At 1:00 pm on Friday afternoon, we got official access to all the meeting spaces at the hotel. At that moment we had planned for the sound and the floors to be installed simultaneously, plenty of time before the risers arrived and the chairs to be set up for the 8:00 pm opening of the ballroom for social dancing.
At 1:01 pm on Friday afternoon, I was standing in the middle of an empty ballroom.
You may remember a performance by The Harlem Hot Shots on Thursday night of Frankie95. Someone uploaded the original clip and I thought it would be nice to put them together. The scene is from a 1933 short film entitled "Barber Shop Blues" featuring Claude Hopkins and His Orchestra. He was leader of one of the house bands at the Savoy Ballroom in 1931.
Another interesting trend during this period was the growing number of people, regardless of style, who worked intensely on partnering mechanics. Again, this is where crossover events had a major effect. Even if a Lindy Hopper would not appreciate the music or the general aesthetic of West Coast Swing, there could be no denying that WCS during this time period had a much more superior grasp of connection than was generally known in Lindy Hop at the time. Since WCS dancers were seen as superior dancers because of that grasp of technique, it led many people to focus on that. As with many other things dancers were doing at this time, it was eventually worked on to an extreme.
I'm not the only verbose Lindy blogger: A view from down under about what makes a good jam. <dogpossum> Camp Hollywood redux: Another review of Camp Hollywood from someone who was there < The Rantings of a Lindy Hopper>
The combination of those trends mentioned in the previous posts contributed to the development of certain dance habits in Lindy Hoppers that were collectively called “Modern Savoy Lindy” or “Groove Lindy.” By some accounts, dancing like this already existed in some scenes such as Chicago and San Francisco. Some of this can be also be attributed to the influence of was being seen of WCS performers at crossover events. However, the buzz from the Minnies’ Moochers performance provided the spark for its nationwide popularity.[1]
Thought I'd pass along a few new clips from Frankie Manning's 95th Birthday Festival. First up is a couple of awesome looking previews of the DVD from the company that is producing it.
Hellzapoppin' in 30 Seconds
Full Preview
Via Yehoodi.com: New clips of the Hellzapoppin' Finals from waaayyy up on high. Great view of the action.
First song
Second song
This past Sunday evening, I met some friends to hear free concert at The Carter Barron Amitheatre. Opened in 1950 and named after one of its primary sponsors, the ampitheatre has hosted a variety of musical and theatrical events over the years including Nat King Cole, Benny Goodman, Ethel Merman, Henry Mancini, Harry Belafonte, Andy Williams, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, B.B. King, the O'Jays, Smokey Robinson, and the Four Tops.
Sunday evening it featured a program called “Joint Service Jazz” with performances by the big bands of the US Navy, Army, and Air Force.
In case you hadn't noticed already, I have a YouTube channel where I plan on uploading videos related to my "Artistry In Rhythm" posts and other curiosities I hope people will find interesting. Check it out here.
For a small taste, check out this video and see if you can recognize anyone.
As noted previously, the choice of the song “Love Me or Leave Me” by the Moochers was a drastic departure from the kind of music that was typically used for routines and social dancing at the time. In the three years after the Minnie’s Moochers’ routine, the community (with some exceptions) embraced slower, post WWII swinging jazz. Posting on a thread on SwingTalk.com noted Lindy Hop DJ Jessie Miner, described it in this manner:
Video clips from Camp Hollywood have been pretty slow in getting out, but there are a couple good ones out there. Here's an awesome routine by Sarah Breck & Andrew Hsi from the Showcase division.
And footage from the 2nd Annual Underground Jitterbug Championship.
What's that? I said the same thing. Fortunately I found a first hand account of it.
I found this pretty interesting:
The crowd’s appreciation of what they were witnessing was reflected in the amount of money that was being put into the hat. In the beginning, it was only money that the contestants put in, but throughout the competition, the crowd was throwing money into the hat.
You can find a few more clips and results over at Lindy Groove Technique Class Notes.
Doug Van Sant has his own recap plus some amazing shots of the city itself in his latest update over at Urban Marinade.
