Montreal Swing Riot 2015 – Joyss – Guest Performance from Alain Wong on Vimeo. Joyss is a multi-genre dancer from Paris, performing, judging and teaching here at Swing Riot in Montreal this weekend. Here is Joyss doing his piece "Take 5". I love how effortlessly he mixes genres, but also blends it all into one…
Category: Dancing / Music
Postmodern Jukebox and Bringing Jazz to the Masses
Last night I had the pleasure of catching the musical group Postmodern Jukebox at the Regency in San Francisco. I honestly did not know what to expect. I maybe caught a video or two produced by Postmodern Jukebox, but I put them in the same box as novelty, tongue-in-cheek remakes of modern songs in a…
Street dancers Tear It Up to “That’s It” by Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Street dancers (and hoofer) tearing it up to "That's It" by Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Nuff said. Credits Director, Editor and ChoreographerJo Roy DancersBliss UltraOmniMicah "Jamz" AbbreyDalphe MorantusJohn LubbersShelby Stehlin
Ksenia Parkhatskaya Dancing with Herself to “Big Chief” by Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Awesome dancing and choreography by Russian dancer Ksenia Parkhatskaya, amazing use of green screen tech, and a great Nola-funk by Dirty Dozen Brass Band. You can't have too many Ksenia's. Check out this earlier version of this choreography from 2012 done with multiple dancers (instead of multiple Ksenia's.)
Frankie Manning’s 101st Birthday and What He Taught Me
Today would have been the 101st birthday of Mr. Frankie Manning, the “ambassador of swing” and one the finest humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. I was fortunate enough to start swing dancing in the late 1990s in New York, right during the peak of the neo-swing resurgence and when Frankie Manning was…
XPress Your Swing Performance: More Lindy Hop + Street Dance Freshness
This video from the Xpress Your Swing festival in Montpellier, France has all the things that I love: slick lindy hop, funky street dancing, cool tricks, and clever choreo. And the energy of the whole thing is fantastic. Other dance styles in there include boogie woogie, West Coast Swing, breaking, popping, and whatever that they…
#IAmFrankieManning: Recreating a Photo of a Legendary Dancer
Here's my quick recreation of a photo of legendary lindy hopper, the late Frankie Manning. Check out the original image at this link. A modest contribution to a month-long celebration of Frankie's life, sponsored by the Frankie Manning Foundation. Many more photos can be found soon by checking out the hashtag #iamfrankiemanning this month! More…
Beautiful Dance Homage to House Dance Legend Marjory Smarth
Last weekend, I had the honor of performing along with 50 other amazing dancers in a tribute to house dance legend Marjory Smarth, who passed away recently. While I didn’t know Marjory directly, I have been taught by so many dancers who have been inspired and learned from her. I had a relatively small piece…
“Back in the Days”: French House Dancers Mamson, Anto and Frankwa in Slick Dance Video
The French house dance scene is unbelievably sick, which I suppose should not be a surprise since the French dominate so many other street dance styles. Gotta love the production values and fun of this dance view featuring French housies Mamson (Wanted Posse), Anto (Zamounda) and Frankwa (Serial Stepperz). Really inspiring!
Health and Dancing: Tips from 4 Dancer / Fitness Experts
For Yehoodi.com, I assembled this article on "health and lindy hop", that I think is applicable to all kinds of dancers and people. I interviewed a couple of personal trainers, a former coach, a yoga instructor and a physical therapist, all of whom have been dancing for several years. They provided some great insights into…