Let Me Tell You december 1997 Oh let me tell you about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above and a thing called You and I a Thing? Are we “a Thing”? I ask, dare not speak it Label it, frame it Fearing I am wrong…
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Remembering a Rock Climbing First Date
I just remembered today that I had been outdoor rock climbing once, several years ago. And it was kind of a disaster. I was in my late twenties living in New York City. One summer, I had met a lovely woman at a Quaker gathering who took a shine to me. She invited me over…
Jookin’: An Examination of Underground Black Dance Spaces
I just finished reading Jookin’ : The Rise of Social Dance Formations in African American Culture by Katrina Hazzard-Gordon. It describes in compelling detail on the ways that African slaves and African Americans found to create their own social spaces in a society that actively prohibited their association. The focus of Jookin’ is on social dance…
360 Video of Alex Honnold Free Soloing El Cap
I’m so excited to see the documentary Free Solo in a couple of weeks, the story of how legendary climber Alex Honnold ascended Yosemite’s El Capitan with no rope, no harness, just his chalk bag and balls of steel. In the meanwhile, this 360 video showing a bit of Alex free soloing El Cap will…
San Diego: Fish Tacos, Incredible Beaches, Animal Adventures and More
I am just back from a wonderful trip to San Diego, a city that has long been on my list of places to visit, but for whatever reason I never found the time to travel there. Fortunately, my friend Hanah offered to be my guide to the best of San Diego during our trip there….
Dancing to “Puttin on the Ritz” by Fred Astaire
Here’s a short choreo piece I created to the wonderful song “Puttin on the Ritz” by Fred Astaire. So much fun to do!
Homemade Pancakes with Whipped Cream and Bacon
I don’t think I’ve ever made straight-up pancakes from scratch before? I used the Martha Stewart recipe, which I just a decent job of. They weren’t very pretty and didn’t rise very much. But very tasty! I topped them with whipped cream that I whipped myself. It’s so easy to do, and really only takes…
Swingin’ at the Savoy, Norma Miller’s Memoirs as a Lindy Hopper
I finally got around to reading Norma Miller’s Swingin’ at the Savoy: The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer (1996). I don’t know why it took me so long to get to this book. I should have read it years and years ago. Norma recounts her incredible life as a dancer and an entertainer, from first…
Joe Williams on Playing Music for Dancers
“When the band would see real fine dancers, the musicians would try to become a part of what they were doing. Really, the dancers inspired the musicians and vice versa. If the musicians did something exceptional, it inspired the dancers to do something exceptional, and then the dancers would inspire the musicians to do even…
My Interview with “Crazy Rich Asians” Singer Jasmine Chen!
I’m so delighted to have had the opportunity to interview Shanghai-based jazz singer Jasmine Chen for “SwingNation” the other day. An innovative musician who fuses traditional Chinese folk traditions with jazz inflections, Jasmine rose to international attention recently when her music was featured on the “Crazy Rich Asians” soundtrack and she appeared in two scenes…