I honestly can't believe how time flies these days. I started thinking about writing a small review of the recent International Lindy Hop Championships the day it ended and next thing you know, we're half-way through September. So now I'm going to attempt to put into words the greatest and yet most disappointing Lindy Hop event I have ever attended.
Did that catch your attention? You don't expect to see the words "disappointment" and ILHC used together do you? It's not really what you might think.
Let me get this out right away...ILHC was amazing. I've been lucky enough to attend some of the biggestLindyHopevents around the country over the past two years. Almost all of them are fun simply because it's next to impossible to gather a large group of Lindy Hoppers into a town and not enjoy yourself. I think it's in our blood to have a good time. But ILHC is more than just fun. It's the perfect combination of talent, competition, innovation, organization and, yes, fun!
I walked away from the first ILHC feeling it had set the bar among dance competition weekends. Everything moved so smoothly and the transition from workshops to competitions to dances was seamless. And never before had I seen as many professional Lindy Hoppers in one room. Well the organizers of ILHC improved upon 2008 (seriously, was there even room to improve?) and made the 2009 version of ILHC even better. This year they had a Thursday night dance at the hotel, great bands, excellent DJs and even more professional dancers than the previous year. Not to mention, there was a crazy increase in the general level of dance talent. It's hard to imagine topping the inaugural event, but they did. I'd say it's safe to assume ILHC is now the premier Lindy Hop competition.
The Disappointment I hope it's clear by what I just wrote, ILHC is in no way a disappointment. No, the disappointment here is within me and my desires to improve as a dancer. I've gone back and forth over writing about this particular feeling. I don't want to come off as arrogant or selfish. And I don't ever want to assume I'm a better dancer than what I really am. But this is my blog, and this is where I can express myself and vent my frustrations. And with some encouragement from The Godfather and ILHC organizer Jerry Almonte, I'm going forward with it.
In 2008, I made the open jack and jill finals and placed 4th dancing with Krista Parrish. In 2009, I didn't make finals. You have no idea how upset I was over this. You see, I've taken to competitions because I see them as a chance to judge my progress, take in some constructive criticism and because they embody what Lindy Hop was in Harlem in the '30s. So when you feel like you've made tremendous progress over a year, you expect to either move up or place higher.
I've had a personal rule to stay in a certain division until I place in the top 3 of that division. Because of my 4th place finish last year, I figured I'd stay in the open level, hopefully place and then move up to advanced in 2010. Prelims are always interesting because you have no idea who you're going to be paired with. And more and more, you're not sure you'll even know the person you're dancing with. I've embraced this idea all along and usually go into these comps feeling pretty good now. That was until I was paired with a few dancers who couldn't swing out and couldn't follow a basic tandem charleston. (For the record, my second dance with Sharlene Choy was awesome!)
Like I said, I've always tried to be modest in rating my abilities as a dancer and understand what level I'm truly good enough to compete in. But not making finals a year after you've placed 4th is pretty hard to swallow. And then watching the finals knowing you could/and probably should be out there really left me wondering. I suppose I walk away wishing more dancers would employ a similar personal critique I use and understand there is a time and a place to compete. And maybe ILHC is not the best time to throw your hat into the competition field when there are basic skills you have not mastered. Trust me, I would love to be out there in the advanced level looking like I belong. But this is a competition. I know my limits. I just wish others did as well.
The Memory For me, there are a ton of memories to walk away with. We'll start with Thursday night, seeing a few of my JCC dance students show up. They sat along the back wall and were mesmerized by the effortless dancing of Carla Heiney. They watched Crista Seipp and Andreas Olsson put on a show - one that was leading up to the two winning the open strictly. Side note on that: you could just tell Andreas and Crista were poised to win. Watching them dance that first night, it was clear they were "on." They carried it all the way through the finals. DC!!!
But I digress... my second memory comes from Friday night, competing in the open strictly with Caroline Seipp on my birthday. When we walked on to the floor, the amount of cheering and happy birthday wishes really warmed my heart. One thing is certain among the lindy hop world, we're a close bunch and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday than to spend it with them.
