The goal of event photography for most dance events is to show people looking good or having a good time. Ideally both. There are times though, when I end up a with a bunch of photos which don't necessarily fit either category, but I find personally interesting. While a picture is supposed to be worth a thousand words, I'll take any excuse to geek out on photography or dance. This is a good a time as any to do both.
Embrace Dance
StreetDancer
Project
Dance Of, By and For the People
The #StreetDancerProject has allowed me to work an impressive array of talent across so many different genres of dance. I've lost track of the times that people have said that they enjoy their dance because of the creative opportunities or the sense of connection they have discovered with another person or a greater community. I look forward to further exploring this interesting little facet of human creativity.
You can my follow my work through:
Website: http://jsalmonteproductions.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JSAlmonteWandering
Instagram: https://instagram.com/j_s_almonte/
Tumblr: http://streetdancerproject.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/j_s_almonte
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsalmonte/
Lindy Hop News & Noteworthy 2013 Edition
What happened in vernacular jazz dance in 2013? This is a brief summary of things that happened in and to vernacular jazz dance this year.
Most Viewed Dance Videos of 2013
The most viewed Lindy Hop, Balboa, Blues Dance, and Charleston videos of 2013. Why? Because it’s December. More of an explanation and analysis below the list.
"Morning Blues" with Julie Brown, a new "A Word on Swing," and learning how to do them
I’ve learned a lot about film making in the last almost year. One of the things that I’ve been grateful for learning to dance is that it helped me refine my ability to learn in general. More importantly, the ability to be creative and improvise is born out of knowing what you want to accomplish to begin with and how to do it. When life throws you a curve, you can adjust and while keeping your eyes on the prize.
Flashback with Ramona Staffeld "Rockin in Rhythm" with Todd Yannanacone
Ramona Staffeld & Todd Yannacone's 1st Place Pro Classic performance at The International Lindy Hop Championships was the most shared video off of the Wandering & Pondering FB page. It also happens to be one of my favorites of this year. Not long after that, Ramona contacted me to continue with her series here on this blog, but rather than go back, I convinced her to write about her most recent performance. She enthusiastically agreed, but I failed at life by losing track of the post she sent to me. I remembered it while prepping this year's round up and rather than blathering on about it myself, I present to you Ramona Staffeld in her own words.
Video Dance Highs of 2012
This post is a combination of popular videos on YouTube, videos that generated a lot of chatter or “likes” on Facebook, or some other performances I enjoyed and thought were overlooked. As much as I’d like to say something about all of them, there is a lot of them. Besides, I think most of them can speak for themselves.
2012 Lindy Hop Video MVP's
In reviewing dance highlights for the year, I noticed that two dancers kept popping up repeatedly. Rather than have them clog up the other lists, I thought I’d break them out into a separate post.
Can’t Stop The Signal: Notes on Swing Dance Video Developments in 2012
In reviewing dance highlights for the year, I noticed that two dancers kept popping up repeatedly. Rather than have them clog up the other lists, I thought I’d break them out into a separate post.
Lindy Hop News and Noteworthy 2012 Edition
I’ve had dreams of a full scale swing news site, but now more than ever, I’m certain such a thing would require full time involvement of at least one person, maybe more. Even an army of volunteers would require someone to keep on top of them all. Anyone interested in stepping up?
So with all that in mind, here are a few selected highlights from this past year.