[Slicky Shoes]

This one's for John Ford.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Agz_2um4c

Here's Al Minns and Leon James showing off solo Charlestons. John Ford and I were talking the other night about later-style solo Charlestons and I couldn't think of a cooler guy's Charelstons those in this specific clip. Leon is the one who shakes his hands, Al is the one who goes nuts on the around-the-world Charlestons.

They are beautiful.

BONUS--At the end of the clip, they do their version of first stops. (Which may or may not be the accurate original--they were known for forgetting the old choreographies and always evolving them.)

Check out the other Al and Leon clips on U-Tube as well.
_________________
--Bobby "incredibly" White

www.bobbykate.com

[hooloovoo]

heehee. I love Peter's clips!
_________________
--Kate
www.BobbyKate.com

[televandalist]

Yes, that was awesome! I put it on my Ipod and I'm going to show it to my new Hip-Hop dance teacher and tell her that I want to learn to do that!
_________________
"...would you mind removing the leaky bladder quote from your signature? ... I wear Depends." - C.B.

[themoose]

GROOVIE MOVIE!
_________________
J. Michael Cobb
President, Atlanta Swing-Era Dance Association

[Slicky Shoes]

In honor of Skye and Frida coming to Atlanta, (And them winning tons of stuff at this year' ULHS, including the award for the audience-judged favorite competition couple) here's their winning rouitine from this year's Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, as well as them dancing together in last year's medium dancing.


ULHS 2006

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XahaYGYy2bY


ULHS 2005
(Skye and Frida are 5th couple out there. Or just look for the hair.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdgaVz56hlA


And, to hi-light them seperatly--Here's Frida in this years Fast divisions dancing with Todd (They are the first couple out). By the way, this clip will move you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1U1oLcjvpI

And, here's Skye's slow lindy/blues ULHS dancing. He's been such an influence that, according to Todd Yannacone (The guy dancing with Frida in the clip above) "When I looked around the dance floor last ngiht I thought to myself, Man, Skye had a lot of babaies"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo-tRA4DUO4


And, just to knock your socks off--this year's solo blues finals...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76JAVFyBeOA
_________________
--Bobby "incredibly" White

www.bobbykate.com

[hooloovoo]

Musicality !

But do check out Sylvia falling out of her chair.


(sorry, it's on MySpace. You'll have to login first.)
_________________
--Kate
www.BobbyKate.com

[hooloovoo]

Another one of Steve D.'s finer moments
Wait for it ....


(agian, MySpace)
_________________
--Kate
www.BobbyKate.com

[Slicky Shoes]

As another bored-at-work post, here's a quick

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LINDY HOP

(specifically Harlem Style, in particular)

First there was Charleston...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0TW5I1VuDI


Then, Shorty Snowden reportedly invented the Swing-out step..which he called the "lindy Hop" in honor of Lindbergs "hop" across the Atlantic. (Shorty's the third dancer)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcHE7Uw1yN8

As the jazz music got smoother and turned into Swing, The Lindy Hop smoothed out as well. Here's Shorty dancing with his partner, Big Bea, a few years later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sdk3mqVSRA

At the end of the last clip, you see Bea pick up Shorty on her back and walk around. This inspired Frankie to see if she could flip the guy all the way over. They did so, and did the move for a special competition against Shorty at the Savoy Ballroom. The crowd went wild. It was the passing of the tourch from Shorty Snowden to Frankie Manning as the next greatest creator in Swing.
Here's Frankie and the rest of the Whitey's Lindy Hoppers dancing in Hot Chocolates. The follows styling as well has changed a great deal from big Bea to the Whitey's...(the Hot Chocolates Choreography is almsot the exact same as the Hellzapoppin choreography. But, done at a slower tempo, you can see more of the individual styling come out of the couples.)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQYfmLed94Q

The dance form met it's apex when they performed Hellzapoppin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olrL12XZuq0&mode=related&search=


obviouslly, there's a lot more...there's Jewel McGowan and Dean Collins and all the California dancers, as well as a lot more of the Harlem dancers. But more of that later...
_________________
--Bobby "incredibly" White

www.bobbykate.com

[Slicky Shoes]

another AV-club dork-out essay

THE TOP LINDY HOP COUPLES IN THE LAST TEN YEARS
AND HOW THEIR POPULARITY SHOWS THE PROGRESSION OF A SWING DANCER

Okay, this is ungodly long, which I didn't realize until after I wrote it, so I really won't expect anyone to read all of it unless they're really interested.

