By Shawn Hanna on Thursday, March 16, 2000 - 06:45 pm: Edit“Swingin’ Down the Mountain”
A View from a Mile High
by Eugene Abad
Jon Callahan and a few of his closest associates from the Colorado Swing Dance Network hosted Denver’s first swing exchange. It was held over four nights during the president’s holiday weekend February 18th through the 21st. They featured four nights of dancing at four different venues, two live bands, dinner get-togethers, 2 days of skiing and snowboarding in the Rockies, and optional sightseeing and stuff to fit your fancy. The exchange idea was to entice lindy maniacs from around the country via internet or word of mouth to come stay with local dancers free of charge and sample Denver’s swing scene. There were no workshops involved and you’re not required to “do it all”, unless you’re an absolute “nut”. As for me, I stuck with dancing. I keep bumping into trees when I ski.
I first met Jon late last summer while he was here quietly infiltrating our scene. He made an impression and a few of us befriended him. Isgard Hueck went as far as inviting him to attend Millennium Hop in Mexico with a bunch of our friends from San Diego and elsewhere. A month after we’ve met, he accepted her offer. For those of you who didn’t know about Millennium Hop in Ensenada – it was the BOMB! This New Year’s bash of all bashes, featured eight days and nights of workshops, late night dancing and party mayhem with lindy hop addicts from around the world. All that was required from us was to come down with a very healthy dose of “happy feet” and an equivalent dosage of “Y2K give a shit.” Jonny fit right in immediately, plus it gave him the prime opportunity to P.R. his upcoming lindy exchange in Denver.
When he got started, he consulted friends from the swing community in Seattle about their exchange (hosted last fall). With Seattle as his model ( I missed it, but I heard it was quite a success), he wanted to know what worked and what didn’t. He also networked closely with local swing communities from around Colorado and urged them to be involved and represent. He really wanted this to work for three reasons.
The first was to expose the locals with visiting dancers and catch a fresh glimps of what’s going on outside their own scene. Jon explained to me that most locals do not travel out for the sake of infiltrating other scenes or take part in swing workshops around the country. Fortunately, enough groovin’ dancers came out to Denver. They came from Seattle, San Francisco, L.A., New York, Houston, Ohio, Utah, and (just two from) San Diego (?) to name a few places. One person came from as far away as Munich, Germany. Now that’s support!
The second reason was to try and put Denver’s swing scene “on the map”. They boast a large number of people in their core group to be in and around 400. Then you add another 400 from places within an hour drive like Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. They network and support each other’s events. The following weekend after this exchange, Fort Collins had a swing dance event that topped over 450 attendees. According to Jon, there is swing dancing every night of the week, except Saturdays, which are reserved for special dance events. Now, how cool is that? The scene has been around for three years now and like other places around the country it has experienced its ups and downs. They claim to be on the upswing at this moment. I guess the only problem that is holding Denver back in view of some outsiders is of a stigma that Denver is neither left nor right coast where swing really flourishes. It’s in the middle of “No Man’s Land”. Some still call it a “hick town”, which leads me to his third reason; the selling of Denver itself. I guess after the NFL Broncos won two Super Bowls and the NHL Avalanche won a Stanley Cup, it’s high time to shake off that Rodney Dangerfield motto, ”No Respect” label they’ve had for years. Oh, not yet! They still have the NBA Nuggets (Clippers east).
So what two San Diegans represented in Denver? Kate Keller and I went to Denver to support Jon’s cause and to see for ourselves what their scene’s about. Too bad no one else from S.D. came. I thought, “Poor Jon, what happened to all those “friends” you made from San Diego during Millennium Hop?” Then I thought, “Hey, at least Kate’s here and she’s the BOMB!” You can rest assure San Diego, Kate can represent us anywhere all by her lonesome. According to Jon, she’s “Hot Stuff”. Me, I’m the pine rider; just kicking it, knockin’ back a few tall ones, and when I do dance I’ll become a sweaty mess like I usually am. The first night at the Turnverine in Capitol Hill, Kate and I shared our first dance in Denver. It was a little fast and by the first minute we both sensed something wasn’t right. We were off beat and we were gasping for air. I had totally forgotten we were at 5,300 feet above sea level. Light headed, I staggered back to my chair, turned and sat heavily as I heaved into that thin air the words, “FUCK ME!” from my air depleted lungs. But undaunted, I danced the night away anyway. I grooved till my clothes looked like I’ve been standing outside in the rain all night long. Five shirt changes later, I still looked like I’ve been out in the rain all night long. Why do I sweat a lot? Beats the hell out of me! Maybe it was those damn overalls I wore that first night. It was in the teens outside, but since some say Denver is a“hick town” I figured I’d fit right in. But, no one dressed like me that night. If there had been an image contest I’d win the ultimate door prize. I’d be shown the door and be asked never to set foot in this place again. Slam!
The second night at a real nice ballroom in a nicely restored hotel, I found Kate sick and losing her voice. I thought, “Crap! Now I know how scrubs like me feel when they have to fill in for a superstar who becomes ill or injured.” Needless to say, and without any glossing or gloating, yours truly came though to represent S.D. nicely the rest of the way. I had a blast! Not close to Millennium Hop, but close enough. I got more compliments about my use of a Chinese folding fan than I did for my dancing. The locals are very friendly and down to earth and they all seem to pull for one another as a group. Since a good 99% of them do “Savoy Style”, they’re eager to try other styles like we have going here. Just hope in the future, they don’t encounter the “politics” that is starting to spew in this town. It’s all about DANCING people! Let us leave the fucking politics at work!
Well, our own swing exchange is just around the corner and Jon being so psyched by his own success with his exchange vows to bring a couple car loads down from their mile high perch. Let’s be ready for them and all the others from all over. My only hope is that by then we can resolve this so called ” political dispute” in time to come together as a community and support Valerie and Melissa in their efforts in putting our scene “on the map”. San Diego can sell itself with it’s nice weather, nice beaches, and nice people. We have the easiest part. Let’s show the rest of the country that we CAN “represent”.
We can pull this off – together! No sweat.
For future and past information on swing exchanges from around the country visit the website; www.lindyexchange.com
