Last Saturday, I spent the good part of the day into the evening at the "Great Dickens Christmas Fair," a month long celebration of the holidays in the Cow Palace in South San Francisco. I'm still struggling to find words to describe the experience. The Dicken's Fair is a fully realized recreation of…
Category: Dancing / Music
Outer Circle Crew: b-boying meets lindy hop (video)
I really dig this mixed genre dance performance by the "Outer Circle" dance crew in LA. The piece is mostly b-boying / breaking, plus an aerial-centric lindy hop segment starting at about the 5 minute mark. There's not a lot of "foundational" lindy hop movement, but the swing choreo is really exciting, and works…
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings in Concert: There Ain’t Nothin Like the Real Thing
On Friday night, I got to see another amazing concert by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, this time with a packed and energetic audience at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz. This is probably my sixth concert of theirs that I have been to, and each one is a powerful and uplifting experience. First…
Vintage Zoot Suit Auctioned for nearly $80K
Maybe it's time to dust off your old zoot suits, hepcats! My friend Voon forwarded to me this news from Augusta Auctions. Apparently a WWII era yellow-striped zoot suit was auctioned in New York City for a whopping $78,000 earlier this month. Here's how Augusta Auctions described the action: Our November 2 fashion sale in…
FreePlay Dance Crew’s Top Secret Mission at Vertigo
Yesterday night, I and the FreePlay Dance Crew did a really fun gig at Club Vertigo in downtown San Francisco to benefit the YMCA. We chose a spy-themed routine, the "Shadows" conspiring against the "Light" team to get the mysterious package. But what was really so valuable? It was a fun, crazy night performing in…
Check out swing dancer Heidi’s 13 vintage outfits on The Chic Index! (pics)
I'm happy to spread the word that my friend Heidi Rosenau (aka "Frick & Frack" on Yehoodi) is the featured style maven on "The Chic Index" blog this month. Heidi is a vintage swing dancer from New York City who dances lindy, balboa, collegiate shag and charleston. And by day, she works at one of the…
Ford Commercial features Canadian Lindy Hop couple (video)
This commercial for Ford Canada tells a very sweet story of lindy hop-dancing couple Aimee and Alex… interspersed with shots of them with their shiny red Ford. Very cute. I wish there were other products that could feature lindy hoppers. Maybe shoes, clothing, energy drinks, power bars, airlines… [Hat tip, Capt Morgan!]
FreePlay Dance Crew performing for YMCA Youth Chance High School this Saturday!
I'm excited to announce that my hip-hop dance crew FreePlay is doing a special performance this Saturday November 12, as a fundraiser for a great cause: the YMCA Youth Chance High School. Youth Chance is a special school for teens who have dropped out of other schools and are given special help and attention so that they…
“Swing Dance Memes” : My New Favorite Thread on Yehoodi
The always funny Capt Morgan started an inspired discussion thread on Yehoodi last week called "Swing Dance Memes," combining various meme-arific pictures with inspired, swing-related slogans. Since then, many, many others have chimed in with their own memes, using memegenerator.net and www.quickmeme.com, among other services. Here are some of my faves….
Joseph Gordon Levitt’s homage to Donald O’Conner: “Make ’em Laugh!”
Not long ago, Joseph Gordon Levitt on Saturday Night Live did an admirable homage to the great dancer / performer Donald O'Conner. Of course O'Conner's "Make em Laugh!" is revered as one of the finest comic dance performances ever captured on film. I really liked the JGL version though, particularly the awesome stunt at the end….