US Open Swing Dance Championships 2009 Reactions

Yet another event I didn’t go to that I can comment thanks to the generosity of the interwebs. First off, I'm impressed. Leave it to the westies to get results and videos online the very next morning after the this year's US Open Swing Dance Championships ended.

We didn’t send any Lindy Hoppers this year, but DC still represented big time with the DC Hand Dancers winning the Strictly Swing Challenge. That contest caps the entire event, pitting the winners of all the Strictly divisions (West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Hand Dance, and Shag) up against each other.

Video Spotlight: Grenoble Swing Dance Festival 2009

YouTube-ite Vinnie38710 has posted some quality videos from this past Grenoble Swing Dance Festival which occurred November 13-15. Here's a couple nice teacher demo's. Check out Vinnie's YouTube page for more videos of this and other events. Nina Gilkenson & Todd Yannacone

Naomi Uyama & Peter Strom

Alice Mei & Dax Hock

Trust

Note: The last entry of this mini-trilogy originally written this a year ago for an art project by my friend Sandy Yin, the blogger of "A Brief List of Rules." I try not to get too personal on this blog, but some things should be shared. Updated to add: I just noticed that this is my 100th post on this blog and I don't think I could have picked a better one. Thanks for reading!

I have a very interesting relationship with Akemi Kinukawa. I consider her one of my closest friends, yet we don’t speak to one another very much. In fact, I can probably estimate with some confidence that we’ve actually spent more time dancing together than we have talking.

Copasetic

Note: Just re-posting more old Facebook notes just so I have all my stuff in one place. This is also part of an art project by my friend Sandy Yin, the author of the blog "A Brief List of Rules." She gave me good feedback and I was going to re-work it, but I edited it to fix a couple of things. It's just a vignette. An example of a story that is much more interesting in your head than it is when you decide to write it down. It seems very mundane, but for some reason these events just stick with me.

The Yehoodi 6th Anniversary in 2004 was an incredible event. The Great Day In Lindy photo shoot; The Basie Ball; music featuring surviving members of the Count Basie Orchestra; the last American Hellzapoppin contest; the surprise performance of the Mama Lu Parks Dancers; honors for some of our forbearers. Awe inspiring and epic from start to finish. But honestly, that was all just background for what I really remember from that weekend.

Risk vs. Reward

Yet another opportunity to re-post old Facebook notes and consolidate my writings. I originally wrote this a year ago for an art project by my friend Sandy Yin, the blogger of "A Brief List of Rules." She gave me good feedback and I was going to re-work it, but I've decided to just re-post it as is since it combines a lot of things happening this week like Carla appearing on "So You Think You Can Dance" and that I'm about to go spend my fifth Thanksgiving with Naomi. It's just a nice reminder to me of the spirit of the holiday.

The story of my start in dancing begins like many others: with a girl and a smile.

Carla Heiney & The Boilermakers on So You Think You Can Dance

Last night Ellenore Scott & Ryan Di Lello performed a Lindy Hop piece choreographed by Carla Heiney on So You Think you Can Dance. The dancers did a great job with the performance given the tight time constraints, but any woman that can teach me how to dance should have no problem with much more gifted performers.

I remember the years taking lessons from Carla while she was still studying biology at the U of Maryland. When she told me about her dream of becoming a full time dancer I thought to myself “A full time Lindy Hopper? Really?” I was worried about her earning a living, never mind any kind of notoriety.

AIR pt. 14: The Plot Twist

Two years ago, I compiled a list of my favorite routines from The American Lindy Hop Championships in response to an open request by that event’s promoter. As I was making the list, I discovered that I found it harder and harder to come up with stand out moments as time went on. It wasn’t because the dancing was bad—in fact it was much better technically as years pass—but very little stood out creatively in the way Minnies’ Moochers, Jenn Salvadori & Justin Zillman, or Mad Dog did during their times.

DCLX-Secret Origins

Well, maybe not secret, but few people are around that remember very much.

The first DCLX-DC Lindy Exchange-was hatched in the back of a van coming back from ALHC 2001 somewhere on I-95. Mike Miloszewski was on a dance high and wanted an excuse to relive it again. And soon.

Holding a national dance competition seemed out of the question at the time, but Lindy exchanges were just becoming popular. Mike decided that it was time for DC to have its own.

Random Links & Videos: Let's Get Physical Edition

Many new blogs on the interwebs. Sorry it's taken me so long to link to them.

This one is a super in depth explanation of how followers use the muscles in their backs by a licensed massage therapist. <Hot Club of Durham>

Random Videos: Friday Blues

A few videos are popping up from The Emerald City Blues Festival last weekend. Here are a couple nice ones. First up is a pretty gutsy Josephine Baker inspired performance followed by a routine by Seattle's own Sister Kate.

Check out YouTube user FloriDave for more.