On Saturday, I had the pleasure of sitting in a packed auditorium at the Jewish Center of San Francisco to watch a lovingly curated showing of vintage clips of jazz dance on film from the 1930s to the 1950s. Called the "Giants of Jazz on Film," this is a popular series of film clip showings…
Category: Dancing / Music
On Social Dancing and the Creeps that Spoil It for Everyone
Last night I was at a fantastic birthday party for my friend Kirk. Being a lindy hopper, of course there was going to be dancing at Kirk's celebration. It was one of the most joyous nights of dancing I've had in awhile, just cutting it up with a dozen or so people to swing-era jazz,…
New Documentary on Cab Calloway airs on PBS! (video)
Watch Cab Calloway: Sketches on PBS. See more from American Masters. Cab Calloway is one of my personal heroes as a bandleader, a dancer and a larger than life personality during the Harlem Rennaissance. While Ellington was smooth and Basie was cool, Calloway was flamboyant, antic, and always entertaining. His fame as an African-American artist…
“Hotel Nacional”: Gloria Estefan’s New Music Video features Lindy Hop, Electro-swing, and the Kitchen Sink
Still not sure how I feel about this music video by Gloria Estefan. I like electro-swing, lindy hop, and b-boying, so in theory I should love this. The "Rocky Horror Picture" references are mostly lost on me, but I'm told they are there. And the burlesque, glam-Paris look is well done. Still, it feels…
“Swing Dancing” Book Chronicles Lindy Hop from Slavery to Today
Swing aficionados generally use words like "happy" and "fun," when describing their dance, and Lindy Hop the original style of swing, is often referred to as "an outward expression of an inner joy." Sometimes silly, sometimes cool, it's a dance that lifts the spirits. And to those that catch the bug ( the "Jitter"-bug, that…
Sh*t Lindy Hoppers Say (video)
It had to happen. Congrats to my friends Iris, Jim and Sarah for putting this together in record time. I've probably said pretty much all of those things, I'm afraid.
Movies You Must See in the Theaters: “Pina” and “The Artist”
There are dozens of movies in the theaters right now that I'm dying to see. Most of the Oscar-nominees and some popcorn flicks. But I can wait for all of these to come to DVD / streaming if I have to. Except for two: "The Artist" and "Pina." "The Artist" is the most original film…
Lindy Hoppers needed for Quantum Physics Project!
Some scientist / dancers at the University of Waterloo in Canada are looking for lindy hoppers around the world to help them demonstrate how quantum computing operates — by dancing. Entitled Project Q, they are asking for groups to perform a fairly simply choreography, film it, post it, and send the link to them….
Step Up 4: Sadly Not in “4D” or Called “Step Up 4Eva”
I just watched this trailer thingee for the inevitable "Step Up 4" coming out this August. Some things to be concerned about: This is the 4th installment of this street dance series, and not once has a person of color been the star. Seriously, WTF? First time director Scott Speer. Long intro featuring shots of Miami,…
Teaching Teens to Charleston is Awesome
Last week I had the pleasure of teaching a dozen high schoolers some basic charleston and jazz steps for my friend Rosalyn, who teaches at a school in San Francisco. Apparently this school allows the students to take a dance class as their physical education requirement. I wish they had this at my school! I…