     By Shawn Hanna on Monday, April 17, 2000 - 10:24 am: Edit |
Well done Valerie and Melissa! From my experience running workshops I know how tiring it can be, and you two had three full days of it. I hope you are getting some well deserved rest right now. |
| By HopMichael on Monday, April 17, 2000 - 12:13 pm: Edit |
Woo Hoo! I had a major blast dancing at the Exchange. Kudos and props to Valerie and Melissa for a well-organized weekend! I heard from many out-of-towners tons of compliments about the exchange, the music, and the great dancers they met here. Lots of Lindy Love. =) I suspect many people are recovering from after-hours dancing last night. Sigh...I'm at work now, so I didn't stay until the bitter end. Anything happen last night after the strip-a-thon? [Hard to believe anything could top that one ;) ] HopMichael |
| By Laurel Nishida on Monday, April 17, 2000 - 01:57 pm: Edit |
Thank you, Valerie and Melissa, for a fantastic weekend! I think you two must be truly blessed. The weather was beautiful for our outside activities and I'm sure you arranged to have that wedding reception and jazz band next to us at the Cove on Sat! Dancing at Horton Plaza was a blast! Is the rumor true that it may become a monthly event? Michael, I left after some follows began dancing in their bras. Were you there for that? Steven was so disappointed that he ran out of film for his camera by then. Tee hee! Who knows, everyone may have gotten buck naked after I left. |
| By Ian Campbell on Monday, April 17, 2000 - 04:13 pm: Edit |
Co-ed Naked Lindy?? |
| By Ron on Monday, April 17, 2000 - 04:41 pm: Edit |
Oh man, that was a great weekend. Dancing til 4:30 am for 3 days straight with great follows from San Fran, Denver, Seattle, Chicago, St. Louis, etc. Can't we have an exchange every month? The dancing by Horton Plaza was good fun. It was on cement, but it was lovely to dance outside in the sun and the breeze. The funniest moment for me was this lady coming up to the DJ booth when I was DJing mumbling "What's This?" a couple times until I understood her. I say "swing dancing". And she looks at me, pauses, and says "But where are the avocados?" I thought Tami Thomas did a fair job at Champion last night, better than I'd seem them before. The Melissa/Valerie thank-you jam was fun. Late night at the Firehouse was pretty fun, too. A lot of people were complaining that they were too tired. The DJs played lots of blues. At one point late in the night a bunch of the guys took off their shirts, and a number of the woman followed. Of course they were all wearing very practical bras, but still, that's not something that happens every week... Melissa got another fine birthday dance ... (And I have pictures. Deposits must be made to my Swiss bank account by Wednesday to avoid publication...) Later the shirts went back on, but I think a few people left because of the shirt thing. Whatever. Later, at like 3:30 am Jumpin at the Woodside was played, what is it, like 230+ BPM? And many of the group did an extreeemly fast shim sham. It was just the coolest energy all weekend long, dancing at all hours with all these people I'd never danced with before. And so many of them are so playful in their dancing. Lots of highlights, including the beautiful picnic/dance at the La Jolla cove, dancing downtown outside, great jams, and mostly great music. |
| By HopMichael on Monday, April 17, 2000 - 04:58 pm: Edit |
Who was the devilish DJ that would put on a 200+ bpm song at 3:30 AM? Boy, that's just cruel! |
| By HopMichael on Monday, April 17, 2000 - 04:59 pm: Edit |
And, Ian, see what you miss when you don't stay for After Hours? LOL! |
| By Reuben Brown on Monday, April 17, 2000 - 05:38 pm: Edit |
The Shim Sham was originally meant to be danced at that tempo, so I would call it the Shim Sham at the right speed. 200 at 3:30 am? Hee, hee, at 3:30 am at Memories Josh led a 300 bpm version of Caravan that lasted about 15 minutes. Bitchin' drum and bass solos. The Jitterbug All-Star Jazz Band has been born! |
| By Valerie Yau on Monday, April 17, 2000 - 09:27 pm: Edit |
Just wanted to write a quick note to everyone.. I will speak for Mel because she needs to get her power strip back that we used for the weekend before she can plug her computer back in! : ) Thank You all for making this past weekend so wonderful for both me & Melissa - and to all those that helped out in any way, shape, or form... you are so wonderful and the weekend would not have run smoothly, nor could we have done it without ya! Thanks to all the out of towners for making the trip here... it was so good to see everyone again & to meet new faces. Definitely worth much more than whatever we put into it - we love ya all!!! If anyone video taped or took pics over the weekend, please send copies our way! I was able to get a good number of pics, but wasn't able to get everything while running around. Once we get settled perhaps we'll put together a reflection to add onto our webpage w/ pics & such. How about it Shawn? It all came and went so fast! What a wonderful time it all was.... -Valerie- |
| By Shawn Hanna on Tuesday, April 18, 2000 - 09:35 am: Edit |