It's only natural that when people are learnign something, they tend to take it to extremes. It's a part of development of any artists to find the balance. Here's a little AV exploration of the swing-trends of the last ten years and how they (1) mimic the natural development of a dancer, and (2) how the influence of each trend can still be seen on the modern dance floor.


RYAN AND JENNY

In the late 1990s, the most popular swing dance couples anywhere but in DC, California, New York, London and Sweden were all the best local east coast couples that were on the floors. For those who did enjoy Lindy Hop, the biggest couples were people like Ryan and Jenny, who had taken what Frankie Manning had taught them and combined it with their tap and jazz skills to create a polished and exciting Lindy Hop.

(unfortunately, this is the best example of the sort of dancing they did that inspired everyone in that day. I say "unfortunately" becuase they were foreced to do that song by the producers. They usually dance to classic swing music.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1heiM8kuow

Why it was popular: This sort of dancing, as you can imagine, made eveyrone very excited to learn Lindy Hop--here was a living couple doing the sort of dancing all the original dancers did in the clips. High flying, big kicking... it was like the Gap Commercial, only real.

The moves of the day: Side-by-Side Charleston, Tandem Charleston, cross-over Charleston, hand-to-hand Charleston, and lots of swing-outs with big rock steps. Also pecking, boggying, and mini-dips.

Side effects When Ryan and Janny danced, they were good enough to dance "big" but still be contained and have exceptional floor craft and leading/following skills. Most of us, however, in trying to immitate them, bounced a lot, took up a ton of room, and did lots of weird, hardly lead Charleston variations. Oh, and we all wore brightly colored clothing and lots of suspenders and hats. Not a few of us (Peter, Dwight, Andrew) picked up on the fashion of wearing basketball work-out pants to dance in. (a trend started by Ryan). Shoe of choice: the Blyers, all around.

(For a good idea of what we watched, here's a clip from Can't Top The Lindy Hop, a video put together of Frankie Mannings' 80th birthday dance in 1984. Ryan's in the yellow coat, you only see him for a second. However, his jam with Sing from Singapore from that video tape, which is a good two phrases, was one of the most influential moments of modern dance histroy. I am not making this up.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIS_PfgXjVg

At the time, east coast dancers cursed Lindy Hoppers for taking up so much space and kicking eveyrone. However, that was soon to pass...



ERIK AND SYLVIA
In California, around 1997, a couple of dancers started looking at the old clips of the Hollywood movies where primarily young white kids were dancing. (The person who took Lindy Hop from the Savoy to California in the 1930s was a man named Dean Collin's, and he had taught most of these movie dancers.)

So, in 1997, these modern kids really liked the look and style of the dancing, so they began working to recreate it. The main couple, Erik and Sylvia, soon started competitng and really turned heads with their dancing. They wore complete ollywood vintage styles, and danced smooth lindy which they coined "Hollywood style," and which some people called "Dean Collin's style."

(It should be noted that Dean Collin's dancing was not *really* a new idea for the modern swing dancers. Sylvia Sykes and her partner Jonathan demonstrated "Dean Collins" style on the 1984 "Can't Top the Lindy Hop" video mentioned above. What it didn't have, however, was two stylish young kids doing it and trying to capture the glamour of the 1940s.)