My third memory and the one that stands out comes from the Champions strictly final. So much has been said about this one particular competition. Putting these dancers on a floor against each other makes for natural excitement and inspiration. But what we saw that Saturday night was more than dancing. It was the entire spirit of Lindy Hop take hold of two couples and engulf the entire crowd watching. The spotlights ended with the standard swing out line. Most of the couples went into their own thing. Skye and Frida and Max and Annie continued to swing out. They didn't stop until a few moments before the end of the song. Each swing out lifted the crowd higher and higher to the point everyone in the room was screaming for them. Watching Skye's face light up in the middle of all this, feeding off the crowd and the music is something I will probably never forget. This is why we dance!
The Summary You know, there really isn't much more I can say about ILHC 2009. If you didn't go this year, you missed out on one of the best Lindy Hop events of the year. Congrats to the winners and thank you to everyone who helped make the event possible.
Well a small little era of lindy hop in DC has come to an end. And it's a bitter-sweet moment for me after working so hard to build a weekly night of dancing at downtown nightclub Muse Lounge.
After much discussion with the folks at Gottaswing and assorted players in the DC swing dance world, we all agreed to postpone our new series of classes and weekly dances until September. If Muse Lounge is down and we can attract more students, we'll return to this downtown venue before we know it.
But that brings me to the bitter part of all of this. I have to be perfectly honest with you all in saying I'm highly disappointed. Sure, I finally get one night off during the week to myself now. But that's not really the point, nor is it a true silver lining in all of this. The fact is, Tempo at Muse is postponed until September because very few were willing to support it. We started out very strongly with an average of 10 or 12 students in each class and about 30 dancers showing up. The range went from ridiculously good to fresh out of our first class beginners. The venue has a nice, strong air conditioner, a full service bar and a pretty darn nice sound system. Even the floor was pretty nice, soft and above all, clean! There were couches along the wall for people to relax in and you really couldn't beat being one block from 3 metro lines. I had even booked a solid rotation with some of DC's best swing-era DJs.
Our high point was having The Loose Marbles come through town. We had over 100 dancers squeeze into this venue with a bevy of the top names in Lindy Hop tearing up the dance floor right in front of the hot jazz combo. In my opinion, it was one of the better nights of dancing in DC because it was a combination of amazing music and dancers all thrown into this beautiful nightclub. I remember saying to some folks, this is quite literally what the social life was like back in the days of the Savoy in Harlem. Ballrooms were to dancers in the '30s what nightclubs are to so many today. So here we were, blending these two era's into something that really worked.
Fast forward a few weeks. Our dance has a total of 6 people. I can't even remember how many actually paid because I think 2 or 3 were from the class. We couldn't even pay our DJ for an hour worth of time so Lily took money out of her own pocket. How does a dance go from over 100 to 6 within just a few weeks? Maybe it was a just one of those nights? Maybe it was the rain? Who knows???
It didn't get any better the next week. Or the next. Or the next. Finally we book the Red Hot Rhythm Chiefs for the final week of our classes. We get about 30 people to show up. It was fun. The music was great! The venue rocked once again. But it was nothing like the success we had captured before. And clearly there was a large segment of the DC dance scene avoiding Muse Lounge.
At this point I guess there isn't a whole lot to be said other than I'm definitely confused. I'm confused at how a lindy hop scene can sit back so proudly and pat themselves on the back for having such a vibrant scene, yet won't support the majority of dance nights thrown their way. I'm always so embarrassed when people come from other cities thinking DC is "the shit" when it comes to having a dance scene. They know about the Jam Cellar. That's a no brainer. But they're always so surprised and disappointed when there isn't more dancing options throughout the week. Sure, we have CCB. We have Glen Echo. But we all know there is a large number of people who won't support those venues either. And frankly, some times the music leaves a whole lot to be desired.
Such as it is, we have venues. We have sheer numbers that other cities would die for. We have talent between DC and Baltimore that is unreal. But for some reason we can't seem to build upon these things. I have no clue why. Maybe it's politics? Maybe it's personal? As far as I'm concerned, politics and personal beefs have no place in dancing. Dancing should be that outlet to forget all that crap and simply have fun and be moved by amazing music. It's why we do this. It's why Frankie and his crew did it in Harlem.
Hopefully in September we'll return. Maybe we'll have a better marketing approach. Maybe we'll figure out the key to getting more dancers out. Who knows. For now we just lost another chance to engage in one of our passions in this great city.
