for about an hour and a half. It was ridiculous. Buwahahha! The mental energy I had to put forward in order to think about what came next and how to execute it, all while trying to stay on beat AND give Naomi her footwork. OMGOODNESS it was overwhelming!
The Call of the Lindy Hop, starring HARLEM HOT SHOTS swing dance company, recorded at CHICAGO swing dance studio in September 2010.
Dancers in the movie: Frida Borg, Frida Segerdahl, Jenny Deurell, Pontus Persson, Rikard Ekstrand and Sakarias Larsson. The boss: Sebastian Svensson. Produced by Explosiv Film, Mallory Film and Harlem Hot Shots. Inspired by Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers in the motion picture Hellzapoppin.
Other members of Hot Shots not featured in this film: Fatima Teffahi, Jessica Lennartsson
Harlem Hot Shots has for many years focused on the traditional swing dances such as lindy hop, charleston, tap, jitterbug, black bottom, big apple. During the years they have been fortunate to have worked with some of the greatest legends in in the swing community like Frankie Manning, Harold and Fayard Nicholas, Norma Miller, Sugar Sullivan, Dawn Hampton and more.
To get in contact with HARLEM HOT SHOTS please e-mail info@harlemhotshots.com
Yeah for lindy hoppers being in music videos!!! Here are some of the top Swedish dancers dancing around, being awesome.
Starring: Daniel Heedman, Asa Heedman, and Pontus Persson.
DAMMNNN! Did you see those “trenches”? Holy cow those were awesome. Love the white back drop and the black accents. And doesn’t the piano player sometimes look like Zacke?
Starring: Sakarias Larsson, Daniel Heedman, Asa Heedman, Pontus Persson, and Frida Borg.
Now go support them supporting lindy hoppers by buying their music!!
Purchase on iTunes Sweden/Scandinavia: http://itunes.apple.com/se/album/samm…
Purchase on iTunes US/International:http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/samm…
Stream on Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/track/0HqvOC9…
The album “Ut Ur Min Skalle” drops March 23 in Sweden/Scandinavia, and April 5 in the US/International.
I am planning on posting a slue of videos and pictures from Lindy Focus in the next few days, but for now, here are some videos of my work from this past weekend!
NYE Performance – Bellboy – starring Sharon Davis, Evita Arce, and Jo Hoffberg
Sharon did a fantastic job choreographing this and Evita did an awesome job (re)learning this earlier that afternoon. Can we say “stud”?!! Always a pleasure to perform with these two terribly talented dames.
NYE Performance – Roustabout – starring Nina, Kelly, Carla, Maryse, Annie, Claudia, Natasha, Laura, Sharon, Evita, Nikki, Vanessa, Karen, Casey and Jo
What a madhouse of hottness?!! OMG, this was such a blast to get to do; between the costumes, ladies and the boys, there was plenty to oogle over. Nina did a fantastic job choreographing this and I must say, it’s one of the most interesting songs I’ve ever performed to. Props for Nina getting this together for us all and kudos to the ladies and their costume choices!
NYE Performance – Man from Mars – starring Joshua, Casey, Shesha, Laura, Jeremy, and Jo
Haha, the funny thing about this is that Shesha and I talked about him wearing the hat and since he needed it for the next number, we decided to keep it. Not surprisingly, it fell off, but not where either of us expected! Hehe, one lesson I am constantly reminded of: always rehearse in your costume! xoxo
Shesha, thank you for all the rehearsal time you put in with me and for chucking my ass!
AND NOW onto the fastest quick change in Lindy Hop history (well, next to this one)! The numbers were back to back and so I had to hustle! Thank goodness I made it in time; Shesha might have killed Nathan!!
NYE Performance – Charleston – starring Nathan Bugh, Evita Arce, Sharon Davis, Juan Villafane, Kevin St. Laurent, and Jo Hoffberg
From June 2010~ Kathy Griffin posed as a pinup for her 2010 Creative Emmy “For Your Consideration” ad that ran in the Hollywood Reporter. The tag reads “They don’t give out an Emmy for ‘Best Airbrushing’ but if they did, I’d totally win.”
Kathy is a hero of mine. I dig her, her sense of humor, her foul mouth, and her outlook on life. This makes her even cooler! I hope one day, I’ll grow up to be a raunchy-sasshole just like her (and look this good in underwear)!!
I, like many other follows, have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about swivels, mine and others alike. What makes a good swivel? I’ve combed through tons of photos on facebook and I was slightly surprised with what I found.
I originally thought that I wanted to make a symmetrical shape with my feet by having both toes face the same direction. However, after closer look at the shapes I was drawn to, I realized I prefer when one leg (the line from hip to knee to toe) has rotated farther than the other so the toes don’t face in the same direction. Check out some of the feet in the thumbnails below.
Not only did I find that foot placement relative to the other was important, but the weight changes were really what gave a swivel some snap! I strongly believe making full weight changes, from right foot to left foot, helps frame the shapes. Try this: stand up and twist your hips to the right and left. Before you change direction, step onto the foot of the opposite hip (if your left hip is forward, commit your weight onto your right foot). Try not to be split weight, but really move your weight from right to left. Don’t forget about those hips! Now, after trying that, click to open the thumbnails and check out the larger photos. What do you think? When I look at image 11 (of Frida dancing in a blue dress with Skye), I can see that commitment to the weight change and shape. Blahm!
As an FYI, these photos are in alphabetical order, not from favorite and down. I am also going to throw this out there; if you like it keep it, if not send it back. I added myself into this gallery because I am really happy with my swivels at this point. By no means am I done working on them, but I have been working on them for the past year and I like the direction I’ve headed.