Here's Eric and Sylvia's winning ALHC routine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSJO7zDXZzs


Why it was popular: To dancers at the time, "Hollywood" style seemed smoother with more emphasis on footwork, and had a really cool swing-out called a whip. Dancers really refined their technique and smoothed out their dancing in this time. Also, dancers could indulge their vintage-love by wearing "cooler" cothes than zoot suits. Men wore baggies, sweaters, newsboy caps, striped socks, and girls wore jumpers, wide legged pants, nice skirts, did their hair up with flowers and put on make up. Shoes: white bucks for guys and wedgies for girls. EVERYONE put their suede on their shoes.

The moves of the day: The whip, sugar push, and quick-stop.

Phrase of the day: "Does anyone have any masking tape?"

Side-effects Though Erik and Sylvia had a good pulse and were best friends with "savoy-style" dancers Ryan and Jenny, people took the new style to an exagerated degree.

In trying to be smooth, many people lost their "pulse" all together, so a lot of dancers looked bored and unenergetic.

Also, the dancers at that time took the terms "hollywood style" and "savoy style" and created a dividing line, making people think the styles were totally different ideas from each other. So people started dancing like they were completely different ideas, which created styles of dancing that were a lot more different than the original styles ever were.

Almost all Charlestons were gone--passe'. (At least, around Atlanta) To many, if you were doing anything other than the (ironically-named) savoy-kicks charlestons, you were considered an outcast. The whips were pretty and involved tricky leading and following, however, they stifled the ammount of stuff follows could do on their swing-outs.

Also, since the original Hollywood dancers only did a few moves in the old clips, people took their vintage-worship to that level and only did a few moves and lots of footwork. Hardly any moves were invented during this time. Until, that is, someone new stepped in...


KEVIN AND CARLA

Kevin and Carla were both great Hollywood Style dancers before they started working on new moves and doing more "groove" dancing in their Lindy. They also both concentrated a great deal on musicality, showmanship, and competition dancing. The result was a ton of incredible routines, like this one (one of their firsts, and one of their best)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0WnyJQk4cs



why they were popular Making up cool turns was back! Flashy moves were back! Tandem Charleston is cool again! Break dancing is allowed! And what's this body-roll thing, that looks neat! And we can be musical! For the guys, cargo pants with lots of pockets. girls, it was wearing pants under their skirts (skants).

The moves of the day: Girls putting their legs out when they turn. Guys touching the ground a lot. V-slides. And, of course, the body roll.

The Side-effects: As always, the side effects were merely people taking the goods to an extreme. Many people became, oddly enough, too musical--they had to hit everything in the music all the time with very large hits. "Splanky" was played way too much during this period.

Body rolls were done in great quantity with various degrees of success.

Follows at this time also started doing a ton, which is great, but it also was taken to too much of an extreme sometimes, leading to a "she might as well be dancing with a poll" situation on many a dance floor.

Speaking of extremes, it could be said that Kevin and Carla's popularity was itself a sign of an extreme shift from Hollywood style, which people had begun to feel stifled by (see above). And to some dancers, it all seemed like it was taking them too far away from what turned them onto it in the first place: The original dancers of Harlem. Thus came...


THE "RAW" STYLE

Here, for the first time in many years, it's not just 1 couple that's setting the tone of Lindy Hop. Instead, it's the young dancers who first began dancing in 1998 when "savoy style" was first popular.

For a good idea of how many good dance couples felt this way, check out this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-OYC2aVM4Q

Each trend is started when something is "missing" from the previous trend. In this case, dancers felt that what was missing was the raw emotion of the dance. We had spent so long smoothing things out, calculating how to be musical, and trying to be graceful, that we forgot how the original swing dancers did it. They yelled when they swung-out. They loved to kick, throw each other around, and dance fast. They had attitude and the feeling of dancing was more important than trying to look graceful.

Why it's popular: For the reasons above. Also, for those of us who learned Frankie Manning dancing first, it was a chance for us to get back to the specific reason we started dancing. It also started getting people comfortbale with dancign to faster music. For social dancing, many people stopped carring about specific dance clothes--jeans, t-shirts. (This doens't apply to competition dancing or dances where bands perform, where many people dress up in dresses, suits and sport coats in the old Harlem style.) Shoes: aris allens (mostly white) for the guys, white keds for the girls.