I'm falling behind on my blog updates, so I figured it was time to get everyone up to speed on all the happenings in DC. Last week was absolutely incredible in the amount of energy and things to do. We had dancing, we had playoff hockey, we had great food and we had mothers day. No rest for the weary!
So as most of you know, I've started hosting a weekly lindy hop dance at Muse Lounge. We call the dance "Tempo" and it's typically DJ'd by some of our local jazz music talents. About a month ago when all of this was announced, Lily Matini sent me a note asking if Muse could handle a band. This is a lounge/nightclub in downtown that usually has house music DJs pumping tunes while go-go dancers strut their stuff on perfectly positioned podiums throughout the venue. So my first reaction was... nah!
But Lily kept after me, we talked with the GM and we quickly learned they in fact could handle live music. So the table was set to bring in New Orleans jazz band The Loose Marbles. Most dancers in the lindy hop world know of Loose Marbles because they were the band who performed the music for the competitions this past year at ULHS. So when we announced this band was coming to DC, reception was very broad and positive.
Well last Wednesday night the Marbles performed to a packed house at Muse. We had over 100 people show up on a rainy night in the middle of the week to see this band. I didn't even dance that much because I was too busy socializing and just enjoying the sight of so many dancers showing the DC love to the band. It was a special night to say the least.
I want to send out a special thank you to Lee Tucker for DJing the band breaks, Paul Roth for taking these photos, Debra Sternberg for booking the band and Ms. Lily Matini for being the thorn in my side to make all this happen. And thank you to the 100-plus dancers who came out to support one of the truely talented bands of our time!
As most of you already know, this week has been quite the emotional roller coaster. On Monday morning the Lindy Hop world lost our beloved Frankie Manning. He touched all of us dancers more than we could have imagined and so his loss hit pretty hard. So we spent the day mourning and then honored his legacy by dancing the night away. We continued remembering this amazing man last night with a memorial tribute at The Jam Cellar. Ann Mony and Steve "DC" Grimes put together a beautiful video, several dancers told personal stories about their time with Frankie and we all did the Shim Sham.
Between all the reflection and memorials, I had tickets to game 7 of the Capitals Stanley Cup playoff game against the Rangers. On one hand I felt like I needed to mourn longer. But on the other hand, Frankie lived his life with such joy and happiness and would want us to do the same. So last night prior to The Jam Cellar, I attended what I think goes down as the greatest sports event I've ever seen in person.
Last Wednesday night, the Caps lost to the Rangers, 2-1 in game 4. The loss put the Caps down 3 games to 1 in the opening round series. Teams coming back from a 3-1 deficit is about as rare as finding a democrat that lowers taxes. It just doesn't happen very often. So I think the entire DC region shrugged off the loss and figured it was yet another first round exit for this incredibly talented hockey team. I mean, how would the Caps come back from this?
Two games and five days later, the Caps find themselves battling the Rangers in game 7 with the series tied 3-3. The Caps were at home. DC was rockin' the red! Everything was in their favor. We had tickets to the game and you can bet we were going to scream as loud as humanly possible to help bring our franchise a playoff series win. But the Caps didn't show up for the start of the game. Oh, the players were on the ice. But the team was thoroughly dominated in the first two periods. The Rangers scored first and the Caps followed to tie the game, but clearly New York wanted it more.
Then the third period began. You could sense the Caps finding their game. You could see simple possessions were now on the Ranger end of the ice and not stuck behind the Caps net. The Caps had 2 shots on goal in the first period while NY had 8. The Caps had 13 in the 3rd period and held NY to just one. It had to happen. It was going to happen. Caps nation was about to explode as scoring chances mounted. Then with 4:59 left in the game, Russian superstar and NHL veteran Sergei Fedorov beat Ranger goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to give the Caps a 2-1 lead. I've never seen an arena erupt with such celebration and emotion. You just knew the team that scored would win. For the final 5 minutes of the game, the crowd stood chanting C. A. P. S. Caps, Caps, Caps!!! I've never seen anything like it.
The Caps won. DC moves on in the playoffs. And in honor of Frankie Manning, I danced, cheered, and laughed all night long. What a roller coaster ride!