So what do you think of these shapes? Do you like them? What else do you notice? What do you think about when you’re working on your swivels?
(Ooh, btw, I’ve done this project twice….as in, I had pictures of a bunch of different people but then that folder magically disappeared on my computer, so I had to find a bunch of them again. I have absolutely missed some great pictures of swivels. If you find some, please send me a link!)
[UPDATED: March 3, 2011]
Something I’d like to also make note of is the shape of each follower’s body. I appreciate that each person looks like they are comfortable with their body shape and that their movement develops from it. For example, Giselle has a long, lean body and she makes her own unique set of shapes that I would describe as fierce and angular. Alice is shorter and curvier, and she plays that up. When I picture Alice dancing, I think of round, fluid, continuous movement that ebbs and flows.
I think it’s important to dance your body type, otherwise you’ll look slightly off. If you have long legs, work ‘em! If you’ve got some booty, use it!
This was definitely one of my favorite events of the year, if not favorite. Marcell, the organizer, did a wicked-good job of covering all the logistics and knows how to run a tight shift. All of his past research clearly paid off.
First things first, the line up. There were great teachers AND the DJs were fantastic. When you have the combination of great teachers and great music, more often than not, great dancers show up to dance with the instructors to the awesome music. It almost felt like the Who’s Who of Europe came to the event. Don’t believe me? There were 800 people at the event and it’s only in it’s 4th year. The numbers were up 40% since last year. “Dang!!!” is right (*head nod). So here’s the list: the main teachers are Andrew Sutton, Dax & Sarah, Hasse & Marie, Juan & Sharon, Kevin & Jo, Skye & Frida, Vincenzo & Isa, Zack & Maryse. Our taster teachers are Alf & Eli, Ali & Katja, Fedor & Inga, Nejc & Katja. Jamie Cameron, Deeb from Lithuania, Luc Prunet from Toulouse, Paulo BrotherSwing from Paris, Laurent Meirieu aka DJ Lolo from Toulouse were just some of the incredible DJ’s that held down the musical front.
SOME DETAILS ABOUT THE EVENT
From a teacher’s stand point, things were fantastic, other than auditions. That being said, auditions are never “super fun!” so it’s not like this was a special case. (I’ll write another post just on audition, but in short, we don’t want students to feel bad about where they were placed and have it affect their ability to learn. The process itself is also slightly stressful. Other than that, it’s necessary to put people into appropriate levels so that the learning environment is consistent and the teachers are the best people to do that.)
What was so fantastic, you say? The rooms on the boat were teeny, but cute. The shower actually had hot water and good water pressure. The sound systems worked in all the classrooms. The floors were nice in all the classrooms. The students arrived on time and were ready to learn (you might think that is obvious, but it is not always the case). Food was easily accessible, and so was dessert after we asked Marcell. We were given money for drinks. The music was fantastic (there were 5 different rooms playing music so everyone was bound to find something that suited their mood). Terrific people were there. Competitions were super. And finally, we were given a great place to party with our friends. A men!
Photos by Eric Esquivel, Tatiana Satsenya, and Eran Tobi
CONTESTS
Short and quick: The contests were fantastic! I saw so much solid and inspired dancing…..it really jazzed me up. Congratulations to everyone who competed!!
Showcase
William & Maeve – 1st place
Mindaugas & Gierdre – 2nd place
Strictly Lindy Prelims:
Performances
Kevin St. Laurent doing Hungarian
Joysse being amazing
Teachers being impressive
[videos go here....but where are they??]
More video to come!!!
Marcell, thank you for putting on such a fantastic event. To the students, thank you for coming ready to learn and for asking some really great questions! To everyone that attended, thanks for being there and helping make my year. To the competitors, thanks for kicking ass in that tiny space!! To the DJs, thank you for playing the stuff that makes me want to dance! To the boys, thanks for buying drinks! To my friends, I love you and I’ll see you somewhere around the world. :D
Back in the day, Catalina Jazz Camp was the event to go to. International instructors such as Eddie & Eva, Lennart & “W”, Daniel & Asa, Steven Mitchell, Rob & Dianne, Ryan & Jenny, and a slue of other top instructors. Not only was it top level instruction, but the Casino Ballroom and the island itself was and is gorgeous.
I remember finishing my 9th grade year in high school and immediately flying down to LA with some friends, catching the ferry across to the island, and setting up shop for a week. I had a great time running around in the sun, losing my voice, racing golf carts, and watching the Hot Shots perform. Here’s a picture of me in front of the slab with some friends many years ago:
Some Historical Information:
The Catalina Jazz Dance Festival endeavors to recreate the historic swing dance routines of the 30′s and 40′s, paying homage to the big bands from the Swing Era who played regularly at the Casino Ballroom.
Enthusiasts will remember the PBDA Swing Camp which ran for 10 years from 1994–2004. The event centers around the famous Catalina Casino Ballroom which still echoes music from a bygone era, and the richness of Catalina culture.
2) Tremont Hall
3) Sunday Workshops (High School Gym)
4) Foutain
5) Antonios Cabaret Pizza
6) Boat Landing
7) The Slab
The Killer Dillers will be performing 10 numbers in the ballroom. On Friday, the audience will get to see “Putting on the Ritz, a cakewalk number, Sharon’s fan dance, “Fascinating Rhythm”, and a group charleston number. On Saturday, we’ll perform a Hat Trick Tranky Doo, a Fred Astaire inspired number, “Jelly Roll”, “Bellboy”, and “Communication”. Finally, on Sunday we’ll perform “Serenade to a Savage” for our finale.