The moves: Wide swivels, stretching, and more of a Charleston influence to the lindy hop overall. All the old moves from Ryan and Jenny years. Faster music.

The Side-effects: When it first came out, some dancers took all the gracefullness out of their dancing, leaving them pretty sloppy. Also, sadly, some people took "raw" to mean "I'm so in the moment I don't have to recognize that I just kicked you in the face with my aris allens."

So, where are we now?

In the neat time span of 10 years, we have sort of come full circle. The "Raw style" is now naturally evolving into individual dance styles.

I'll be intresting to see what trends come next, if trends does come next. It'll be hard ot take swing back any further in time...there's alreayd a Charelston sub-set. Cake-walk and peabody are probably too small and undocumented for a real revival. Perhaps there will be small revivals of Hollywood style, or Collegiate Shag will soon dominate the dance floors.

But what I think is far more likely is that the modern swing dance scene has now gone through the biggest trends it will. Now, just like an artist or craftsperson who gets the big picture then starts working on details, I believe the swing scene now has all it's major ingredients, and is going to play with spices and cooking time (weird analogy).


How they mimic the devlopment of a dancer
What's also interesting is how the devlopment of these trends mirrors a very healthy devlopment for a dancer. First comes the passion and big moves. Then comes smoothing out everything and refining technique, then comes the creative aspect. Basically, once you have tecnique, the finer things are creating, playing with connection, and working on beign musical. Then, once all is said and done, you try to capture the original passion you started with. Obviously, this isn't the only way a dancer can develope. However, it is one way, and it's the way the scene as a whole has done it.

For my part, I think it's important that we realize that all of thses couples above share the same traits-- they are all smooth, energetic, creative, and amazing performers and teachers. These things never change, no matter what the trend is.

Those of us who been through each "popular trend" in swing have taken something with us from each to make it part of our own personal style. That includes moves, body-control, and fashion.

It's also perhaps interesting to note how each couple above changed their trends with the styles: Ryan and Jenny never changed their style from what I can tell. Erik hasn't changed his much either. (nor should they, if they love how they dance. And all three are a pleasure to watch). Sylvia Skylar is a cammilian and can dance any style and often changes it up just for fun. Kevin and Carla seem to enjoy the change trends can bring and now both dance, for lack of better words, a very smooth raw style. Check out this for comparrison to the Kevin and Carla clip above:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmSHr1OO9Oo


Moral of the story: Here's where you come in. I would love to hear what you guys think, if you disagree with stuff I've said or if you do agree and want to exapnd on it.


In conclusion I was bored this evening.
_________________
--Bobby "incredibly" White

www.bobbykate.com

[sirrobert]

Makes me wish I was around for all the trends, even if some weren't so appealing.

Creativity is fun, let's stick with that trend.

[Slicky Shoes]

Oh, they were all appealing (at least, to me). I learned a LOT from each trend. I think that's why I really try to explore new styles when they come around...each one has a different key to good dancing and captures a new part of the spirit of the past.
_________________
--Bobby "incredibly" White

www.bobbykate.com

[GemZombie]

I really started dancing during the Hollywood Craze, and I participated in that madness(By that I mean the division, not the dancing... I'm still so rooted in "smooth" Lindy, I believe it's quite obvious). I'd just like to say that most of us old "Hollywood kids" have grown up and realized the wider aspect of the dance is more fun.

I'm impressed with your essay Bobby, it's spot on with what I know and have experienced too.

Each step has brought important innovation or structure to what is considered *good* Lindy Hop. While there may have been a lack of innovation during the Hollywood "phase", what was gained during that time was a drive to learn the 2nd and 3rd generation of the dance, to really concentrate on body control with technical structure, and to seek out and find the "Original Jitterbugs". It was the LA folks who found Jean, Hal, John, Willie, Maxie etc etc etc to learn as much as possible from them. Without that step I think many of us wouldn't be the dancers we are today. Even those who don't know about these people and their historical significance have benefited from that phase indirectly.