Valerie, I'll gladly put a summary page together for you! I can't wait to see the photos. |
| By Valerie Yau on Tuesday, April 18, 2000 - 01:11 pm: Edit |
Ron, will definitely need those pics of mel's 2nd bday dance! i don't know what i was thinking not to take out my camera... i didn't take any pics at the last afterhours - i think i was so out of it by then! hehe : ) -valerie |
| By Natalie Roy on Tuesday, April 18, 2000 - 01:14 pm: Edit |
I'd like to say a big thank you to Melissa & Valerie, plus all the helpers. I had a great weekend, the nicest guest and even managed to swallow my nerves (or whatever one does to nerves) and danced with some *awesome* leads. Thanks for making my 1st lindy exchange such a memorable one. Nat PS Was it intentional or just coincidence that my guest from Missouri got to stay at my apartment on Missouri street? |
| By Arthur on Tuesday, April 18, 2000 - 06:33 pm: Edit |
Hey, kids! I just wanted to thank Mel & Val for putting together a great weekend and to all the San Diegans (sp?) for putting up with a whole mess of out-of-towners. =) Even though I didn't make it to all the daytime events (I wasn't here just for the exchange ^_^), I had a blast for the events I did attend. Thurs - The Firehouse is quite the cool little venue. Okay, "cool" may not be the right word for that night, but what do you expect when you cram that many active bodies into a room? =) Fri - The official opening dance. I didn't make the dinner, sorry. Anyway, once things got started I completely forgot about the hip-hop competition next door. That's saying alot coming from me. It was that much fun! BTW, if anyone has a video of me crawling during the Jill or Jack contest, I'd like a copy. ;D Saturday - Again, the NTC. Again, the fun. This time with more parking! I was still trying to recover from Friday's afterhours that I actually SLEPT through the birthday jam! I'm so sorry! Sunday - Horton Plaza. Ah, Lindy on the Plaza. It was almost like home except for the location and all the different faces. =) Dancing on concrete and it's attempted solution made for some fun dancing. Where's the cornmeal! Where's the cornmeal! Oh, if anybody has pictures of me freaking the equipment truck, I'd like a copy of that too. =) Sunday night at the Champion Ballroom was foreshadowing for the night to come as you saw barechested men appear for Irv's "thank you" video. "Thank you"? hmmm... I'd say the better thank you would be to give a video of Mel & Val's jam. You two rock! So on to the afterhours. Let's just say you had to be there. Luckily, there are photos. hehe. Thanks again, kids. If you're ever in San Francisco, save me a dance. It'd be an honor and a pleasure to share a song with you. Arthur |
| By Ron on Wednesday, April 19, 2000 - 01:21 pm: Edit |
The DJs kept a log of most of the songs they played during the weekend. I've typed it in and its available at: http://www.swingorama.com/music/swingbreakplaylist.html (linked from the swingorama music page) From what is in the list, and what I heard Sunday night (not listed), it appears that Basie, Witherspoon, and Lavay Smith were the most-played bands... |
| By HopMichael on Wednesday, April 19, 2000 - 01:27 pm: Edit |
Hey, thanks, Ron! I often wanted to ask what tunes were being played for some dances, but I was too busy dancing! Great music for a great weekend. |
| By Valerie Yau on Wednesday, April 19, 2000 - 01:40 pm: Edit |
yeah, thanks for putting the playlist together and posting it- that was a good idea : ) maybe you can email megan and see if she remembers what she played? |
| By Valerie Yau on Wednesday, April 19, 2000 - 03:18 pm: Edit |
WANT YOUR STUFF BACK??? Hey everyone...if you lent us something for the exchange weekend, chances are the items will be at the Firehouse tomorrow nite. Jane has so kindly volunteered to bring all the stuff back (thank you Jane!) for us... I'm going to give Billy a ring and ask him to bring the coolers that he has too. Thanks everyone for lending us your stuff - it really help us out - created some atmosphere (xmas lights), kept us from overheating (fans), allowed us to keep things in good condition (brooms), provided us access to power & music (xtension cords, power strips, duct tape)...thank you!!!! |
| By Ron on Friday, April 21, 2000 - 05:05 pm: Edit |
Who thinks I should post the picture of Melissa in her bra surrounded by 6 shirtless, writhing men? |
| By Valerie Yau on Friday, April 21, 2000 - 08:45 pm: Edit |
Well, if you give me my copies maybe it would be okay to put it on the reflections page? : ) It's actually a very flattering thing don't cha think? I would be flattered if I was her and I wouldn't mind it posted as long as there was an explanation of some sort on there. Will definitely have to check with Mel though... even though it was a 'public' display, maybe it was reserved for those whom actually made it all the way through the end of the exchange : ) sometimes special moments need to be kept that way... |
| By Bridget (Bridget) (spider-wc052.proxy.aol.com - 205.188.193.42) on Saturday, April 22, 2000 - 10:52 pm: Edit |
