Swingaholics- not Anonymous

One of my most favorite pieces of air.

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:21:05 -0700

One of my most favorite pieces of air.

updownsmilefrown: Dancing in 1942. Always a great and fun...

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:06:06 -0700

updownsmilefrown:

Dancing in 1942.

Always a great and fun move.

tmart259: Swing dancing is so much fun I agree!

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:06:06 -0700

tmart259:

Swing dancing is so much fun

I agree!

I have to say Disney is one of the few places you still see...

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:05:06 -0700

I have to say Disney is one of the few places you still see swing in the movies.

Day 14: Your swing group of friends

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:10:06 -0700

My swing group of friends never really changes- the larger of the two groups is my swing team that I’m now semi-coaching. But the core group is actually the 4 friends I have that go out with me regularly to social dance.

I do have to add- since I’ve become a regular at my dance place there are several leads & follows I’m always chatting up on my break songs so that group may be changing quickly.

Day 13: Favorite dancing memory

Tue, 31 May 2011 16:45:06 -0700

You would think that since I’ve done so many shows and performances with my group that I would love that but actually I have a Cinderella story of sorts that is my favorite thus far- I caught a lead and asked him to dance and had an amazing time dancing and it was like we were FLOATING. Ugh I love that feeling when you dance with a lead and the world melts away and it seems as though every move you make is completely planned fits the music perfectly. Thus that is my favorite memory so far.

Day 12: Your swing crushes/favorite pros

Mon, 30 May 2011 15:08:06 -0700

Right now my favorite lead is a guy named Adam. When a lead can lead you to do the robot that’s style and ability right there!

Day 11: Favorite song(s) to dance to Right now I’m really into...

Sun, 29 May 2011 15:05:06 -0700

Day 11: Favorite song(s) to dance to

Right now I’m really into the 50’s Sock Hop Swing music and a lot of the 90’s revival bands. So if I had pick one… This is what I would pick.

Where might I be able to find the 30 day lindy hop challenge?

Sun, 29 May 2011 00:53:57 -0700

The Person who created it is a friend of mind and you can find the questions for it here: 30 day Lindy Hop Challenge

Day 10: Favorite workshop weekend (Lindy Focus, Camp Hollywood, etc) or one you’d really like to attend

Sat, 28 May 2011 15:05:06 -0700

I have yet to be at a full weekend workshop but if I had to pick a workshop I enjoyed I would have to say the small workshop I had with Peter Flahiff was the most helpful & eye opening I’ve been to so far. It was all about fundamentals of a swing out and how to make it perfect.

Day 9: Favorite class taken

Fri, 27 May 2011 15:00:06 -0700

I took a lead/follow class where all the follows were leads and all the leads were follows! It was great fun and totally challenging. I would love to take that class again just to challenge myself since it’s always good to step into the other persons shoes for a bit.

Day 8: Your favorite instructor

Thu, 26 May 2011 15:05:06 -0700

I can’t say that I have one. I’ve heard so many things from so many people. Erik Robinson cleaned up my lindy hop so well that I never trip over my feet and can keep my foot work and stay square to any lead- good or bad- I dance with. Mary Freitag taught me musicality and how to style anything! Even on the fly! James taught me a billion moves that I can follow with super light leads that barely lead a thing! Amber for her advice and technique which I am *still* learning more and more of.

And the one I’m most grateful to is my friend Maria who is also my team Capitan who drilled the basics into my head and nitpicked every details of my swing outs so that way I can lindy hop in my sleep!

Day 7: Something you really want to learn

Wed, 25 May 2011 15:05:05 -0700

I want to finish learning the Tranky Doo- Just need to find some time to do so. I want to get my frame up to par there are a few things I know I need to fix- due to some lovely bad habits I have. So those are my two main things I’m working on.

Day 6: Your favorite group dance (shim sham, tranky doo big apple, etc)

Tue, 24 May 2011 15:05:06 -0700

Shim Sham for now. Probably once I’d done figuring out the tranky doo that one will become my favorite.

Wow. <3

Mon, 23 May 2011 17:00:06 -0700

Wow. <3

Day 5: Your favorite Lindy Hop variation dance (charleston, balboa, shag)

Mon, 23 May 2011 15:00:06 -0700

See I don’t think I have a favorite step. Each one works well with certain music. The most comfortable one is Charleston (both 20’s and 40’s) only because I can do that one in my sleep the other I have to think about since they are more recent additions to my repertoire.

Day 4: Your favorite live band

Sun, 22 May 2011 15:00:06 -0700

I haven’t had the pleasure of dancing to too many live bands but so far I would have to say the Campus 5 are definitely the front runners.

Notes on Musicality

Sat, 21 May 2011 22:25:47 -0700

swingitout:

Last night, our swing team- which has instructors come and teach more advanced, generally technique heavy lessons than the club- had a west coast instructor come. This westie instructor covered musicality and helped us incorporate it into our dancing. Now, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t able to directly apply anything he said during the trial and error period- it was a west coast only lesson and I’m not comfortable enough with west coast to really do anything more than attempt to follow it okay. However, many of the things he said were very helpful and I figured I could apply them to lindy hop.

Things he discussed”
-is the song smooth? is it bouncier? Adjust your movements to the feel of the music.
-don’t necessarily worry about adding something musical on everything. Go for adding something when something interesting happens in the music so it creates contrast.
-an exercise to help is listening to a song and then snapping whenever something interesting happens in the music- whether it be obvious or more subtle
-think about the hits or breaks in the music that stand out- are they drawn out? are they sharp? are they smooth?
-what kind of movement might you associate with these breaks in the music?

I have to say the pointers the instructor gave are really great- regardless of what kind of dancing you do- totally worth thinking about music in that manner when you dance.

Day 3: A description of your favorite partner (and why they’re your favorite)

Sat, 21 May 2011 15:00:06 -0700

I honestly don’t have a favorite partner- and there’s a reason. Every lead (or follow) can teach you something. And I truly believe in dancing with as many people as I can that way I can learn something new. Lately there have been a few leads I love to dance with because either they are very technical or very musical.

Day 2: Your favorite place to dance

Fri, 20 May 2011 15:05:06 -0700

So far I’ve danced a lot of places in Southern California unfortunately my favorite no longer exists in its old form. I loved going to Stutters’ Ball when it was in downtown Orange CA. The music was always good. The dancers made your jaw drop and you always learned something (if not many things)