I for one like where Lindy Hop is today. Most people have incorporated things from 1st - 4th Generation Lindy Hop dancers into their dance, and that, to me, is a great thing. (And I'm so glad that the "style" wars are *mostly* over, though there are those of us with a bit of a Lindy / Blues divide these days, to which I'm guilty as charged).

[Slicky Shoes]

[erinregina]

[GemZombie]

I can only hope I am still dancing at Frankie's age and not confined to a walker or worse.

Man do I admire him!

[hooloovoo]

Frankie is indeed a force to be reconded with. I agree, Jesse, we'd all be lucky to still be walking at Frankie's age, let alone still being able to dance. ... Though, Bobby makes a good point: you don't see Frankie doing a whole lot of charleston these days.

Though, it is pretty cool that the old time bal dancers are still kickin' up a storm regularly at Bobby McGee's.


Makes you wonder why there are no old-time shag dancers left ...
_________________
--Kate
www.BobbyKate.com

[Heather]

Bobby, this is the BEST post EVAR!!! I'm pretty sure I started dancing around the time of that last generation...anyway, its cool to look back and see where things have been. In my lindy travels last year, it was interesting for me to see how people from different places danced...Each city, even though the dancers compromising that city were very different, definetely had a certain flavor. Most excellent essay!

[tupelo]

Hear, hear! thanks Bobby for posting this, I'd seen clips of these dancers and seen their influence on the dance floor, but didn't know how they all related to one another.
-fg

[Patioswings]

Have I ever mentioned that I'm a huge Bobby White fan!!!? Great post....you should think about lengthening this and publishing it somewhere....it's a great read for dancers.

I started dancing in the winter of 1998 in a small college town where you were lucky if you can get a good east coast basic going. We started a swing club and invested our money in the Frankie Manning video series. This was pretty much my introduction to Lindy Hop. We also got the 1994 "Can't top the Lindy Hop" video and I just fell in love with Ryan Francois. It's funny that Bobby posted that clip. I wish I could see that Jam again? Does anyone have the whole thing?

I'm loving all of the many styles of Lindy Hop. Even in Atlanta you can sit back and watch everyone's "influence" as they dance on the floor. I like to mix it up based on what the music is calling for. It makes the night all the more interesting.

Good stuff!!
_________________
Terrace Ellis
WWw.Terraceellis.com
http://www.myspace.com/terraceellis


"buddy..if that did it for me, I'd be the luckiest man alive." Melvin Udall

[Slicky Shoes]

Thanks, Terrace! I'm a big Terrace fan, myself.

I have the Ryan Francoise "yellow jacket" jam on some computer clips and on video. The clips don't capture it as well, but I can see if I can send it to you. I know Peter has it on video, too.
_________________
--Bobby "incredibly" White

www.bobbykate.com

[whiskers]

Bobby, I'm speechless...but luckily I'm typing at the moment so I can still say something.

I have a very unique perspective on these movements here in Atlanta, and about the swing in general. I know you know this Mr. White, but I learned lindy back in 98/99 timeframe from Jim and Marcy Pett. These were two dancers that very much emulated straight Frankie Lindy Hop (I'm not using that Savoy term) and the Rhythm Hot Shots. So they basically taught that and the only clips I EVER watched pre-2005 was Can't Top the Lindy Hop and Frankie's 3 video series with Erin Stevens.

I then disappeared for 4.5 years from 2000.5-2005. I also didn't really talk to any swing dancers during this time except for Dwight, Patrick and Bela, and even then it was just about life, not dance (for the most part). So the whole style wars was a black box to me...and I can happily say I'm glad I didn't have to go through it because I probably would have gotten all mad or something and quit for good. I was also not even 18 yet during my 90's heyday so I couldn't go anywhere except the Blue Moon Supper Club in Marietta because I couldn't stay out late.