Valerie and Melissa-did you guys have anyone attend the (wonderful) exchange from North Carolina? I'm going to college there next year and I'm totally worried that there is no dancing. I'm freaking out! Has anyone ever heard of any dancing in North Carolina? The best I've found was a web page for Lindy Hop in Richmond Virgina. Argh. Anyone's feed-back will be greatly appricated. Thanks. |
| By Ron on Sunday, April 23, 2000 - 01:46 pm: Edit |
Wow, sounds like feedback will result in an attack of appricots. |
| By HopMichael on Sunday, April 23, 2000 - 03:00 pm: Edit |
Try this site for the Research Triangle's dance community: http://www.musicanddance.com/CDC/cdc.html Which school are you off to Bridget? Write us back about dancing out there. And tell us if they do Carolina Shag in the Carolinas! =) For the traveling Lindy Hopper, check out www.swingmap.com Not always up to date, still, it's an excellent starting point. Hope this helps! |
| By Chris on Monday, April 24, 2000 - 07:47 am: Edit |
Hey Bridget, check this site out. http://www.swing1000.com/ THis club is based in NC. To add to what Michael said. North and South Carolina have strong Carolina Shag roots. It's South Carolina's state dance! It will be more dominant on the coast, but you should be able to find it inland too. If you have not seen it before, it is a very soft, smooth dance. In traditional Shag the woman keeps time and the man styles. Lately, some of the young dancers have been incorporating West Coast Swing which the traditionalists disapprove of. Good luck!! |
| By Jane Hance on Monday, April 24, 2000 - 09:04 am: Edit |
There's a dance instructor by the name of Debbie Ramsey-Boz out of Raleigh, NC (or at least she was last time I heard). I believe she teaches Lindy, West Coast, and Carlina Shag; I know she has competed in all of these dances over the last 10 or so years. Maybe you could look her up and get some where-to-dance info. |
| By Jane Hance on Monday, April 24, 2000 - 09:31 am: Edit |
Hey, I just found this for you: Debbie Ramsey-Boz Raleigh, NC 888-21swing (888-217-9464) debbieramsey@mindspring.com And check out this site: www.musicanddance.com/cdc/cdc.html At least it's somewhere to start! Good Luck. |
| By HopMichael on Monday, April 24, 2000 - 12:29 pm: Edit |
To add to your Lindy resources: A friend of mine from Boston, Ellen, responded to a message I put out for you on Yehoodi. She writes: ==== Hi HopMichael! I know an awesome leader in North Carolina!! There's lindy in them there hills! Have your friend email me and I'll hook her up... twotonebos@aol.com (Bluellen) ==== Ellen's a great follow, so I respect her recommendations. CafeSavoy (a veteran on the Lindy circuit) also recommended this site: http://triangleswingdance.org/ Good Luck, Bridget! |
| By Ron on Monday, April 24, 2000 - 12:42 pm: Edit |
Also, talk to Emily, I think she has some contacts there. |
| By Ron on Monday, April 24, 2000 - 01:12 pm: Edit |
On a different topic, check out this post from the LA forum: From: Jason tanaguchi (GHOSTCATCHER) Apr-22 4:20 pm 1436.31 in reply to 1436.27 I agree! Little swing music was played. It was mostly west coast style music with West Coast style dancing. Anybody can bump and grind, I'd rather be at some club with some real hottchie mamas versus wannabe hot chicks that dress like the swedes. I was dissapointed. I learned that dancers across the country suck. They all dance the same with very little individual style and uniqueness. The girls are more into shaking their ass than really following. It's a bummer to learn that other dancers across the land do more modern jazz dancing than traditional, authentic Lindy hop. Ill stick to LA dancers, the best in the business, who feed off fast dancing and dress appropriatley. |
| By Reuben Brown on Monday, April 24, 2000 - 01:31 pm: Edit |
That annouymous a-hole has posted shit about dancers from all over the place... even L.A. He can't make up his mind what he stands for, if anything. He should be ignored... like you. |
| By Valerie Yau on Thursday, April 27, 2000 - 02:00 pm: Edit |
Ron, have you made copies of the pics? : ) -Valerie Ps. If anyone has anymore pictures or video clips from Swing Break they'd like to give me or mel, please feel free to do so : ) we'll be at the firehouse and will pay you for the cost of extra copies... I'm looking for some more Jill OR Jack?!? Contest pics, those of the Hollywood Jitterbug performance, afterhours and Sat. evening.... in other words, whatever ya got! Eventually we'd like to put up a reflections page of somesort so I would like at least one photo from each event. : ) If you can't make it to the Firehouse, pls. email me: swing4me@san.rr.com |
| By Valerie Yau on Thursday, April 27, 2000 - 02:02 pm: Edit |
Oh, and is there anyone who hasn't gotten their stuff back? -Valerie- |
| By Bridget (Bridget) on Friday, May 05, 2000 - 01:00 am: Edit |
Thank you so much everybody that hooked me up with all that information. What a relief that there are places to go dancing! The school that I am going to this September is North Carolina School of the Arts for their acting program. It should be pretty cool. But even COOLER now that I know I wont be Lindy-Hop-Less! Thank you so much guys, you are the greatest! |
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