Spent much of the weekend with extended family, with the main event being a church wedding on Saturday afternoon. Knowing the assortment and varied opinions & attitudes on this matter on the groom’s family’s side of things (as part of his family is my own), I found the strong religious tones a…
Hey Lover | Keri Noble
If you like jazz. Just stop what you’re doing. And listen to this amazing woman.
Stop. Right now. And press play.
And Danielle Villao; add this to our list.
Let’s just call this one: Events you are likely to see me actually in attendance. Or Where and when to save a dance for me at swing dance events. Predominately East Coast scenes & always subject to change.
Baltimore Blues Summit(s) brought to you by the good folks of Nevermore Blues & The Mobtown Ballroom. They enable my blues habit a bit too well for comfort.
Steel City Blues. A familiar and beloved Rust Belt destination, with the twist of having a brilliant arts district and some gorgeous venues.
Andy & Nina @ PSU. Workshops so cheap & thoroughly enjoyable you’re almost afraid of a Faustian contract written in blood tucked away in the club’s office.
Big Apple Blues, Balboa & Lindy Exchange a.k.a. BABBLE. Now that each dance is in my repertoire, it’s time to change it up in the big city.
Stompology VII. Taking classes from Dax & Sarah taught me the value of solo jazz, and since this is the only event of it’s kind devoted to that, I’m so there.
Philly Lindy Love. Gives me an excuse to see friends & family, and get down to dancing business in “the city of brotherly love”.
Cincinnati Lindy Exchange. My wild card. Any anecdotes or reports on this one would be appreciated, no one in my swing circle has ever been.
(Source: swingitout)
Unrelated musings on the state of swing dancing to follow…
We all yearn for more change, more advancement, more more.. but is this not counter-intuitive given our retro form of amusement? Pushing beyond the bounds of what swing dancing used to be in it’s hay-day brought it out of the realm of reenactment for its own sake and placed it firmly in the space & time of our created reality. It has become our plaything, and as humans so often do, we occasionally grow tired of our favorite toy. So rather than demand, it is not better to ask - to strive, than to force the changes we want to see… Adaption and Evolution may come from demanding scenarios, but occur much more naturally over time.
Watch real close and prepare to have your mind blown.
fusion dancing! seamless role swapping! quirky song choice!
(Source: youtube.com, via thingsthosemovesme)
In defense of Apache’s post on Tumblr…
Let’s look at it objectively - for all the hooplah and negative response rising up around this one post, there are only two negative comments made in comparison to positive. Frankly, those who take offense to a simple word-of-warning are simply mistaken to bristle so easily. The author of that post is a respected member of online and offline Swing Dance communities and speaks from a place of experience. There’s nothing accusatory or disparaging in the tone of the writing with which to take umbrage
As for a touch of the Ivory Tower perspective coming down, this is all old territory. Many of us who have a foothold in Tumblr put our two-cents-worth in a few months ago when Jerry Almonte made the first mention of our prescence to the outside blog-o-sphere. Some consensus came from those of us on the inside, that being:
So fellow Tumblrs, just smile and nod when outsiders fail to comprehend this platform. Let’s not devolve into superior-inferior small-minded comparisons. The beauty of Tumblr comes in it’s variability and ease of use. So what if we may not win the ear of event organizers around the world?! A little camaraderie from other non-influential dancers is still a lovely thing.
Ambition to develop a following was not part of my reasons for opening a Tumblr account. Likewise, I did not get into Swing Dance in order to scale the ranks and climb into the Pro circuit. Those things would be lovely indeed, and even possible, if I pursued them to the exclusion of everything else. Which, for the sake of my sanity, is not going to happen.
Cataloging appealing songs, pictures, videos, etc. for future purposes was part of my thinking; I like pretty dresses, awesome swivels and kick-ass performances. And I see no shame in that what-so-ever.
Hugh Laurie sings the blues - lovely, gentle, shuffling, danceable more traditional blues. The entire album is well worth a spin at a more low-key blues occasion.
This particular tune is offered as a free taster on his website: http://www.hughlaurieblues.com/free-downloads/guess-im-a-fool.htm
You’re quite welcome. :)
“And that was the exact moment when [the Mobtown Ballroom] stopped being a church!”
That was either Dorry Segev or Andrew Thigpen, correct me if I mis-quote.
Just another reason to love Baltimore. And Nina, of course. For those of you lucky enough to live in the area, she’s offering belly-dance classes now. Do it!
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