Below are two more small and crappy images I shot with my phone. The one above and just below are from inside the arena and the third is the crowd spilling out into the streets of DC.
Today is very sad day! This morning, April 27, 2009, Frankie Manning, a friend, teacher and inspiration to myself and dancers around the world passed away. He was 94 and is survived by friends and family and the dance he helped create.
There has been so much said about Frankie over the years that I can't possibly begin to sum up everything he meant to us. What I can do is explain what he meant to me and why this man was such an inspiration to the world of dance. You see, Frankie was one of the original Lindy Hoppers. Little did he know back in Harlem, running around with his friends and hitting up ballrooms to dance his butt off, that he was creating an American dance that would be alive and well decades later. Frankie was creating moves because he loved dancing and performing. He tore up the Savoy Ballroom floor so many times because he loved the spirit of Jazz and Lindy Hop.
When I first started dancing Lindy Hop, I knew very little about the dance, the history, or this man who helped cultivate it. My ex-wife passed along a photo she had taken with him while she was still out in California. It was then I started looking into the history of the dance to learn about Frankie. I then found out I'd have the chance to meet Frankie myself when Tom & Debra of Gottaswing announced their annual Frankie Weekend Workshop. Around that time, I bought his book and started reading. I finished the book about a week before he arrived in town with the utmost respect for this man. I almost felt, because of my passion for Lindy Hop, that Frankie was like a brother to me. Reading his stories and hearing how down to earth this living legend was, connected you to his soul. Here he was, 93 years-old, teaching, dancing and living life to the fullest surrounded by the dance he loved eternally. And because of this, dancers all over loved him eternally.
I had an amazing opportunity to interview Frankie for the AARP that weekend. And of course I took many pictures from the events. Talking to him about his life was one of the coolest things I think I have ever done. It was such an honor to sit there, cameras rolling, listening to this man talk about all the things he did, the people he knew and places he went. Words can't even describe what it's like meeting a legend like that, knowing this person had such an impact on the very hobby you love so much. Half the time I wanted to listen, the other half I just wanted to thank him...for being Frankie.
Today is a very sad day. The dance world lost a true legend. And for Lindy Hoppers all over the world, we lost a friend. But we all share his spirit in our hearts. We know Frankie lived every day to the fullest with a smile on his face and in his heart. And we know his passion and energy was communicated to us through his feet every time he moved. Even up until a few weeks ago when he led the Shim Sham at Lindy Fest in Houston, Frankie was moving with the energy of a 21 year-old. He was happy. His job here was complete. He inspired us and gave us that passion and energy to carry his message of dance forward. From this day on, we will live and dance for you Frankie! We'll miss you!!!
So I thought about posting this photo in the "Random Photo of the Day" section but there was just too much of a story to go with it.
I just returned from Lindy Fest in Houston and was greeted by this photo waiting for me in my inbox from my buddy Stephen Grimes. The photo comes from Lindy Focus, which a large group of us attended in Asheville, NC over the New Year's weekend. I honestly can't recall which night the photo was taken, but the band performing was our favorite Boilermaker Jazz Band.
What makes this photo so absolutely hilarious was the fact that we noticed this cat walking around with the Boilermaker t-shirt. As James 'Droz' Andrews (Jeremy Piven) says in the movie PCU, "Gutter, don't be that guy. Don't be the guy who wears the shirt of the band you're going to see!"
Seeing this as a photo opportunity, Stephen and I put on our best rock-on pose with the guy wearing the shirt of the band he's going to see.
...I just love the stain in the middle of his shirt. Priceless!
Ever since we competed together at ALHC, Kelly has wanted to shoot more videos of us social dancing so we could work on some things and see how we look. The following is a video she posted on her blog of us dancing one Monday evening at the Chevy Chase Ballroom. It's not the best of videos, but it's kinda cool to throw on the blog for friends and family to see. Enjoy...
So most of you who read this blog know that my biggest passion in life is dancing. And most of you know that if you every need to reach me, it's a safe bet you'll find me on one of the various dance floors throughout the DC region. So it should be no surprise that I was at Glen Echo this past Saturday night. But what is a surprise is how horrible the dance was.
Now, I've been meaning to opine on this subject for awhile, but keep getting distracted by...you know, dancing. But this weekend was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's humps.