Anwho, when I came back in Feb of 2005, my moves that I learned back in the late 90's were still cool. I was amazed. All the stuff I learned 5 years prior was still considered "cool" and "in". Needless to say I was happy. I then had a hilariously awesome conversation with Patrick about how I missed all this stuff that Bobby has just written about. He was like, "man Andrew, you timed stuff perfectly! You learned straight up Frankie style when it was in, then came back right when things had settled down! Lucky." It was funny.

So, just to give a point to my little story, it's nice to know that things change and evolve over time. In our case its a dance we love. However, what's special to me is that the reason we started loving it doesn't ever have to. I fell in love with it because it had a history, an energy, and a wow factor that nothing other than breakdancing has ever displayed. I do what I do because, yes, it's fun and makes me smile, but also to honor that history that I've come to respect. I think some of that was lost during what we could call the style wars. But it's refreshing to know that things can and do right themselves, and that the purpose and meaning behind something you love is never lost, just hidden or misplaced for a while.

In conclusion, Bobby is a badass and I didn't have to put up with any style-wars bull$hit.

[GemZombie]

I personally was involved in the style wars, and I'd have to say it was *all* about the history for some of us. Though we chose to ignore the 1st generation stuff a lot, which is unfortunate, we did gain an amazing amount of historical knowledge during that period.

I fell in love with the dance and the historical nature of it, and truly that's what it was all about for us Hollywood dancers of the time. As I said, we just chose to involve ourselves in the history of LA and the dancers of that time and didn't really pay much attention to the original dancers from the 20's and early 30's.

Fortunately for us, folks like Erik and Sylvia who were all about "LA/Hollywood" were also trying to give us parts of the earlier generations, we just didn't always know it. Now that I look back on it, I see it and appreciate it even more.

I regret the bad parts of the style wars (personal conflicts and whatnot), but I wouldn't really change it because it has led us to where we are... and for that I am happy that I involved myself in it.

[Slicky Shoes]

[whiskers]

I totally get you Jesse. I also think that you hit it on the nose about the knowledge gained/found during the times and how its helped everything.

So, when I said that I honor the history and that I thought that the some of the was lost, I didn't mean that respect for history was lost or even the drive. I was probably just too succinct. What I intended for people to read from that was that I agree with Bobby's analysis in the fact that when the "raw" movement took more of a hold, it was really getting back to the raw emotion of the dance and why you dance. Bobby's comments on "replacing what was missing" really makes sense when you look at the progression he laid out, and I think (at least based on what I've heard and read about) was that some of the roots of the dance was lost. Basically dancing not emulate or to look a certain way, but to express emotion and the feeling of the moment with the music. I wasn't around during this, so I truly don't know, but that's kinda my "Doctor Andrew" analysis

But yeah, I also really like the fact that things have changed and evolved. It's made things like Herrang, Skye Humphries, Silver Shadows. It's kinda like the whole learning from the past thing. I'm sure we're in a phase right now. Maybe its called the melting pot style phase or the pre-blues-takeover phase or something. But yeah, i'm thankful that it all happened.

[Patioswings]

Style to me is so embedded into the music I hear on a given night. I guess it's my chameleon that's speaking to me right now. My approach to dancing Sidney Bechet is a bit different than say a typical tune by Lou Rawls or another modern era ensemble. Compare what you wish.

This brings me to another very important conversation. With dancers like myself the DJ has a huge influence over my night. Some evenings I find myself doing LOTS of charleston, sugar push, etc.....mainly when the sets are very heavy with the old stuff. Other nights the sets are much more diverse and groovier and I find myself doing a more diverse lindy hop (more moves) body rolls, lots of turns, and improvisation. Although I prefer the latter I really enjoy a mixture of the two during the evening. Do you guys feel the same way?

In my observation of the past 2 years in Atlanta it seems we have a very diverse culture of dancers around the city. Also it seems that the national culture is very diverse as well although I've never danced on the west coast.

Hmmm.....
_________________
Terrace Ellis
WWw.Terraceellis.com
http://www.myspace.com/terraceellis


"buddy..if that did it for me, I'd be the luckiest man alive." Melvin Udall