Hundreds Fete Yehoodi’s 12th Birthday with Dance Jams, Cake and Contests

I'm exhausted but smiling today from the awesome celebration of 12 years of Yehoodi.com that took place last night at the Frim Fram Jam at Club 412.  It was such a great feeling seeing the nearly 300 folks who came out to fete a dozen years of Yehoodi, from newbies who've been dancing for a month to friends that I've known since I started dancing 13 years ago. 

The highlight of the evening for me was the awesome strictly lindy competition, organized by Lilieblue.  It was thrilling seeing the first heat of 20-some couples dancing their hearts out for the crowd, with David Greybill, Laura Jeffers, and Frank Dellario tasked with the difficult job of judging the competitors. After three songs they had whittled the dancers down to six finalists, who you can see above dancing in the final heat. 

The three top couples walked away with fantastic prizes including a $100 gift certificate to Dancestore.com, a free pair of much-loved Aris Allen dance shoes, and a one-year free pass for the Frim Fram Jam dance!  Congrats to Elaine and Adam for taking the top slot, and Mike L. and Emily V., and Felix and Jessi, for 2nd and 3rd places respectively. 

Among other highlights of the night, the Yehoodistrator jam was chaotic and hilarious fun.  And I loved the delicious red velvet birthday cake that Effervescent procured for us. 

All of the Yehoodistrators got to DJ a mini-set, which resulted in a fun mix of music for the night.  Even Spuds, all the way from San Francisco, got to get in on the action with a music set he sent along earlier yesterday. Sadly, despite all of our technology, we failed to get him to talk to the room via Skype, Facetime, Gchat or even the regular telephone.  But folks got to see Manu's face and more importantly baby Micah via Facetime!

A big moment for me was getting to DJ the final set of the night.  I think I successfully kept the house rocking with a mix of big band swing, jump blues and New Orleans style classics, even as we neared the 1am hour.  I'm not the most fantastic DJ, but I know what gets me moving on the dance floor. 

Thanks to my fellow Yehoodistrators Lilieblue, Effervescent, Spuds and Frankyboy, our awesome DJ coordinator Swifty, our staff including Westiegrrl, Atalanta, and Kepfram, and the hundreds who made last night such a great success.