I had talked with a few folks about going, so I took my friend Bethany and we set out for a night of dancing. When we walked up to the Spanish Ballroom, I started to get a sense it was going to be rough by the wailing sounds of rock music coming from the venue. I also started to have second thoughts when I saw it was the Washington Swing Dance Committee hosting the event. But we paid our money and went in anyway. I guess it was an hour later we were leaving what was probably the worst dance I've seen in DC.
Here's my problem. DC has a great swing dance scene. Monday at CCB is always fun and Tuesday at the Jam Cellar is regarded as one of the best dance nights around the world. The Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo is probably the nicest ballrooms in existence and we have more than our fair share of great bands in and around the DC metro area. And in terms of numbers, DC is home to more of the best dancers than any other city in the world. So in my opinion, there is no reason we should run into a bad dance. But week after week, month after month, the Washington Swing Dance Committee (we'll just say WSDC from now on) hosts these horrible dances.
This past Saturday they hosted the rock and blues band The Nighthawks. Now if I'm watching a NASCAR race or at a bar enjoying a Bud, I'd have no problem with this band. And from a music stand-point, they aren't bad. But they certainly were not a swing band. They certainly did not play swing music. And they certainly should not have been performing at a swing dance inside the venerable Spanish Ballroom.
Surely the WSDC has heard of jazz. Surely they know what real swing music sounds like. I have to believe they realize we have orchestras like Tom Cunningham's and Eric Felton's right here in our backyards. And surely the know bands like the Boilermaker Jazz Band and Harlem Renaissance Orchestra aren't far. So why, please tell me why, they keep bringing in these roadhouse rock bands for swing dances?
Their web site says they're "dedicated to preserving and promoting all forms of swing dance, instruction and music." But their approach to their dances is only driving people away. Sure, Billy Joe Jim Bob may like the Nighthawks. Sure, Billy Joe Jim Bob might find an occasional young girl to look at with creepy eyes while he's dancing. But the average swing dancer...those who really do care about the history and roots of the dance...are not showing up. And those that do are never coming back.
We're at a cross-roads here where the Lindy and other forms of swing are growing in interest around the world. DC will host the first ever International Lindy Hop Championships this summer and almost every major city hosts Lindy and Balboa exchanges for hordes of young and older dancers. The last thing we need is a swing committee that either hires their friends and the wrong bands or is out of touch with real Lindy world. For every young dancer that arrived at Glen Echo this past Saturday, I'm sorry. That is not swing. That is not what Frankie Manning and Al Minns had in mind when they did their thing in the ballrooms of Harlem 70 years ago. Visit CCB on a Monday night or The Jam Cellar on a Tuesday and you'll see the true version of this dance and people who really do care about preserving and promoting what we love.
Hello blog friends. As you see, I'm trying to be a bit more active with this photo blog so you can see what's going on in the life of Doug and Kel. Keep coming back here because if something catches my eye, I'll grab a photo and post it here to tell you about it.
Since we are on the topic of weekend activities, I was able to attend another swing dance event at the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park. These swing dance events happen once or twice a month and draw anywhere from 300 to 700 people. They truly are the largest swing dance parties I have ever seen.
I snapped these two photos while I was there so Kelly could see what she has to look forward to when she moves to DC. The events have different sponsors and feature live bands from all around the DC, Philly and NYC metro areas. Not to mention, these events also attract some of the best dancers from as far as Ohio and Florida. Check out this video from the Jam Cellar event a few weeks back that featured a dance contest.
So as you can see, even though I moved from the hotbed of swing in California, I've found a home to perfect my Lindy hopping skills here in our nations capital. By the way, I'm taking private lessons starting at the end of February from the couple that won the above contest. Will Kel and I be featured in a dance contest like this one above one day...count on it!
Welcome to urban marinade...a blog that lets you stew in the cultural crock pot of Washington, DC. I'm here to rant and rave about anything and everything in my little urban world. Generally speaking, that includes nightlife, photography, dancing and DC urban development. So there!
I honestly can't believe how time flies these days. I started thinking about writing a small review of the recent International Lindy Hop Championships the day it ended and next thing you know, we're half-way through September. So now I'm going to attempt to put into words the greatest and yet most disappointing Lindy Hop event I have ever attended.
