Musings on Dance, Food, Geek Stuff
The great soul singer Miss Sharon Jones passed away yesterday, after a long, brutal and unflinchingly public fight with cancer. I’m just crushed by the news, at the tail end of a big bummer of a year. But I’m also inspired. Who I am as a dancer — and a person — was significantly shaped by…
I've had a lindy crush on Daniil Nikulin ever since this video from earlier this year. He has just incredible lines, musicality and creativity. Here he is blowing me again, this time at Lindy Shock University in Budapest with partner Maria Filipova. This has all the things: dynamic movement great use of slow and fast motion…
SwingNation #78 features a tribute to Dawn Hampton, Camille A Brown's TED video on social dance, I Charleston Lisboa and more. Special thanks to John Dokes. SHOW REFERENCES A Visual History of Social Dance Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture Dick Van Dyke dancing I Charleston Lisboa Secret story reference Splanky Performed…
Janet Jackson was the most influential and important Jackson for me growing up. I admired Michael, but I LOVED Janet, following her career from break-out pop star to an increasingly confident and nuanced solo artist. For awhile I bought every album the week it came out, memorized the songs, tried to copy her dance moves. She made…
A brief history of African-American social dance, from the Charleston to the Dougie. Created and narrated by choreographer and dancer Camille A. Brown.
Watch this moving and inspiring dance homage to Michael Jackson, led by dancer Tobias Ellehammer with a global crew of amazing movers and shakers. Great choreography, cinematography and concept. I'll be watching this one again and again. In the first scene of the video, we have Paris and all the incredible talent…
Sarah Warny Berg created this wonderful photo essay about some of the darker feelings and thoughts experienced during the Herräng Dance Camp. Obviously this isn't exclusive to this camp or these people, but touches on some universal experiences we all go through but don't express often. I can totally relate to many of the sentiments…
I’ve been at the Herrang International Dance Camp — “The Home of the Happiest Feet” — for the past week and a half, along with hundreds of lindy hoppers from all over the world. It’s billed as the “most comprehensive and exciting dance camp focusing on African-American jazz dances from the Golden Era of jazz.”…
Tomorrow afternoon, I'm headed off to Europe for the Herrang Dance Camp, which I call the Burning Man for lindy hoppers. It's a five week intensive, chaotic gathering of thousands of lindy hoppers from all over the world for workshops, social dancing, performances, parties, socializing and much much more. Being there is like being transported to…