I started this blog three years ago because there wasn't much Lindy related to read online. I thought I might as well start my own site. Much has changed since then, and now everyone has something to say. I think that's great. Some people don’t think so. I’m discovering how little faith my friends have in free speech for the masses. I’ve been accused of being a bit of a populist though. One thing I’m realizing is that what I’m looking for in online discussions is probably not going to materialize because it comes down to the fact that our scene isn’t that big.
Wandering & Pondering visits the GMU Swing Club
I did a thing for the George Mason University Swing Club a couple of weeks ago where they asked me to do a video presentation.
Dance Competitions: Judging and Getting Noticed
This particular post is in response to a question from a friend about competition judging and how to stand out in a contest, which is why it goes back and forth between the two subjects.
Hot Blues on Blues Action
Lots of chatter on a recent Bug’s Question of the Day that asked "Why don't more blues dancers go to events like ILHC and Lone Star to compete in the blues divisions? Why don't the lindy hoppers who compete in the blues divisions at ILHC and Lone Star come to Blues events and compete?" Eventually a comparison of recent contests came up, and some people mentioned that people who do well in Blues contests at Lindy events wouldn’t do well in Blues contests at Blues events.
Reflections on My Favorite Performances of 2011: Freedom Through Connection
For quite some time, my standard answer for how long I’ve been dancing has been “about 10 years.” It’s getting to a point where I need to re-evaluate that answer. I took my first Lindy Hop class in January of 1999, almost 13 years ago, from a woman who still inspires me to this day.
The State of the Lindy Online Disunion
Dear Jerry,
I have never been this into facebook stalking someone I don't even know. Thank you for all of the amazing posts.
Sincerely,
Miranda
Wandering & Pondering - JSAlmonte
You're welcome. Now you know how I feel stalking an entire community.
All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm
I posted a couple of links today on the Facebook page for this blog that led me to the idea of posting the full scene from "A Day At The Races" featuring Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. But since I had some thoughts lengthier than 420 characters, I just thought I'd turn it into a full blog post.
The Episode Where the Koreans Bring It
I was going to post this right quick on the Facebook Page for Wandering & Pondering, but then I realized that I had more to say than a quick blurb.
Behind The Dance: Frida & Skye at ALHC 2005
John White over at Black Belt Lindy just posted the second part of an analysis of Frida Segerdahl & Skye Humphries’ 1st place performance from the Classic Division of the 2005 American Lindy Hop Championships. This reminded me of a comment I tried posting to another blog talking about the same clip, but for some reason never got through. (I just checked and the whole blog is gone now) I thought I’d dust it off, shine it up real nice, and post it if only because it still kinda amazes me how much people obsess over this particular performance. I mean, it’s good, but it really wasn’t meant to be much of anything.
Return of the Old School
I was perusing the Herrang teacher line up just to check it out even though I don't have any plans on going. Being the center of the Lindy-verse, it's a just interesting to see who they're bringing in each year. I have no plans to do another analysis like I did last year, but I noticed a few new names including Laura Glaess & Mike Roberts, Alice Mei & Thomas Blacharz, and Sarah Breck & Dax Hock. One name that jumped out at me was Marty Lau, which is funny because I was talking about him with a few friends just this weekend. He's teaching Balboa during week three with Sylvia Sykes.