oLive Dance Theatre's SWIFT SOLOS from Hip-Hop Theater Festival on Vimeo. This year's Hip Hop Theater Festival features a show I'm very excited to see: "Swift Solos." "Swift Solos" is a series of vignettes based on the dance legacy of legendary b-boy Ken Swift. From his early years as an up-and-coming dancer, to joining Rock…
Category: Dancing / Music
“I Charleston New York”: Frenchies bring Charleston Mania to Manhattan
As I mentioned about a month ago, I participated in the "I Charleston New York" flash mob in Times Square along with a bunch of other local lindy hoppers. Organized by those wacky dancers from Montpellier, the Swingjammerz, "I Charleston…" is a video project where they go from city to city around the world, spreading…
Co-hosting a Podcast from NYC and Cali over Skype
This was not the most fantastic day I've ever had. But it ended on a high note with a recording of another Yehoodi Talk Show podcast with my buddy Manu in California. Manu and I have been doing the Yehoodi Talk Show for more years than I care to count right now. He's a great…
Krumping as Transcendent Expression
This morning at Quaker Meeting I couldn't stop thinking about krump. Krumping, of course, is the hyper-energetic, aggressive dance style that emerged out of some of the roughest neighborhoods in LA in the 90s, and has since become an international phenomenon. I've long had difficulty understanding krump as an artform. It appeared to me to…
Adventures in Lindy Hop: Dancing with Zac Posen at Saks
Tammy, who runs You Should Be Dancing Studios, invited me and a friend to participate in a cool promotional event at Saks Fifth Avenue department store last night. The gig was a dance party as part of "Fashion's Night Out," a series of parties going on all over the city as part of Fashion Week….
Compilation of Dance Scenes from the Movies: What’s Missing? [UPDATED]
TinyMich tweeted out this fun compilation of dance scenes from movies from the past, including some of my favorites — "Footloose," "Step Up," "Singing in the Rain," etc. Some missing ones from my list of fave scenes: "Breaking" (Turbo's broom dance) "Beat Street" (first b-boy battle), "The Fisher King" (Grand Central Waltz) and "Shall We…
Favorite Videos and Pics from Jazz Age Lawn Party
Here's a video by my friend Voon of the final jam on Sunday at the Jazz Age Lawn Party. There were a zillion cameras at the Jazz Age Lawn Party this weekend on Governor's Island. So those of us who were there have been having a good time hunting down our favorite pictures of ourselves…
A Final Fete to a Swinging Summer at the Jazz Age Lawn Party this Weekend
This Saturday and Sunday, Governors Island was again transformed into an oasis of 1920s and 30s era jazz, as Michael Arenella held his 5th annual Jazz Age Lawn Party for enthusiastic crowds of jazz lovers, lindy hoppers, and vintage hounds. I had already attended his Arenella's Lawn Party in July and had a fantastic time….
Strictly Lindy Competition at Club 412 Last Night
Along with the dancing at Governors Island this weekend, I also got some more fun dancing in at the monthly "Swing n Salsa" dance at Club 412 on Saturday. It was quite the affair, with one of my favorite bands the George Gee Orchestra performing in the lindy hop room, along with a live salsa…
“I Charleston” Comes to New York!
A bunch of crazy lindy hoppers from Montpellier France have been travelling the globe and organizing public dance flash mobs that they call "I Charleston." They film the charleston jams and then put them online for others to enjoy. So far they have done Montpellier, Herrang, Stockholm, and Japan. And yesterday they came to New…